Study finds why Roche’s Avastin only works in some patients 
October 23rd, 2012
By Kate Kelland LONDON | Tue Oct 23, 2012 1:01pm EDT LONDON (Reuters) – Genetic testing could help doctors find the small number of patients with advanced bowel cancer likely to benefit from cancer drug Avastin, scientists said on Tuesday. In a study of Roche’s blockbuster drug, which targets and blocks a protein called VEGF-A, researchers found that different forms of the protein lead to varying responses and Avastin had no benefit in at least half of those taking it
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Drug showed promise in clearing drug-resistant tuberculosis
October 17th, 2012
By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO | Wed Oct 17, 2012 5:59pm EDT CHICAGO (Reuters) – An antibiotic used to treat severe bacterial infections showed promise at treating a highly drug-resistant and deadly form of tuberculosis, U.S. government and South Korean researchers said on Wednesday
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Pfizer says pain drug as safe as rival pills in trial
October 11th, 2012
Thu Oct 11, 2012 9:22am EDT (Reuters) – Pfizer Inc said a late-stage trial of its experimental pain drug showed that the drug’s long-term safety profile was comparable to those of similar formulations. The trial tested the safety of the drug, called ALO-02, when administered for up to 12 months. The study enrolled 395 patients.
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11,000 German schoolchildren probably laid low by strawberries
October 5th, 2012
BERLIN | Fri Oct 5, 2012 6:18pm EDT BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s biggest outbreak of food poisoning, in which more than 11,000 schoolchildren have been laid low by diarrhoea and vomiting, is “very likely” to have been caused by a batch of frozen strawberries, authorities said on Friday. Children in almost 500 schools and daycare centres across eastern Germany that received food from a subcontractor of the catering firm Sodexo have been affected, and at least 32 have been treated in hospital. The Robert Koch Institute, which advises the German Health Ministry on infectious diseases, said it had found a “strong and statistically significant link” between the outbreak and “consumption of products made from a batch of frozen strawberries”.
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Tennessee fungal meningitis outbreak spreads to other states
October 4th, 2012
By Tim Ghianni NASHVILLE | Wed Oct 3, 2012 10:12pm EDT NASHVILLE (Reuters) – State and federal health officials said on Wednesday that they expected more cases to be reported in a deadly outbreak of fungal meningitis they believe is linked to steroid injections given for pain at two clinics in Tennessee.
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Docs have mixed feelings on school vaccinations
October 2nd, 2012
A child reacts as he receives the H1N1 swine flu vaccine in a nasal spray at Dodge Park Elementary School in Landover, Maryland, October 9, 2009. Credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst By Amy Norton NEW YORK | Tue Oct 2, 2012 12:09pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Colorado doctors mostly support local efforts to give kids their flu shots and other vaccines at school – but they also have misgivings, a new study shows
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Heavy drinkers may risk brain bleed at a young age
September 10th, 2012
By Amy Norton NEW YORK | Mon Sep 10, 2012 4:09pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – People who drink heavily may be at risk of suffering a brain hemorrhage at a relatively early age, researchers reported Monday. Heavy drinking has long been considered a risk factor for stroke
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Docs, nurses may overestimate quality of their care
September 4th, 2012
By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK | Tue Sep 4, 2012 4:35pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Doctors and nurses may overestimate the quality of the care they provide hospital patients in the hours leading up to a serious complication, according to a small new study.
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More signs MRI is safe for people with pacemakers
August 28th, 2012
A worker stands beside two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines being assembled at Siemens MR Center located at the Shenzhen High-Tech Industrial Park in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen in Guangdong province November 25, 2008. Credit: Reuters/Bobby Yip By Frederik Joelving NEW YORK | Tue Aug 28, 2012 5:06pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A small study adds to mounting evidence that MRI scans may be safe for people with pacemakers or implanted defibrillators. Manufacturers currently warn against putting the devices into MRI scanners, whose strong magnetic field might in principle cause the metal wires from the devices to heat up and burn the heart tissue
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GlaxoSmithKline, J&J to start rheumatoid arthritis drug trial
August 23rd, 2012
Thu Aug 23, 2012 9:13am EDT (Reuters) – GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Biologics said on Thursday they have begun late-stage trial testing of a new treatment for moderately active to severely active rheumatoid arthritis.
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