Health News Headlines

WASHINGTON (AP) — Health officials are investigating cases involving patients who suffered complications after being injected with potentially contaminated medications made by a Tennessee specialty pharmacy.

When she was 32, Wendy Drabick opened her own IT and accounting consulting business and started paying health insurance premiums for herself and her family, now a hefty $1,100 every month. That’s about $10,000 more each year than she’d be paying if she worked for a large employer who paid most of the premium. Drabick isn’t …

By Sharon Begley NEW YORK (Reuters) - A long-awaited report on workplace wellness programs, which has still not been publicly released, delivers a blow to the increasingly popular efforts, Reuters has learned, casting doubt on a pillar of the Affordable Care Act and a favorite of the business community. According to a report …

Prince the goat alerts Sara Manley as to when she'll need her medication.        

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Back pain, migraine and other types of chronic pain without a known physical cause - and therefore little prospect for relief - were associated with an increased risk of suicide in a new study of U.S. veterans. But the researchers, who analyzed data on about five million patients …

By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A long-growing backlog of U.S. military veterans' disability claims, which has stoked congressional anger, has dipped in recent weeks, however tentatively. But that is not taking any pressure off President Barack Obama, his Department of Veterans Affairs or the Pentagon to fix a system …

By Dave Warner PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A Philadelphia couple charged with murder after their baby died without medical care must be held in jail whether or not they make bail, a judge ruled on Friday. The couple, Herbert and Catherine Schaible, believe in faith healing, and those who share their beliefs might be willing …

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite expert guidelines advising against intense sports activity for people with implanted heart defibrillators, a new study suggests that some can compete without serious consequences. Researchers followed 372 athletes with defibrillators for about two and a half years …

By Toni Clarke (Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it has received seven reports of illnesses in patients who took steroid injections compounded by a pharmacy in Tennessee. The FDA said full clinical information about the patients is still being gathered, but it suggested some of the problems were …

By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - Ista Pharmaceuticals Inc pleaded guilty on Friday to charges it used kickbacks and improper marketing to boost sales of a drug meant to treat eye pain and agreed to pay $33.5 million to settle criminal and civil liability, the U.S. Department of Justice said. The unit of eye care company …

By Greg Roumeliotis and Jessica Toonkel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Canada's Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is nearing a deal to acquire eye care company Bausch & Lomb Holdings Inc from Warburg Pincus LLC for about $9 billion, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday. Valeant shares spiked to their highest level …

Here’s a tidbit you probably didn’t know: Gonorrhea is the second-most frequently reported “notifiable” disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). (That means that if you have it, your doctor or local health official needs to report it to the federal government so they can track it; gonorrhea is beaten …

(Reuters) - Drugmaker Forest Laboratories received a subpoena earlier this month from U.S. prosecutors requesting documents relating to its small-selling lung disorder product, the Tudorza Pressair inhaler, the company said in a filing. The New York-based company said it was cooperating with the request in the May 6 subpoena. …

Millions of people who suffer from depression believe their antidepressants help them. But the evidence is that antidepressants work no better than “talk therapy” (aka psychotherapy, or counseling); that many different types of psychotherapy work equally well; and that what gets most of us out of an immobilizing bout of …

Protect yourself from food poisoning, sunburn and other Memorial Day mishaps.        

State health officials found no evidence of new viruses or bacteria in the cluster of cases.        

The Alabama mystery illness turned out to be coincidence, attributed to cold and flu.        

By Lavinia Mo HONG KONG (Reuters) - The new H7N9 bird flu virus can be transmitted between mammals not only via direct contact but also in airborne droplets, and may be capable of spreading from person to person, Chinese and American researchers have found. A study published in the journal Science and presented at a briefing …