Currently browsing author

publisher, Page 6

Weight-loss surgery may help curb urinary incontinence

By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) – Weight-loss surgery may help reduce urinary incontinence in extremely obese people, a study suggests. Researchers followed nearly 2,500 obese men and women who had so-called bariatric surgery, which alters the stomach or intestines to induce weight loss.  Before the surgery, nearly half the women and about a fifth of the men had experienced urinary incontinence. A year later, the rate of incontinence was down to about 18 percent in women and 10 percent in men.

Free animations spread lifesaving tips via smartphones

By Daniel Gaitan (Reuters Health) – Impoverished communities across the globe are receiving lifesaving tips for dealing with disease, draught and depression from short, user-friendly videos that are free online. Agriculture animations, for example, show how to build raised planting beds using layers of animal manure, vegetation and soil, or how to install drip irrigation systems to help conserve water. The free videos – more than 40 at this point – are produced by Scientific Animations Without Borders, or SAWBO (http://bit.ly/1ff4sqK), which was founded in 2011 by Barry Pittendrigh and Julia Bello-Bravo of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne.

Ghana halts Ebola vaccine trial due to community protests

Ghana has halted a plan to test two Ebola vaccines in an eastern town after legislators backed local protests against the trials sparked by fears of contamination, officials said on Wednesday. The country's Food and Drugs Authority said it had begun enlisting volunteers in Hohoe in the Volta region to be injected with drugs made by Johnson & Johnson and Bavarian Nordic as part of a global Ebola vaccine drive. Ebola has killed more than 11,000 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia since it began more than a year ago but new cases have declined sharply.

About 55 people at Utah homeless shelter suffer food poisoning

By Peg McEntee SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) – About 55 people, including some children, fell ill with suspected food poisoning at a homeless shelter in Salt Lake City on the weekend, and authorities were investigating the source of the illness, officials said on Monday. Ambulances and a bus were sent to the shelter on Sunday to take those sickened to local hospitals, where they reported nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea, according to Salt Lake City Fire Department spokesman Jasen Asay. Ilene Risk, an epidemiologist at the Salt Lake County Department of Health, said those who check into Road Home often get food at a nearby soup kitchen and from other such facilities in the city.

U.S. bird flu causing egg squeeze, emergency measures

By P.J. Huffstutter and Bill Berkrot CHICAGO and NEW YORK (Reuters) – As a virulent avian influenza outbreak continues to spread across the Midwestern United States, some egg-dependent companies are contemplating drastic steps: importing eggs from overseas or looking to egg alternatives. A spokeswoman for grain giant Archer Daniels Midland Co said that, as egg supplies have tightened and prices risen, the company has received numerous inquiries from manufacturers about the plant-based egg substitutes it makes. “The U.S. has never imported any significant amount of eggs, because we’ve always been a very low-cost producer,” said Tom Elam of FarmEcon, an agricultural consulting company.

FDA staff say Vertex CF combo works, unclear how

(Reuters) – Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc's combination of an experimental compound and an approved drug significantly improved lung function in cystic fibrosis patients with the most common genetic mutation underlying the disease, FDA staff said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff reviewers, however, were not sure whether Vertex's already approved therapy, Kalydeco, had a positive effect alone. The FDA is trying to ask the panel if the evidence is enough to show that the combination's benefit is significantly better than that of a single component, RBC Capital analyst Michael Yee said. The FDA staff was satisfied with the safety profile of the combination, to be called Orkambi, according to documents released on Friday.

J&J seeks bioethics advice on compassionate use of drugs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dying patients sometimes seek emergency access to experimental medicines, desperate for a last-chance treatment even if there’s little proof it could help. Now drug giant Johnson & Johnson is taking an unusual step, turning to independent bioethicists for advice on when to say yes or no.

Teva Pharmaceutical offers to buy Mylan for $31 bn

Teva Pharmaceutical Tuesday launched an unsolicited bid to buy Mylan for $31 billion in a transaction that would create a behemoth in generic drugs. Teva's cash-and-stock bid would quash an unsolicited bid by Mylan earlier this month to acquire Perrigo for $28.9 billion. Teva said its bid amounted to superior value for Mylan shareholders compared with Mylan's approach to Perrigo.

Rugby-Australian club player dies after head knock

An Australian rugby player has died from a head injury sustained in a tackle during a club match in New South Wales at the weekend, local media reported on Monday. Nicholas Tooth was visiting his home town in the New England region of the state for the weekend and accepted an offer to turn out for the Quirindi Lions on Saturday.

India’s acid victims hope for new life after court orders free treatment

By Nita Bhalla and Suchitra Mohanty NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Rupa Saa was just 15 when her stepmother poured acid over her face as she slept, burning her skin and melting her cheeks, nose, mouth and chin. Like many of India’s acid victims, she was shunned due to her disfigurement and struggled to pay for the multiple reconstructive surgeries she needed – leaving her despondent and with little will to live. “I was devastated by the acid attack. Although the amount of compensation is very little, the order by the court will give us a better life and future,” Saa told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Agra, around 200 km (130 miles) south of New Delhi.