Reuters Health News Summary

08/26/2016 8:57

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Exposure to 9/11 disaster tied to low birthweight, preterm delivery

For years following the events of September 11, 2001 in lower Manhattan, the disaster and its aftermath may have affected women and their babies who were not even conceived yet, according to a new study. Researchers found that among women who were rescue or recovery workers responding to the events of 9/11, or women who resided below Canal Street in the World Trade Center's neighborhood, those with the most intense exposures to the disaster had doubled rates of preterm delivery and low birthweight babies over the next few years.

U.S. pharmacies sell cigarettes for less than other stores

Cigarettes are often cheaper at the very place that people shop for health supplies and fill medicine prescriptions, according to a new study in California. "Compared to other types of stores, pharmacies charged customers less for cigarettes, more for bottled water," said lead author Lisa Henriksen of the Stanford Prevention Research Center at Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto.

Theranos to appeal regulatory sanctions on its lab

Blood-testing company Theranos Inc said it plans to appeal the sanctions imposed by a U.S. regulator last month on one of its labs alleging its practices jeopardized patient health and safety. Theranos has filed a notice of intent to appeal sanctions imposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on the company's lab in Newark, California, the privately held company said late Thursday.

Cash may convince some smokers to quit

Paying smokers to quit and giving them more money the longer they avoid cigarettes might help get more people to kick the habit than cessation advice on its own, a recent study suggests. To test the power of money to combat addiction, researchers in Switzerland offered about 800 low-income smokers pamphlets and online cessation guides. Half of them were also eligible to receive as much as $1,650 if a series of six lab tests verified that they stopped smoking.

Hair transplants make men look more attractive, youthful: survey

Balding men who seek to look better or younger by undergoing hair transplants are on the right course, a small new study suggests. People shown before-and-after pictures of hair transplant recipients rated men with more locks as looking more attractive and younger, researchers found. People also thought the men looked more successful and approachable after the procedure.

Lung cancer doctors eye Merck's Keytruda over Bristol's Opdivo

Recent clinical trial results are likely to lead doctors to treat more patients who have a common form of lung cancer with a Merck drug at the expense of a Bristol-Myers Squibb medication at least until more data emerges, oncologists and analysts say. The yet-to-be-published studies involve drugs in a new class designed to enable the body's immune system to fight cancer.

Mylan offers discounts on EpiPen amid wave of criticism

Mylan NV said on Thursday it would reduce the out-of-pocket costs of its emergency EpiPen allergy injection for some patients amid a wave of criticism from lawmakers and the public over the product's rapidly escalating price. The list price of the drug will remain the same, but the company said it would increase the maximum copay assistance program to $300 from $100 for patients who pay for the 2-pak in cash or who are covered by a commercial health insurer.

Novartis announces positive phase III results for MS drug siponimod

Novartis AG said a late-stage study showed its oral, once-daily BAF312, or siponimod, reduced the risk of disability progression in a severe form of multiple sclerosis. The Phase III EXPAND study, the largest randomized, controlled study in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) to date, met its primary endpoint, compared with placebo, the Swiss drugmaker said in a statement on Thursday.

FDA warns former Sun Pharma U.S. drug factory over quality concerns

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has pulled up a former Sun Pharmaceutical drug factory for "knowingly" releasing 27 lots of the hypertension drug clonidine last year, despite proof that the raw materials used may have been contaminated. This is one of a series of quality concerns tied to the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania factory that the FDA highlighted in an Aug. 15 "warning letter" issued to the site's current owner, U.S. firm Frontida BioPharm Inc.

Tanzania's army of community health workers face mistrust as they roll out services

One of the biggest tests of Justine Michael's job as a community health worker is not the distances he must travel along remote dirt roads to visit patients in Tanzania's Mkuranga district, but rather the suspicion he often encounters. Many villagers are wary when they are approached by a stranger dressed in trousers and a shirt, rather than the crisp white coats favored by doctors all over the world, he said.

08/26/2016 8:57