health

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FDA Advisory Panel Rejects Weight-Loss Drug

Possible side effects send Acomplia to the sidelines

(Newser) - Accomplia, a weight-loss drug marketed in 18 other countries, failed to win approval from an FDA advisory board yesterday. The 14-member panel of outside experts ruled unanimously that manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis had not dispelled concerns about the safety of the drug, whose potential side effects include suicidal thoughts, anxiety, and depression.

Women Alerted to Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer

Subtle signs may aid early diagnosis of stealthy disease

(Newser) - In an effort to dispel the belief that ovarian cancer has few early symptoms, experts are urging women to acquaint themselves with an array of common conditions associated with one of the deadliest types of cancer. The new guidelines acknowledge for the first time that late diagnosis is not a...

Genes Give Up Secrets of 7 Serious Diseases

Landmark study sheds light on diabetes, depression, more

(Newser) - In an outcome one scientist describes as a "new dawn," researchers have identified genetic variations linked to seven common diseases, opening the door to improved tests and treatments. The study, which focused on depression, Crohn's disease, coronary artery disease, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, and Type 1 and 2 diabetes,...

Controversy Rages Over Diabetes Drug's Heart Risks

FDA official says superiors ordered her to back off serious warning

(Newser) - Troubling questions about the diabetes drug Avandia persisted yesterday as an FDA official revealed that she was barred from recommending a critical warning about the medication, the Times reports. In the run-up to congressional hearings that began today, manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline rushed to disseminate interim clinical findings in hopes of blunting...

China to Test Controversial Malaria Treatment

Researchers aim to eradicate disease on African island

(Newser) - A Chinese researcher will test a radical new strategy designed to wipe out malaria on a small African island, the International Herald Tribune reports. Mass treatment with a highly effective antimalarial drug would virtually clear the parasite from patients' blood, but critics fear the plan could backfire, causing drug resistance...

China to Mandate Booty-Shaking
China to Mandate Booty-Shaking
Jun 5, 2007 1:44 PM CDT

China to Mandate Booty-Shaking

Daily dancing requirement targets childhood obesity

(Newser) - The childhood obesity epidemic has found its way to China—and will stop there, if the government's new dance requirement has the desired effect. Starting in September, mandatory classes will get millions of schoolchildren off their butts and onto the dance floor. Experts are developing routines for the curriculum, which...

Gates Gives $105 Mil to Track Global Public Health

UW center will eye effectiveness of giving

(Newser) - The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given $105 million to the  University of Washington to study the effectiveness of public health programs around the world. The money will be used to create a center to track such measures as child mortality, the prevalence of major diseases  and the availability...

UK to Patients Who Smoke: Put That Out

National Health Service imposes four-week window before surgery

(Newser) - Smokers in Britain must kick the habit for at least four weeks before undergoing routine surgery or the National Health Service will deny them the operations, the Daily Mail reports. Doctors will use blood tests to enforce the new policy, which could affect up to 500,000 smokers awaiting procedures...

New Drug Battles Liver Cancer
New Drug Battles Liver Cancer
Jun 4, 2007 7:37 AM CDT

New Drug Battles Liver Cancer

Nexavar, already approved for kidney cancer, shows promise in liver patients

(Newser) - An impressive clinical trial has produced what could be the first effective drug treatment for liver cancer, the New York Times reports. Nexavar, which blocks both the blood supply to the tumor and proteins that spur tumor growth, extended the lives of patients in the trial by almost three months,...

'Outbreak' Morphs Into 'Rashomon'
'Outbreak' Morphs Into 'Rashomon'
Jun 2, 2007 12:13 PM CDT

'Outbreak' Morphs Into 'Rashomon'

Finger-pointing over TB patient's travels spreads across two continents

(Newser) - The Atlanta lawyer whose honeymoon baggage included a dangerous strain of TB is at the center of a contentious international public-health dispute. The Times reports on the conflicting accounts of warnings issued to Andrew Speaker and the governments of the countries he visited. Meanwhile, other American passengers on his flights...

