Month: February 2014

An advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday that available evidence does not prove that the painkiller naproxen, sold under the brand names Aleve and Naprosyn, carries a lower cardiac risk than rival products. The panel was convened after a retrospective analysis from multiple clinical trials published last year in The Lancet suggested naproxen was less dangerous to the heart than other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen and Celebrex. Panelists recommended the FDA leave the current product labeling as is, at least pending the outcome of a large ongoing study, known as Precision, that compares naproxen with ibuprofen and Celebrex. The FDA is not bound to follow the advice of its advisory panels, but typically does so.

By David Ingram WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court declined on Tuesday to halt the forced feeding of hunger strikers in Guantanamo Bay but ruled that the prisoners have the right to sue over the procedure and other aspects of how the U.S. military treats them. The 2-1 decision by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed two decisions by lower court judges. Designed to keep hunger strikers alive, the procedure involves feeding them liquid meals via tubes inserted into their noses and down into their stomachs. President Barack Obama has defended the practice at Guantanamo, telling a news conference last year, “I don’t want these individuals to die.” Last year, during a Guantanamo hunger strike in which as many as 46 of 166 inmates were force-fed at least some of their meals, several of them sued.

By Lacey Johnson GEORGETOWN, Delaware (Reuters) – A Delaware pediatrician accused of waterboarding his 11-year-old stepdaughter admitted in court on Tuesday to injuring the girl by dragging her over a gravel driveway in what he described as a moment of carelessness. Dr. Melvin Morse, a best-selling author on near-death experiences, is standing trial on child endangerment charges dating back to July 2012 when police were called to his home over the driveway incident. His stepdaughter, 11 at the time, told authorities that Morse, 60, had waterboarded her on four occasions. “I just reached in there and grabbed her,” replied Morse, who has appeared on “Oprah” and “Good Morning America.” “I did pull her out of the car roughly, carelessly.” When the girl, whose name has been withheld due to her age, began screaming and kicking, Morse dropped her and dragged her across the gravel driveway, he recalled.

Spain’s Socialists failed on Tuesday to block an unpopular draft law restricting women’s access to abortions, which has sparked large protests across the country and caused rare rifts in the conservative People’s Party (PP) that sponsored the bill. Thousands of people around Spain have joined marches in recent weeks to show their opposition to the bill, which will limit abortion to cases of rape or severe danger to the mother’s health. Several PP politicians have spoken out against the law, which will make Spain one of the most restrictive countries in Europe and overturns rules that allow abortions on demand in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. But the motion, put forward by the Socialists, was rejected by 183 votes, with 151 in favor and 6 abstentions.

By Shereen Jegtvig NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – For people with osteoarthritis of the hip, pain levels tracked with the weather over the course of a small two-year study, Dutch researchers say. They looked at reported pain levels in a previous study of arthritis, then went back to weather records to document the conditions each day. It turns out the participants’ aches were just a little worse and joints just a little stiffer when humidity and barometric pressure levels rose. “This is something that patients talk about all the time,” Dr. Patience White told Reuters Health.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A drugmaker working to develop a pill to boost sexual desire in women says regulators are demanding more studies on the experimental drug.

By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Tuesday defended the latest delay in his healthcare law's employer mandate, saying it follows similar relief his administration has already given to certain individuals. In an apparent response to heightened Republican criticism, the president also asserted that the law known as Obamacare will be "good for" the U.S. economy, despite a recent government estimate that it will shrink the labor force by the equivalent of 2.5 million full-time workers over the next decade. Our goal is to make sure that we've got people who can count on the financial security that health insurance provides," Obama said at a joint news conference with French President Francois Hollande. Obama was speaking a day after his administration announced a new delay in a contentious requirement that all but the smallest businesses provide health coverage for their full-time employees or pay a tax penalty.

By Ryan Vlastelica NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street rose for a fourth straight session on Tuesday as Congress agreed to advance legislation extending U.S. borrowing authority and the Federal Reserve's new chief held off from making any changes to its schedule for trimming stimulus. Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives caved in to demands by President Barack Obama and agreed to advance legislation increasing Washington's borrowing authority, removing a potential market headwind. Fed Chair Janet Yellen emphasized continuity in the U.S. central bank's policy strategy of cutting asset purchases by $10 billion a month, saying she strongly supports the approach of her predecessor, Ben Bernanke. "Everyone is more relaxed now that those issues are officially off the table." The Fed's policies have been credited with driving the market's steep gains in 2013, and those accommodative measures are expected to keep a floor under stock prices for as long as they continue.

By Lacey Johnson GEORGETOWN, Delaware (Reuters) – A Delaware pediatrician accused of waterboarding his 11-year-old stepdaughter admitted in court on Tuesday to injuring the girl by dragging her over a gravel driveway in what he described as a moment of carelessness. Dr. Melvin Morse, 60 years old and a best-selling author on near-death experiences, is standing trial on child endangerment charges dating back to July 2012 when police were called to his home over the driveway incident. “Why did you drag her out of the car by her ankle?” state prosecutor Melanie Withers asked during cross-examination. “I just reached in there and grabbed her,” replied Morse, who has appeared on “Oprah” and “Good Morning America.” “I did pull her out of the car roughly, carelessly.” When the girl, whose name has been withheld due to her age, began screaming and kicking, Morse dropped her and proceeded to drag her across the gravel driveway, he recalled.

By Kathleen Raven NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – In U.S. counties where personal incomes cluster on opposite sides of the rich and poor spectrum, children might endure more neglect and abuse, according to a new U.S. study. Based on the analysis of data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System and the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, the effect appears strongest in counties with high poverty. It’s not possible to say income inequality actually causes child maltreatment, but, “we know the reverse hypothesis is not true,” John Eckenrode said. “Child maltreatment does not cause income inequality.” Ekenrode, a psychologist at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, led the study.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A young girl from Kabul has been diagnosed with polio, the first case linked to Afghanistan’s capital since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, according to officials.