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Sexually transmitted HPV declines in US teens

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:37:56 +0100

The number of US girls with the sexually transmitted disease HPV has dropped by about half even though relatively few youths are getting the vaccine, research showed on Wednesday.

New Hampshire nears approval of medical marijuana law

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:36:04 +0100

By Jason McLure LITTLETON, New Hampshire (Reuters) - New Hampshire is set to become the final state in New England to allow medical marijuana after negotiators from the Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic-controlled House agreed Tuesday on a bill backed by Governor Maggie Hassan. The law would allow up to four marijuana dispensaries to open as soon as 2015. Patients with cancer, HIV, glaucoma and other diseases would be eligible to purchase the drug with state-issued identity cards from a physician or nurse practitioner certifying that they need it to soothe pain. ...

AstraZeneca, Bristol diabetes drug disappoints in key test

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:07:40 +0100

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb's diabetes drug Onglyza failed to reduce heart risks in a large clinical study, disappointing investors who had thought it might demonstrate an edge over rivals. The companies, which jointly sell several diabetes drugs, said on Wednesday the so-called SAVOR trial showed that patients on Onglyza had no fewer adverse cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes, than those on placebo. ...

FDA probes deaths of two patients on Lilly schizophrenia drug

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:01:48 +0100

By Ransdell Pierson (Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration is investigating the cases of two individuals who died after injections with Eli Lilly and Co's long-acting treatment for schizophrenia, Zyprexa Relprevv. Both patients died three to four days after receiving "an appropriate dose" of the medicine, and both had very high levels of the drug in their bloodstreams, the FDA said in a bulletin released on its website on Tuesday. ...

US program marks birth of one millionth HIV-free baby

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:44:03 +0100

Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday hailed the 10th anniversary of a US program to battle AIDS, saying it has helped one million babies be born disease-free to mothers infected with HIV.

'Mass hysteria' hits Bangladesh garment workers

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:34:31 +0100

Hundreds of Bangladesh factory workers who fell sick in recent weeks could have been struck down by a mysterious illness described as a type of "mass hysteria," officials said Tuesday.

Mumford & Sons bassist on the mend after brain surgery

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:13:10 +0100

(Reuters) - British folk band Mumford & Sons' bassist Ted Dwane posted a message on Monday saying he was recovering after brain surgery to remove a blood clot. Dwane posted a picture of himself with a shaved head on the band's official website with the caption, "Bear with a sore head! Thanks so much for all the well wishing, it seems to be working! I'm home." The Grammy-winning London band was forced to cancel the final three U.S. dates of its "Summer Stampede" tour last week after doctors discovered a clot on the surface of Dwane's brain, which required immediate surgery. ...

Commentator Walker diagnosed with cancer

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:51:20 +0100

(Reuters) - Former Formula One commentator Murray Walker, whose enthusiastic style during decades behind the microphone has made him a household name in Britain, has been diagnosed with cancer, his former employer the BBC reported on Monday. The 89-year-old, whose catchphrase is "Unless I am very mistaken ... and I am very much mistaken", has a treatable form of lymphatic system cancer. "They've caught it incredibly early. It's treatable, the doctors say my condition is mild and I'm very hopeful," Walker was quoted as saying by the BBC. ...

J&J in $1 billion deal to bolster prostate-cancer focus

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:06:03 +0100

By Ransdell Pierson (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson said it would pay up to $1 billion for Aragon Pharmaceuticals and its experimental drugs for prostate cancer, to bolster J&J's role in the field after it acquired another experimental prostate-cancer treatment four years ago that has become a leading brand. J&J on Monday said Aragon's lead product, called ARN-509, has potential to help patients whose prostate cancer has not yet spread to other parts of the body, as well as patients whose cancer has spread. ...

Study finds weak brain connections in autistic children

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:21:33 +0100

Some children with autism have weak brain connections in regions that link speech with emotional rewards, possibly signaling a new pathway in treatment, researchers said Monday.

J&J, in new $1 billion deal, bolsters prostate-cancer role

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:34:53 +0100

By Ransdell Pierson (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson said it would pay up to $1 billion (636 million pounds) for Aragon Pharmaceuticals and its experimental drugs for prostate cancer, bolstering J&J's role in the field after it acquired another experimental prostate-cancer treatment four years ago that has become a leading brand. J&J on Monday said Aragon's lead product, called ARN-509, has potential to help patients whose prostate cancer has not yet spread to other parts of the body, as well as patients whose cancer has spread. ...

Johnson & Johnson to buy Aragon for up to $1 billion

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:33:10 +0100

(Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson said on Monday that it would buy Aragon Pharmaceuticals, a private company that is running a mid-stage clinical trial for a prostate cancer drug, for $650 million (413 million pounds) in cash upfront and a possible second payment of $350 million if it meets certain milestones. The deal does not include development of Aragon's treatment for breast cancer, which will be spun off into a separate company called Seragon Pharmaceuticals ahead of the deal and will be run by Aragon's chief executive officer. ...

