Reuters Health News Summary

Reuters

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Doctor, medical funder charged in New York in transvaginal mesh fraud

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 manufacturers, U.S. prosecutors in New York said. Urogynecologist Christopher Walker, 49, of Florida, and Wesley Barber, 49, of Michigan, were both charged with wire fraud and conspiracy in an indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn.

Groups sue over Alabama abortion law; judge blocks Mississippi ban

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit on Friday challenging a law enacted by Alabama last week that bans nearly all abortions and makes performing the procedure a felony punishable by up to 99 years in prison. The lawsuit is one of several the groups have filed or are preparing to file against states that recently passed strict anti-abortion measures in an effort to prompt the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark case that guarantees a woman's constitutional right to abortion.

Women in cardiac arrest less likely than men to get help from bystanders

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 States last year: men had an increased likelihood of receiving bystander support and greater chances of survival than women.

Support for abortion rights grows as some U.S. states curb access: Reuters/Ipsos poll

Americans have become more supportive of abortion rights over the past year, even as a wave of Republican-controlled state governments have imposed new restrictions, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Sunday. The poll found that 58% of American adults said abortion should be legal in most or all cases, up from 50% who said that in a similar poll that ran in July 2018.

Novartis $2 million gene therapy for rare disorder is world's most expensive drug

Swiss drugmaker Novartis on Friday won U.S. approval for its gene therapy Zolgensma for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the leading genetic cause of death in infants, and priced the one-time treatment at a record $2.125 million. The Food and Drug Administration approved Zolgensma for children under the age of two with SMA, including those not yet showing symptoms. The approval covers babies with the deadliest form of the inherited disease as well as those with types where debilitating symptoms may set in later.

Teva Pharm to pay Oklahoma $85 million to settle opioid claims

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd said on Sunday it had agreed to pay an $85 million settlement with the state of Oklahoma days before the company was set to face trial over allegations that it and other drugmakers helped fuel the U.S. opioid epidemic. Teva, the world's largest generic drugmaker, said the settlement "does not establish any wrongdoing on the part of the company" and denied contributing to opioid abuse in Oklahoma.

Mexico budget cuts hit patient care and delay kids' surgeries, doctors warn

Mexico's hospitals are reeling under steep budget cuts by the country's new government, with surgery delays for children, reductions in testing and staffing shortages, hospital directors said on Friday, fanning anger over President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's austerity measures. In its first budget in December, the government slashed the budget from several ministries as it sought to centralize spending and fight public sector corruption. It was also eager to honor a campaign pledge to run a tight budget.