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| Sharks worth more for tourism than in soup: study Thursday, May 30, 2013 05:49 PM PDT  By Environment Correspondent Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) - Sharks swimming free in the oceans may soon become more valuable as tourist attractions than when caught, sliced up and served in soup, a global study showed on Friday. It urged better protection for the fish, from Australia to the Caribbean, to reduce catches of an estimated 38 million a year to meet demand for shark fin soup, mainly in China. "We are hoping that people will recognize that sharks are not only valuable on the plate," lead author Andres Cisneros-Montemayor of the University of British Columbia in Canada said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Trip to Mars would likely exceed radiation limits for astronauts Thursday, May 30, 2013 05:00 PM PDT  By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Radiation levels measured by NASA's Mars Curiosity rover show astronauts likely would exceed current U.S. exposure limits during a roundtrip mission to Mars, scientists said on Thursday. The rover landed on Mars in August to search for habitats that could have supported past microbial life. Results taken during Curiosity's eight-month cruise to Mars indicate that astronauts would receive a radiation dose of about 660 millisieverts during a 360-day roundtrip flight, the fastest travel possible with today's chemical rockets. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK cost agency recommends Bayer, Regeneron eye drug Thursday, May 30, 2013 04:28 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's healthcare cost watchdog NICE is recommending a new eye drug from Bayer and Regeneron, after a price discount was offered for its use on the state health service. The draft decision by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) means Eylea will compete in Britain with Novartis's established product Lucentis as a treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Novartis already has a separate discount scheme in place for Lucentis. The size of the discounts offered on both drugs is commercially confidential. ... Full Story | Top |
| Quit-smoking treatments safe, effective: review Thursday, May 30, 2013 04:14 PM PDT By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Popular smoking cessation treatments - such as nicotine replacements and antidepressants - improve people's chances of kicking the habit without much risk, according to a review of past research. "It seems very clear that medications can help. They're not the magic bullet but you do improve your chances of quitting - generally - if you try them. And as far as we can tell, they're safe to use," said Kate Cahill, who led the study. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Weak mayor" system keeps Toronto ticking through crack controversy Thursday, May 30, 2013 04:09 PM PDT  By Julie Gordon TORONTO (Reuters) - Between the army of reporters camped at his door and an exodus of top aides, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has endured a tough two weeks since allegations surfaced that he was caught smoking crack cocaine on video, something he staunchly denies. For North America's fourth-largest city, however, it's been mostly business as usual thanks to a "weak mayor" political system that limits the executive's influence and puts more power in the hands of the city council. ... Full Story | Top |
| International court tells El Salvador to allow abortion of deformed fetus Thursday, May 30, 2013 03:56 PM PDT  By Isabella Cota SAN JOSE (Reuters) - The regional human rights court for the Americas on Thursday told El Salvador it must let doctors perform an abortion on a woman carrying a seriously deformed fetus that has put her life at risk, but the Central American nation was not bound by the move. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights took the action after El Salvador's Supreme Court issued a ruling on Wednesday rejecting an appeal brought by the 22-year-old woman at the center of the case. She had sought an abortion even though El Salvador banned all types of abortion in 1999. ... Full Story | Top |
| Double dose of Tamiflu proves no better in severe flu Thursday, May 30, 2013 03:45 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - There are no benefits from giving patients with severe flu a double dose of Roche's drug Tamiflu, despite calls by some experts for the use of higher doses in the most serious cases. That verdict from the first randomized clinical trial to study the issue has implications for global guidelines on stockpiling drugs for a potential flu pandemic, researchers said on Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Toronto mayor vows to run again despite crack scandal, staff exodus Thursday, May 30, 2013 02:54 PM PDT  By Julie Gordon and Allison Martell TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto Mayor Rob Ford lost two more staff members on Thursday, two weeks after allegations first surfaced that the leader of Canada's largest city was caught smoking crack cocaine on camera, something he has strongly denied. Security ushered policy advisor Brian Johnston out of city hall around midday on Thursday, and he told reporters he had resigned. Kia Nejatian, the mayor's executive assistant, also left his job, the city confirmed in a statement sent to local media. ... Full Story | Top |
