FDA seeks end of lawsuit over delayed food safety rules

The headquarters of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is shown in Silver Spring near Washington(Reuters) – Creating new rules for food safety is too complex a task to be completed quickly and a lawsuit seeking to compel government action should be dismissed, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA said that although it was behind schedule in modernizing food safety regulations as set out in a law signed in January 2011, the agency's broad role in regulating a $450 billion domestic and imported food business requires additional time. "The enormity and scope of the task given to FDA cannot be overstated," the FDA said in a motion filed Friday in U.S. …

Study finds pattern in brain injuries linked to contact sports

To match Feature SPORTS/FOOTBALL-HELMETS/BOSTON (Reuters) – Years of hits to the head in football or other contact sports lead to a distinct pattern of brain damage that begins with an athlete having trouble focusing and can eventually progress to aggression and dementia, a study released on Monday says. Researchers examining the brains of 85 former athletes and soldiers who sustained multiple mild head injuries over their lives found the condition they developed, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, came in an "ordered and predictable" four-stage pattern. …

Carbon monoxide leak at Atlanta school sickens nearly 50 people

ATLANTA (Reuters) – Nearly 50 students and teachers were hospitalized in Atlanta on Monday after becoming ill due to a carbon monoxide leak at an elementary school, officials said. The 43 students and six teachers from Finch Elementary School were all “conscious and alert” when they were taken to the hospitals, Atlanta Fire Department spokeswoman Marian McDaniel said. Officials determined a faulty furnace at the 3-year-old school to be the source of the leak, McDaniel said. Carbon monoxide levels inside the school were “the highest we’ve ever seen,” she said. …

Hormone disorder and the Pill tied to blood clots

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Women who have a hormone disorder called polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and who take the birth control pill have twice the risk of blood clots than do other women on the Pill, according to a new study. “For many women with PCOS, (the risks) will be small,” said Dr. Christopher McCartney, an associate professor at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, who was not involved in the new work. “For some women, they might be high enough to say we really shouldn’t use the Pill, such as for women over 35 who smoke. …

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