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| Chinese police bust million-dollar rat-meat ring Thursday, May 02, 2013 10:55 PM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police have broken a crime ring that passed off more than $1 million in rat and small mammal meat as mutton, authorities said, in a food safety crackdown that coincides with a bird flu outbreak and other environmental pressures. Authorities have arrested 904 suspects since the end of January for selling and producing fake or tainted meat products, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement posted on its website on Thursday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Los Angeles launches probe of alleged 'patient dumping' by Nevada Thursday, May 02, 2013 08:05 PM PDT By Ronnie Cohen SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Nevada health officials acknowledged on Thursday that a state-run hospital improperly bused 10 newly discharged psychiatric patients out of the state with deficient plans for their care, while Los Angeles launched a criminal probe into the alleged "patient dumping." Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital has been under fire since last month, after a Sacramento Bee investigative series reported that hospital staff gave as many as 1,500 patients one-way Greyhound bus tickets from Las Vegas to California and 46 other states over the past five years. ... Full Story | Top |
| Where's Lindsay Lohan? Not in rehab, apparently Thursday, May 02, 2013 06:10 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lindsay Lohan appeared to have skipped out on a court-ordered rehab program on Thursday, before doing a disappearing act and possibly violating her probation again. Although her lawyer assured a Los Angeles judge on Thursday that she had checked in to start a 90-day stint imposed for a June 2012 reckless driving case, Lohan was photographed about the same time shopping in a Southern California electronics superstore. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. sues owner of nation's biggest for-profit hospice chain Thursday, May 02, 2013 06:02 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is suing Chemed Corp and its hospice subsidiaries, including the biggest U.S. for-profit hospice chain, alleging false billings for Medicare hospice services. The government said on Thursday that its complaint accuses Chemed and its leading hospice subsidiary, Vitas Hospice Services, of being involved in the submission of false claims for crisis care services that proved to be unnecessary, were never actually provided or failed to meet Medicare requirements. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama comfortable with FDA decision to let 15-year-olds buy morning-after pill Thursday, May 02, 2013 05:08 PM PDT  By Steve Holland MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday he is comfortable with a U.S. government agency's decision to allow over-the-counter purchases of a morning-after pill for anyone 15 and older. Some critics have complained girls that young should not be allowed to purchase the pills without a doctor's approval. But Obama told a news conference in Mexico City that the decision was based on "solid scientific evidence." The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arena withdraws diet drug application in Europe; shares fall Thursday, May 02, 2013 04:28 PM PDT By Adithya Venkatesan (Reuters) - Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc withdrew an application to market its anti-obesity drug in the European Union, sending its shares down 15 percent in after-hours trading. The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) said certain "major objections" remain outstanding that preclude the recommendation of approval of the drug, according to the company. European health regulators raised objections on the marketing of the drug, Belviq, in late-January, following tumors in rats, heart valve disorders and psychiatric events. ... Full Story | Top |
| FDA advisers recommend against Delcath's cancer therapy Thursday, May 02, 2013 03:39 PM PDT (Reuters) - A panel of advisers to the U.S. health regulator unanimously recommended against approving Delcath Systems Inc's cancer therapy for a rare form of eye cancer that spreads to the liver, saying it was too risky. Concerns that the treatment may not win U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approval have driven New York-based Delcath's shares down by three-quarters from a year high of $2.94 in May. The shares fell heavily on Tuesday when FDA staff documents were released that showed serious concerns about the risks of the therapy, the only product Delcath has in development. (http://r. ... Full Story | Top |
| Healthcare law opponents sue Obama officials over IRS rules Thursday, May 02, 2013 03:18 PM PDT By Patrick Temple-West WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of individuals and businesses filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration's healthcare overhaul on Thursday, hoping to stop the law in states that have not set up new insurance exchanges. The complaint filed in the Washington federal court challenges federal rules issued in 2012 for implementing the president's 2010 healthcare law which goes into full force in January 2014. ... Full Story | Top |
