Today's Reuters Health News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
|
|
California lawmakers vote to ban gay "conversion" therapy for minors
Tue,28 Aug 2012 07:43 PM PDT
Reuters - SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - California's state Assembly approved a bill on Tuesday to prohibit children and teenagers from undergoing a controversial therapy that aims to reverse homosexuality, moving the state closer to becoming the first to impose such a ban. The 51-21 vote in the Democratic-controlled Assembly marked a major victory for gay rights advocates who say the so-called conversion therapy has no medical basis because homosexuality is not a disorder. ... Full Story | Top |
WellPoint CEO Braly steps down, Cannon named interim CEO
Tue,28 Aug 2012 06:32 PM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - WellPoint Inc Chief Executive Angela Braly abruptly stepped down from her post on Tuesday following growing investor dissatisfaction with the health insurer's financial performance. WellPoint, the No. 2 U.S. health insurer, said it will look at both internal and external candidates for a replacement. Shares in the company rose more than 4 percent in after-hours trading. John Cannon, the company's executive vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary and chief public affairs officer, will serve as interim president and CEO, WellPoint said. ... Full Story | Top |
Obama knocks Republicans, courts students in campaign swing
Tue,28 Aug 2012 05:21 PM PDT
Reuters -  FORT COLLINS, Colo. (Reuters) - President Barack Obama told college audiences in two political battleground states on Tuesday to beware of the rhetoric from the Republican Party's convention in Florida. "This week in Tampa, my opponents will offer you their agenda. It should be a pretty entertaining show," Obama said during a campaign stop at Iowa State University. "I'm sure they'll have some wonderful things to say about me, but what you won't hear from them is a path forward that meets the challenges of our time," he said. ...
Full Story | Top |
FDA warns Hospira over Costa Rica infusion pump plant
Tue,28 Aug 2012 04:44 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - Hospira Inc said it had received a warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over quality problems at the Costa Rican plant that makes most of its infusion pumps. The warning, stemming from an April inspection by U.S. regulators, does not restrict production or product shipments from the plant in La Aurora de Heredia, Costa Rica, Hospira said on Tuesday in a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. ... Full Story | Top |
Former Senator Arlen Specter diagnosed with cancer again
Tue,28 Aug 2012 03:46 PM PDT
Reuters -  PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Former Senator Arlen Specter, a major political figure in Pennsylvania and Washington for more than four decades, is once again fighting cancer, his office said Tuesday. A statement issued by Specter's office did not specify the type of cancer he is fighting, and a spokesman declined to elaborate. Specter, 82, survived Hodgkin's lymphoma, or cancer of the lymphatic system, in 2005. His office also declined to comment on local media reports that Specter has been hospitalized. "I'm battling cancer," Specter said in the statement. "It's another battle I intend to win. ...
Full Story | Top |
Yosemite: 1,700 may have had exposure to rodent-borne illness
Tue,28 Aug 2012 02:27 PM PDT
Reuters -  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yosemite National Park is warning 1,700 people that they may have been exposed to a potentially deadly rodent-borne lung disease while staying in the famous California park, and said that two visitors had died from the illness known as hantavirus. The tourists who died had stayed in Curry Village, a popular camping area tucked below the park's sheer granite walls, a Yosemite spokesman said on Tuesday. A third visitor was sickened by the virus but recovering. ...
Full Story | Top |
More signs MRI is safe for people with pacemakers
Tue,28 Aug 2012 01:54 PM PDT
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A small study adds to mounting evidence that MRI scans may be safe for people with pacemakers or implanted defibrillators. Manufacturers currently warn against putting the devices into MRI scanners, whose strong magnetic field might in principle cause the metal wires from the devices to heat up and burn the heart tissue. Apart from injuring the heart, that could also upset the electric properties of the delicate devices. But more and more research suggests those worries, which are entirely theoretical, could turn out to be unfounded, said Dr. ...
Full Story | Top |
Energy drink makers face NY state probe
Tue,28 Aug 2012 01:09 PM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - The New York State Attorney General issued subpoenas in July to three firms that make energy drinks, including PepsiCo Inc, seeking information on the companies' marketing and advertising practices, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Besides Pepsi, maker of AMP, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman also sent subpoenas to Monster Beverage Corp and Living Essentials LLC, maker of the 5-Hour Energy drink, said the source, who declined to be identified, citing lack of authorization to speak to the media. A spokeswoman for Schneiderman declined to comment, as did PepsiCo. ...
