Year: 2014

By Will Boggs MD NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Gay and bisexual boys are almost six times as likely as their heterosexual peers to misuse steroids, according to a new study. “What was most surprising to us was the magnitude of the disparities that emerged between sexual minority and heterosexual boys,” Aaron J. Blashill from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston told Reuters Health in an email. Upwards of 5 percent of adolescent boys use anabolic-androgenic steroids to enhance strength, athletic performance, and muscle size, but nobody had studied the association between sexual orientation and steroid abuse before, Blashill and his colleague Steven A. Safren noted. The researchers were concerned that gay and bisexual boys might be more likely to misuse steroids because of other factors that have been tied to steroid and other substance abuse.

By Mehrdad Balali and Parisa Hafezi DUBAI/ANKARA (Reuters) – Iran welcomed the most senior French trade delegation in years on Monday, telling more than 100 executives that the far-sighted among them stood to win the race for business following an easing of some economic sanctions. “A new chapter has begun in relations between Iran and Europe,” Mohammad Nahavandi an, President Hassan Rouhani’s chief of staff, was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency. “You should carry the message back that potential for cooperation with Iran is real and not to be overlooked,” he told the delegation. A source close to the delegation told Reuters it was the most senior group of entrepreneurs and financiers to visit Iran since the 1979 revolution, representing the defense, aviation, petrochemicals, automotive, shipping and cosmetics sectors.

Pfizer Inc's experimental breast cancer drug significantly delayed progression of symptoms in a mid-stage trial, meeting the study's primary goal and keeping Pfizer in the forefront of a race for a new standard of care for the disease. Pfizer shares were up nearly 4 percent on positive findings for the oral treatment, called palbociclib, one of the company's most important experimental drugs that some analysts believe could eventually claim annual sales of more than $5 billion, if approved. The trial tested the pill in post-menopausal patients with locally advanced or newly diagnosed breast cancer that had spread to other parts of the body. "We are delighted with the final data," Pfizer said in a release, adding the company will discuss the successful data on progression-free survival with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration "to determine next steps" for palbociclib.

Recently, raw diets have gotten more attention along with veganism. … Health food stores and even regular grocery chains often carry varieties of raw, … the Green Smoothie Health & Weight Loss Program, warns us that some foods …

By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent LONDON (Reuters) – Governments must make better use of vaccines and preventative public health policies in the fight against cancer as treatment alone cannot stem the disease, a World Health Organization (WHO) agency said on Monday. The WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said cancer was growing "at an alarming pace" worldwide and new strategies were needed to curb the sometimes fatal and often costly disease. "It's untenable to think we can treat our way out of the cancer problem. That alone will not be a sufficient response," Christopher Wild, IARC's director and co-editor of its World Cancer Report 2014, told reporters at a London briefing.

Biogen Idec Inc's high profile new multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera won European approval, the company said on Monday, opening the door for its launch in one of the world's largest markets for MS treatments. The approval was widely expected after the European Medicines Agency endorsed the drug in November. Tecfidera will be the third oral MS drug available in Europe. The introduction in Europe will start in the coming weeks, although its full roll-out will take place over the course of this year and next as Biogen must negotiate reimbursement for the treatment on a country by country basis.

By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Young women who get the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine don’t see it as a license to have more sexual partners or forgo condoms, a new study confirms. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls for both girls and boys to be vaccinated against HPV, the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer. Some parents have been concerned that the vaccine might promote risky sex, however, and the issue of HPV vaccination became a topic of debate during the 2012 Republican primaries. But in the new study, even the small group of girls who misunderstood their risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) after getting vaccinated didn’t change their behavior as a result, researchers found.

By Misha Hussain DAKAR, Feb 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The United Nations appealed on Monday for more than $2 billion to feed and care for a record 20 million people across Africa's Sahel belt, but aid workers said they feared donor fatigue and a weak global recovery may prevent them from reaching the target. Conflicts in Mali, Nigeria, Sudan and Central African Republic have disrupted markets and caused food shortages across the savannah region, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned. The problems in the Sahel, a semi-arid belt south of the Sahara Desert that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean eastward to the Red Sea, have also weighed on the United Nations' efforts to protect refugees, another component of its aid appeal. More than 1.6 million people have abandoned their homes and half of these have sought refuge in countries like Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad, which are already under strain.

By Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Belgian biotech company Ablynx has signed a deal with Merck & Co worth up to 1.7 billion euros ($2.3 billion) to develop ways of triggering the body to fight cancer by itself. The collaboration involves a new generation of drugs designed to activate the immune system. The first in the field – Bristol-Meyer Squibb's Yervoy – is targeting melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Rival Merck filed the first part of an application to market its own potential drug for advanced melanoma earlier this month, pushing up its share price.