Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Medical education not covering basics of nutrition

Although diet plays an outsize role in health and wellness and can be crucial to managing many common chronic conditions, medical schools tend not to devote much time to teaching future doctors about nutrition, a recent research review suggests. Researchers analyzed data from 24 previously published studies that focused on medical students' nutrition knowledge and confidence in their ability to counsel patients on diet. Overall, nutrition was insufficiently incorporated into medical education regardless of country, setting, or year of education, the review team found.

Drinking more soda and juice tied to increased diabetes risk

People who increase their consumption of sodas, juices and other sweet drinks over time are more likely than those who don't to develop diabetes, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers examined over two decades of data from more than 192,000 men and women who worked in nursing or other healthcare jobs. None of the participants had diabetes at the start of the study; by the end almost 12,000 people had developed the disease.

Stroke rates continue decline in the U.S.

Rates of stroke among U.S. adults over age 65 have steadily decreased over the past 30 years, according to a study that tracked participants from the 1980s through December 2017. Rates of decline were consistent across decades, sex and race, the study authors report in JAMA Neurology.

New York City sues online e-cigarette retailers over age verification

New York City has sued more nearly two dozen online e-cigarette retailers, accusing them of selling their products to underage New Yorkers, the city announced Wednesday. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday evening in Brooklyn federal court, targets 22 companies including Artison Vapor Franchise LLC, Eliquidstop.com and Vapor 4 Life Holdings Inc. All of them are located outside New York.

Gene testing firm gets 25-year ban in $42.6 million kickback settlement

A New Orleans-based genetics testing company and its three principals will pay $42.6 million to resolve charges they defrauded the federal government by paying kickbacks for referrals and billing for medically unnecessary tests, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday. UTC Laboratories Inc, which has also been known as Renaissance RX or RenRX, also agreed to a 25-year ban from participating in any federal healthcare program, the Justice Department said.

Alibaba to stop sales of e-cigarette components in United States

Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba said on Wednesday it will stop selling e-cigarette components in the United States, amid growing regulatory scrutiny and reports of lung disease and some deaths linked to vaping. The move follows announcements by Kroger Co and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc this week that they would stop selling e-cigarettes at their stores, in line with a similar decision by Walmart.

Humira, Rituxan top list of U.S. drugs with biggest price increases: report

AbbVie Inc's rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira and Roche Holding AG's cancer drug Rituxan topped a list of seven treatments whose combined 2017 and 2018 price hikes accounted for a $5.1 billion increase in U.S. spending, a report released on Tuesday showed. The price hikes were more than twice the rate of medical inflation and were not supported by any new clinical evidence, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) said in the analysis.

Trump administration to announce changes to anti-kickback rules for healthcare providers

The Trump administration will announce plans to change healthcare regulations on Wednesday to loosen anti-kickback provisions that restrict the kinds of outside services providers can refer patients to, administration officials said. President Donald Trump on Thursday will explain how the new rules advance his broader healthcare agenda, which includes reducing regulatory burdens and promoting innovative ways to reimburse healthcare providers, in a speech in Minnesota, the officials said.

China flies in 900 Danish breeding pigs to replenish herd

One of China's top pig farming companies imported 906 breeding pigs from Denmark this week, China's customs said on Wednesday, in the first import of live pigs in a year. The animals bought by C.P. Pokphand Co, China's fifth largest pig producer, arrived on a charter flight in August and spent over a month in quarantine in Xiangyang city in central Hubei province, according to a report on the website of China's General Administration of Customs.

Massive jury award against J&J highlights risks of its legal strategy

A jury award that hit Johnson & Johnson with $8 billion in punitive damages for a case involving its anti-psychotic drug Risperdal highlights the risks of the drugmaker's all-or-nothing legal strategy, several legal experts told Reuters on Wednesday. The jury in a Philadelphia court awarded the $8 billion to a man who previously won $680,000 over his claims that it failed to warn that young men using Risperdal could grow breasts.