Canada probes Creutzfeldt-Jakob cases

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 02:28:53 +0100

Four suspected cases of the human variant of mad cow disease, one of them fatal, have emerged in western Canada, local media reported.

Lilly halts Alzheimer's drug trial due to liver problems

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 23:51:09 +0100

By Ransdell Pierson (Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co. said on Thursday it halted a mid-stage study of an experimental Alzheimer's disease treatment due to potential liver toxicity, the latest setback in the quest to find a treatment that can slow or cure the memory-robbing condition. Lilly said the Phase II study of the drug, LY2886721, from a class known as beta secretase, or BACE, inhibitors, was stopped after safety monitors identified cases of abnormal liver tests. ...

David Attenborough fit enough to reschedule Australian tour

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:31:45 +0100

LONDON (Reuters) - Veteran nature show presenter David Attenborough said on Thursday he had recovered sufficiently from heart surgery to reschedule a sell-out tour of Australia for next month. Attenborough, 87, known for his wildlife documentaries, earlier this month cancelled his speaking tour "A Life On Earth" to Canberra, Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne to undergo emergency surgery. Less than two weeks after having a pacemaker inserted, Attenborough said he was on the mend and ready to reschedule his Australian trip. "Thank you everyone for all your wonderful and kind messages. ...

HIV regimen prevents infection among drug users

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 21:51:10 +0100

Giving injecting drug users a daily pill against HIV nearly halved their risk of infection by the AIDS virus, a pioneering study published on Thursday said.

Music device doesn't drop diabetics' blood pressure

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:27:33 +0100

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A device that plays a melody in an attempt to slow people's breathing didn't lower the blood pressure of people with diabetes, according to a new study. "Given the results and the studies available, you can conclude that there is not enough evidence to use this device," said Dr. Gijs Landman, the study's lead author from the Isala Clinics in The Netherlands. ...

AIDS drugs halve HIV risk for intravenous drug users in study

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 18:27:50 +0100

By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - A daily dose of powerful anti-HIV medicine helped cut the risk of infection with the AIDS virus by 49 percent in intravenous drug users in a Bangkok study that showed for the first time such a preventive step can work in this high-risk population. "This is a significant step forward for HIV prevention," said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which helped conduct the clinical trial along with the Thailand Ministry of Health. ...

Amgen says drug slowed ovarian cancer in trial

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:26:32 +0100

(Reuters) - Amgen Inc's trebananib drug for ovarian cancer extended the length of time that patients lived without the disease getting worse by about two months, meeting the main goal of a late-stage clinical trial, the company said on Wednesday. The trial is the first of three pivotal-stage studies of the experimental drug, and analysts said U.S. regulators will likely need to see evidence that trebananib extends overall patient survival before considering the drug for marketing approval. Amgen said median progression free survival (PFS) in the trial was 7. ...

Singapore fights back against worsening dengue outbreak

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 04:47:30 +0100

Singapore is fighting back against a rapidly worsening dengue epidemic by distributing insect repellants to every household and recruiting hundreds of disease control officers, officials said.

UK to unveil huge cancer database to help treatment

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 04:10:08 +0100

Britain's Department of Health will on Wednesday unveil a new system for coordinating cancer treatment which it hopes will save thousands of lives each year, the Times reported.

Child-cancer survivors 'prone to adult illness'

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 01:13:15 +0100

Patients who successfully battled cancer during childhood face an "extraordinarily high" rate of chronic illness during their grown-up years, according to a study.

Endurance skiers at risk of irregular heartbeat: study

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 23:59:24 +0100

Participants in one of the world's toughest endurance events, the Vasaloppet cross-country ski race in Sweden, have a heightened risk of developing an irregular heart rhythm, according to surprise findings published Wednesday.

UN AIDS envoy criticises Russian prosecution of addicts

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 19:40:30 +0100

The UN envoy for AIDS in Eastern Europe on Tuesday denounced the region, and Russia in particular, for its increasingly harsh criminal prosecution of drug addicts, at a conference to curb the spread of HIV.

First double-leg transplant patient has limbs amputated

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:56:40 +0100

The world's first double-leg transplant patient has had both limbs amputated after an unrelated illness forced him to stop taking anti-rejection drugs, the Spanish hospital that carried out the operation said Tuesday.

Mumford & Sons cancel U.S. gigs as bassist undergoes brain surgery

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:54:59 +0100

LONDON (Reuters) - British folk-rockers Mumford & Sons have canceled three sell-out concerts in the United States this week after announcing on Tuesday that bassist Ted Dwane needed emergency surgery for a blood clot on the brain. The band, which won Album of the Year for "Babel" at the Grammy awards in February and the British Group award at the BRIT awards, said Dwane had felt unwell for a few days and was taken to hospital on Monday for emergency treatment. "The scans revealed a blood clot on the surface of his brain that requires an operation," the band said in a statement on its website. ...

Diabetes-related deaths hit record levels in New York

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 23:04:09 +0100

Diabetes-related deaths hit record levels in New York City in 2011, with Type 2 diabetes surging along with an epidemic of obesity, the city's health department reported Monday.

