In the news

Arthritis patients left in limbo

Bextra is the most recent painkiller to be pulled from shelves after studies found increased health risks. Bextra raised the risk of heart disease and strokes, and it has also been linked to serious skin problems. People who take Bextra to alleviate pain due to arthritis should consult their doctor before starting a new pain management plan, said Dr. Josephine Patricia Dhar, a rheumatologist at Henry Ford Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at Wayne State University.

U-M plans kids clinic

The University of Michigan will announce plans today to build a 240-bed children\'s hospital to make way for the latest advances in health care for kids -- from saving premature babies to treating young burn victims. U-M\'s current facilities are cramped and outdated, lacking space for new technology and for families to stay comfortably with their ailing children, U-M officials say. \"The facilities need to keep up with the talents of the staff, \" said Robert Kelch, U-M executive vice president for medical affairs. Work on the new hospital is expected to begin late next year and will cost $360 million to $480 million. The U-M Board of Regents is expected to approve the project this spring.The Flint-based C.S. Mott Foundation, which helped launch the existing hospital in 1969, will donate $25 million for the new building. It\'s the largest gift ever for U-M Health System and the largest single gift given by the foundation.

Softball Rally Falls Short

The Wayne State University softball squad (10-12) dropped a 7-3 decision in the nightcap of a non-league doubleheader versus the University of Detroit Titans (8-11) Thursday at the WSU Softball Stadium. The Warriors scored once in the third, fourth and fifth innings to pull within two at 5-3 before Detroit tallied two insurance runs in the sixth. Wayne State returns to league competition with two doubleheaders in Erie, Pa., this weekend. The Warriors play Gannon on Saturday and Mercyhurst on Sunday.

Tom Walsh: State at risk of economic devastation

Two major studies about the post-industrial future of Michigan and its Midwest neighbors start from the premise that the Rust Belt region may soon be an economic wasteland if we don't get serious about knowledge creation and innovation. According to the Brookings Institution and the Michigan Road project, Michigan's current unemployment rate of 7.5 percent is the nations highest. The Michigan Road project study stated, "Ironically, at a time when the rest of the world has recognized that investing in education and knowledge creation is the key to not only prosperity but, indeed, survival, too many of Michigan's citizens and leaders…have come to view such investments as a low priority, expendable during hard times. Michigan's support per student dropped to $6,067 in 2004 (versus an average of $6,735 in other Great Lakes states), ranking Michigan in the bottom one-third of the nation, according to the Michigan Road study.