To ease shortage of organs, grow them in a lab?
NEW YORK (AP) — By the time 10-year-old Sarah Murnaghan finally got a lung transplant last week, she'd been waiting for months, and her parents had sued to give her a better shot at surgery.
Boston hospital to offer hand transplants for kids
A Boston hospital is starting the world's first hand transplant program for children, and doctors say it won't be long until face transplants and other radical operations to improve appearance and quality of life are offered to kids, too.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A court hearing over organ donor matches involving children is on hold after the 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl at the center of the lawsuit received a lung transplant.
U.S. patent case climaxes with win for Canadian vibrator maker
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Couples in the United States looking to spice up their sex lives will have to do without certain adult toys after a U.S. trade panel ruled on Monday that some companies are violating a patent held by a Canadian company for a two-armed vibrator. The U.S. International Trade Commission found that Lelo Shanghai Trading and a number of other vibrator makers infringe on Standard Innovation Corp's patent for a two-armed vibrator that couples can use during intercourse. ...
(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. ...
'Night Stalker' killer Richard Ramirez died of cancer
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The California serial killer known as the "Night Stalker," who died this month at age 53 while on death row for a mid-1980s reign of terror in the Los Angeles area, succumbed to complications of cancer, authorities said. Richard Ramirez, who in 1989 was convicted of committing 13 murders in the Los Angeles region, died on June 7 of complications from B-cell lymphoma, the Marin County Sheriff's Office, Coroner Division, said in a statement. ...
Motor racing-Commentator Walker diagnosed with cancer
June 17 (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. ...
Cultural Images Affect Second Language Usage
People with multicultural backgrounds may change a speech pattern in their second language after seeing an icon from their first culture. Cynthia Graber reports.
DALLAS (AP) — Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced Monday that a physician with a long career in health policy and research will become the breast cancer charity's new president and CEO.
J&J in $1 billion deal to bolster prostate-cancer focus
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. ...
Medtronic bone graft has limited benefit, may cause harm: reviews
By Deena Beasley (Reuters) - Two long-awaited independent reviews of a controversial Medtronic Inc bone growth product show it works as well as traditional bone grafts taken from patients, but it may not be as safe. The analyses, published on Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggest that Medtronic's Infuse product was associated with a small, increased risk of cancer, and that early published data on the trials underreported side effects and emphasized favorable results. ...
Wait-and-see may be best for early prostate cancer
By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Watching and routinely examining men with early, slow-growing prostate cancer is more effective and cheaper than sending them to surgery or radiation right away, according to a new study. The findings are based on a model of 65- to 75-year-old men that takes into account costs of tests, treatment and missed work, treatment side effects, men's quality of life and their chance of dying from prostate cancer. "Most of the men who are diagnosed in this country these days have low-risk prostate cancer," said Dr. ...
DUBAI (Reuters) - Four more people have died and three more have fallen ill in Saudi Arabia from the new SARS-like coronavirus MERS-CoV, the Saudi Health Ministry said on Monday. The ministry said the four deaths were among previously registered cases. The new infections were in Eastern Province, in the capital Riyadh and in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah. Saudi Arabia has been the country most affected by the respiratory-system virus, with 49 confirmed cases, of whom 32 have died, according to data from the ministry. ...
Blood tests could detect sexually-transmitted oral cancers
By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Antibodies to a high-risk type of a virus that causes mouth and throat cancers when transmitted via oral sex can be detected in blood tests many years before onset of the disease, according to a World Health Organisation-led team of researchers. In a study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the researchers said their findings may in future lead to people being screened for human papillomavirus (HPV) antibodies, giving doctors a chance to find those at high risk of oral cancers. ...
By David Schwartz PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona's Republican Governor Jan Brewer signed a law on Monday to expand Medicaid, embracing a key part of Democratic President Barack Obama's healthcare plan in a hard-won policy victory over conservatives in her own party. Brewer, a feisty opponent of the Obama administration over immigration enforcement, signed a bill that will make about 300,000 additional poor and disabled residents eligible for the Medicaid program, a move opposed by some conservative Republican lawmakers. ...
Eating more red meat tied to higher diabetes risk
By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Increasing the number of hamburgers and other red meat people eat on a daily basis is linked to a higher risk of developing diabetes down the road, according to a new study. "I think the difference is enough to encourage people at least not to increase red meat consumption, and then think about ways to reduce the consumption," said the study's lead author An Pan, a professor at the National University of Singapore, in an email to Reuters Health. ...
Falling toilet seats: Rare but growing risk for boys
By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Ouch: Boys know that toilet seats are an occupational hazard of potty training, but a new study suggests the number of genital injuries caused by falling toilet toppers is growing. Researchers found the number of emergency room visits for toilet-related injuries to the penis, while still rare, increased by about 100 visits each year between 2002 and 2010. Usually, the injuries happen when boys are learning how to urinate into the toilet while standing up and the seat falls unexpectedly - although a few adults did get snagged by the seat, too. ...
Jury finds no negligence in trial over man's 8-month erection
By Myles Miller WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - A jury on Monday cleared a doctor of negligence in a lawsuit filed by a Delaware truck driver who underwent a penile implant procedure and ended up with an erection that lasted eight months. "We're stunned," attorney Michael Heyden said as he left the New Castle County courthouse, where his client Daniel Metzgar, 44, of Newark, Delaware, was suing urologist Thomas Desperito of Wilmington, Delaware. In April 2010, four months after the procedure was performed, Metzgar experienced swelling and went to a hospital, where he underwent testing. ...