Full Story | Top |
CDC strengthens brain-eating ameba, neti pot link
Tue,28 Aug 2012 01:08 PM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Rinsing their noses with untreated tap water probably ended up killing two Louisiana residents last year, according to an investigation of the widely reported deaths by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tap water samples from the two homes both contained Naegleria fowleri, a tiny ameba that can travel from the nose to the brain and cause fatal infections. ... Full Story | Top |
FDA advisers back wider use of Abbott's Humira
Tue,28 Aug 2012 12:54 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories Inc won a U.S. panel's support on Tuesday for wider use of its blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug, Humira, for treating a type of inflammatory bowel disease. A panel of outside advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted 15 to 2 that the benefits of Humira outweighed its risks in treating ulcerative colitis. The drug is already approved for six other conditions. The FDA usually follows panel recommendations, although it is not required to do so. A final decision is expected by the end of the year. ... Full Story | Top |
European rights court raps Italy on embryo screening
Tue,28 Aug 2012 10:19 AM PDT
Reuters - STRASBOURG (Reuters) - The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday that Italy violated the rights of a couple carrying cystic fibrosis by preventing them from screening in vitro fertilization (IVF)embryos to avoid giving the disease to any future children. The ruling, which can be appealed, puts pressure on Italy to change its law and several Italian politicians renewed their calls for a change in the laws on assisted reproduction. The Strasbourg-based court ordered the Italian government to pay the couple 17,500 euros ($21,900) in damages and expenses. ... Full Story | Top |
Routine screening catches child abuse in ER
Tue,28 Aug 2012 09:27 AM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Routinely screening all children seen in the ER for signs of maltreatment seems to have improved child abuse detection in the Netherlands, a new study finds. The progress suggests that such systematic screening helps catch more cases of child abuse, researchers report in the journal Pediatrics. But whether the findings could extend to other countries is unclear. And one emergency physician doubted the usefulness in U.S. hospitals. It's estimated that about one in 30 children in the Netherlands are victims of abuse. ... Full Story | Top |
Two dead in Legionnaires' outbreak tied to Chicago hotel
Tue,28 Aug 2012 08:51 AM PDT
Reuters - CHICAGO (Reuters) - Two people died and six others became ill after contracting Legionnaires' disease in an outbreak linked to a Chicago Marriott hotel this summer, city health officials said. The eight cases were among 8,500 people staying at the JW Marriott between July 16 and August 16. Marriott officials said Tuesday they have been able to contact 80 percent of the guests who stayed at the downtown hotel during that time to alert them of the possible risk. There is "no ongoing health threat at the hotel," according to Dr. ... Full Story | Top |
No risks seen with flu shot in early pregnancy
Tue,28 Aug 2012 08:43 AM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Adding to evidence that the flu shot is safe for pregnant women, a new study finds no link between the vaccine and the risk of serious birth defects. The study, of nearly 9,000 pregnant women who got the flu shot, found that about 2 percent had a baby with a major birth defect, such as a malformation in the heart or a cleft lip. That was identical to the rate among almost 77,000 pregnant women who did not get the vaccine. What's more, researchers found, women who got vaccinated were less likely to suffer a stillbirth (a pregnancy loss after the 20th week): 0. ... Full Story | Top |
Pig parasite may help treat autoimmune disorders
Tue,28 Aug 2012 08:37 AM PDT
Reuters -  BOSTON (Reuters) - If you had a chronic and potentially debilitating condition such as rheumatoid arthritis or Crohn's disease, and swallowing the eggs of a pig parasite could help, would you do it? The team at Coronado Biosciences Inc is betting you would. The Burlington, Massachusetts, company is developing what it hopes will be the first in a new class of treatments for autoimmune conditions. Each dose of the drug consists of thousands of microscopic parasite eggs, culled from pig feces, suspended in a tablespoon of saline solution to be swallowed. ...
Full Story | Top |
| |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment