Year: 2012

U.S. lawmakers pledge action after meningitis outbreak

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Tonya Snyder, a Mycology Specialist in the Vanderbilt Clinical Microbiology Lab for patient care examines samples to isolate and identify specimens for gorwth in Nashville, TennesseeWASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic and Republican lawmakers said on Thursday they would alter the regulation of drug compounding pharmacies in hopes of preventing more crises like the rare fungal meningitis outbreak that has now cost 32 lives. The outbreak of 461 cases in 19 states has been linked to tainted steroid injections from a Massachusetts pharmacy and led to public condemnation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and state pharmacy regulators for failing to act against known problems over the course of a decade. …

"Exposure" to U.S. may raise immigrants’ obesity risk

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A new study finds that the longer immigrants from Mexico, and their U.S.-born offspring, spend in the United States, the greater their odds of becoming obese. Compared to similar individuals living in Mexico, researchers found the grandchildren of immigrants to the U.S. from Mexico were three times more likely to be obese adults. “We just couldn’t believe the fact that we found roughly a threefold increase from the one extreme… to the people on the other side,” said the study’s lead author Karen R. …

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Therapy can help fearful mothers avoid C-sections

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Group therapy can help women avoid risky and costly cesarean sections, especially first-time mothers fearful of childbirth, according to a new study from Finland. While nearly half of first-time mothers with an extreme fear of childbirth opted for C-sections before counseling, researchers found, only about a third ended up choosing C-sections after attending therapy sessions. …

People overestimate benefits of prevention

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Patients asked to estimate how many lives would be saved through cancer screening or how many hip fractures can be prevented with bone-building medication mostly overestimate the benefits of these preventive measures, according to a survey of New Zealanders. Annette O’Connor of the University of Ottawa, who studies how patients weigh risk and make decisions, said she would expect that people would overvalue any given prevention effort. “Most people would overestimate because they’re told about their benefits, but with no numbers… …

Tired after cancer treatment? Walking may help

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – People who have been treated for cancer often have lingering fatigue, but a new analysis of more than three dozen studies suggests regular walking or cycling might help boost their energy. Patients’ long-lasting tiredness has been blamed both on the cancer itself, including cancer-related pain, and on the effects of treatments such as chemotherapy. Prior studies point to talk therapy, nutrition counseling and acupuncture as possible ways to ease cancer-related fatigue during or after treatment (see Reuters Health story of October 29, 2012). …

FDA panel backs Dynavax’s hep B vaccine efficacy, not safety

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(Reuters) – A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel voted unanimously to recommend the effectiveness of Dynavax Inc’s hepatitis B vaccine Heplisav, but raised concerns about its safety, asking for more data from studies on a wider population. The views of the panel of outside experts were based on data submitted by Dynavax that compared the safety and immunogenicity, or ability to evoke an immune response, of its Heplisav with that of an older vaccine named Engerix B by GlaxoSmithKline Plc. …

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