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| Experimental sleep drug may cause fewer side effects: Merck study Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 12:12 PM PDT By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - A study in rats and monkeys suggests an experimental Merck & Co sleep drug may help induce sleep without causing the memory loss and attention problems sometimes seen in the commonly used drugs Ambien and Lunesta, company researchers said on Wednesday. Experiments in animals suggest Merck's sleep drug Suvorexant, now before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, may avoid these side effects, the company said. Insomnia affects about 10 percent of U.S. adults, and roughly a third of these individuals take drugs to help them sleep. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. film critic Roger Ebert says cancer has returned Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 12:07 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Pulitzer Prize-winning U.S. film critic Roger Ebert says he is battling cancer again and that he will scale back his writing by taking a "leave of presence" from his more than four-decade career. Ebert, 70, known for his rhetorical power and prolific output, said he will undergo radiation treatment that will force him to take time away from his job. "I must slow down now, which is why I'm taking what I like to call 'a leave of presence,'" Ebert said in a blog entry posted late on Tuesday, adding that he would scale back his workload. ... Full Story | Top |
| Omega-3 fatty acids tied to longer life: study Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 11:55 AM PDT By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Supporting recommendations that people eat a couple of servings of fish per week, a new study suggests adults with the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood are less likely to die from a range of causes than those with the lowest levels. Out of about 2,700 older Americans, researchers found people with the most circulating omega-3s - usually found in oily fishes such as tuna or sardines - lived about two years longer than those with the lowest levels, on average. Dr. ... Full Story | Top |
| What treatment's best for hyperactive preschoolers? Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 11:53 AM PDT By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Parents of preschoolers at risk for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may first want to try behavior training before they put their children on medications, suggests a new analysis of past studies. Researchers found medications improved young children's behaviors but put them at risk for mood and growth problems. Training that teaches parents to understand their children's needs, however, did the same without side effects. "Training also helps the parent feel more confident," said Dr. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pope stresses "fundamental" value of women in Church Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 10:23 AM PDT  By Naomi O'Leary ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis stressed the "fundamental" importance of women in the Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday, a message hailed as a significant shift from the position of his predecessor Benedict. Supporters of liberal reform of the Church have called on it to give a greater voice to women and recognize their importance to the largest religious denomination in the world, and some groups call for women to be ordained as priests. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chinese toll from new bird flu rises to 9 cases, 3 dead Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 10:00 AM PDT  By Ben Blanchard and Kate Kelland BEIJING/LONDON (Reuters) - China has found two more cases of a new strain of bird flu and one of the victims has died, state media said on Wednesday, bringing to nine the number of confirmed human infections from the previously unknown flu type. A 38-year-old cook fell ill early last month while working in the province of Jiangsu, where five of the other cases were found. He died in hospital in Hangzhou city on March 27, the Xinhua news agency reported. Samples tested positive on Wednesday for the new bird flu strain, H7N9. ... Full Story | Top |
| Drinking, drugs more common for kids of deployed Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 08:01 AM PDT By Kathryn Doyle NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Teens and preteens with a parent deployed in the military may be more likely to binge drink or misuse prescription drugs, according to a new study. Previous studies have found that with a parent's multiple deployments come higher levels of depression and more thoughts of suicide among children. But the new study is the first to focus on alcohol and drug use, senior author Stephan Arndt told Reuters Health. ... Full Story | Top |
| Valeant sweetens bid for Obagi Medical Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 07:07 AM PDT (Reuters) - Cosmetics products maker Obagi Medical Products Inc agreed to a revised $24-per-share buyout offer from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc after Valeant raised its offer to top a rival bid from German drugmaker Merz Pharma Group. Obagi shares were up 9 percent at $25.03 in early trading as investors geared up for a takeover fight over a company that makes specialized skin care products to fight signs of aging, sun damage and acne. ... Full Story | Top |
| Scientists race to gauge pandemic risk of new bird flu Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 07:05 AM PDT  By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Genetic sequence data on a deadly strain of bird flu previously unknown in people show the virus has already acquired some mutations that might make it more likely to cause a human pandemic, scientists say. But there is no evidence so far that the H7N9 flu - now known to have infected nine people in China, killing three - is spreading from person to person, and there is still a chance it might peter out and never fully mutate into a human form of flu. ... Full Story | Top |
| South African doctors say Mandela "much better" Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 05:58 AM PDT  By Tiisetso Motsoeneng SOWETO, South Africa (Reuters) - Former South African president and anti-apartheid titan Nelson Mandela is making "steady improvement" under treatment for pneumonia and is much better now than when he was hospitalised a week ago, the government said on Wednesday. The three-sentence statement from President Jacob Zuma's office was the most upbeat since the 94-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate was admitted to hospital with a recurrence of a lung infection. ... Full Story | Top |
| McFly drummer says marathon training led to heart condition Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 04:43 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Drummer Harry Judd from the British boy band McFly has been diagnosed with a minor heart condition which he said he developed through training for this month's London Marathon. Judd, 27, told fans via Twitter that he had "acquired an ectopic heart beat through excessive exercise" which proved he had been pushing himself in his training. "It's known as a Wandering Pacemaker commonly seen in athletes ... it's really annoying!!!" He added it was nothing to worry about but it "just means I have to chill out a bit". ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt students protest over mass poisoning Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 02:27 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Some 500 Egyptian students broke into the headquarters of the country's top Islamic university on Tuesday to demand the resignation of its president following a mass food poisoning on campus, a security official said. Around 460 Al-Azhar University students were hospitalised on Monday after eating at a cafeteria on campus, according to the Health Ministry. Most of the students were discharged on Tuesday morning. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mandela's condition unchanged, no deterioration: presidency Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 01:07 AM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela's condition has not changed after a weekend improvement, the South African government said on Tuesday, and it denied media reports suggesting the former president had suffered a relapse in his pneumonia. "His condition is unchanged as reported yesterday," presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj told Reuters. The government said on Monday there was "no significant change" in the condition of the 94-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate. ... Full Story | Top |
| AstraZeneca buys early-stage U.S. biotech firm Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 12:57 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca boosted its early-stage pipeline of experimental heart drugs on Wednesday by buying privately held U.S. biotechnology company AlphaCore Pharma, which is developing a new type of cholesterol medicine. Financial details of the acquisition by the British drugmaker's MedImmune unit were not disclosed. AstraZeneca's new CEO Pascal Soriot said last month he planned to build up the company's sparse drug pipeline by striking more deals, with cardiovascular and metabolic disease a particular priority. ... Full Story | Top |
| Congo promises action on mass rapes in eastern town: UN Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013 11:14 PM PDT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The Democratic Republic of Congo has promised to bring a group of suspected mass rapists to justice after the United Nations last month threatened to halt support to two Congolese army battalions, the world body said on Tuesday. The United Nations said 126 women were raped in Minova in November after Congolese troops fled to the town as so-called M23 rebels briefly captured the nearby provincial capital of Goma. The U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
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