Today's Reuters Health News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
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Judge clears Arizona late-term abortion ban to take effect
Mon,30 Jul 2012 06:53 PM PDT
Reuters - PHOENIX (Reuters) - A federal judge refused on Monday to block an Arizona law banning most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, saying it does not impose a "substantial obstacle" to the procedure, and cleared the way for the statute to take effect on Thursday. The ruling marked a stinging legal defeat for abortion-rights advocates who cited the Arizona law as the most extreme example of late-term abortion prohibitions enacted in more than half a dozen states, and they vowed to immediately appeal the decision. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
FDA rejects expanded use of Regeneron drug for gout
Mon,30 Jul 2012 06:45 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc said U.S. regulators have denied approval for it to expand use of its Arcalyst drug to prevent gout flares, asking that the company provide more clinical data. The rejection follows a unanimous vote against the drug's approval in early May by advisors to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with panel members expressing concern that the company had only done a 16-week study. ... Full Story | Top |
Humana cuts view, cites costly new Medicare members
Mon,30 Jul 2012 06:03 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - U.S. health insurer Humana Inc booked a lower-than-expected quarterly profit and cut its forecast for the year, blindsided by costs associated with surging membership in its individual Medicare Advantage programs. Shares in Humana, which until now has had a good track record in meeting guidance, tumbled nearly 12 percent in after-hours trading. Citing a bigger-than expected jump in new Medicare Advantage members, which create considerable initial costs that decline over time, Humana cut its earnings per share forecast for 2012 to between $6.90 and $7. ... Full Story | Top |
Obama administration says states will join Medicaid expansion
Mon,30 Jul 2012 05:30 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Monday said it expects that U.S. states will eventually join its planned expansion of the Medicaid healthcare program as they evaluate the benefits of providing health coverage to more low-income people. U.S. ...
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Accretive Health to exit Minnesota under settlement
Mon,30 Jul 2012 04:50 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - Medical billing services provider Accretive Health Inc said it would wind down its Minnesota operations to settle a 6-month-old lawsuit by the state that has led to the loss of a contract for the company. The lawsuit, brought by state Attorney General Lori Swanson in January, followed an investigation into the Chicago-based company's debt collection practices. ... Full Story | Top |
Panel recommends against ECG tests for heart disease
Mon,30 Jul 2012 02:10 PM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Using electrodes to test the electrical activity of the heart is unlikely to help doctors figure out who is at risk of coronary heart disease, according to new recommendations from a government-backed panel. The United States Preventive Services Task Force wrote on Monday that there's no good evidence the test, called an electrocardiogram, or ECG, helps doctors predict heart risks any better than traditional considerations such as smoking, blood pressure and cholesterol in people with no symptoms. ... Full Story | Top |
Unclear if ICU telemedicine can save hospitals money
Mon,30 Jul 2012 01:56 PM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Remote monitoring of intensive care patients - a strategy to maximize scarce medical expertise - can cost hospitals anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 per bed in the first year of operation, according to a new study. Whether this investment pays off in the long run by improving ICU patients' care and saving money, "we don't know," said Dr. Gaurav Kumar, a fellow at the University of Iowa and the lead author of the study published in the journal Chest. ... Full Story | Top |
More men with prostate cancer "team" wait on treatment
Mon,30 Jul 2012 01:20 PM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men with low-risk forms of prostate cancer are more likely to opt for so-called active surveillance over surgery or radiation when they have a multidisciplinary team of doctors working with them, according to a new study. Researchers said that may be because teams with urology, imaging and cancer specialists can provide the most balanced view of the risks and benefits of different options. ... Full Story | Top |
Uganda says avoid hand shakes as Ebola returns
Mon,30 Jul 2012 12:23 PM PDT
Reuters - KAMPALA (Reuters) - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday advised people to avoid shaking hands, casual sex and do-it-yourself burials to reduce the chance of contracting the deadly Ebola virus after an outbreak killed 14 people and put many more at risk. Museveni's advice came as scared patients and health workers fled a district hospital in rural western Uganda where several cases of Ebola were being treated and as the authorities tried to alter people's behavior to stop the virus spreading. ... Full Story | Top |
Administration says states will join Medicaid expansion
Mon,30 Jul 2012 11:32 AM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Monday said it expects that U.S. states will eventually join its planned expansion of the Medicaid healthcare program as they evaluate the benefits of providing health coverage to more low-income people. U.S. ...
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With CPR, faster isn't always better
Mon,30 Jul 2012 11:21 AM PDT
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doing CPR too fast can mean chest compressions aren't deep enough to get blood flowing to the heart and brain, a new study from Belgium suggests. Researchers found that when rescuers pushed at a rate above 145 compressions per minute, the depth of those compressions dropped to less than four centimeters. Recommendations from Europe and the United States now both call for compressions to be at least five centimeters (about two inches) deep, at a rate of 100 per minute or faster. ...
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Are migraines more common than thought?
Mon,30 Jul 2012 11:07 AM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Neurologists, who may know headaches better than anyone, report a much higher-than-average rate of migraines, a new survey from Norway finds. The national survey found that of 245 neurologists, 35 percent said they'd ever had migraine headaches. And 26 percent had had one in the past year - double what's reported among Norwegians as a whole. Worldwide, an estimated 11 percent of people have suffered a migraine in the past year. It's not clear why neurologists are so taxed by migraines. ... Full Story | Top |
Factbox: Ebola strikes in Uganda
Mon,30 Jul 2012 09:14 AM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - Uganda has confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, saying 14 people have died so far. Here are some facts about Ebola and recent major outbreaks. * Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) is a severe, usually fatal disease in humans and non-human primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees) that has appeared sporadically since it was first identified in 1976. The Ebola virus is named after a river in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa, where it first surfaced. * There are five known subtypes of the Ebola virus. ... Full Story | Top |
Peg Perego USA recalls strollers, cites strangulation risk
Mon,30 Jul 2012 09:02 AM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Peg Perego USA is voluntarily recalling about 223,000 baby strollers made between January 2004 and September 2007 because of the threat of entrapment and strangulation, the company and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Tuesday. A 6-month-old boy from Tarzana, California, died of strangulation in 2004 after his head was trapped between the seat and the tray of one of the strollers, the company and the CPSC said in a statement. A 7-month-old girl from New York nearly strangled in a similar incident in 2006, they said. ... Full Story | Top |
No evidence that sex spoils sport
Mon,30 Jul 2012 08:51 AM PDT
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - The ancient Greeks believed athletes should avoid sex before sport, but modern Olympians and scientists are torn over the merits of in-competition coitus and whether abstinence enhances performance. For years coaches and athletes have practiced abstinence the night or even weeks before a big event, although all bets are off when the medal ceremony is over - 150,000 condoms are handed out to the 10,500 athletes competing at the London Games. ... Full Story | Top |
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