Month: January 2014

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa may be able to safely participate in outpatient treatment, according to a new study from Germany. While outpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa is not common in many countries, researchers found that adolescent girls who took part in a day-treatment program didn’t do any worse than those who stayed at a hospital for months of therapy. “I have quite a lot of experience with adolescent patients and I’ve been working with anorexic patients for about 20 years,” Dr. Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann told Reuters Health. Anorexia nervosa is an intense fear of gaining weight that results in self-starvation and the loss of an unhealthy amount of weight.

By Marina Lopes NEW YORK (Reuters) – Baby products manufacturer Playtex, a unit of Energizer Holdings is recalling more than one million pacifier holder clips after it received reports that they develop cracks, consumer safety officials said on Thursday. “Consumers should immediately take the recalled pacifier holders away from infants,” Playtex posted on its website. The clips are designed to attach pacifiers to clothing, diaper bags and strollers and retail for $3. Some 1.25 million clips were sold in the United States and Canada from mid-2010 through late 2013.

Rail shipments of crude oil and other dangerous goods should face a surcharge when they move through urban areas, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and several other big city mayors said on Thursday at the annual U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting. A number of fiery derailments of crude-by-rail cargo in recent months have drawn attention from federal regulators who have vowed to keep train shipments safe. Emanuel on Thursday proposed a freight fee on dangerous rail cargo moving through cities like Chicago and called on federal authorities to quickly set new safety standards for tank cars. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter joined the call along with the mayors of Milwaukee, Kansas City and several others.

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The counseling that goes along with testing for breast cancer risk genes can be delivered just as effectively over the phone as in person, and at lower cost, according to new research. “Genetic counselors are not evenly distributed across the country,” Marc Schwartz said. He’s also co-leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program and co-director of the Fisher Center for Familial Cancer Research at the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington, D.C. Genetic counseling is a way to provide information and support to people and families who have genetic disorders or may be at risk for inherited conditions, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. “We have – by virtue of the incredibly high demand for genetic risk counseling – been looking for alternative avenues,” Dr. Sofia Merajver told Reuters Health.

The Two Women Died Within Weeks of One Another

By Cameron French TORONTO (Reuters) – Toronto Mayor Rob Ford lived up his reputation for surprises on Thursday when he got stuck in a hotel elevator for nearly an hour while a room full of the city's business elite waited impatiently for him to deliver a speech. The mishap, which delayed his arrival at an C$89-a-plate ($80) business lunch, comes just two days after a video emerged showing Ford ranting, putting on a Jamaican accent, and using profanities to describe Toronto's police chief. On Tuesday, Ford admitted he had consumed alcohol when the video was shot on Monday night, despite his pledge late last year to quit drinking.

By Jana J. Pruet DALLAS (Reuters) – A Texas paramedic will ask a Fort Worth court on Friday to remove his pregnant wife from life support, saying the fetus she is forced to carry under state law has become severely damaged in her debilitated body. Marlise Munoz, now about 22 weeks pregnant, has been on life support in a hospital in Fort Worth since November 26 after suffering what her husband, Erick, believes was a pulmonary embolism. Attorneys for Erick Munoz will ask a Tarrant County court to grant permission to turn off life support, arguing Marlise had become nothing more than brain-dead body. “Marlise Munoz’s death is a horrible and tragic circumstance, but by no means should (the hospital) be entitled to continue cutting into her deceased body in front of her husband and family under the guise of ‘life sustaining’ treatment,” according to court papers they filed.

By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) – A doctor who says he leaked details of a clinical drug trial to SAC Capital Advisors portfolio manager Mathew Martoma also discussed the drug under development with other investors, according to documents displayed in court on Thursday. But Sidney Gilman, who is testifying as a government witness in Martoma's insider trading trial, said that unlike his interactions with Martoma, he did not recall many of his meetings with the other investors. "Recalling the contents of each one is a difficult task," Gilman said in New York federal court.