NEW YORK (Reuters) – A doctor and a surgical funding consultant were arrested on Friday on charges that they defrauded women into having unnecessary surgeries to remove transvaginal mesh implants in order to profit from settlements paid to the women by mesh ma... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – When Malachi Anderson was diagnosed with a rare and often deadly disease called spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) as an infant nearly four years ago, his parents Tina and Torence had a decision to make. In years past, many of the babies born w... More »
(Reuters Health) – Women who suffer cardiac arrest outside of a hospital are less likely to receive help from bystanders and have less chance of survival than men, a recent Dutch study showed. The results align with what a separate study found in the United St... More »
WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s first sextuplets on record, two boys and four girls, were born in the southern city of Krakow on Monday to the surprise of parents and doctors who had expected five babies. “Imagine this: we were prepared from early in the morning t... More »
(Reuters Health) – Kindergarteners who get more than two hours of screen time a day may be more likely to have behavior and attention problems in school than their classmates who spend less time in front of televisions, smartphones and tablets, a Canadian stud... More »
(Reuters Health) – Smokers who have a stroke are much more likely to have another one if they don’t quit or at least cut back, a Chinese study suggests. Smoking has long been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and serious cardiac events like... More »
(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned of risks of serious injury or death from surgical staplers made by Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon unit, labeling a recent recall of the device as its most serious. The recall, initiated early April by Ethic... More »
Millions of people in the U.S. have chronic viral hepatitis, most without knowing it, so the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other groups have designated May as Hepatitis Awareness Month and May 19 as Hepatitis Testing Day. “Hepatitis is a silen... More »
Growing numbers of new mothers are being diagnosed with depression before they leave the hospital with their newborns, according to a U.S. study that suggests screening women at childbirth could help get treatment for those who need it. From 2000 to 2015, the ... More »
HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam has culled more than 1.2 million farmed pigs infected with African swine fever, the government said on Monday, as the virus continues to spread rapidly in the Southeast Asian country. Pork accounts for three-quarters of total meat con... More »
INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) – Eli Lilly and Co has pulled ahead in a three-way race with Amgen Inc and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd in attracting new patients to a new class of migraine drugs, and seeks to build on that advantage by stressing that its therapy... More »
(Reuters Health) – States that require adults on Medicaid to work a set number of hours to get benefits may find many people lose coverage because behavioral health conditions and other chronic health problems make it hard for them to work, a U.S. study sugges... More »
(Reuters Health) – Younger boys who play lacrosse are more likely to get injured and sustain concussions than high school or college players, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers looked at injuries per minute of athletic exposure (AE), which includes both practi... More »
(Reuters Health) – Patients who see their doctors in the morning are a lot more likely to be referred for screenings for breast and colon cancer than patients with end-of-the-day appointments, a new study suggests. Researchers poring over records of more than ... More »
(Reuters Health) – Suicide is the only cause of death that is higher among doctors than the general population, according to two Canadian physicians who coauthored an information sheet about physician suicide. In particular, male doctors are 40 percent more li... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. doctors are tapping into their electronic medical records to identify unvaccinated patients and potentially infected individuals to help contain the worst U.S. measles outbreak in 25 years. New York’s NYU Langone Health network of hosp... More »
(Reuters) – Tyson Foods Inc significantly expanded a recall of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strips to close to 12 million pounds (5.4 million kg) over contamination concerns, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Saturday. The Department’s Food Safety and... More »
(Reuters) – A Church of Scientology cruise ship quarantined by the Caribbean nation of St. Lucia for measles is due to arrive on Saturday back at its home port on the island of Curacao, where it will face similar restrictions, a top health official there said.... More »
(Reuters Health) – A tiny percentage of people at high risk for opioid overdose are getting prescriptions for naloxone, a medication that could potentially save their lives, a new study finds. Researchers determined that a mere 1.5 percent of high-risk patient... More »
(Reuters Health) – Children who are adopted, whether domestically or internationally, have unique healthcare needs that should be assessed as soon as possible, according to new guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Pediatricians and other healthcar... More »
