Month: February 2014

ATLANTA (AP) — Toddler obesity shrank sharply in the past decade, a new study suggests. While promising, it's not proof that the nation has turned a corner in the battle against childhood obesity, some experts say.

By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks edged lower on Tuesday, easing back from record territory a day earlier as weak economic data offset gains in Home Depot and other retail shares. Selling picked up slightly late in the session as traders unwound positions after the S&P 500 failed to break above Monday's intraday record high of 1,858.71, analysts said. "We tried to break out again and retest the highs, and since we failed, people are lightening up their positions they took earlier," said Michael O'Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in Greenwich, Connecticut. Home Depot shares jumped 4 percent to close at $80.98, giving the biggest boost to both the Dow and the S&P 500.

Anika Therapeutics Inc said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its drug to treat pain and improve joint mobility in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee, more than four years after it first filed for approval. The company’s shares rose about 33 percent to $45.98 in extended trading after the approval for Monovisc, which is already sold in Canada, the United Kingdom and countries in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. “Management did a tremendous job in pushing forward through multiple rejections at the FDA,” Summer Street Research analyst Mark Landy said. “We believe this product will be competitive in a market that is becoming more focused on single-shot injections.” Sanofi SA and Zimmer Holdings Inc also market single-injection treatments for osteoarthritis of the knee.

By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An expansion of healthcare and education programs for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan cleared its first procedural hurdle on Tuesday, as Democrats in the U.S. Senate attempted to win passage of the legislation this week. By a vote of 99-0, the Senate laid the groundwork for debating a bill that would create 27 new medical facilities in 18 states and Puerto Rico to help meet the growing needs of veterans of the long combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. “This is the most comprehensive piece of veterans’ legislation to be offered in decades and addresses many of the challenges facing service members, veterans and their families,” said Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont, the chief sponsor of the bill. Republicans also were trying to attach a controversial provision unrelated to veterans programs: possible new sanctions on Iran, which the Obama administration opposes as a potential threat to diplomatic efforts that are aimed at stopping that country’s suspected nuclear weapons program.

ATLANTA (AP) — A new study may be another signal of a national decline in childhood obesity.

LAKE FOREST, Calif. (AP) — A year after his son's suicide, popular evangelical pastor Rick Warren is taking on a new mental health ministry inspired by his personal tragedy.

By Anne Harding NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Children born to women who take acetaminophen during pregnancy may be at increased risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and similar behavioral problems, new findings suggest. The study does not show that prenatal exposure to the medication causes ADHD, and the increase in risk is small, Dr. Jorn Olsen, one of the study’s authors, told Reuters Health. Nevertheless, “it’s reasonable to say that there’s no reason to use these drugs during pregnancy unless there is a clear medical indication,” said Olsen, a professor of epidemiology at UCLA and at Aarhus University in Denmark. Acetaminophen, or paracetamol, has been available over the counter since the 1950s, Olsen and his colleagues note in their report in JAMA Pediatrics.

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Handling receipts may increase the body’s level of a chemical that has been linked to reproductive and neurological problems, suggests a new small study. The researchers write in JAMA that bisphenol A – commonly known as BPA – typically enters the body when people eat food from a can. But it can also be absorbed through the skin from receipts, according to the study’s lead author. “It’s not the main source of exposure, but it’s an additional source that wasn’t previously recognized,” Dr. Shelley Ehrlich of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio told Reuters Health.