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| How much do financial interests sway researchers? Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 12:40 PM PDT By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Funding from drug companies and other potential conflicts of interest did not influence the conclusions reached by researchers testing new cancer treatments over the past few years, according to a new analysis. But Dr. Aaron Kesselheim, who has looked into that issue at the Harvard School of Public Health, pointed out that other studies have shown the opposite. ... Full Story | Top |
| Europe's regulator digs in for drug data fight Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 12:07 PM PDT By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - The head of Europe's medicines regulator is digging in for a fight over data transparency after being stopped from releasing information on drugs from two U.S. companies by a court ruling. Defeat for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) at the hands of AbbVie and InterMune highlights a growing battle between campaigners for more openness and companies which fear it will harm their business. ... Full Story | Top |
| Do school programs keep kids from smoking? Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:43 AM PDT By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Certain school-based programs that aim to keep kids from smoking cigarettes seem to work, according to a fresh look at some past research. After examining over a hundred "gold standard" studies, researchers found that school-based programs that teach children life skills and self esteem were linked to a significant reduction in the number who started using tobacco down the road. "There was a significant effect for more than one year," said Julie McLellan, one of the study's authors from the University of Oxford in the UK. ... Full Story | Top |
| FDA looks at caffeine impact on kids after Wrigley gum Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:08 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Wrigley's new Alert Energy Caffeine Gum has prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to look into the potential impact that added caffeine may have on children and adolescents. The FDA said on Monday it was taking a "fresh look" at the issue in response to the launch of a caffeinated gum, "and if necessary, will take appropriate action." While the FDA did not name the gum in its statement, Wrigley launched the product this month. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jury weighs fate of abortion doctor in murder trial Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 10:44 AM PDT By Dave Warner PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Jury deliberations began on Tuesday in the murder trial of a Philadelphia doctor accused of killing babies and a patient during late-term abortions at a clinic serving low-income women. Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 72, who ran the now-shuttered Women's Medical Society Clinic, could face the death penalty if convicted by the jury in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia. The case focuses on whether the infants were born alive and then killed. ... Full Story | Top |
| FDA approves Raptor's drug for nephropathic cystinosis Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 10:23 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration has approved an experimental drug from Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp to treat a rare genetic disorder that can cause irreversible tissue damage, organ failure and premature death. Raptor's shares rose as much as 15.6 percent on Tuesday. The drug, Procysbi, is designed to treat nephropathic cystinosis, the most common form of a disease known as cystinosis, in which toxic levels of cystine, a naturally occurring amino acid, build up in the body's cells and organs. ... Full Story | Top |
| FDA staff question whether Aveo drug needs new trial Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 10:23 AM PDT  By Toni Clarke (Reuters) - Staff reviewers for the Food and Drug Administration have asked a panel of outside medical experts whether another clinical trial is needed before an experimental kidney cancer drug made by Aveo Pharmaceuticals Inc and Astellas Pharma Inc can be approved. The question, posed in documents posted to the FDA's website on Tuesday, caused Aveo's shares to plummet as much as 26.7 percent on Nasdaq. The reviewers noted that in a late-stage trial, patients taking the drug, tivozanib, did not live longer than those who took a rival product. ... Full Story | Top |
| NICU treatments linked to intellectual disabilities Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 10:04 AM PDT By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) interventions for babies born very small and early have drastically reduced infant deaths in the United States, but in doing so they've contributed to more intellectual disabilities, according to a new study. Past research has shown such disabilities have been reduced in recent years through vaccines and newborn screening, for example. ... Full Story | Top |
| Government extends deadline to insurers for health exchanges Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 09:46 AM PDT (Reuters) - The deadline for health insurers to submit applications to sell insurance in the states in which the Federal government is running the health exchange has been extended by three days until Friday, a spokeswoman at the Department of Health and Human Services said on Tuesday. "Health insurance issuers have asked us to provide them with more time to submit their applications to offer Qualified Health Plans and we are accommodating that request," Alicia Hartinger, a spokeswoman at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said in an emailed statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Surge in arm lift surgery prompts warnings over scarring Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 09:26 AM PDT By Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - More women are going under the knife to achieve the kind of toned upper arms earned by the stars' vigorous gym workouts but plastic surgeons warn the operation comes at a cost - scarring. Statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) this week showed that arm lift surgery on women has soared more than 4,400 percent in the past decade, fuelled by sleeveless fashions and a focus on well-shaped celebrities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama says implementing health law harder as some states opt out Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 08:58 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The decision by some states, particularly large ones such as Texas, to opt out of the health insurance marketplace is making it harder for federal health officials to implement such exchanges, President Barack Obama said. "I think it's harder, there's no doubt about it," Obama told reporters on Tuesday. "It puts more of a burden on us." The state-based exchanges, created under the 2010 healthcare law, were designed to offer individuals a centralized place to buy health insurance policies for 2014. ... Full Story | Top |
| Transition shares soar on positive diabetes drug results Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 08:20 AM PDT (Reuters) - Transition Therapeutics Inc said an early-stage study of its experimental drug for type 2 diabetes showed significant improvement in blood sugar control and reduction in body weight, sending its shares up as much as 71 percent. Patients treated with the experimental drug experienced statistically significant reductions in mean fasting blood glucose and mean body weight in the three highest dose groups, the company said. ... Full Story | Top |
| American Medical Association questions Guantanamo force-feedings Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 08:13 AM PDT  By Jane Sutton MIAMI (Reuters) - The Navy sent extra medical personnel to the Guantanamo detention camp because of a growing hunger strike, and the American Medical Association questioned whether doctors were being asked to violate their ethics by force-feeding prisoners. The reinforcements arrived at the weekend and included about 40 nurses, specialists and hospital corpsmen, who are trained to provide basic medical care, Army Lieutenant Colonel Samuel House, a spokesman for the detention camp said, said on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tesla, Cardiovascular probed over stock trading plans: WSJ Monday, Apr 29, 2013 11:26 PM PDT (Reuters) - U.S. federal prosecutors have sent subpoenas to Tesla Motors Inc and Cardiovascular Systems Inc asking for documents and emails relating to a trading plan that allows executives to sell company stock, the Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday, citing a person familiar with the probe. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allows company executives to trade their own stock by using a preset plan known as "10b5-1," even when they have access to private information. The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Task force calls for routine HIV testing for all adults Monday, Apr 29, 2013 07:42 PM PDT  By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - An influential U.S. panel is calling for HIV screening for all Americans aged 15 to 65, regardless of whether they are considered to be at high risk, a change that may help lift some of the stigma associated with HIV testing. The new guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), a government-backed panel of doctors and scientists, now align with longstanding recommendations by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing of all adults aged 15 to 65, regardless of their risk. ... Full Story | Top |
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