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo rose above 1,000 on Friday, as violent attacks on treatment centres hamper efforts to control the second-worst epidemic of the virus on record... More »
(Reuters Health) – While a healthy-plant based diet is tied to a lower risk of kidney disease, people who fill their plates with starchy, sugary vegetarian fare may actually increase their risk of kidney damage, a new study suggests. Researchers examined data ... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has detected new cases of African swine fever in six farms across four locations in Hainan province, the agriculture ministry said on Sunday, adding to two earlier cases of the contagious disease identified in the province on Friday. ... More »
(Reuters) – Novartis AG, which this week announced positive interim trial results for its experimental gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy, on Friday said investigation is underway into whether a second trial death could be related to the treatment. Novar... More »
(Reuters Health) – Suicide rates grow more slowly in states that increase their minimum wage, according to a U.S. study that suggests this might be one strategy for curbing deaths by suicide. Although a small proportion of the population works for minimum wage... More »
(Reuters Health) – Widespread beliefs about sleeping include advice on how much sleep is enough, what quality sleep means and how to achieve it, but when these pronouncements are wrong, they can do more harm than good, researchers argue. The study team gathere... More »
(Reuters) – Generic drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd on Friday received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its generic nasal spray for opioid overdose, the health regulator said. This is the first approval of a gene... More »
(Reuters Health) – People who suffer from conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, a Swedish study suggests, and the risk may be greatest in the months right after stress disorders are diagnose... More »
(Reuters Health) – Older adults may feel younger than their age on days when they feel most in control of their lives, a small study suggests. People who believe they can influence the outcomes and events in their daily lives generally do feel a greater sense ... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Friday that it had confirmed outbreaks of African swine fever in two locations in Hainan province, an island off the country’s southern coast which it had hoped to keep free of the contagious disease. The disease, fatal to pig... More »
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – A New Zealand company pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges of adding artificial chemicals to its premium manuka honey, media reported, in a flagship prosecution over a product that is high-value export for the country. New Zealand Food S... More »
(Reuters) – British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc said on Monday the European Commission approved its diabetes drug Forxiga for use as an oral supplement to insulin in adults with a rare type of the disease. Forxiga can now be used along with insulin in patients w... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. border agents said they have seized 1 million pounds (453,592 kg) of food products from China this month, rather than 1 million pounds of pork as they had previously announced, as they work to keep out African swine fever. The containe... More »
(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve a drug developed by Sanofi SA and Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc intended for use with insulin in patients with type 1 diabetes, the companies said on Friday. The decision comes about two month... More »
(Reuters Health) – That nifty new health app you downloaded to your phone to keep track of your meds might be sharing your information with a host of unrelated companies, some of which have nothing to do with healthcare, a new study finds. When researchers ran... More »
(Reuters Health) – Kids with school attendance or truancy problems might be suffering from anxiety, a research review suggests. Chronic physical problems like asthma and diabetes have long been linked to an increased risk of school absences, poor grades and te... More »
(Reuters) – Tyson Foods is recalling some 69,000 pounds of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strips that may have been contaminated with metal, the top U.S. meat processor said on Friday, marking its second recall this year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (US... More »
(Reuters Health – In a small pilot study that screened 45 Ohio middle school students for cardiovascular risk factors, a third of the children had abnormal levels of cholesterol or blood sugar, and two kids were found to have undiagnosed diabetes. Guidelines r... More »
(Reuters) – Non-invasive heart valve replacement systems from Medtronic Plc and rival Edwards Lifesciences Corp proved as good or better than open heart surgery in younger, more active patients for whom the surgical option was deemed low risk, according to tri... More »
(Reuters Health) – Adults who spend just 20 minutes a day using a smartphone mindfulness training app may feel less lonely and have more social interactions than people who don’t, a small experiment suggests. While mindfulness training has long been linked to ... More »