| FDA denies approval to Endo's testosterone drug again Thursday, May 30, 2013 02:45 PM PDT (Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration has for the third time refused approval to Endo Health Solutions Inc's injectable testosterone drug Aveed, pressing for a still better plan to manage the risks associated with the drug. The denial comes as no surprise after an advisory panel to the FDA overwhelmingly agreed in April that Endo's proposed plan for managing the risks associated with the drug was insufficient. Testosterone, a hormone produced in the testicles, is responsible for maintaining muscle bulk, bone growth and sexual function. ... Full Story | Top |
| Some common prescriptions linked to impotence Thursday, May 30, 2013 01:12 PM PDT By Kerry Grens NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Tranquilizers known as benzodiazepines and certain older antidepressants are linked with a greater chance of having erectile dysfunction (ED), according to a new survey. "Definitely it confirms the tricyclics (antidepressants)" are tied to ED, said Dr. Richard Balon, a psychiatry professor at Wayne State University School of Medicine. Contrary to some other studies, however, the research did not find any increased risk of ED among men taking blood-pressure medications. "I don't know what to make of this," said Balon, who was not part of the study. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japanese drugmakers open 'libraries' in $100 million health project Thursday, May 30, 2013 12:13 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Five top Japanese drug companies are to open their "libraries" of experimental compounds to scrutiny by scientists hunting new treatments for malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases affecting the world's poor. The initiative, announced on Thursday, is the first project under a new $100 million partnership between the drugmakers, the Japanese government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fund research into neglected tropical diseases. ... Full Story | Top |
| No science behind blood-type diets Thursday, May 30, 2013 11:39 AM PDT By Kathryn Doyle NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - They are a fad that refuses to fade, but no solid evidence exists to show whether or not eating plans tailored to ABO blood types promote health, say Belgian researchers who tried their best to find some. After sifting through the scientific literature, researchers identified just one indirectly related study - it looked at the effects of low-fat diets on cholesterol levels in people with different blood types - and even that one was weak, they concluded. ... Full Story | Top |
| Could shedding extra pounds improve psoriasis? Thursday, May 30, 2013 09:34 AM PDT By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Losing weight may ease psoriasis and improve quality of life for some overweight people with the chronic skin disease, new research from Denmark suggests. But the trial may have been too small to fully flesh out that link, and researchers said future studies will have to follow larger groups of patients for more time to make definitive conclusions. "The results, I would say, are promising," said Dr. Joel Gelfand, a dermatologist from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. ... Full Story | Top |
| GSK bets on chimp virus with $321 million vaccines buy Thursday, May 30, 2013 07:54 AM PDT  By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline is betting on a new vaccine technology based on chimpanzee viruses by acquiring Swiss-based Okairos for 250 million euros (321 million U.S. dollars) - the latest bolt-on biotech buy by a big drugmaker. Britain's largest pharmaceuticals group said on Wednesday that the privately owned company's know-how was expected to play an important role in GSK's development of vaccines to both prevent and treat diseases. Okairos was spun out from Merck & Co in 2007 and has laboratories in Rome and Naples, with headquarters in Basel. ... Full Story | Top |
| France says will back down over Bayer acne pill Thursday, May 30, 2013 07:52 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - France's health regulator said on Thursday it would comply with the European Commission if it ruled that Bayer acne pill Diane 35 and its generic versions were safe to use in some cases. However, it added it would keep sales of the treatment on hold until then. France is the only EU country where sales of the treatment were suspended earlier this year after four deaths over the past 25 years were linked to its use. Diane 35 reduces acne by regulating hormones and blocking ovulation, and is often prescribed as a contraceptive even though it is not approved for this use. ... Full Story | Top |
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