Today's Reuters Health News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
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German body questions InterMune drug, shares drop
Thu,15 Dec 2011 06:27 PM PST
Reuters - (Reuters) - Shares of InterMune Inc fell as much as 30 percent on Thursday, after a German advisory body raised questions on the clinical benefits of its lung drug Esbriet, raising concerns about reimbursement for the drug. The Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG), an independent scientific institute that provides recommendations to the Germany's reimbursement authority, said treatment with Esbriet, also known as pirfenidone, showed no "additional benefit" or effect on the mortality rate or quality of life. ... Full Story | Top |
Dutch pot sales to foreigners go up in smoke
Thu,15 Dec 2011 04:13 PM PST
Reuters - AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The reputation of the Netherlands as the go-to country for a legal joint will begin to vanish like a puff of smoke next year as sales to foreigners of cannabis and hashish in coffee shops are banned. The Dutch government has been clamping down on the sale of soft drugs since 2007 because of gang-related crime and concern about the risk to health, particularly as stronger forms of cannabis have been introduced. "The Dutch drugs policy's appeal to foreign users has to be reduced," Dutch Security and Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten said in a letter to parliament. ... Full Story | Top |
Amgen names new CEO, raises quarterly dividend
Thu,15 Dec 2011 03:49 PM PST
Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Amgen Inc , the world's largest biotechnology company, said Chief Executive Officer Kevin Sharer will retire next May, and be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Bob Bradway. Sharer, 63, will retire as chairman at the end of 2012. He has been Amgen's CEO since 2000, over a period in which the company's stock price has been largely flat. "He did not create a lot of shareholder value in his tenure. Whether that was his fault or not is a question," said Cowen & Co analyst Eric Schmidt. ... Full Story | Top |
"Virtual visits" unpopular among cancer survivors
Thu,15 Dec 2011 02:32 PM PST
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a new survey of breast cancer survivors, few people said that having a follow-up appointment with a doctor or nurse over the phone or online instead of in person would ease their stress and worry. Some researchers believe so-called virtual visits might be an option for continuing care as the number of cancer survivors in the United States grows and cancer doctors are stretched increasingly thin. "There's been a lot of interest in introducing virtual visits into medical oncology follow-up," said study co-author Dr. ... Full Story | Top |
Many surgeons don't discuss post-op medical wishes
Thu,15 Dec 2011 02:29 PM PST
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new survey of surgeons suggests many fail to discuss their patients' wishes in case a risky operation goes awry, and even more would not operate if patients limited what could be done to keep them alive. Such medical wishes, called advance directives, outline what can and cannot be done if patients are unable to decide for themselves, but the restrictions are debated among doctors. "(Surgeons) feel the advance directive basically ties their hands behind their back, and they're not given the tools to get them through the surgery," said Dr. ... Full Story | Top |
Kenyan doctors call off 10-day strike: union
Thu,15 Dec 2011 02:28 PM PST
Reuters - NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan doctors called off a 10-day strike on Wednesday that patients' families said had left the ill to die, after the government agreed to meet some of their pay demands. Around 2,300 doctors and dentists walked out last week demanding a 300 percent pay rise, saying they had not received any improvement in salaries for more than a decade. Doctors earn around 35,000 shillings ($390) a month, their union says, while contending with inflation at 20 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
Study finds death penalty use in decline
Thu,15 Dec 2011 02:24 PM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Use of the death penalty has fallen to its lowest level since capital punishment was reinstated in the United States in 1976, according to a report released on Thursday by a nonprofit that tracks death penalty data. The Washington-based Death Penalty Information Center reported a 75 percent drop in death sentences since 1996. Through mid-December, there were 78 new death sentences in 2011, compared to 112 a year earlier. It is the first time the number has dropped below 100 in a single year since the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment, the group said. ...
