Month: February 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some of the world’s biggest drugmakers are playing a larger role in anti-doping efforts at this year’s Winter Olympics: They’re providing information on drugs that once would have been considered proprietary trade secrets.

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A wrinkle in the HealthCare.gov website that temporarily left some children without insurance coverage has been fixed, federal officials said Friday.

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — U.S. Olympians will have to make do without the team's official yogurt — denying them a source of protein and potentially disturbing their daily routines as they prepare for the biggest competition of their lives.

(Reuters) – Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang will miss at least six weeks after suffering a stroke last week, the National Hockey League team announced on Friday. Letang, 26, began feeling dizzy last week and tests later confirmed the stroke. His defect, which occurs in all individuals before birth but usually seals shut, could have led to his stroke, the Penguins said in a news release. "Kris had one brief episode of dizziness and nausea last week," Penguins general manager Ray Shero said in a statement.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Friday called on the government to ratchet up pressure on India over intellectual property rights, in a move that could help prevent Indian companies from producing cheap generic versions of medicines still under patent protection. In a submission to the Office of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the Chamber of Commerce requested that India be classified a Priority Foreign Country, a tag given to the worst offenders when it comes to protecting intellectual property, and one that could trigger trade sanctions. India is currently on the U.S. government's Priority Watch List for countries whose practices on protecting intellectual property Washington believes should be monitored closely. In its new submission, the Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) of the Chamber of Commerce said: "We highlight India as a country with particular challenges with respect to intellectual property protections." "Because India has not shown a record of engagement on these issues and the environment has deteriorated significantly since last year, we are now recommending that India be designated a Priority Foreign Country," it said.

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang will miss at least six weeks after suffering a stroke last week, the National Hockey League team announced on Friday. Letang, 26, began feeling dizzy last week and tests later confirmed the stroke. His defect, which occurs in all individuals before birth but usually seals shut, could have led to his stroke, the Penguins said in a news release. “Kris had one brief episode of dizziness and nausea last week,” Penguins general manager Ray Shero said in a statement.

By Ronnie Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Teenagers who didn’t eat a good breakfast were more likely to be obese and have elevated blood sugar in middle age, a new study shows. Researchers at Umea University in Sweden found that teens who reported eating no breakfast or only sweets were two-thirds more likely to develop a cluster of risk factors linked to heart disease and diabetes when they were in their 40s than their peers who ate more substantial morning meals. “It may be that eating breakfast aids in keeping to a healthier diet the rest of the day,” the study’s lead author, Maria Wennberg, told Reuters Health in an email. Kids who miss breakfast experience hunger surges and tend to overeat later in the day, Dr. David Ludwig, a pediatrics and nutrition researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, said.

By Shereen Jegtvig NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Men who took part in a weight loss program designed specifically for male soccer fans lost an average of 12 pounds (5 kg) and had a good time doing it, according to a new study from Scotland. The 12-week Football Fans in Training (FFIT) program, run by coaching staffs from 13 Scottish Professional Football League teams, combined advice on healthy diet with physical activity and team regalia. “We thought there was an urgent need to develop weight management programs that were designed specifically for men in settings in which they would feel comfortable,” Sally Wyke told Reuters Health. A member of the study team, Wyke is deputy director of the Institute of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow.

(Reuters) – Merck & Co said on Friday it will pay $100 million to resolve all U.S. product liability lawsuits alleging it downplayed serious health risks involving its NuvaRing intrauterine contraceptive device. The product, which contains the hormones estrogen and progestin commonly found in birth control bills, is associated with an increased risk of developing blood clots that can cause heart attacks, strokes or sudden deaths. Available to women in the United States since 2001, NuvaRing is one of several contraceptive products linked to this higher risk. Merck, the second-biggest U.S. drugmaker, denied any fault under the agreement, which must be accepted by 95 percent of about 3,800 eligible patients involved in lawsuits pending in federal and state courts.