Month: May 2013

A deadly tornado hit suburban Oklahoma City on Monday. A quick look at some basic facts:

By Ivan Oransky NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The importance of health literacy hit home for Lisa Gualtieri when a Cambodian refugee diagnosed with cancer asked her to act as a patient advocate. She played the role of a “salty tongue,” a Cambodian expression that paints outspokenness in a positive light. But even though the patient’s family was in the room when doctors took the time to answer every last question about test results and treatment options, the refugee’s family would call Gualtieri hours later to review what doctors had said. …

(Reuters) – AcelRX Pharmaceuticals Inc said its experimental treatment for post-operative pain met its main goal in a late-stage trial of patients who had undergone knee or hip replacement surgery, sending its shares up 15 percent. AcelRX said its Sufentanil NanoTab PCA System showed a decrease in pain intensity, compared with a placebo, as measured on a clinical scale 48 hours after surgery. In the last of three late-stage trials, the drug-device combination also significantly reduced pain compared with a placebo 24 hours and 72 hours after surgery, the company said. …

By Jason McLure (Reuters) – Vermont on Monday became the fourth U.S. state to end legal penalties for doctors who prescribe medication to terminally ill patients seeking to end their own lives. The law, which includes a number of safeguards over the next three years as the state adapts, marked the first time a U.S. state has used the legislative process to make assisted suicide legal. Oregon and Washington have similar laws passed through ballot measures and a Montana court authorized the practice in 2009. …

NANTERRE, France (AP) — A French drug company and its founder are on trial on charges of misleading the public about a diabetes drug marketed as a weight loss method and suspected in hundreds of deaths.

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — A 66-year-old Tunisian man has died from the new coronavirus following a visit to Saudi Arabia and two of his adult children were infected with it, the Tunisian Health Ministry reported.

BEIJING (AP) — Authorities are investigating rice mills in southern China following tests that found almost half of the staple grain in one of the country’s largest cities was contaminated with a toxic metal.

By Ransdell Pierson (Reuters) – A new type of asthma drug meant to attack the underlying causes of the respiratory disease slashed episodes by 87 percent in a mid-stage trial, making it a potential game changer for patients with moderate to severe disease, researchers said on Tuesday. “Overall, these are the most exciting data we’ve seen in asthma in 20 years,” said Dr. Sally Wenzel, lead investigator for the 104-patient study of dupilumab, an injectable treatment being developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc and French drugmaker Sanofi. …