Today's Reuters Health News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
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Lining up new board, Olympus hopes for fresh start
Thu,19 Apr 2012 07:48 PM PDT
Reuters -  TOKYO (Reuters) - Six months after the biggest scandal in corporate Japan for decades, shareholders of Olympus Corp were set on Friday to vote in a new board that will cement ties with its bankers but raise questions among foreign investors over whether any lessons have been learnt. At an extraordinary meeting, which some hope will draw a line under the scandal, Japanese institutions and Olympus' lenders, suppliers and customers were expected to approve a raft of restated financial accounts and new management put forward by the current, discredited board, all 11 of whom are standing down. ...
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Birth defects more common in IVF babies: study
Thu,19 Apr 2012 07:18 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - Babies conceived through certain fertility treatment techniques are about one-third more likely to have a birth defect than babies conceived without any extra help from technology, according to a review of several dozen studies. However, the researchers - whose findings were published in the journal Fertility and Sterility - did not determine why fertility treatments are tied to a higher risk of birth defects or whether the technology is even responsible. ... Full Story | Top |
Oklahoma "personhood" bill fails in Legislature
Thu,19 Apr 2012 06:29 PM PDT
Reuters - OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - A proposed 'personhood' law in Oklahoma that would grant embryos full rights as people from the moment of conception failed in the state's Legislature without coming to a vote in the House of Representatives, lawmakers said on Thursday. The bill, which backers hoped would provide a path to roll back the constitutional right to an abortion, had sailed through the Oklahoma Senate in February by a 34-8 vote. Many thought the Republican-dominated House would rubber-stamp the bill. ... Full Story | Top |
Texas judge weighs 'difficult' Planned Parenthood case
Thu,19 Apr 2012 05:52 PM PDT
Reuters - AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Lawyers for Planned Parenthood told a federal judge on Thursday that the healthcare of 40,000 women would be disrupted as soon as May 1 unless he blocks a new Texas rule that excludes the family planning organization's clinics from a state program. But lawyers for the state said Planned Parenthood's mission was contrary to a Texas Women's Health Program goal of reducing abortions. The program provides cancer screenings, birth control and other health services to more than 100,000 low-income women. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
Catholic nuns group "stunned" by Vatican slap
Thu,19 Apr 2012 05:01 PM PDT
Reuters -  CHICAGO (Reuters) - A prominent U.S. Catholic nuns' group said on Thursday it was "stunned" that the Vatican reprimanded it for spending too much time on poverty and social justice concerns and not enough on abortion and gay marriage. In a stinging report on Wednesday, the Vatican said the Leadership Conference of Women Religious had been "silent on the right to life" and had failed to make the "Biblical view of family life and human sexuality" a central plank in its agenda. ...
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Officials issue warning over fentanyl patches
Thu,19 Apr 2012 03:54 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - U.S. health officials warned on Thursday about the sometimes deadly effect of overexposure to fentanyl painkiller patches, particularly for small children, saying at least 10 people have died and 12 hospitalized in the last 15 years. In a safety alert, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said a majority of the 26 cases of accidental exposure to fentanyl observed since 1997 involved children below the age of two. ... Full Story | Top |
Measles cases reached 15-year high in 2011: CDC
Thu,19 Apr 2012 03:52 PM PDT
Reuters - ATLANTA (Reuters) - Measles cases in the United States hit a 15-year high in 2011, with 90 percent of the cases traced to other countries with lower immunization rates, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Thursday. There were 222 cases of measles in the United States last year, more than triple the usual number, the CDC said. There had been only about 60 cases per year between 2001 and 2010. No one has died of the disease in the United States since 2008. ... Full Story | Top |
Illinois governor proposes plan to rein in Medicaid
Thu,19 Apr 2012 03:04 PM PDT
Reuters -  CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois Governor Pat Quinn on Thursday proposed a plan that he said would save the state's Medicaid health program for the poor from collapse by slashing spending and raising revenue via an increase in the cigarette tax. The Democratic governor's $2.7 billion plan calls for saving $1.35 billion a year by reducing eligibility and coverage, eliminating programs, and other efficiencies. It also calls for dropping rates paid to providers to save another $675 million, and increasing the state's cigarette tax by $1 per pack to raise $335.7 million annually. ...
