Health News

U.S. orders suicide warnings on two anti-smoking drugs

2009-07-02T13:57:01Z

U.S. health officials on Wednesday ordered Pfizer Inc and GlaxoSmithKline PLC to add strong "black box" warnings on their anti-smoking drugs to highlight the risk of serious mental health problems, including suicidal thoughts.
The warnings, which must be added to Pfizer's Chantix and Glaxo's Zyban, follow more than five thousand reports of depression, hostility and other behavioral changes, the Food and Drug Administration said. . . .

Reuters - July 1, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE56060X20090702?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

US obesity problem 'intensifies'

2009-07-02T13:13:16Z

Obesity rates in the US have surged over the last year, a report shows.
The Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found adult obesity rates rose in 23 of the 50 states, but fell in none. . . .

BBC News - July 1, 2009

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8129184.stm

Study Dismisses Protein's Role in Heart Disease

2009-07-01T16:45:23Z

A blood protein that only a short time ago was thought by some to be more important than cholesterol in heart disease now appears to be little more than a bystander.
The substance, C-reactive protein, or CRP, a marker of inflammation in the body, is unquestionably associated with heart disease: the more CRP in a person's blood, the greater the likelihood of heart disease. . . .

The New York Times - June 30, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/health/01heart.html

Panel Suggests U.S. Medical Priorities

2009-07-01T16:37:59Z

An influential scientific advisory panel has recommended that federal officials give top priority to comparing the effectiveness of competing medical strategies in areas that include treating prostate cancer, reducing hospital infections and lowering the rate of unwanted pregnancies.
In a highly anticipated report, released Tuesday morning, a panel assembled by the Institute of Medicine released a list of 100 health topics that it said should get high priority as the Obama administration proceeded with a plan to spend $1.1 billion in comparing the effectiveness of competing drugs, medical devices, operations and other treatments for specific health conditions. . . .

The New York Times - June 30, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/health/policy/01compare.html

FDA panel calls for restrictions on Tylenol, Vicodin, Percocet

2009-07-01T15:51:51Z

Government experts called for sweeping safety restrictions Tuesday on the most widely used painkiller, including reducing the maximum dose of Tylenol and eliminating prescription drugs such as Vicodin and Percocet.
The Food and Drug Administration assembled 37 experts to recommend ways to reduce deadly overdoses with acetaminophen, the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S., which sends 56,000 people to the emergency room annually. About 200 die each year. . . .

L.A. Times - July 1, 2009

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-na-tylenol1-2009jul01,0,2246759.story?track=rss

U.S. urged to compare Alzheimer, ADD, other therapies

2009-07-01T15:01:45Z

An Institute of Medicine committee urged the U.S. government on Tuesday to fund studies comparing treatments for Alzheimer's disease, attention deficit disorder and other conditions as part of a new effort to determine which strategies work best. . . .

Reuters - June 30, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE55T4KI20090630?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Universal embryo test 'very near'

2009-06-30T18:06:04Z

A gene mapping test that can test embryos for almost any inherited disease could be available in the UK within a year, say researchers. . . .

BBC News - June 30, 2009

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8126950.stm

Drug cos at odds with FDA over acetaminophen risk

2009-06-30T18:00:08Z

Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble and other manufacturers on Monday said cough and cold drugs with the pain reliever acetaminophen should stay on the market despite concerns from U.S. regulators. . . .

Reuters - June 29, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE55S62120090629?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Study Warns of Hazards for Elderly Using Walking Aids

2009-06-30T17:16:55Z

About 47,000 older Americans are treated in emergency rooms each year from falls associated with walkers and canes, according to a study that suggests that there is room for improvement in the use and design of walking aids.
"It's important to make sure people use these devices safely," said Judy A. Stevens, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the study's lead author. "It gives them greater independence, but at the same time it can be a hazard if not used properly."
The study, which was released Monday and is to be published in this month's Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, found that 87 percent of fall injuries involved walkers and 12 percent involved canes. . . .

The New York Times - June 29, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/health/30fall.html

WHO says H1N1 virus is stable, not yet mutating

2009-06-26T16:10:40Z

The World Health Organization said Thursday that the H1N1 virus was stable and there was no sign yet of it mixing with other influenza viruses. . . .

Reuters - June 25, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE55O4CS20090625?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Panel: 1 less shot needed to treat rabies

2009-06-25T21:30:00Z

People exposed to rabies need only four vaccinations, not the five currently recommended, a vaccine advisory committee said Wednesday. In the past, rabies shots were dreaded almost as much as the disease itself. Until the 1970s, an encounter with a rabid animal led to at least 14 shots in the abdomen. But vaccines have improved, and five shots in the arm or thigh have been the U.S. standard for more than 20 years. . . .

USATODAY.com - June 24, 2009

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-06-24-rabies-vaccine_N.htm?csp=34

Radiation not needed in common childhood cancer

2009-06-25T20:56:14Z

Children can be treated for a common form of childhood leukemia without bombarding the brain with radiation, reducing the risk that they will suffer additional tumors and thinking problems, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. . . .

Reuters - June 24, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE55N5PK20090624?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Weight-loss surgery cuts cancer risks in women

2009-06-24T17:34:42Z

Weight-loss surgery may help obese women lower their risk of developing cancer, Swedish researchers said on Tuesday.
They found women who had weight-loss surgery were 42 percent less likely to develop cancer during a 10-year study published in the journal Lancet Oncology. . . .

Reuters - June 23, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE55N01M20090624?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Pancreatic cancer risk rises with excess weight

2009-06-24T17:16:30Z

Individuals who are overweight in early adulthood have an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, while obesity in older age is associated with lower survival rates among patients with this difficult to treat malignancy, new research shows. . . .

Reuters - June 23. 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE55M6SR20090623?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Bad test results often not reported to U.S. patients

2009-06-22T21:29:42Z

Doctors in the United States fail to tell patients about abnormal test results 7 percent of the time, or a rate of about 1 out of every 14 tests, U.S. researchers said on Monday. . . .

Reuters - June 22, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE55L5LT20090622?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews