Month: May 2013

By Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) – Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng called on the United States on Friday to ensure his family in China would be treated fairly, saying his imprisoned nephew was not receiving proper medical care from Chinese authorities, whom he accused of "hooligan tactics." Chen, who made international headlines last year when he escaped house arrest and spent 20 hours on the run before finding refuge at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, said his nephew was suffering from appendicitis and being treated only by a fellow inmate who had received some medical training. …

By Sharon Bernstein LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – California Governor Jerry Brown, under court order to produce a plan to ease overcrowding in state prisons, pointed to plans to reopen two closed facilities and move some inmates to camps, but otherwise defiantly rapped a three-judge panel for the "intrusiveness" of the case. Brown's filing stopped short of laying out precisely how the most populous U.S. state would realistically reduce the prison population to a level demanded by the court in a move that could put him on a collision course with the judges. …

By Laura Zuckerman (Reuters) – A Utah soccer referee who suffered head injuries when he was punched in the face by a teenage player remained hospitalized in a coma on Friday, almost a week after the incident. A 17-year-old player struck the referee, Ricardo Portillo, in the head on Saturday after Portillo penalized the teenager during a soccer game in a Salt Lake City suburb, said Justin Hoyal, a lieutenant with the Unified Police of Greater Salt Lake. The player, whose name was withheld because he is a juvenile, was upset because Portillo had issued him a yellow card, Hoyal said. …

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) will be released in May. Yahoo is featuring first-person stories from Americans who are diagnosed with some of the most common mental health disorders in the United States. Here's one story.

(Reuters) – Health officials in India have revoked Johnson & Johnson’s license to make cosmetics at a plant outside Mumbai after they discovered the company had used an unauthorized process for sterilizing its baby powder. J&J said in a statement on Friday that it is in “ongoing discussions” with Indian regulators. “We understand their concerns and are diligently working with them to resolve the issue,” Peggy Ballman, a J&J spokeswoman, said in a statement, adding that there were no consumer complaints or adverse events reported due to its use of the process. …

Women have another reason to exercise: It may help prevent kidney stones. You don't have to break a sweat or be a super athlete, either. Even walking for a couple hours a week can cut the risk of developing this painful and common problem by about one-third, a large study found.

By Trevor Stokes NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Creatine, a supplement favored by bodybuilders, modestly boosted muscle strength in patients with fibromyalgia, Brazilian researchers report. Apart from helping with muscle weakness, though, the treatment had little effect on other symptoms of the mysterious disorder, such as chronic pain, fatigue, memory loss, depression, anxiety and sleeplessness. …

Back in the late 1960s, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. William H. Stewart allegedly made this provocative, very definitive statement: “It is time to close the book on infectious diseases, and declare the war against pestilence won.”