Lately, Doctor Pundit has been reporting some tidbits from the arena of medical research. Here are a few more to make the wires for 9/1.

• Is it really possible? For now you’ll just have to ask the mice taking it. Metformin, the country’s most widely used antidiabetic agent, could lead to the prevention of lung, breast, and prostate malignancies. | LINK
• Speaking of cancers, are certain heritable forms of breast cancer prevented by a certain surgical technique? | LINK
• Again, on the topic of cancer: an anti-tumor drug may be altered to serve as the basis for a novel agent to prevent the formation of senile plaques seen in the central nervous system in virtually all Alzheimer patients. | LINK
• Finally, on the lighter side of things — the all-star line-up for the “Stand Up to Cancer” telethon is almost finalized. | LINK

Is the President waging an apparent one-man war as he still continues to gauge support for his nascent reform overhaul? As recently as a couple of days ago — as part of his weekly address — he renewed attacks on Insurance, noting that “For too long, we have been held hostage to an insurance industry that jacks up premiums and drops coverage as they please. But those days are finally coming to an end.”

Naturally, this message was directed to WellPoint, the California insurer which came under fire during the latter stages of the reform bill fight in Congress; it was accused of raising premiums to astronomical levels, establishing a fighting target and kicking off a newfound confidence in the President in getting his plan passed into law.

WellPoint’s CEO specifically responded to Obama and essentially told him to stop the attacks.

WellPoint Chief Executive Angela Braly fired back. In a letter Sunday addressed directly to Obama, she noted that policy changes were underway nationwide, and she called on him to stop his attacks on the industry. It will take cooperation between the industry and government to implement the new healthcare reform law, she said.

WellPoint also backed down and pledged its own internal investigations when recently accused of rescinding coverage to previously covered policyholders obtaining breast cancer treatments. HHS Secretary Sebelius and, now, Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA), are urging for more discussions with the CEO and others to address this issue. Of course, this all begs the question — as insurance companies are supposed to be working with the President before the law requires them to specifically do so — can’t they all just get along? | LINK

She’s a divorced 57 year-old female who was forced to step down from her job because of the debilitating side effects from the chemotherapy used to treat her breast cancer. Initially, from the time she was diagnosed, she was able to continue to work as a high powered executive. All of that came to a halt when she stopped working and subsequently had to sell her house in order to meet her co-pay and former employer health insurance costs. Now cancer free — but still needing expensive chemo — she survives on disability income and somehow manages to meet the constant out-of-pocket expenses she now has for medical services outside of her current physician network. Comparing herself to the Bionic Woman, the woman muses, “Sometimes you sit there and think: Am I really worth this?” | LINK | PDF of study here

• NY state recoups over half a billion dollars in amounts lost to Medicaid fraud and waste.
• MN has its first confirmed influenza case of 2008 – 2009 season, and it’s a susceptible strain to this season’s vaccine.
• Pharma company’s use of medical ghostwriting questioned.
• U.S. blacks trounce whites in color cancer death rates.
• Baltimore Sun OpEd:  states must employ total adoption of the electronic health record in overhauling healthcare delivery.