Today's Reuters Health News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
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GE Healthcare to pay $30 million to settle False Claims Act
Thu,29 Dec 2011 08:36 PM PST
Reuters - (Reuters) - General Electric Co's healthcare equipment unit paid more than $30 million to settle allegations that a company it bought in 2004 provided false information to overcharge Medicare for a drug used to diagnose heart disease, the Justice Department said. The Justice Department on Thursday said the government alleged Amersham Health Inc violated the False Claims Act as it misled Medicare by showing artificially inflated rates of the drug Myoview. The False Claims Act allows governments to join lawsuits filed by whistle-blowers who spot fraud involving taxpayers dollars. ... Full Story | Top |
Stem cell research on donor eggs often not disclosed
Thu,29 Dec 2011 02:26 PM PST
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Many U.S. fertility clinics don't tell egg donors that embryos made from their eggs may end up being used in stem cell research, according to a new government survey. That's despite widespread opposition to such research, which is considered morally offensive by a third of Americans, researchers write in the journal Fertility and Sterility. They found that among 100 fertility clinics, two said they didn't have a consent form for women donating eggs. ... Full Story | Top |
Insight: Breast implant scandal shows regulators in dark on risk
Thu,29 Dec 2011 02:26 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Long before the latest global breast implant scare, American health officials were toying with the idea of building a registry that would track patients with implants. The registry would give a better idea of the number of complications over time, such as rupture or infection. But to this day, none exists for the world's largest healthcare market, which often serves as a global model for regulatory practice. Some individual countries in Europe have made their own attempts but with only limited success, and there is no continent-wide registry. ...
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Italy orders list of women with French firm's implants
Thu,29 Dec 2011 01:37 PM PST
Reuters -  ROME (Reuters) - Italy will tell hospitals and clinics to compile a list of women who received breast implants from a French firm accused of selling faulty prosthetics, Health Minister Renato Balduzzi said Thursday. Clinics that had not used any implants manufactured by the now-defunct French firm Poly Implant Prosthese (PIP) would be required to send a declaration saying they had not done so, he said. PIP is accused of selling breast implants made with industrial rather than medical silicone, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of women worldwide. ...
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Milk intake in teens tied to later prostate cancer
Thu,29 Dec 2011 01:30 PM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older Icelandic men who remember chugging a lot of milk in their teens are three times as likely to be diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer as more-moderate milk drinkers, researchers have found. That makes them wonder whether the years around puberty, during which the prostate matures, could be a time of heightened vulnerability for the gland. ...
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Special bike helps lung disease patients get around
Thu,29 Dec 2011 12:27 PM PST
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A modernized version of the world's first bicycle could help some people with emphysema get around more easily, a small pilot study suggests. The study, published in the journal Chest, looked at the effects of a walking aid dubbed the "modern draisine." The draisine, which was invented in 1817, was a pedal-free prototype for today's bicycle. Some manufacturers are now making a draisine-like device as a walking aid for people with mobility problems: They sit on the seat and hold the handlebars while using their feet on the ground to propel themselves along. ... Full Story | Top |
Estrogen helps nighttime hot flashes, not sleep
Thu,29 Dec 2011 12:26 PM PST
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who wake up at least three times during the night from bothersome hot flashes wake up less when they take estrogen, but the quality of their sleep remains the same, according to a new study. "There may be a benefit for treating with estrogen, but in no way does it show that you can use estrogens as a general sleep aid," said lead author Dr. Kathleen Reape, the vice president for medical affairs and women's health at Watson Pharmaceuticals. Estrogen is already known to reduce hot flashes in women going through menopause, Reape told Reuters Health. ... Full Story | Top |
Statins tied to lower risk of fatal prostate cancer
Thu,29 Dec 2011 11:58 AM PST
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a new study of middle-aged New Jersey men, taking cholesterol-lowering drugs was linked to a lower chance of dying from prostate cancer. The findings don't prove that the drugs, called statins, ward off aggressive cancer. But they jibe with previous studies suggesting that getting cholesterol levels under control might help reduce the risk of life-threatening disease, researchers said. "People may be on these medications for their heart, but it may actually be doing them some good for their prostate," said study author Dr. ... Full Story | Top |
Rick Perry's abortion view at odds with wife?
Thu,29 Dec 2011 10:06 AM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry's new opposition to abortion in almost any situation may appease conservatives in Iowa, but it moved his views further from those of a sexual abuse organization supported by his wife, Anita. During an emotional appearance this week while campaigning for the January 3 Iowa caucuses that kick off the presidential nominating process, the Texas governor said he had undergone a "transformation" in his views toward abortion. ...
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British heart group calls for plain tobacco packs
Thu,29 Dec 2011 08:23 AM PST
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Heart health campaigners urged the British government Thursday to follow Australia's lead and ban all eye-catching designs and branding from cigarette packs to stop young people being lured into smoking. Australia is preparing to become the first nation to introduce so-called "plain" packaging on tobacco products by the end of 2012. The packs will show graphic health warnings about smoking but banish attractive colors and logos. ... Full Story | Top |
India's southeast coast braces as cyclone approaches
Thu,29 Dec 2011 06:43 AM PST
Reuters -  CHENNAI, Dec 29 (AlertNet) - India's weather office called on Thursday for villages to be evacuated, farmers to protect their crops and fishermen to stay ashore hours before a cyclone was due to strike the southeast coast. With winds of up to 155 kph (96 mph), cyclone Thane is moving in from the Bay of Bengal and is expected to reach the coast within the next 12 hours, close to the former French colonial town of Pondicherry in Tamil Nadu state. "Total suspension of fishing operations. Coastal hutment dwellers to be moved to safer place. ...
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Venezuela's Chavez: Did U.S. give Latin American leaders cancer?
Wed,28 Dec 2011 10:51 PM PST
Reuters -  CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez speculated on Wednesday that the United States might have developed a way to give Latin American leaders cancer, after Argentina's Cristina Fernandez joined the list of presidents diagnosed with the disease. It was a typically controversial statement by Venezuela's socialist leader, who underwent surgery in June to remove a tumor from his pelvis. But he stressed that he was not making any accusations, just thinking aloud. "It would not be strange if they had developed the technology to induce cancer and nobody knew about it until now ... ...
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Spas focus on coaching, gaming, feet in 2012
Wed,28 Dec 2011 09:09 PM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters)- - Beauty coaching, online wellness, snow showers and sound massages are just a few of the luxury treatments clients at spas around the globe will be experiencing in 2012. Massages and facials will still be big draws for the $250 billion industry, but spas will be branching out into more personal coaching programs, spa parties and packages for families and even online games, according to a new report. "Overall, we see two distinct themes emerging. ...
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Obesity tied to older adults' risk of falls: study
Wed,28 Dec 2011 06:08 PM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Obese older adults may be more likely than their thinner peers to suffer a potentially disabling fall -- though the most severely overweight may be somewhat protected from injury, according to a U.S. study. Falls are often seen as a problem for thin, frail older adults, since their bones are especially prone to fractures, but obesity carries its own risks, said researchers whose findings appeared in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. ...
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Mead Johnson confirms FDA visits in Enfamil probe
Wed,28 Dec 2011 04:25 PM PST
Reuters - (Reuters) - U.S. health inspectors this week visited an Enfamil baby formula factory run by Mead Johnson Nutrition Co as part of an investigation into the cause of bacterial infections that killed one infant and sickened another, a company spokesman said on Wednesday. The visit is standard procedure in such investigations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said Mead Johnson spokesman Chris Perille. Mead Johnson's own tests have twice found no sign of the bacterium at issue, Cronobacter. ... Full Story | Top |
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