Month: July 2013

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nearly 400 people across the country have been sickened by cyclospora, a lengthy intestinal illness usually contracted by eating contaminated food. But if you're looking to find out exactly where it came from, you may be out of luck.

WASHINGTON (AP) — State and federal investigators are trying to figure out the source of a stomach bug that has sickened 372 people in 15 states. Iowa and Nebraska have linked some cases in their states to eating pre-packaged salad mix, but the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration have said the mix is not linked to all of the cases.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's first face transplant patient was discharged from the hospital Tuesday, speaking with some effort at a press conference just 11 weeks after the extensive surgery that saved his life.

ZURICH (Reuters) – A patient taking Novartis' multiple sclerosis pill Gilenya developed a rare and potentially fatal viral disease, the Swiss drugmaker said on Tuesday, an unexpected setback as it faces growing competition from new oral treatments. Gilenya is one of Novartis' big new drug hopes, growing 66 percent in the second quarter to $468 million. But the drug faces competition from new medicines such as Biogen Idec's Tecfidera. Novartis said it had been informed of a case of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in a patient who had been taking Gilenya for MS for seven months. …

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Debi Green is trying to book a vacation, but she’s having a hard time getting the words out. Even though it’s been nearly nine years since she suffered a stroke, language sometimes fails her.

By Karen Brooks (Reuters) – North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed into law on Monday new requirements for clinics performing abortions that supporters say will protect women’s safety and opponents say will restrict access to the procedure. The new law places sweeping new restrictions on abortion clinics, including a requirement doctors have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and be present when abortions are performed. …

By Suzi Parker LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) – A popular Arkansas water park voluntarily closed after a 12-year-old girl who swam there was diagnosed with a rare case of parasitic meningitis, authorities said on Monday. The Arkansas Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the case last week. The owners of Willow Springs Water Park, which has been operating for 85 years, closed the park on Friday. …

COMMENTARY | As a nurse, you can imagine my shock and horror when I read Kyle Smith's article on the New York Post's website about the McDonald's McDouble being the most nutritious and most abundant food around. Smith argues that for $1, you can get half your daily serving of protein, 20 percent of your daily serving of calcium, and even a bit of fiber with this dollar-menu favorite. But Smith's argument is riddled with so many misleading statements that I'm going to have a difficult time keeping this commentary to 350 words.

For the first time, government advisers are recommending screening for lung cancer, saying certain current and former heavy smokers should get annual scans to cut their chances of dying of the disease.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House on Monday shot back at critics who claim Obamacare is leading to higher healthcare costs, slower job growth and rising numbers of part-time workers, saying the latest economic statistics show none of those effects. Nearly one-third of the sharp rise in part-time workers seen in employment numbers for June was due to federal employee furloughs caused by automated spending cuts, rather than employers shifting to part-time workers due to concern about President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, a senior administration official said. …

Participants in a sleep study experienced quantitative decreases in parameters of sound sleep near the full moon, associated with a decrease in sleep quality. Sophie Bushwick reports.