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WHO agrees to tackle research on neglected diseases

Sat, 26 May 2012 12:16:33 -0400

Campaigners on Saturday welcomed a World Health Organization pledge to tackle research and funding gaps concerning some of the developing world's biggest killer diseases.

More Mental Health Care Urged for Kids Who Self-Harm

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:52:37 -0400

FRIDAY, May 25 (HealthDay News) -- Doctors have long known that some kids suffering severe emotional turmoil find relief in physical pain -- cutting or burning or sticking themselves with pins to achieve a form of release.

Combo Therapy May Help Ease 'Ringing in the Ears'

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:52:36 -0400

THURSDAY, May 24 (HealthDay News) -- One in five people suffers from tinnitus, the annoying and sometimes severely debilitating condition often referred to as "ringing in the ears," and new research may offer some hope for relief for these patients.

Women get less information on post-cancer fertility

Fri, 25 May 2012 15:32:53 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Cancer treatment can sometimes lead to infertility, but young women are less likely than young men to be informed of that risk, a new study suggests. Swedish researchers found that of nearly 500 cancer survivors ages 18 to 45, most men -- 80 percent -- said their doctor had told them their chemotherapy could affect their future fertility. But only 48 percent of women said the same, the team reports in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. What's more, women were far less likely to have received information about options for preserving their fertility. ...

EU body wants new guidance on Boehringer clot drug

Fri, 25 May 2012 06:06:54 -0400

LONDON (Reuters) - Doctors and patients should be given clearer guidance on how to avoid bleeding risks when using Boehringer Ingelheim's new stroke prevention pill Pradaxa, European regulators said on Friday. The European Medicines Agency said data continued to confirm the positive benefit-risk balance of the anticoagulant medicine, despite cases of fatal bleeding, but advice on the risks should be strengthened. Pradaxa is the first in a new class of medicines aimed at replacing the old and problematic drug warfarin. ...

Health Tip: Treating Osteoarthritis

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:53:50 -0400

(HealthDay News) -- Osteoarthritis, often referred to as "wear-and-tear arthritis," is characterized by the wearing away of the cartilage that covers the ends of bones that form the joints.

Health Highlights: May 24, 2012

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:53:50 -0400

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Flesh-Eating Bacteria No Cause for Panic, Experts Say

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:53:50 -0400

THURSDAY, May 24 (HealthDay News) -- Despite scary headlines by the score, most people don't have to fear that they'll be the next victim of the so-called flesh-eating bacteria disease, experts say.

Autism Often Not Diagnosed Until Age 5 or Older: U.S. Report

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:53:50 -0400

THURSDAY, May 24 (HealthDay News) -- Even though autism symptoms typically emerge before age 3, most children with autism are diagnosed when they're 5 or older, a new snapshot of autism in America shows.

U.S. Senate passes bipartisan FDA funding bill

Thu, 24 May 2012 18:14:34 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday showed near-unanimous support for a bill that helps fund the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a regulatory powerhouse with sweeping influence over the foods Americans eat and the medicines they take. The bill, which passed by a vote of 96 to 1, aims to speed approval of new drugs and devices and ensure food safety. It reauthorizes fees from companies like Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic Inc and Roche Holding AG that help speed FDA evaluation of new medical products prior to approval. ...

Novo obesity drug seen with 43 percent chance of approval

Thu, 24 May 2012 11:14:58 -0400

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish group Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Victoza has a 43 percent chance of being approved as an obesity treatment in the United States, according to a Reuters poll which found Danish bank analysts had the highest expectations. Novo Nordisk, the world's biggest insulin producer, is in phase three of studies to use Victoza to treat obesity and expects the treatment to be launched in the United States late in of 2014 or early 2015. Liraglutide, an active ingredient in Victoza, has shown it can be effective in helping obese people losing weight. ...

Missouri opts for untested drug for executions

Thu, 24 May 2012 10:10:16 -0400

The same anesthetic that caused the overdose death of pop star Michael Jackson is now the drug of choice for executions in Missouri, causing a stir among critics who question how the state can guarantee a drug untested for lethal injection won't cause pain and suffering for the condemned.

Obesity not always tied to higher heart risk: study

Thu, 24 May 2012 09:31:07 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - An obese person isn't inevitably at increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death, a new U.K. study finds. "The people really at risk are the ones who have obesity in combination with other metabolic health risk factors," said Mark Hamer, a principal research associate at University College London who worked on the study. ...

Cell Transplant Tested as Treatment for Nerve Pain in Mice

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:52:17 -0400

WEDNESDAY, May 23 (HealthDay News) -- A new study in mice suggests that scientists may someday be able to treat nerve pain by transplanting embryonic nerve cells to restore a broken nervous system.

Patients May Receive Too Much Acetaminophen in Hospital

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:52:16 -0400

WEDNESDAY, May 23 (HealthDay News) -- Roughly 2.5 percent of admitted hospital patients may receive more than the safe daily cumulative dose of the pain-reliever acetaminophen, best known as Tylenol, on at least one day, according to a new U.S. study.

Mouse Study Sheds Light on How Diet May Affect Epilepsy

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:52:16 -0400

WEDNESDAY, May 23 (HealthDay News) -- It's long been known that a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet can reduce epileptic seizures that resist drug therapy, and now researchers studying mice say they think they know why.

U.S. advisers reject J&J/Bayer's Xarelto for acute coronary patients

Wed, 23 May 2012 21:53:07 -0400

SILVER SPRING, Maryland (Reuters) - U.S. advisers recommended against expanding the use of Johnson & Johnson's blood thinner Xarelto as a way to reduce the risk of new heart attacks and strokes in people with heart problems. A panel of outside experts to the Food and Drug Administration voted on Wednesday that the pill should not be approved for people with acute coronary syndrome. J&J developed the drug in partnership with German drugmaker Bayer AG. ...

U.S. advisers reject new use for J&J/Bayer's Xarelto

Wed, 23 May 2012 17:51:48 -0400

Calcium Supplements Linked to Heart Attack Risk

Wed, 23 May 2012 11:42:14 -0400

Study Suggests Supplements, but Not Dietary Calcium, Raise Heart Attack Risk

Lab uses skin cells to help repair heart muscle

Wed, 23 May 2012 04:39:24 -0400

Lab scientists on Wednesday reported that for the first time they had taken skin cells from patients who had suffered heart failure and turned them into cells that could repair damaged cardiac muscle.

Inside America's Drug Shortage: Scrambling for a Solution

Wed, 23 May 2012 02:40:00 -0400

When Rebecca Robinson showed up at the hospital expecting to receive her infusion of Doxil, a chemotherapy drug, last July, her doctors delivered the shocking news that they didn't have any more of the drug.

Health Highlights: May 22, 2012

Tue, 22 May 2012 23:52:11 -0400

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Body Building, Diet Supplements Linked to Liver Damage: Study

Tue, 22 May 2012 23:52:11 -0400

TUESDAY, May 22 (HealthDay News) -- Body-building and weight-loss products are the types of dietary supplements most likely to cause liver injury, according to a small new study.

Asthma Meds May Be Linked to Irregular Heartbeat

Tue, 22 May 2012 23:52:09 -0400

TUESDAY, May 22 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that young asthma patients who use drugs known as inhaled anticholinergics -- such as ipratropium [Atrovent] -- could be more likely than others to suffer from potentially dangerous irregular heartbeat.

Third of malaria drugs in SE Asia are fake

Tue, 22 May 2012 16:45:24 -0400

More than a third of malaria drugs examined by scientists in Southeast Asia were fake, and a similar proportion analysed in Africa were below standard, doctors warned on Tuesday.