Year: 2014

A small study that examined brains from children who died found abnormal patterns of cell growth in autistic children. The research bolsters evidence that something before birth might cause autism, at least in some cases.

(Reuters) – Some bottles of Alli, GlaxoSmithKline Plc's weight-loss drug sold over the counter in the United States, have been tampered with, and the Food and Drug Administration was investigating, the company said on Wednesday. Consumers have reported that about 20 bottles bought in stores in seven mostly Southern states contained products other than the drug, GlaxoSmithKline said. The bottles could be unlabeled and the lot numbers might not match the numbers on the carton, GlaxoSmithKline said. Glaxo spokeswoman Deborah Bolding said that so far there have been no reports of serious illness related to the products.

By Gene Emery NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Researchers say they have uncovered key abnormalities in some of the layers of the brains of children with autism, an indication that the foundation for the problem is laid early in fetal development. Using a unique collection of molecular tags applied to the brains after the children had died, they found patches along the convoluted surface of the brain where some usual components of cells were missing. Brain cells were still present in those patches, but they lacked proteins seen in normal brain cells, said Dr. Rich Stoner, coauthor of a paper on the results that appears in the March 27 New England Journal of Medicine. The team used the tags to look for 25 unique markers of healthy cells and of specific genes in the brains of children who had died between the ages of 2 and 15 years.

Italy’s MolMed is close to presenting results from Phase III clinical trials of a new cancer treatment that could represent a turning point for the biotech company, its founder said on Wednesday. The Milan-based company has developed the NGR-hTNF molecule to treat mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos, and expects to announce results of the trials by the end of June, Claudio Bordignon told Reuters. “There is no competitor, there is no drug for the cure of mesothelioma,” Bordignon said, adding that MolMed is likely to seek a partner to produce and market the product. In a note broker Jefferies said it believed NGR to be an attractive asset that could attract partners to fund further development.

A juvenile court judge has given the state of Massachusetts custody of Justina Pelletier until the age of 18.

CHICAGO (AP) — A smartphone app for recovering alcoholics that includes a panic button and sounds an alert when they get too close to taverns helped keep some on the wagon, researchers who developed the tool found.

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A mobile app aimed at keeping people recovering from alcohol abuse sober appears to cut down on the number of days they drink, according to a new study. More recovering alcohol abusers also reported total abstinence from drinking when using the app, which has guided relaxation techniques and alerts users when they’re near bars and other places that may be risky to their recoveries. “The system we have is the product of about 30 years of research,” David Gustafson, the app’s developer, told Reuters Health. Gustafson is also the study’s lead author from the Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Health officials in Guinea are working to contain the disease.

By Saliou Samb CONAKRY (Reuters) – Guinea said on Wednesday it had stopped an outbreak of deadly Ebola fever from spreading beyond the country’s remote southeast, although the number of deaths from suspected infections rose to at least 63. U.N. agencies and medical charities such as Doctors Without Borders (MSF) have scrambled to help Guinea – one of the world’s poorest countries – to cope with the virus, amid fears it might spill across borders into neighboring West African nations. Liberia, which shares a border with southeastern Guinea, reported five deaths this week from suspected infections in people who had come across the frontier to seek treatment. Sierra Leone has also uncovered two deaths in the border town of Boidu suspected to be linked to Ebola, one of the most lethal infectious diseases known to man.

Boston judge slams parents, rules state to keep custody until age 18.