(Reuters Health) – Teen drivers who wisely stow away their cell phones while they’re behind the wheel still need to be aware of another important risk factor for accidents, a small study suggests. Even when not distracted by their phones, adolescents who reach... More »
(Reuters Health) – After a raft of studies reassuring consumers that eggs are OK to eat, a new report associates an increasing risk of heart disease with the increasing consumption of eggs. The report, combining data from six earlier studies, found a 6 percent... More »
(Reuters Health) – Patients who need blockages cleared in their carotid arteries to reduce the risk of stroke may want to seek hospitals and doctors who do a lot of these procedures, a new research review suggests. These delicate procedures on a major artery c... More »
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s health ministry has called for Juul Labs Inc’s electronic cigarettes to be blocked from entering the country, a letter seen by Reuters showed, potentially dealing a blow to the U.S. company’s plans to tap the South Asian market. J... More »
(Reuters Health) – Just because the flagship hospital gets good marks for patient care doesn’t mean results will be equally good in affiliated hospitals in the same network, a new study finds. Researchers found variable surgical outcomes across networks associ... More »
(Reuters Health) – Patients with arthritic knees can add hip-strengthening exercises to their workout to improve the ability to walk and maybe reduce pain, according to a research review. Based on pooled data from eight clinical trials with a total of 340 pati... More »
(Reuters) – The Trump administration is working on a new payment approach for treating kidney disease that favors lower cost care at home and transplants, a change that would upend a dialysis industry that provides care in thousands of clinics nationwide. The ... More »
MONTREAL/LONDON (Reuters) – The Court of Appeal of Quebec upheld on Friday the bulk of a 2015 decision that awarded around C$15 billion ($11.29 billion)to smokers in the Canadian province, dealing a blow to Big Tobacco. The judgment involves class action suits... More »
(Reuters Health) – Three in four obese people with diabetes who had a common type of weight-loss operation called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) experienced remission of their diabetes within a year after surgery, a Danish study found. Five years later, 27 pe... More »
(Reuters) – U.S. health regulators said on Friday a third cancer-causing toxin was found in some blood pressure pills recalled by India’s Hetero Labs Ltd a day earlier, adding to a global recall of commonly used drugs to treat hypertension. The U.S. Food and D... More »
(Reuters Health) – When multiple doctors are on the job, there’s a higher likelihood that a correct diagnosis will be made, a new study suggests. Researchers found that diagnoses were far more accurate if they were the result of online physician crowdsourcing,... More »
(Reuters) – Endo International Plc said on Friday the U.S. health regulator has decided not to include blood pressure treatment vasopressin in its list of drugs that can be used in compounding, in a boost to the drugmaker that makes the only FDA-approved versi... More »
(Reuters Health) – People in Berkeley, California, dramatically cut their soda consumption after the city implemented a “soda tax,” a new study suggests. Three years after Berkeley passed its soda tax in November 2014, residents reported drinking half as many ... More »
(Reuters Health) – Adults who quit smoking decades ago may have a lower risk of rheumatoid arthritis than people who gave up cigarettes more recently, a U.S. study suggests. Smoking has long been linked to an increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis, and quittin... More »
(This February 28 story has been refiled to use initial caps in paragraph 7 to indicate that Transcendental Meditation is a registered trademark) By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) – Roughly half of U.S. adults suffer from sleep problems, and research suggests ... More »
(Reuters) – Drug developer UniQure NV said on Friday its gene therapy to treat hemophilia B increased the levels of a protein that helps in blood clotting after 12 weeks in a small study. The company’s shares rose 5.5 percent in light premarket trading. The up... More »
(Reuters) – Drugmakers warned on Friday that if Britain leaves the European Union without a deal next month Britons could miss out on an EU-wide system to fight counterfeit drugs that will go live on Saturday after years of British involvement in building it. ... More »
(Reuters Health) – Kids living with type 1 diabetes are no different from their peers in their reading and math test scores, a Danish study suggests. The less common form of diabetes, known as type 1, develops in childhood or young adulthood when the pancreas ... More »
(Reuters Health) – Surgery for shoulder pain that isn’t caused by an injury has no better results than nonsurgical options or placebo surgery, and comes with potential harms, an expert panel has concluded. The international panel of clinicians, researchers and... More »
(Reuters Health) – Patients may have less access to palliative care at U.S. hospitals that primarily serve minorities, a study suggests. Minorities in the U.S. often receive worse healthcare and have worse outcomes, researchers note in JAMA Network Open. Non-w... More »
