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| Key trial of Seaside autism drug fails to show benefit Wednesday, May 01, 2013 12:41 PM PDT By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - The first-ever drug designed to treat social impairments associated with autism failed to show a benefit in a midstage trial, representing a blow to families and to privately held drugmaker Seaside Therapeutics. Results of the study, presented on Wednesday at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Spain, showed the drug known as STX209 failed to improve symptoms of social withdrawal in a 12-month study of 150 individuals aged 5 to 21, most with classic autistic disorder. ... Full Story | Top |
| Allergan delays drug that would rival Regeneron's Eylea Wednesday, May 01, 2013 12:29 PM PDT  By Esha Dey and Ransdell Pierson (Reuters) - Allergan Inc said approval of its Darpin eye drug could be delayed up to two years, providing a new boost to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc whose successful treatment Eylea stands to gain from a lack of new competition. Shares of Allergan, which makes wrinkle treatment Botox, were down nearly 12 percent after the company said mid-stage trial results of Darpin did not warrant an immediate move into far larger late-stage trials. Regeneron shares were up more than 11 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Early release could help ill prisoners and U.S. prisons: Justice Department Wednesday, May 01, 2013 12:21 PM PDT  By Ian Simpson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Compassionate release programs at overcrowded U.S. federal prisons are poorly run and lack clear standards, resulting in some eligible inmates dying before they can be freed, the Department of Justice said on Wednesday. Few prisoners are released early on compassionate grounds. An average of 24 gravely ill prisoners were freed each year from 2006 to 2011, but another 28 died in custody during that time while waiting for the Bureau of Prisons to make a decision on their cases, the department's inspector general said in a report. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iowa jury awards $240 million to mentally disabled turkey plant workers Wednesday, May 01, 2013 12:20 PM PDT (Reuters) - A jury on Wednesday awarded $240 million to 32 mentally disabled workers at an Iowa turkey processing plant to compensate for what government attorneys described as abuse by the Texas company that employed and housed them. A federal jury in Davenport found that Hill Country Farms, doing business as Henry's Turkey Service, of Goldthwaite, Texas, had created an unlawful hostile environment for the men and discriminated against them on the basis of their disability. Jurors awarded them $7.5 million each, following a week-long trial, according to court documents. ... Full Story | Top |
| Primrose oil no better than placebo for eczema Wednesday, May 01, 2013 12:19 PM PDT By Kerry Grens NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Evening primrose oil doesn't reduce the symptoms of the itchy skin problem eczema, according to a new review of studies. Herbal supplement makers market primrose oil as helpful in treating eczema, but "I don't think you'll get a specific benefit" from the pills, said Dr. Joel Bamford, the lead author of the review. Eczema is a common skin disorder, especially among children, marked by itchy, red skin. Commonly, patients are prescribed steroid medications to treat the problem. ... Full Story | Top |
| Groups say FDA's Plan B decision falls short of court order Wednesday, May 01, 2013 11:50 AM PDT  By Jessica Dye NEW YORK (Reuters) - Reproductive-rights groups that sued the Food and Drug Administration over access to the "morning-after" pill will ask a judge to hold the agency in contempt if it fails to comply with a court order directing it to make emergency contraception available to women of all ages. The FDA said on Tuesday it will allow girls as young as 15 years old to buy without a prescription the Plan B One-Step emergency contraceptive, made by a unit of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. ... Full Story | Top |
| No freedom of speech in Cuba despite easier foreign travel: activist Wednesday, May 01, 2013 10:05 AM PDT  By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The Castro government's easing of foreign travel restrictions on Cubans has not led to greater freedoms on the island, a leading dissident said on Wednesday. Elizardo Sanchez said 19 opposition activists had been allowed to leave since a new exit policy was introduced on January 14. Dozens more would go in the next few weeks, he said. But the Communist government, in power since 1959, was keeping strict control on dissident voices at home, he said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Miner's union charts new course to save benefits in bankruptcy Wednesday, May 01, 2013 09:46 AM PDT By Nick Brown (Reuters) - As mineworkers and retirees battle to salvage their pensions and benefits from the bankruptcy of Patriot Coal Corp, lawyers for their union are trying an unusual gambit - and one that may be a test case for workers' rights when companies spin off assets. With a difficult road ahead in bankruptcy court in St. Louis, the United Mine Workers of America has brought a parallel lawsuit 500 miles away, in West Virginia, the heart of coal country. ... Full Story | Top |
| Five-year-old boy accidentally kills sister with his own rifle Wednesday, May 01, 2013 09:37 AM PDT By Tim Ghianni NASHVILLE, Tenn (Reuters) - A 2-year-old girl was accidentally shot and killed by her 5-year-old brother with a rifle he received as a birthday gift, Kentucky authorities said on Wednesday. The shooting occurred on Tuesday afternoon in Burkesville, Kentucky, a community in the south-central part of the state, when the boy was playing with the .22-caliber rifle and accidentally shot his sister in the chest, state police said. The boy had received the Crickett "youth model" gun for his birthday in November, Cumberland County Coroner Gary White said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Congressional committee calls hearing on Boston bombings Wednesday, May 01, 2013 08:19 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on May 9 to examine the deadly Boston marathon bombings and their impact on national security. Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis, Massachusetts Undersecretary for Homeland Security Director Kurt Schwartz and U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman have been asked to testify. The committee will hold a series of hearings examining the events leading up to last month's attack, which killed three people and injured 264, as well as the reaction by law enforcement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Changing mothers' aid limits juice for kids Wednesday, May 01, 2013 07:19 AM PDT By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A change to a U.S. program that provides food and medical visits to many infants, children and pregnant women succeeded in reducing the amount of juice bought overall, according to a new study. Researchers examined the impact of an October 2009 change in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children - known as WIC, which cut the monthly allowance of 100 percent juice by more than half. "Basically the program achieved its goals. ... Full Story | Top |
| FDA rejects Titan drug for opioid dependence Wednesday, May 01, 2013 07:08 AM PDT By Toni Clarke (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators rejected an experimental drug to treat opioid addiction made by Titan Pharmaceuticals Inc and asked for additional data showing it works, the company said. The drug, Probuphine, is a long-acting version of buprenorphine, a drug sold by British rival Reckitt-Benckiser Group Plc under the brand names Subutex and Suboxone. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jury weighs murder charges against Philadelphia abortion doctor Wednesday, May 01, 2013 06:41 AM PDT By Dave Warner PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A Philadelphia jury began its second day of deliberations on Wednesday in the murder trial of a 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 |
| Stopping hormone therapy may have its own risks Wednesday, May 01, 2013 06:01 AM PDT Full Story | Top |
| Merck's Januvia diabetes drug lags, 2013 forecast cut Wednesday, May 01, 2013 05:40 AM PDT  By Ransdell Pierson (Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc reported disappointing first-quarter sales on a surprising downturn for its Januvia diabetes medicine, the company's biggest product and usual earnings driver, and the drugmaker cut its profit forecast for the full year. Shares of Merck fell 3.1 percent in premarket trading. The drugmaker's earnings beat forecasts for the quarter, thanks largely to a favorable tax rate, but the quarterly results were overshadowed by Januvia's plight. Merck reported net income of $1.59 billion, or 52 cents per share, compared with $1. ... Full Story | Top |
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