Month: April 2014

An over-the-counter supplement designed to ease osteoarthritis prolonged the lifespan of lab mice by nearly a tenth, scientists said Tuesday. This would translate into an average eight-year longevity gain if the result could be repeated in humans, Swiss researchers reported in the journal Nature Communications. A team led by Michael Ristow at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich used a common dietary supplement called glucosamine on laboratory mice after testing it on worms. It is widely sold over the counter as a supplement to combat osteoarthritis, the commonest form of arthritis, although studies into its efficacy have thrown up mixed results.

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) – Gilead Sciences aims to license its new hepatitis C drug Sovaldi to three or four Indian generic manufacturers to allow sales of the medicine at lower prices in some 60 developing nations. Clifford Samuel, head of access operations and emerging markets at the U.S. drugmaker, told Reuters he expected to have deals in place shortly with the Indian firms, which would be able to produce the drug in high volumes and at low margins. Gilead is under pressure to address the high cost of its breakthrough pill, which is the first of a new wave of drugs that have been shown to raise cure rates and cut treatment duration without the side effects of current injections. He said Gilead was looking to strike deals with firms that had proven experience in producing generic versions of its HIV/AIDS drugs, such as the Indian division of Mylan.

“The Pregnant Athlete” shows some intense moves for expectant moms.

More American mothers are staying at home with their children, a trend driven in part by rising immigration and women unable to find jobs, a Pew analysis released on Tuesday showed. The category of stay-at-home mothers with children under 18 includes women who are at home to care for their families and mothers who cannot find work, are disabled or in school, the Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data said. About two-thirds of stay-at-home mothers are married with working husbands, down from 85 percent in 1970 as U.S. marriage rates have fallen and the number of single mothers has risen, the analysis said. The figure has fallen from 41 percent in 1970 as more mothers went to work and the number of single mothers went up, the analysis said Six percent of stay-at-home mothers said they were home with their children because they could not find a job, up from 1 percent in 2000.