Month: September 2013

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Bayer faces a growing number of reports of suspected undesirable side-effects from its stroke prevention pill Xarelto, German magazine Der Spiegel reported, citing data from a federal authority. There was a total of 968 cases of suspected undesirable side-effects related to Xarelto in the first eights months of 2013, including 72 cases of death, the magazine reported, citing Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM). This compares to 750 cases of side-effects, including 58 cases of death, for the whole of 2012, the magazine said. …

The Dignity of a Porn Star

By Mary Wisniewski CHICAGO (Reuters) – When retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Justin Madore has nightmares, his dog Cody is there to wake him up. “Cody gets up in my bed and starts pounding on me – it’ll knock my wife right out of bed,” said Madore, 37, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. “The dogs become a part of us – they know when there’s something off.” Cody, a 3-year-old Labradoodle, a Labrador retriever and poodle mix, has had special training. …

By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) – Colorado authorities are investigating the deaths of three people and the hospitalization of 75 others who fell ill in recent weeks after possibly smoking synthetic marijuana popularly known by the street name “Spice,” officials said on Friday. The state health department said that since late August, hospitals in the Denver metropolitan area and in Colorado Springs have treated dozens of patients who may have ingested dangerous synthetic pot. …

By Richard Valdmanis BOSTON (Reuters) – Connecticut said on Friday that two patients who recently underwent surgery at a VA Hospital may have been exposed to a rare brain disease, adding to 13 people already reported at risk in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The potential for exposure is believed to be the result of doctors using the same surgical instruments on several different patients. Those instruments were initially used on a New Hampshire patient, who has since died. …

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas girl who has been recovering from a rare and often-fatal infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba went swimming at a hospital pool on Friday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration says consumers shouldn't worry too much about levels of arsenic in rice — but should vary their diets just in case.

The agency is still studying the long-term effects of exposure.        

By Soyoung Kim and Greg Roumeliotis and Jessica Toonkel NEW YORK (Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson has launched a sale process for its Ortho Clinical Diagnostics unit, which makes blood screening equipment and laboratory blood tests and could fetch around $5 billion, three people familiar with the matter said on Friday. J&J has asked JPMorgan Chase & Co to run the sale and is preparing to send detailed financial information in coming weeks to potential buyers, including some of the world's largest private equity firms and a number of healthcare companies, the people said. …

(Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson's consumer healthcare unit said on Friday it is recalling about 200,000 bottles of concentrated Motrin drops for infants due to potential contamination with plastic particles. The company is asking U.S. retailers to remove the affected half-ounce bottles of original berry flavored drops from store shelves. It said consumers should dispose of any recalled product they may have and suggested they contact the company about refunds. …

By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index dropped on Friday with financial and telecoms shares leading the fall as worries about the Syrian conflict hit sentiment and disappointing U.S. jobs data signaled an uneven recovery in the world’s biggest economy. The sluggish U.S. data did lessen fears of an immediate pullback in stimulus measures by the U.S. central bank. That lifted the price of bullion, which is seen as a safe-haven trade during tough economic times, and gold-mining stocks rose as a result. …