SEATTLE (AP) — For the activists who led the effort to legalize recreational marijuana in Washington state last fall, Jamen Shively was one of their biggest fears: an aspiring pot profiteer whose unabashed dreams of building a cannabis empire might attract unwanted attention from the federal government or a backlash that could slow the marijuana reform movement across the country.
'100 to 1 Odds': Man Survives 15-Story Fall
Emergency room doctors say they are 'astounded'; 90 percent of people would die in a seven-story fall. Height, surface where the victim lands and the part of the body that hits ground first are the best prognosticators for survival.
Supreme court says FTC can sue over deals that delay generic drug sales
By Lawrence Hurley and Diane Bartz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court ruled on Monday regulators can challenge deals between brand-name drug companies and generic rivals that delay cheaper medicines from going on sale, which regulators say increase costs to consumers by billions of dollars. But the court, in a 5-3 vote with Justice Samuel Alito recused, declined the Federal Trade Commission's request to declare the deals to be presumed to be illegal. The regulatory agency has fought the practice for more than a decade. ...
Niche drugmaker ViroPharma attracts takeover interest: sources
By Jessica Toonkel NEW YORK (Reuters) - ViroPharma Inc, a drug maker specializing in rare diseases, is attracting preliminary acquisition interest from several pharmaceutical companies, according to three people familiar with the matter. No deal is imminent for the "orphan" drugmaker, which has a market capitalization of $1.8 billion, said two of the sources, who requested anonymity because they are not permitted to speak to the media. ...
By Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, who left his home country last year and became a visiting scholar at New York University, will leave the school this summer, but will likely remain in the United States, university officials said on Thursday. Chen made international headlines last year when he escaped house arrest in China's Shandong province, after campaigning for farmers and disabled citizens and exposing forced abortions in China. Chen spent 20 hours on the run before finding refuge at the U.S. ...
Evidence thin on osteopathic manipulation for kids
By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - There is no clear evidence that osteopathic manipulation helps treat kids and teenagers with a range of ailments from asthma to ear infections, according to a new review of the literature. Researchers found 17 studies that compared children who did and didn't receive osteopathic manipulation, but only five that they considered to be rigorous and well-designed. Of those, just one trial found a benefit for the therapy. Osteopathic manipulation involves moving out-of-line joints back into place, relaxing muscles and massaging soft tissue. ...
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African president Nelson Mandela, who is being treated in hospital for a lung infection, is "doing very well", his daughter said on Monday. The 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader, who became South Africa's first black president in 1994, was rushed to hospital early on June 8 with a recurring respiratory infection. He has remained in a "serious but stable" condition, according to the government, but visiting family members have spoken of his improving condition in recent days. ...
5 Summer Injury Risks for Kids
Sunny afternoons by the pool, cookouts with family and friends, a family road trip, camp. The sacred rituals of childhood summer. But as parents relax, pediatricians are warning them to be on high alert, in a commentary published today in the journal Pediatrics.
Dietitian Rachel Beller Uncovers the Bad in Seemingly Healthy Meals
Eating healthy isn’t easy, even for people who think they’re doing the right thing. Rachel Beller, a registered dietitian who has helped “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts, appeared on “GMA” today to share the secrets to eating better. Beller, the author of the new...
Dietitian Rachel Beller Uncovers the Bad in 'Healthful' Meals
Eating healthy isn’t easy, even for people who think they’re doing the right thing. Rachel Beller, a registered dietitian who has helped “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts, appeared on “GMA” today to share the secrets to eating better. Beller, the author of the new...
Burned Woman Warns of Spa Dangers
Daphne Carroll went to a medspa to buy makeup, but said she couldn't refuse the free consultation for a laser facial. Little did she know that impulsive decision would change her life.
Bullying Among Siblings - Not as Harmless as We Think
By Lynn Nguyen, M.D.: “Mom, he’s picking on me!” With summer here and family road trips underway, it’s a phrase that parents may be hearing more and more from the back seat. More often than not, parents dismiss this kind of sibling bullying as harmless. Recent...
By Dorene Internicola NEW YORK (Reuters) - For modern, harried lifestyles focused on getting and spending, fitness experts say tai chi, the ancient Chinese slow-moving exercise, can be an ideal way for anyone to stay fit. A staple in senior citizen centers and a common dawn sighting in public parks, the practice can offer long-term benefits for all age groups. ...
Roche drug approved in Japan for treatment of brain cancer
ZURICH (Reuters) - Japan's health ministry has approved drug Avastin for the treatment of aggressive brain cancer in Japan, Swiss pharmaceuticals company Roche said on Monday. Avastin is the first new medicine approved worldwide for newly diagnosed glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of primary brain cancer, in the last eight years, Roche said. (Reporting by Martin de Sa'Pinto)
Aetna to exit California's individual insurance market
(Reuters) - Aetna Inc said on Saturday it has notified California's insurance regulator that it plans to stop selling health policies to individual consumers in the state at the end of 2013. The company will continue to offer health insurance to employers and Medicare beneficiaries in California, as well as dental and life-insurance products, Aetna spokeswoman Anjie Coplin told Reuters. But people with individual health coverage with Aetna will have to find alternative coverage by year's end. ...