| New Yorkers get heavy on bike share weight limit Thursday, May 02, 2013 02:05 PM PDT By Atossa Araxia Abrahamian NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City's upcoming public bike share program, Citibike, has already irked parking space seekers, food cart vendors and locals who resent seeing a Citibank sponsor logo on nearly every block. Now, heavier New Yorkers can be added to the list. According to the program's user contract, riders "must not exceed the maximum weight limit" of 260 pounds (120 kg) if they wish to sign up for the short-term bike rentals that will soon be available on city streets. ... Full Story | Top |
| Suicide rate rose sharply among middle-aged Americans, CDC finds Thursday, May 02, 2013 01:04 PM PDT By Atossa Araxia Abrahamian NEW YORK (Reuters) - The suicide rate among Americans aged 35 to 64 rose sharply between 1999 and 2010, a trend that could reflect the stresses of a sharp economic downturn as well as other traditionally overlooked challenges of middle age, according to a federal report released on Thursday. The annual rate of suicide rose 28 percent among Americans aged 35 to 64 during the study period, but changed little for older and younger people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The number of suicides among people in their 50s doubled in that time frame. ... Full Story | Top |
| Programs to reduce antibiotic use often work Thursday, May 02, 2013 12:37 PM PDT By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Programs that attempt to encourage or force hospital doctors to cut back on prescribing antibiotics achieve that goal and help reduce the number of dangerous drug-resistant bacteria, says a review of past research. According to the review's lead author, the fear is that doctors are prescribing too many antibiotics, which helps to breed hard-to-treat drug-resistant bacteria. It also leaves patients vulnerable to secondary, opportunistic infections like clostridium difficile - or "C. diff. ... Full Story | Top |
| MedEvac cost effective with modest use improvements Thursday, May 02, 2013 12:15 PM PDT By Trevor Stokes NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Emergency helicopter transport is expensive, but could become cost effective if it's used mainly for cases where it will make a measurable difference in trauma patients' survival or long-term disabilities, according to a new analysis. "For the routine use of helicopter emergency medical services to be considered good value for our health care dollars, there needs to be a modest reduction in mortality or some reduction in disability among patients who are flown out with serious injuries," said study author Dr. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lindsay Lohan raises prosecutors ire in last-minute rehab switch Thursday, May 02, 2013 11:44 AM PDT LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Lindsay Lohan entered a Southern California rehabilitation facility on Thursday as part of a court-ordered plea deal over a car crash last year, her lawyer said, but her last-minute switch of rehab centers left prosecutors fuming. Lohan, 26, initially agreed to complete a 90-day stay in a locked rehab facility in the New York area, but instead caught prosecutors off guard by checking into a facility in Newport Beach, about 40 miles south of Los Angeles. "Your honor, this is very inappropriate," Santa Monica City Deputy Attorney Terry White told the court. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Big insurers wary of entering new Obamacare markets Thursday, May 02, 2013 11:26 AM PDT  By Caroline Humer NEW YORK (Reuters) - The nation's largest health insurers are far from leaping at the chance to join new state health insurance exchanges under President Barack Obama's reform law, making it likely that some markets will have little or no competition next year. These new insurance marketplaces are due to open their doors on October 1 to enroll millions of Americans who have not been able to buy coverage on their own. ... Full Story | Top |
| FDA panel votes against Aveo's kidney cancer drug Thursday, May 02, 2013 10:48 AM PDT  By Toni Clarke (Reuters) - An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration recommended that the agency reject a kidney cancer drug made by Aveo Pharmaceuticals Inc and Astellas Pharma Inc, saying data from the clinical trial were inconsistent. In a 13-1 vote on Thursday, the panel said Aveo had not shown that the drug's benefits outweighed its risks in a well-controlled study, and said a second trial would be needed before the drug, tivozanib, should be approved. Aveo's shares fell as much as 57 percent on Thursday. ... Full Story | Top |
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