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U.S. panel raps how agencies handle human research
Thu,15 Dec 2011 02:23 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. government agencies fund thousands of studies on human subjects, but do not have a very good handle on the basic information about that research -- possibly putting participants in harm's way, a presidential panel of reviewers has found. The presidential bioethics commission looked into the current protections for human subjects in a review triggered by evidence of unethical behavior in a 1940s experiment that deliberately infected Guatemalan prison inmates and mental patients with sexually transmitted disease. The commission earlier this year concluded that U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
Generic drugmakers to build warning system on shortages
Thu,15 Dec 2011 02:14 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Generic drugmakers plan to work with distributors, wholesalers and others to create an advance warning system for medicines that are in short supply, the head of the U.S. generic industry's trade group said on Thursday. The private-sector system would supplement a notification system used by U.S. health officials to inform patients and others of looming supply problems for these life-saving medications, most of which are generic. The number of drug shortages has escalated this year to a record 220 medicines, up from 56 in 2006. ... Full Story | Top |
Republican Ryan backs new bipartisan Medicare Plan
Thu,15 Dec 2011 01:38 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican lawmaker Paul Ryan, who caused an uproar this year by proposing a plan to privatize Medicare, unveiled a new bipartisan approach on Thursday for cutting the cost of the government's $525 billion healthcare plan for the elderly. The chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee joined Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon to unveil a plan that would retain Medicare's popular fee-for-service program but subject it to direct competition from private insurance plans. ...
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Pelvic exercises help men with overactive bladders
Thu,15 Dec 2011 01:17 PM PST
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study shows men with overactive bladder may benefit from pelvic floor exercises long known to help women plagued by the problem. And the exercises worked as well as medications, researchers found "Behavioral treatment is just as effective as drug treatment in males with overactive bladder, and that's big," said Dr. Jason M. Hafron, a urologist at the William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, who wasn't involved in the new work. "It's safer, cheaper and it's effective. This study will increase awareness that exercise is an option. ... Full Story | Top |
Breathing exercises may help soothe heartburn
Thu,15 Dec 2011 01:15 PM PST
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with milder heartburn problems might find some relief from deep breathing exercises, a small clinical trial suggests. The study, of 19 adults with mild gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, found that "belly breathing" exercises seemed to help reduce people's acid reflux, and eventually lessen their need for acid-suppressing medication. The findings, reported in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, hint that some people might be able to breathe their way to greater heartburn relief. But whether that's truly the case requires more research. ... Full Story | Top |
WTO agrees procurement deal, U.S. urges China to join
Thu,15 Dec 2011 01:14 PM PST
Reuters - GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Trade Organization clinched a landmark reform of its Government Procurement Agreement, opening $100 billion of government contracts to foreign competition and paving the way for more countries, including China, to join the pact. "It's an extremely positive development for the parties to this agreement, for the organization and for the world economy at large," WTO's Director General Pascal Lamy said at a news conference after last minute negotiations clinched the deal. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
Anti-suicide app aims to help U.S. soldiers
Thu,15 Dec 2011 01:13 PM PST
Reuters - NASHVILLE, Tenn (Reuters) - U.S. soldiers facing emotional problems and contemplating suicide may soon be able to use a smart phone application to connect them to help. The Tennessee National Guard, the state's reserve military force, launched a pilot program of the "Guard Your Buddy" app that was spearheaded by Clark Flatt, president and CEO of the Jason Foundation. Major General Terry "Max" Haston, the commander of the Tennessee National Guard, approached Flatt, who launched the app in October 1997 after his teenage son Jason committed suicide, about using the app for his soldiers. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. agrees to limit medical research on chimpanzees
Thu,15 Dec 2011 12:08 PM PST
Reuters -  CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) will sharply curtail medical research studies using chimpanzees, humans' closest relative in the animal kingdom, after an expert panel said such studies are rarely warranted. NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins said on Thursday his agency will adopt new recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), part of the National Academies of Sciences, that will limit research funded by the agency involving chimpanzees. ...
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