(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it was taking action against certain retailers including Walgreen Boots Alliance for repeatedly flouting tobacco sale rules, including sale of cigars and menthol cigarettes to minors. Walgreens... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Prior infection with dengue, a mosquito-borne disease that infects nearly 400 million people a year, could reduce the risk of contracting Zika nearly by half, U.S. and Brazilian researchers reported on Thursday. The finding, published in th... More »
(Reuters) – Shares of U.S. gene therapy companies sank on Thursday after drugs developed by two small firms failed to show promise in separate clinical trials, underscoring the challenges in an emerging, lucrative field of biotech. Experimental treatments deve... More »
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s cabinet approved on Sunday a law to allow exports of medical cannabis in a move expected to boost state revenues and the agriculture sector, and which frustrates critics who fear it could lead to more recreational use of the drug... More »
GENEVA (Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak has spread southwards into an area with high security risks, the World Health Organization said. The outbreak, the country’s worst, has killed 439 of the 713 people believed to have caught the di... More »
(Reuters Health) – Roughly half of U.S. teens and young adults don’t have private time with doctors during their checkups, and may be less comfortable asking questions about their health as a result, researchers say. The study team examined nationally-represen... More »
(Reuters Health) – Patients who receive the flu vaccine while hospitalized are no more likely to develop fever or require extra doctor or hospital visits after they go home than inpatients who don’t get vaccinated, a large study suggests. Even though most peop... More »
(Reuters Health) – Shareable, two-wheeled standing scooters, which are the rage in some West Coast cities, may be more risky to riders – and pedestrians – than people think, researchers say. The battery-powered devices look like a skateboard with handlebars. R... More »
(Reuters Health) – – Video games with a physical activity component could help young children get more exercise during the school day, a small study suggests. Also called “exergaming,” popular games such as “Just Dance for Kids” and “Nickelodeon Fit” prompt ki... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – Dairy group Lactalis said on Friday it was recalling one of its infant formula brands as a precautionary move as the product was supplied by the same Spanish factory linked to several salmonella cases among babies in France. The company said ... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – The French army will provide logistical support to hunters tasked with culling wild boar in a border zone next to Belgium, as France tries to prevent an outbreak of a virulent swine disease, its agriculture minister said on Friday. France has... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s agriculture ministry on Sunday said a new outbreak of African swine fever had been confirmed in Gansu province in the northwest of the country. The outbreak occurred on a farm with 109 live pigs in Qingyang city, infecting 44 of the... More »
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s health ministry has sought to reassure HIV patients that sufficient antiretroviral (ARV) drugs will be available for their treatment after some hospitals had run out of supplies. At least 29 hospitals and health centres in Indon... More »
(Reuters) – A U.S. healthcare worker who was being monitored for the Ebola virus after treating patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo was released from a Nebraska hospital on Saturday after doctors said they had seen no signs of the deadly disease. The ... More »
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A new outbreak of African swine fever has hit two farms in Jiangsu province in eastern China, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday, as the highly contagious disease continues to spread through the world’s largest hog herd. ... More »
(Reuters Health) – Diabetic patients who take statins to treat high cholesterol may get an added benefit: a lower risk of damage to the retina, a new study suggests. Researchers found that diabetic patients taking statins were 14 percent less likely to develop... More »
(Reuters Health) – More than half of heart failure patients who visit the emergency room don’t receive prompt follow-up care, and a Canadian study suggests the delay is associated with more complications and lower survival. Researchers studied more than 34,000... More »
(Reuters) – Eli Lilly and Co remains in the hunt for cancer drugs even after announcing an $8 billion purchase of Loxo Oncology this week, but it plans to remain on the sidelines when it comes to two of the hottest areas of drug development. Lilly Chief Execut... More »
(Reuters Health) – Spending on health care advertising in the U.S. has almost doubled over the past two decades as companies compete for their share of the world’s biggest health care market, a U.S. study suggests. Annual health care marketing surged from $17.... More »
(Reuters Health) – A program that combines home modifications with specialized counseling may help seniors disabled by aging stay in their homes longer, a new study suggests. The program helped seniors regain independence and accomplish more activities of dail... More »