Diet change boosts survival in men with prostate cancer

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 20:51:19 +0100

Men who ate more healthy fats from vegetables, nuts and olive oil after a diagnosis of prostate cancer saw better survival rates than peers whose diets were unchanged, a US study said Monday.

Belgian tour operator offers 'sick notes' for truant students

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 16:58:50 +0100

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A Belgian tour operator is offering "sick notes" to families wanting to take their children on holiday before the end of the school term, in a tongue-in-cheek campaign that has drawn strong criticism from education authorities. "We are handing out free sick notes for the last week of June as we believe families should be able to go on holiday for the lowest possible price," tour operator Neckermann said in a campaign launched on Sunday. Trips to popular destinations are very often cheaper ahead of the official start of Belgian summer school holidays on July 1. ...

AstraZeneca buys U.S. lung drug firm Pearl for up to $1.15 billion

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 15:05:12 +0100

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca is to buy U.S. respiratory drug specialist Pearl Therapeutics for up to $1.15 billion as Britain's second biggest drugmaker steps up a drive to rebuild its product pipeline via deal-making. The acquisition of the privately held company secures AstraZeneca a position in the emerging market for a new class of lung treatments known as LABA/LAMA drugs that promise improved patient compliance and disease control, without steroids. ...

Number of China H7N9 patients dwindles

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 05:05:04 +0100

Only 14 patients from China's H7N9 bird flu outbreak are still in hospital, national health authorities said in their latest update on the disease.

Recurrent pneumonia not common: lung expert

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 01:50:06 +0100

Pneumonia is one of the most common of lung infections among the elderly but concerns of underlying conditions arise when it recurs, a leading South African pulmonologist said.

Scottish author Iain Banks dies of cancer, aged 59

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 20:53:19 +0100

By Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - Novelist Iain Banks, who enlivened Scottish literature for three decades with his dark humour, has died from cancer just days before the release of his 27th and final novel "The Quarry". Banks announced he was suffering from the disease in April and said he had asked his partner, the author Adele Hartley, if "she will do me the honour of becoming my widow" - the ghoulish humour, he explained, helped them cope with his impending death. ...

Calls to decriminalise drugs at Elton John HIV conference

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 20:31:18 +0100

Former Polish president Aleksander Kwasniewski on Sunday called for drug decriminalisation at the opening of a global conference to curb the spread of HIV, with backing from the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Cuba registra su segunda vacuna terapéutica contra el cáncer de pulmón

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:48:57 +0100

LA HABANA (Reuters) - Las autoridades sanitarias de Cuba desarrollaron una segunda vacuna terapéutica contra el cáncer de pulmón, aplicada con resultados favorables en pacientes de la isla entre el 2008 y 2011, y comenzará a comercializarse en Argentina en los próximos días, dijo el viernes la prensa local. La vacuna, denominada RACOTUMOMAB (VAXIRA), tiene como objetivo transformar el cáncer avanzado en una enfermedad crónica que pueda controlarse por períodos prolongados, como sucede con la diabetes o la hipertensión arterial, explicó Granma, diario del gobernante Partido Comunista. ...

Sanofi steps up diabetes drive as rivals raise the stakes

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 11:45:18 +0100

By Elena Berton FRANKFURT (Reuters) - In a leafy suburb of Frankfurt, a state-of-the-art plant churns out up to 1 million insulin pens every day in French drugmaker Sanofi's drive to keep its no. 2 spot in the $43 billion (27 billion pounds)-a-year diabetes market. The facility is part of a hub - nicknamed Insulin City - dedicated to research and development, production, and smart technology for diabetes treatments that Sanofi says will help drive its growth as older blockbusters lose patent protection. "This site represents an investment of more than 1 billion euros (834. ...

US urged to ease diabetes drug restrictions

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 00:47:03 +0100

Independent experts urged US regulators to reduce restrictions on GlaxoSmithKline's controversial diabetes drug Avandia, banned in Europe over heart attack risk concerns.

FDA panel votes to relax Avandia restrictions

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 23:11:20 +0100

By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health advisers voted on Thursday to recommend relaxing market restrictions on GlaxoSmithKline's diabetes drug Avandia, the former blockbuster at the center of one of the biggest drug controversies in recent years. The vote, by a divided Food and Drug Administration advisory committee of outside health experts, could modestly enlarge the market for Avandia in the United States and lay the groundwork for further research into the drug's health risks. ...

New health threats for China as it grows richer: Lancet

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 22:59:44 +0100

The Chinese are increasingly facing diseases of affluence such as cancer, according to a study to be published Saturday in a leading medical journal, with threats to health including diet, pollution and city living.

Actor Stephen Fry reveals suicide attempt last year

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 20:09:12 +0100

(Reuters) - British actor Stephen Fry attempted suicide last year, he said during a podcast interview on Wednesday in which he talked openly about his ongoing battle with mental illness. Fry, 55, told comedian Richard Herring in the interview in front of a live audience that he was "a victim of my own moods" and that he was required to take medication "so that I don't get either too hyper or too depressed to the point of suicide." "I'd go as far as to tell you I attempted it last year. ...