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Hospitals see decline in care-related infections
Thu,19 Apr 2012 03:03 PM PDT
Reuters -  ATLANTA (Reuters) - The United States is making progress in reducing the spread of infections to patients while they are in the hospital, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday. Twenty-one states reported reductions in so-called "central line" bloodstream infections from 2009-2010, according to the federal health agency, which used data from a state-by-state tracking system. A central line is a tube inserted into a large vein of a patient's neck or chest for treatment, often while the patient is in intensive care. ...
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Oklahoma "personhood" law to grant embryos rights as people fails
Thu,19 Apr 2012 02:12 PM PDT
Reuters - OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - A proposed 'personhood' law in Oklahoma that would grant embryos full rights as people from the moment of conception failed in the state's legislature without ever coming to a vote in the House of Representatives, a state lawmaker said on Thursday. The Republican-controlled House had been expected to approve the Personhood Act, which passed the state Senate in February, and Republican Governor Mary Fallin had been expected to sign it. ... Full Story | Top |
Birth defects more common in IVF babies: study
Thu,19 Apr 2012 01:40 PM PDT
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Babies conceived through certain fertility treatment techniques are about one-third more likely to have a birth defect than babies conceived without any extra help from technology, according to a new review of several dozen studies. The report "confirms what most people accepted anyway, that, yes, there is an increased risk in congenital abnormality associated with assisted reproductive technology," said Dr. William Buckett, a professor at McGill University, who was not involved in the study. ...
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Group asks for withdrawal of Victoza diabetes drug
Thu,19 Apr 2012 01:34 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Watchdog group Public Citizen urged U.S. regulators to withdraw approval of Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Victoza, saying it increases the risk of serious health problems like thyroid cancer and kidney failure. Public Citizen said the drug was approved in 2010 against the advice of three reviewers from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according a petition filed to the FDA on Thursday. "The (approval) was a huge blow to the health and safety of diabetics in this country," said Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, in an interview. ... Full Story | Top |
Merck ordered to pay $321 million in criminal Vioxx probe
Thu,19 Apr 2012 01:23 PM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - A Boston federal judge on Thursday sentenced Merck & Co to pay a $321 million criminal fine for improperly marketing its Vioxx painkiller a decade ago. The U.S. drugmaker pleaded guilty in recent months to having illegally promoted Vioxx for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis before it was approved for that use in 2002. The pill, approved in 1999 as a painkiller, was withdrawn from the market in 2004 after it was linked to risk of heart attack and stroke. ...
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Study finds high rates of off-label prescribing
Thu,19 Apr 2012 01:20 PM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More than 10 percent of prescriptions in one Canadian province were for drugs not approved to treat the patient's condition, a new study finds. And many times, there was little evidence the drugs would work. A medication is being used "off label" if a doctor prescribes it to treat a condition other than the one(s) Health Canada, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or similar national regulatory agencies approved it for based on tests of safety and efficacy. Dr. ... Full Story | Top |
GSK pounces on Human Genome with $2.6 billion bid
Thu,19 Apr 2012 01:07 PM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Human Genome Sciences has rejected an unsolicited bid worth around $2.6 billion (1.6 billion pounds) from long-time partner GlaxoSmithKline, marking a new takeover battle in a drugs sector recently swept by M&A activity. The U.S. pioneer of gene-based drug discovery, which sells a new drug for lupus with GSK, said on Thursday the offer of $13 per share, made in a letter on April 11, did not reflect the value inherent in the company. It has hired Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse to help explore strategic alternatives, including a possible sale. ...
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