| | |
| FDA loosens restrictions on nicotine replacement products Monday, Apr 01, 2013 12:25 PM PDT  (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is relaxing its restrictions on the use of over-the-counter nicotine patches, gum and lozenges. Currently, consumers are instructed to stop smoking when they begin using a nicotine replacement product and to stop using it after 12 weeks. The FDA said on Monday it plans to remove both these restrictions in response to claims by critics that they may cause some smokers to abandon attempts to quit if they have a cigarette while on a replacement therapy. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Dakota abortion clinic vows fight against tough new state laws Monday, Apr 01, 2013 11:19 AM PDT  By Alicia Underlee Nelson FARGO, North Dakota (Reuters) - North Dakota's only clinic that offers abortion services is vowing to challenge the state's adoption of new restrictions that its backers say imperil its ability to operate. The Red River Women's Clinic, which is tucked inside a downtown Fargo building that once housed one of the state's first beauty shops, is the only alternative for women seeking abortion services for hundreds of miles. ... Full Story | Top |
| Texas governor reiterates opposition to Medicaid expansion Monday, Apr 01, 2013 11:13 AM PDT  By Corrie MacLaggan AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas Governor Rick Perry on Monday firmly reiterated that the state will not expand its Medicaid program, saying that it is a broken system that needs to be reformed by allowing states more flexibility. "Seems to me April Fool's Day is the perfect day to discuss something as foolish as Medicaid expansion, and to remind everyone that Texas will not be held hostage by the Obama administration's attempt to force us into the fool's errand of adding more than a million Texans to a broken system," Perry told reporters at the state Capitol. ... Full Story | Top |
| Federal government slashes New York's Medicaid payments Monday, Apr 01, 2013 11:08 AM PDT  By Edward Krudy NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal authorities have dramatically lowered the amount that New York state can claim from the federal government for certain medical services, costing the state an estimated $1.2 billion. The Center for Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that administers the nation's medical insurance system for people on low incomes, cut the per-patient reimbursement rate for patients in developmental centers to $1,200 from $5,100 from April 1, according to CMS documents seen by Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Looking for a fitness buddy? Get a dog Monday, Apr 01, 2013 10:11 AM PDT By Dorene Internicola NEW YORK (Reuters) - Zeus the pit bull helps his owner slog through interval training and military crawls, Goldie and her master enjoy Tai Chi together and Izzie the three-legged shih tzu can't hike up the mountain but she acts as a hand weight for her owner's bicep curl. Experts say a dog may be man's best fitness friend, and dog-and-master workouts don't have to be limited to a run on the beach or a Frisbee toss. "Unlike humans, their motivation never peters out. Dogs don't drop off one by one, like other fitness buddies," said Dr. ... Full Story | Top |
| S. Africa's Mandela visited by family after weekend improvement Monday, Apr 01, 2013 09:35 AM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela, who is being treated in hospital for pneumonia, was visited by members of his family on Monday after doctors had reported an improvement in his condition over the weekend. A statement from South Africa's presidency said there was "no significant change" in the condition of the 94-year-old former president, who has been in hospital since late Wednesday suffering from a recurrence of a lung infection. "Former President Mandela is still in hospital where he is receiving treatment ... ... Full Story | Top |
| South Africa's Mandela visited by family after weekend improvement Monday, Apr 01, 2013 09:33 AM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela, who is being treated in hospital for pneumonia, was visited by members of his family on Monday after doctors had reported an improvement in his condition over the weekend. A statement from South Africa's presidency said there was "no significant change" in the condition of the 94-year-old former president, who has been in hospital since late Wednesday suffering from a recurrence of a lung infection. "Former President Mandela is still in hospital where he is receiving treatment ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Novartis loses landmark India cancer drug patent case Monday, Apr 01, 2013 07:43 AM PDT  By Kaustubh Kulkarni and Suchitra Mohanty MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's top court dismissed Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG's attempt to win patent protection for its cancer drug Glivec, a blow to Western pharmaceutical firms targeting India to drive sales and a victory for local makers of cheap generics. The decision sets a benchmark for intellectual property cases in India, where many patented drugs are unaffordable for most of its 1.2 billion people, and does not bode well for foreign firms engaged in ongoing disputes in India, including Pfizer Inc and Roche Holding AG, analysts said. ... Full Story | Top |
| No sign of human transmission in new bird flu appearance: WHO Monday, Apr 01, 2013 06:45 AM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - The World Health Organization says no evidence has emerged to show that a type of bird flu which has killed two Chinese men can be transmitted between people. Two men in Shanghai, aged 87 and 27, fell sick in late February. A woman in Anhui province also contracted the virus in early March and is in critical condition. "At this point, these three are isolated cases with no evidence of human-to-human transmission", the WHO representative in China, Dr. Michael O'Leary, told reporters on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| India hails "historic" Supreme Court drug patent ruling against Novartis Monday, Apr 01, 2013 04:00 AM PDT NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Indian government hailed as "historic" a Supreme Court ruling on Monday against a plea by Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG to protect the patent on its drug Glivec. Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said the ruling -- seen as a victory by health rights campaigners -- reaffirmed provisions in Indian law that mandate the need for substantial innovation before new patents are issued on medicines. (Reporting By Matthias Williams; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel, editing by Ross Colvin) Full Story | Top |
| Novartis India will continue to file for patents: executive Monday, Apr 01, 2013 02:30 AM PDT MUMBAI (Reuters) - Novartis India Ltd, a unit of Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG, will continue to file for patents in India, its vice chairman said on Monday, after the country's top court rejected its plea for patent protection of its drug Glivec. Novartis India will also continue to invest there, but with caution, Ranjit Shahani, who is also the managing director of the company, told reporters after the Supreme Court judgment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Octogenarian Japanese climber aims for Everest record Sunday, Mar 31, 2013 11:53 PM PDT  By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU (Reuters) - An 80-year-old Japanese mountain climber who has had heart surgery four times is heading to Mount Everest to try for a third ascent of the world's highest peak and will become the oldest person to reach the top if he succeeds. Yuichiro Miura climbed to the summit of the 8,850 meter (29,035 ft) mountain in 2003 and 2008. He skied down Everest from an altitude of 8,000 meters (26,246 ft) in 1970. ... Full Story | Top |
| GERD label makes parents more likely to want medicine Sunday, Mar 31, 2013 09:14 PM PDT By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Telling the parents of babies who spit up and cry frequently that their child has gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, makes them more likely to want medicine - even if they're also told it isn't likely to help much, a new study suggests. Most babies who spit up don't have an acid reflux problem, researchers said, just a not-quite-developed upper stomach valve. Still, an increasing number of those kids are being labeled as having GERD - even though a definitive diagnosis normally requires an invasive test. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: China's losing battle against state-backed polluters Sunday, Mar 31, 2013 06:58 PM PDT  By David Stanway SHANGHANG COUNTY, China (Reuters) - When Zijin Mining Group threatened to move its headquarters some 270 kms from its home county of Shanghang to Xiamen on China's southeast coast, a local Communist Party boss rushed to confront the company's chairman Chen Jinghe. "If you want to move, you'll have to move the Zijin Mountain to Xiamen as well," the official told Chen, referring to a vast local mine that has helped transform the firm into China's top gold producer and second-biggest copper miner. ... Full Story | Top |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment