Month: May 2014

An experimental cancer drug being developed by Plexxikon, a unit of Daiichi Sankyo, appears to ease pain and swelling in patients with a rare joint disease caused by a genetic mutation, researchers said on Wednesday. Plexxikon’s drug, PLX3397, is a new cancer drug that acts on this same pathway, blocking the abnormality that drives PVNS. Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York tested the drug in people with this rare disease, which affects about 600 people in the United States.

By Barbara Liston ORLANDO (Reuters) – Two U.S. hospital workers who fell ill after contact with a patient suffering from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) have tested negative for the often-deadly virus, a Florida health official said on Wednesday. U.S. health officials had recently confirmed the country’s first two cases of MERS, raising fears about the global spread of the virus, which has been responsible for a worsening outbreak in Saudi Arabia. The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that while its concern over MERS had significantly increased, the disease does not yet pose a global health emergency.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama’s pick to be the nation’s new health secretary faced some pointed questions Wednesday over the health care law, but she also won praise as Republican senators largely passed up the chance for an all-out assault on “Obamacare.”

By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) – AstraZeneca's boss said on Wednesday he would engage with Pfizer if the price was right and the risks posed from forcing the British drugmaker's operations into the U.S. company's new three-unit model were addressed. Chief Executive Pascal Soriot stressed his company had a bright future as a stand-alone firm but acknowledged that shareholders would expect AstraZeneca's board to negotiate if terms were sufficiently attractive in a sweetened offer.

By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) – Wal-Mart has settled lawsuits with the families of 23 people who died from a 2011 listeria outbreak traced to cantaloupe grown at a Colorado farm and sold by the retailer, both sides said on Wednesday. The attorney for the families, Bill Marler, said the settlement was a \"piece of the puzzle\" to hold accountable all parties in the food supply chain who allowed the adulterated fruit to go to market. \"Both Wal-Mart and my clients are pleased to get this behind us,\" Marler said. Wal-Mart spokesman Randy Hargrove said all the tainted fruit was removed from its stores as soon as the chain became aware of the outbreak.

Every person covered by Medicare would shell out an additional $3 a month if the government agreed to pay to screen certain current and former smokers for lung cancer, a new study estimates.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Research shows a common antidepressant may cut production of one of the chief suspects behind Alzheimer’s, a new avenue in the hunt for drugs to prevent the devastating brain disease.

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Amy Miner says her late husband's fight did not end when he left the war.

"Many Americans practice diets on their own accord and dime, without consulting … “Weight loss is one of the most important challenges health care …

… low-carb diet for her effortless 10-pound weight loss and improved health. … not to eat, raises your good cholesterol best of all the foods you can eat.