| | |
| Severe obesity still rising fast in the U.S. Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 07:27 PM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The number of Americans who are severely obese shot up by 70 percent in the past decade or so, though the increase has slowed down in more recent years, a new study finds. Between 2000 and 2010, the proportion of Americans who were severely obese - at least 100 pounds overweight - rose from 4 percent to almost 7 percent. The increase showed signs of slowing after 2005, researchers found. ... Full Story | Top |
| FDA finds fungus in steroid shots, meningitis toll rises Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 05:45 PM PDT  NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. health officials made their first confirmation of the presence of a deadly fungus in one of three lots of steroids tied to a national meningitis outbreak as the death toll rose to 20 on Thursday. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it was still testing two additional lots of methylprednisolone acetate, the steroid used to treat back pain, for the presence of the rare Exserohilum fungus. It is also testing other injectable drugs that were supplied by the New England Compounding Center, or NECC, in Massachusetts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Texas to end health program if Planned Parenthood participates Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 05:01 PM PDT AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas health program that serves more than 100,000 low-income women will shut down if Planned Parenthood is allowed to continue participating, the state's health and human services chief said on Thursday. Planned Parenthood has asked a federal appeals court to reconsider a lower court ruling that allows Texas to ban it from the program. "If they prevail in that case, and the courts say, ‘You have to include Planned Parenthood,' then, yes, (the program) goes away," Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Dr. Kyle Janek said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Abbott says kidney drug study halted; shares drop Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 04:33 PM PDT (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories Inc said its partner, Reata Pharmaceuticals, was discontinuing a late-stage trial of their potential blockbuster treatment for chronic kidney disease and diabetes based on safety concerns raised by an independent safety committee. The failure of the drug, bardoxolone, sent Abbott shares down 3.5 percent on Thursday. It came as a major setback just months before the planned January 1 spinoff of Abbott's branded prescription drugs into a separate publicly traded company called AbbVie. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pressure grows on Peru's Humala as public health strike widens Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 03:42 PM PDT LIMA (Reuters) - Hundreds of hospital managers have resigned from Peru's public health service in solidarity with striking doctors who accused President Ollanta Humala on Thursday of ignoring their demands for a bigger share of a record fiscal surplus. The resignations, in support of the lingering strike by 11,000 doctors in the nation's health system, underscore growing criticism of the government over its inability to negotiate labor accords and forestall closures of hospitals and schools. Humala is also still struggling to end strife with the national teachers' union. ... Full Story | Top |
| European regulators reject Vivus obesity drug Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 03:36 PM PDT (Reuters) - Vivus Inc said European regulators recommended that its obesity pill not be approved, citing potential safety concerns related to the long-term use of the drug. The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) raised concerns over heart risks and birth defects and the drug Qsiva's use by patients for whom it was not indicated. Vivus, which announced in late September that it was expecting a negative response, said it intends to appeal the panel opinion and request a re-examination of the decision by the CHMP. ... Full Story | Top |
| FDA extends review of Biogen's multiple sclerosis drug Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 02:32 PM PDT (Reuters) - Biotechnology company Biogen Idec Inc said U.S. health regulators extended by three months the review date of its much-awaited multiple sclerosis (MS) drug BG-12, but analysts said the delay was only a minor setback. Shares of Biogen were down 2 percent at $150.72 in morning trading on the Nasdaq. The stock has risen more than 50 percent over the past 12 months, largely on optimism about BG-12, which showed robust results in trials and had no safety concerns. Analysts said the delay would push the review date to March, but added such extensions were not uncommon. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada: new manager won't alter tainted beef plant review Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 02:26 PM PDT WINNIPEG, Manitoba/CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Canadian government said on Thursday that management changes at an Alberta plant responsible for one of the country's biggest-ever meat recalls would not affect a nearly completed review of changes made to improve the plant's safety. Canadian food inspectors are set to recommend this week when, or if, XL Foods' Lakeside beef processing plant in Brooks, Alberta, can reopen after E. coli contamination of its products sickened 15 people in Canada and prompted the recall of millions of pounds of beef. ... Full Story | Top |
| George Zimmerman's medical records targeted on eve of hearing Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 02:13 PM PDT  ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - The family of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager killed by Florida neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, called on Thursday for access to Zimmerman's confidential medical records if a judge approves a request for access to their son's school transcripts and other private documents. Debra Nelson, the judge who set a tentative June 10 date for Zimmerman's second-degree murder trial, could approve a defense request for Martin's school and social media records at a hearing scheduled for Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. FDA panel backs Sanofi, Isis drug for rare disorder Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 01:29 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel of outside experts recommended the Sanofi SA and Isis Pharmaceutical Inc drug, Kynamro, for treatment of a rare genetic disorder that causes unusually high cholesterol and life-threatening cardiovascular disease. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pediatricians call for strict gun laws to protect kids Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 12:44 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Pediatricians Thursday called for the strictest possible regulation of gun sales, as well as more education for parents on the dangers of having a gun at home, to prevent deaths of kids and teens. In a policy statement published in the journal Pediatrics, researchers representing the American Academy of Pediatrics said the number of gun-related deaths in youth has dropped nationally since the mid-1990s, but is still many times higher than rates in other wealthy countries. ... Full Story | Top |
| FDA says fungus confirmed in 1 of 3 lots of recalled steroid Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 12:14 PM PDT (Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it has confirmed the presence of Exserohilum fungus in one of three lots of steroids used for pain injections from the pharmacy at the center of the widespread meningitis outbreak that has killed 19 people and infected more than 200 others. Testing on the other two implicated lots of the steroid methylprednisolone acetate and other injectable drugs from the New England Compounding Center continues, the agency said. The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| CDC says death toll rises to 20 in meningitis outbreak Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 11:55 AM PDT  (Reuters) - The number of deaths from fungal meningitis linked to potentially contaminated steroid injections has risen to 20 and the outbreak has reached a 16th state, New York, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday. The deadly outbreak of the rare disease showed no signs of abating, as nine new cases of meningitis were reported, bringing the national total to 254, plus three peripheral infections in joints. Michigan reported its fourth death from meningitis. New cases also were reported in Indiana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio and Tennessee. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pediatricians warn of kids' access to guns at home Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 10:52 AM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - U.S. pediatricians Thursday called for the strictest possible gun sales, safety and storage laws to prevent deaths in kids and teens, as well as better education for parents on the dangers of having a gun at home. In a policy statement published in Pediatrics, researchers representing the American Academy of Pediatrics said the number of gun-related deaths in youth has dropped nationally since the mid-1990s, but is still many times higher than rates in other wealthy countries. ... Full Story | Top |
| Family whooping cough shots may protect babies Thursday, Oct 18, 2012 10:17 AM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Vaccinating moms and older siblings against whooping cough may prevent infants from coming down with the infection, a new study suggests. Whooping cough typically isn't dangerous in adults, but it can make babies very sick. Because there isn't a vaccine for newborns, some experts recommend "cocooning" - vaccinating everyone who lives with an infant - as a strategy for protection. An alternative that's been proposed is vaccinating pregnant women only against whooping cough, which is also known as pertussis. ... Full Story | Top |
|
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário