With methamphetamine addiction continuing to skyrocket, the California Dental Hygienists' Association (CDHA) today called on the public to understand that decaying teeth can be one of the first warning signs that a family member or loved one is abusing the drug.

Due to the recent event of ongoing wildfires in Southern California, UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) and its family of companies, including UnitedHealthcare, Ovations, OptumHealth and Prescription Solutions, are taking the following immediate actions to help those affected by the fires. Effective Nov. 16, 2008, through Nov.

Recent polling data indicate that President-elect Barack Obama's victory was "aided by the emergence of a new and diverse religious coalition" that strongly values social issues like poverty and the environment in addition to abortion, the Toledo Blade reports.

A coalition of 28 national organizations, such as AFL-CIO, Consumers Union and CDC, has formed the National Priorities Partnership, a group that seeks to reduce health care costs and improve quality of care, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. The group says progress can be made even in the absence of government action through a health care reform plan.

Summaries of several recent editorials and opinion pieces related to health care reform appear below. Editorials Akron Beacon Journal: The "health care debate at its simplest is about how, as a nation, we ensure optimal health for citizens without going broke in the process," a Beacon Journal editorial states.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Merck & Co.'s (Merck) ratings, and revised the Rating Outlook to Negative from Stable. The ratings affirmed are: --Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'AA-'; --Senior unsecured debt rating at 'AA-'; --Bank loan rating at 'AA-'; --Short-term IDR at 'F1+'. The ratings apply to approximately $6.93 billion of outstanding debt. The Rating Outlook is Negative.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced today the Company's intention to voluntarily delist its common shares from the NASDAQ OMX - PHLX, Inc., formerly the Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX), following a decision by the exchange to discontinue the PHLX XLE equity trading platform. Common shares of Merck will continue to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MRK.

NeuroNexus Technologies and Philips Research today announced that they have signed a joint research agreement to develop next-generation deep brain stimulation devices with the ambition to improve the treatment of neurological diseases and psychiatric disorders.

A new analysis of randomized controlled trials of the widely used new generation cancer drug bevacizumab (marketed by Roche and Genentech as Avastin) found it was linked to an increased risk of deep vein blood clots or venous thromboembolism in the legs or lungs compared with treatments that did not use it.

CheckMD, an online social network and healthcare information resource, today released the results of a new poll indicating the correlation between increasing healthcare costs and more infrequent doctor visits. More than half of the 247 respondents (54 percent) indicated they are going to the doctor less than they previously were due to rising healthcare costs.