(Reuters Health) – A growing number of nurse practitioners are providing primary care in rural and low-income U.S. communities where the physician workforce is shrinking, a new study suggests. Nationwide, primary care doctors outnumber nurse practitioners (NPs... More »
(Reuters Health) – Kids may be more likely to develop depression and anxiety when their parents are regular drinkers, even when neither parent drinks enough to be considered an alcoholic, a Norwegian study suggests. Researchers studied 8,773 children from 6,69... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York City has launched a $100 million health insurance program to cover 600,000 uninsured residents, including those unable to afford coverage and those living in the United States illegally, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Tuesday. De Bl... More »
GENEVA (Reuters) – The palm oil industry is deploying tactics similar to those of the alcohol and tobacco industries to influence research into the health effects of its product, a study published by the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. Evidence of t... More »
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The highly contagious foot and mouth disease, which poses a threat to the livestock industry, has been detected in a northern district of South Africa’s Limpopo province, the country said on Tuesday. Positive laboratory results for the... More »
(Reuters Health) – Early menopause is more likely among women who were exposed to famine in the womb, a recent study in China suggests. Researchers compared the timing of menopause for 751 women born during a famine in China from 1959 to 1961 and for 1,029 wom... More »
(Reuters Health) – For people with high blood pressure, starting an exercise regimen may lower blood pressure by as much as taking medication would, a large analysis suggests. Researchers combined data from nearly 400 randomized trials that assessed the effect... More »
(Reuters Health) – When young boys gain a lot of weight at puberty, they may be increasing their risk of developing diabetes decades later, a Swedish study suggests. Researchers examined body mass index (BMI) measurements for 36,176 men when they were 8 years ... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has loosened the rules on the transportation of breeder pigs and piglets in provinces that are affected by the African swine fever, the agriculture ministry said on Thursday. The move, which came after Beijing reported more than 90 ca... More »
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Authorities in China are investigating a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) firm linked to the death of a young girl with cancer, after the case was rekindled online and reignited widespread anger over perceived failings in healthcare. An ... More »
(Reuters Health) – Patients undergoing surgery don’t often receive practical advice about what to do and what to expect during the recovery process, says a surgeon who has been on the giving and receiving end of post-op instructions. These directions need a mo... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Sanofi’s new pediatric vaccine immunizing children against six diseases, the French pharmaceutical lab said on Wednesday. Sanofi developed the new vaccine, dubbed Vaxelis, in partnership with Mer... More »
(Reuters Health) – Although space travel exposes astronauts to forms of radiation that are uncommon on Earth, and that are linked to cancers and heart problems, a U.S. study suggests this doesn’t significantly shorten their lives. Researchers compared nearly 6... More »
(Reuters Health) – Military personnel trained to change their own brain responses with a neurofeedback program may be able to reduce their risk of experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, researchers say. “If something can change in the brain to help soldi... More »
(Reuters Health) – – Millions of Americans have searched Google for information on how to understand, prevent and report sexual harassment and assault since the start of the #MeToo movement more than a year ago, a U.S. study suggests. In October 2017, followin... More »
(Reuters) – Merck KGaA and Pfizer Inc said on Friday they were ending a late-stage study for their drug to treat a form of ovarian cancer in previously untreated patients. The results showed the drug, Bavencio, in combination with, or as a follow-on treatment ... More »
(Reuters Health) – – For years, researchers have been studying medical conditions using huge swaths of patient data with identifying information removed to protect people’s privacy. But a new study suggests hackers may be able to match “de-identified” health i... More »
(Reuters Health) – – Isotretinoin, a drug for severe chronic acne, has long been linked to miscarriages, birth defects and other serious problems, but a research review suggests much of data on the drug’s safety, effectiveness and side effects may be unreliabl... More »
(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Stemline Therapeutics Inc’s Elzonris for the treatment of a rare blood disease in adults and children aged two years and above. This is the first approved treatment for the condition, blastic... More »
HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel said more than 90 percent of the Cuban doctors who had been providing medical care in Brazil have returned home after his government ended a cooperation deal following a diplomatic row. Cuba’s communist gov... More »
