Daily Rounds: Stem Cell Drug; Childbirth Checklist; Equity-Driven Dentistry; Fingers Found In Food

A stem-cell based drug gets approval in Canada (The New York Times) - In a boost for the field of regenerative medicine, a small biotechnology company has received regulatory approval in Canada for what it says is the first manufactured drug based on stem cells. The company, Osiris Therapeutics of Columbia, Md., said Thursday that Canadian regulators had approved its drug Prochymal, to treat children suffering from graft-versus-host disease, a potentially deadly complication of bone marrow transplantation."

Checklist improve care at childbirth in Indian hospital (The Boston Globe) - "A 29-item checklist dramatically increased the frequency with which providers in an Indian hospital took simple steps to protect the health of women in childbirth and their babies, such as washing their hands with soap before an exam or using a sterile blade to cut the umbilical cord."

Dental abuse seen driven by private equity investments (Bloomberg) - "Isaac’s case and others like it are under scrutiny by federal lawmakers and state regulators trying to determine whether a popular business model fueled by Wall Street money is soaking taxpayers and having a malign influence on dentistry. Management companies are at the center of a U.S. Senate inquiry, and audits, investigations and civil actions in six states over allegations of unnecessary procedures, low-quality treatment and the unlicensed practice of dentistry."

Finger incident places Arby's reputation in jeopardy (USA Today) - "Better to be famous for making great roast beef sandwiches than for a kid finding part of a finger in one. But that's the unfortunate situation Arby's finds itself in after a restaurant worker's fingertip ended up in a 14-year-old Michigan teen's sandwich late last week after the employee cut her finger on the meat slicer."

A history of human fingers found in fast food (NPR) - "This isn't the first finger-found-in-food incident in recent years. We hope you're not eating lunch right now, as we take a look back at some of the more well-known meal time finger discoveries."