Month: August 2012

Tobacco smoke tied to flu complications in kids

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Cigarette butts in an ashtray in Los Angeles, CaliforniaNEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Kids hospitalized with the flu are more likely to need intensive care and a longer stay if they've been exposed to second-hand smoke at home, a small new study finds. Analyzing the records of more than 100 kids hospitalized with flu in New York state, researchers found those exposed to second-hand smoke were five times more likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit and required a 70 percent longer stay in the hospital, compared to the kids not exposed to smoke. …

Soccer-Boy without feet causing stir in Brazil

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CAMPOS, Brazil, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Brazilian Gabriel Muniz,11, is one of the best players at his school despite being bornwithout feet and he dreams of being a footballer when he growsup, even though he knows it can only be at disabled level. After an appearance in Brazil’s most popular sports show onthe TV Globo network, Gabriel was invited to take part in aBarcelona training camp in Saquarema, a town in the state of Riode Janeiro. His special skills impressed the Spanish club’s coaches andhe has been invited to meet his idol Lionel Messi next month. …

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FDA approves Medivation prostate cancer drug

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(Reuters) – A novel prostate cancer drug developed by Medivation Inc and Astellas Pharma Inc has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for men whose cancer has spread despite treatment with hormone therapy and chemotherapy, the agency said on Friday. Approval of the pill, to be sold under the brand name Xtandi, comes three months ahead of the agency’s late-November decision deadline and sent shares of Medivation up 7.6 percent. Wall Street analysts, on average, have forecast Medivation’s sales of the drug at $1.2 billion by 2017, according to Thomson Pharma. …

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Vitamin D supplements may not improve heart health

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Despite many studies linking higher blood levels of vitamin D to fewer heart attacks and deaths, a new trial found giving older women daily D supplements didn’t cut their heart-related risks. The women’s cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar was no lower after a year of taking one of two doses of vitamin D, compared to those who took vitamin-free placebo pills. So-called observational studies – which measure vitamin D in people’s blood and then follow them over time – have tended to find a link between vitamin levels and heart health. …

Intense workouts may be safe for heart patients: study

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Moderate levels of exercise are often prescribed for people recovering from a heart attack or heart surgery, but a new study finds that pumping up workouts to high intensity levels might be a safe option too. Among 4,800 Norwegian heart patients, who racked up a combined total of over 170,000 hours of aerobic exercise, researchers found three cardiac arrests occurred during workouts and only one was fatal. …

Paralympics returns home a different Games

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Britain's Conroy challenges Australia's Nott as teammate Merritt looks on during their Wheelchair Basketball women's preliminary match at the London 2012 Paralympic GamesLONDON (Reuters) – When Britain's Stoke Mandeville hospital staged its first sporting contest for disabled patients in 1948 it hoped to show soldiers injured in World War Two that a broken back did not have to mean a death sentence. Since then, staff have seen those early games transformed into a Paralympic showcase now in its 14th and largest edition in Britain, mirroring wider progress in the perception of disability around the world. …

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