Coke, Cargill Team Up on New Sweetener

Based on herb called stevia, not yet approved in US

(Newser) - Coke has teamed up with Cargill to produce and market the all-natural, calorie-free sweetener rebiana, based on a South American herb called stevia. Coke and Cargill plan to market it in 12 countries that have approved stevia as a food additive, while attempting to win regulatory approval in the US...

Drug-Resistant TB Patient Flies Commercial

Carrier crossed Atlantic twice, putting passengers at risk

(Newser) - A man infected with drug-resistant tuberculosis boarded two transatlantic flights in two weeks, CNN reports, putting his fellow passengers at risk. Planes are equipped with air filters that should catch the rod-shaped TB bacili, but the CDC recommends anyone on Air France 385, from Atlanta to Paris May 12, or...

Scientists Find Lead in Bird Flu Vaccine

Antibodies from survivors have been effective in curing infected mice

(Newser) - In the first break in the deadly bird flu epidemic, an international team of researchers using antibodies from survivors of the Vietnamese strain of the disease were able to prevent it from developing in mice, and to neutralize those already infected.

Scientists ID New Breast Cancer Genes

Biggest breakthrough in a decade may advance prevention, treatment

(Newser) - Four newly discovered genes can increase a woman's chance of developing breast cancer by as much as 60%, say scientists who hail the isolation of the genes as the biggest advance in the field since 1994. The breakthrough raises hopes for more advanced treatment and even prevention of breast cancer...

Common Chemicals Boost Disease Risk
Common Chemicals Boost Disease Risk
May 25, 2007 10:46 AM CDT

Common Chemicals Boost Disease Risk

Scientists tie brief early exposure to laundry list of ailments

(Newser) - Beginning in the womb, exposure to common substances increases the likelihood of numerous health problems—including cancer, ADD, Parkinson's and obesity—years and even generations later, international environmental scientists say. Two hundred prominent experts yesterday took the unusual step of calling for intervention by governments, even those that have downplayed...

NIH Won't Breed Chimps for Research
NIH Won't Breed Chimps for Research
May 25, 2007 6:21 AM CDT

NIH Won't Breed Chimps for Research

Agency cites financial reasons; rights activists thrilled anyway

(Newser) - The National Institutes of Health will stop breeding chimpanzees for use in medical testing, the agency announced yesterday. The practice is being abandoned for financial reasons, NIH says; because chimpanzees live upwards of 50 years in captivity, their lifelong upkeep costs $500,000.

Conservatives Wield FDA Data on HPV Vaccine

Cite health risks in opposing vaccination of teenage girls

(Newser) - A group of religious conservatives has marshalled unreleased FDA data as a weapon in the battle against  Gardasil, the new cervical cancer vaccine. The data indicates health problems in women taking the vaccine, but  drugmaker Merck and the FDA both insist that the negative effects are probably unrelated to the...

FDA Warned of Avandia Risks Years Ago

Doctor alerted agency to cardiovascular concerns in 2000

(Newser) - A diabetes doctor warned the FDA of heart risks posed by the diabetes drug Avandia seven years ago, the New York Times reports. The same concerns raised by Dr. John Buse in a 2000 letter were reiterated in a study published by cardiologist Steven Nissen this week.

New Cancer Ideas Compete for $1 Million

A Harvard doctor and two hedge fund managers set up contest for cancer cure

(Newser) - Doctors and hedge fund managers are joining forces to battle cancer with a million-dollar prize for the most imaginative new approach. The Gotham Prize for Cancer Research will be awarded to the most innovative essay—posted to the website—on finding a cure for cancer. Leading medical researchers will judge...

FDA Approves No-Period Birth Control Pill

Drug from Wyeth includes 28 days of low-dose hormones

(Newser) - The FDA yesterday approved Lybrel, the birth control pill designed to stop women's periods for as long as they're on the medication, the AP reports. Unlike most other contraceptive pills, which consist of  21 daily doses of hormone treatments and 7 days of sugar pills, Lybrel contains 28 daily doses...

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