- Exclusive: Forest mulls bid for Irish drugmaker Elan - sources - June 19 2013 13:30
By Jessica Toonkel and Soyoung Kim NEW YORK (Reuters) - Forest Laboratories Inc, the specialty drugmaker that counts investor Carl Icahn as a major shareholder, is among a handful of companies interested in bidding for Irish drugmaker Elan Corp Plc, two people familiar with the situation said. Elan, which has a market capitalization of nearly $7 billion, put itself up for sale last week in an effort to fend off a hostile offer from U.S. investment firm Royalty Pharma. Forest is among several mid-sized drugmakers considering an offer for Elan, the people said on Wednesday. ... - How the US Stacks Up on Organ Donation - June 19 2013 13:28
How does the U.S. compare to other countries when it comes to organ donors? - AMA Declares Obesity a Disease - June 19 2013 13:26
AMA classifies obesity as a disease and says sitting is dangerous. - Metabolic syndrome has declined, some risks persist - June 19 2013 13:24
By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Compared to a decade ago, fewer Americans have a cluster of risk factors that together can signal heart troubles and diabetes down the line, according to a new study. But while so-called metabolic syndrome is declining, some of its components - including large waistlines and poor blood sugar control, which carry their own risks - are becoming more common, researchers found. ... - Vermont police arrest 33 in cocaine, heroin sweep - June 19 2013 13:15
BOSTON (Reuters) - Vermont police arrested 33 people on drug charges on Wednesday in a sweep aimed at tackling the state's growing heroin and cocaine problem, according to the state police. The operation followed a six-month investigation by the police drug task force of rising drugs flows into the Green Mountain State from cities such as New York and Boston. The sweep included house searches and seizures in Springfield and Ludlow. Officials have not said how many drugs, money or material was discovered in the searches. ... - Prostate cancer treatment tied to hernia risk - June 19 2013 12:57
By Kerry Grens NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Prostate removal or radiation therapy to treat cancer is tied to two- to four-fold higher than usual risk of later having a hernia repaired, according to a new study. It's not clear why hernia repairs are more common among these men. There might be tissue damage caused by the cancer treatment, or perhaps doctors are finding hernias that might otherwise go undetected, said Dr. Stephen Pautler, a urologist at St. Joseph's Health Care in London, Ontario, Canada. "You're looking for this in this population," said Pautler, who was not part of the study. ... - HPV vaccine cut infection by half in teen girls - June 19 2013 12:56
ATLANTA (AP) — A vaccine against a cervical cancer virus has cut infections in teen girls by half, according to a study released Wednesday. - Boston poised to begin condom giveaway in high schools - June 19 2013 12:52
By Stephanie Simon (Reuters) - Students at all Boston public high schools may soon be able to obtain free condoms at the front office - as long as they sit through a few minutes of counseling about safe sex - under a policy due to be voted on Wednesday by the school board. Condoms are already available in 19 high schools with on-site health centers. The policy, up for a vote by the Boston School Committee, would expand distribution to all 32 high schools in the system. Parents would have the right to exempt their children. Several U.S. ... - Organ Donation Rates: How the US Stacks Up - June 19 2013 12:33
How does the U.S. compare to other countries when it comes to organ donors? - Pass the Potato Salad, Hold the Germs - June 19 2013 12:32
ABC News Medical Unit’s Dr. Ana Nobis reports: Sharing a meal with family or friends can be such a pleasure but not when uninvited germs, viruses and parasites crash the party. About one in six Americans get sick each year from eating contaminated food, according... - New 'Obamacare' exchanges could miss enrollment deadline - GAO - June 19 2013 12:07
By David Morgan and Caroline Humer (Reuters) - New health insurance exchanges being set up by the federal government in more than 30 states under President Barack Obama's 2010 healthcare overhaul could miss an October 1 deadline for open enrollment, a government report said on Wednesday. The launch of the exchanges, or marketplaces, which are expected to provide federally subsidized health coverage for 7 million people in 2014 and 22 million by 2016, could determine whether Obama's signature domestic policy achievement succeeds. ... - Viewpoint: Defining Obesity as a Disease May Do More Harm Than Good - June 19 2013 12:00
The label is supposed to improve awareness and treatments for the condition, but similar proclamations about alcoholism and other addictions haven’t been so successful. - Study: Wiser medication use could cut health costs - June 19 2013 11:43
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — If doctors and patients used prescription drugs more wisely, they could save the U.S. health care system at least $213 billion a year, by reducing medication overuse, underuse and other flaws in care that cause complications and longer, more-expensive treatments, researchers conclude. - U.S. doctor group votes to recognize obesity as a disease - June 19 2013 11:09
By Nick Carey CHICAGO (Reuters) - In order to fight what it described as an "obesity epidemic," the American Medical Association voted on Tuesday to recognize obesity as a disease and recommended a number of measures to fight it. The association voted on the measure at its annual meeting in Chicago. The AMA noted that obesity rates in the United States have "doubled among adults in the last twenty years and tripled among children in a single generation" and that the World Health Organization, the U.S. ... - Cervical cancer vaccines cut rates of HPV infections: U.S - June 19 2013 10:06
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. introduction of a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer in 2006 has reduced infections with the human papillomavirus or HPV - the sexually transmitted virus that causes the disease - by more than half among girls and young women, U.S. health officials said on Wednesday. The results were better than expected and may even suggest that unvaccinated individuals are benefiting because of a drop in the number of infections circulating, the team reported in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. ...