Month: September 2013

Midday naps seem to help kids learn.        

By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Sharing the bed with baby may make it easier for mothers to breastfeed for the full time that health experts recommend, suggests a new study. But it could also raise the baby’s risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), researchers caution. “My bottom line,” said study author Dr. Fern Hauck from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, “is that yes, we now see with more evidence that breastfeeding is supported by bed-sharing, however we don’t recommend it, because the risk of SIDS and sudden death is still there. …

Social support can be life-saving.        

LONDON (Reuters) – GlaxoSmithKline's sales in China may have dropped 30 percent since authorities accused it of corruption, disrupting its ability to market medicines in the country, according to analyst estimates. Citigroup said initial feedback following the accusations against GSK and investigations into other firms suggested that sales of some multinational drug companies were down as much as 30 percent or more in volume terms since June. …

Health officials have confirmed that a New Hampshire man who died in August following neural surgery had a case of rare, degenerative brain disease. 15 others may have been exposed to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease after their surgeries.        

By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – During their child’s first two months of life, most new mothers have concerns about breastfeeding that make them consider giving up and switching to formula, according to a new study. Ninety-two percent of mothers surveyed when their baby was three days old were worried about breastfeeding – for example, that they weren’t making enough milk or that the infant wasn’t latching on well. …

By Toni Clarke (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued final rules governing the development of mobile medical apps, saying it will focus its oversight on those products that have the potential to harm consumers if they do not function properly. The rules, announced on Monday, come more than two years after the FDA released draft guidance in which it proposed regulating any mobile app deemed to be a medical device. …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, warned congressional Republicans on Monday that he will not go along with any temporary government spending bill that contains controversial add-ons, such as denying funds for "Obamacare." With just a week before funding for U.S. agencies is set to expire unless Congress acts, Reid said that House of Representatives leaders in coming days will "face a choice: Either pass a clean CR or shut down the federal government. …

Dylan Siegel raised $400K toward the rare disease his friend suffers from.        

By Jon Herskovitz MBABANE (Reuters) – Swaziland, the country hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, appears to be stemming the pace of new infections thanks to increased funding, more efficient treatment and greater international help, public health workers said. On a global basis, the rate of HIV infection and the number of AIDS-related deaths have been dramatically reduced, thanks to expanding access to treatment, the United Nations said in a report issued on Monday. Swaziland has a high incidence rate with about a quarter of the adult population and 40 percent of mothers infected with the virus. …