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January 25, 2012
U.S. hepatitis A vaccine rates vary widely
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Although about 85 percent of kids in two U.S. states have had a complete set of hepatitis A vaccines, overall just three in 10 have had both shots, according to a new survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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January 10, 2012
Most toddler vaccines not linked to blood disease
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Although the MMR vaccine has been linked to a heightened risk of a rare blood disorder, other childhood vaccines do not appear to be, researchers reported Monday.
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January 10, 2012
New DNA reader to bring genetics to clinics
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A new DNA reader could bring genetics to medical clinics.
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January 4, 2012
Experimental hep C vaccine shows early promise
LONDON (Reuters) - A new vaccine against the chronic liver disease hepatitis C has shown promising results in an early-stage clinical trial in humans, British and Italian scientists said on Wednesday.
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December 20, 2011
CA sperm donor at odds with federal regulators
OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) - An electronics company engineer who the U.S. government considers a one-man sperm bank has fathered an estimated 14 children through free donations of his semen that he advertises over the Internet.
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December 15, 2011
Chimp research rarely warranted: U.S. expert panel
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Use of chimpanzees in government-funded medical research should be strictly limited, reserved only for studies where no suitable alternative is available or where testing in people would be unethical, a U.S. expert panel said on Thursday.
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November 29, 2011
Babies sleep better following afternoon vaccines
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Two-month-old babies who receive immunizations in the afternoon sleep better afterward than children who have their shots in the morning, according to a new study.
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November 27, 2011
Many parents request delays in vaccine schedule
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More than three quarters of pediatricians said they sometimes or often get asked by parents to use an "alternative" vaccination schedule that strays from national recommendations, according to a new survey of Washington State doctors.
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October 26, 2011
REFILE: Report links HPV with heart attacks, strokes
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study shows heart attacks and strokes are more common in women infected with human papillomavirus, or HPV.
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October 26, 2011
Reports links HPV with heart attacks, strokes
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study shows heart attacks and strokes are more common in women infected with human papillomavirus, or HPV.
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October 25, 2011
US advisers recommend diabetics get Hep B vaccine
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October 6, 2011
Dozens of states probe Medco/Express Scripts deal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Over two dozen states are scrutinizing Express Scripts' proposed acquisition of Medco Health Solutions, as pharmacists stoke fears that the $22 billion deal would propel the companies' aggressive tactics.
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October 2, 2011
Parents delaying, skipping recommended vaccines
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More than one in ten parents uses an "alternative" vaccination schedule for their young children, including refusing vaccines altogether, according to a U.S. survey.
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September 29, 2011
Vertex takes early rounds of hep C bout with Merck
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September 21, 2011
China "stem cell therapies" bring heartbreak for many
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese hotel manager Hong Chun had trouble using chopsticks after a minor stroke and sought treatment at a large Shanghai hospital where doctors injected what they said were donor stem cells into his spinal cord and buttocks, according to his father and cousin.
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September 19, 2011
WHO: $1.20 a person could curb chronic diseases
LONDON (Reuters) - Poorer countries could introduce measures to prevent and treat millions of cases of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and lung disease for a little as $1.20 per person per year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Sunday.
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September 1, 2011
Survey shows more young children getting vaccines
ATLANTA (Reuters) - Despite some public concerns about vaccine safety, more young children are getting immunized in the United States for preventable diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella and hepatitis A, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on Thursday.
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August 31, 2011
Cancer-fighting virus shown to target tumors alone
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Researchers have shown for the first time that a single intravenous infusion of a genetically engineered virus can home in on cancer, killing tumor cells in patients without harming healthy tissue.
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August 30, 2011
Pre-chewed food may pose HIV threat to infants
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study from South Africa found that more than two-thirds of mothers and other caregivers pre-chew food for their infants -- possibly putting those babies at risk of HIV if the caregiver is HIV-positive.
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August 30, 2011
Wisconsin clinic warns patients of possible exposure
MADISON, Wis (Reuters) - A Wisconsin health clinic said on Monday it was notifying all 2,345 patients seen by a former employee over the past five years that they may have been exposed to blood-borne diseases such as hepatitis or HIV.
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August 25, 2011
Vaccines largely safe, U.S. expert panel finds
CHICAGO (Reuters) - After a close review of more than 1,000 research studies, a federal panel of experts has concluded that vaccines cause very few side effects, and found no evidence that vaccines cause autism or type 1 diabetes.
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August 8, 2011
Gregg Allman cancels tour due to illness
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Gregg Allman, the southern rock legend and frontman for The Allman Brothers Band, has canceled a series of summer concerts due to a lingering upper respiratory condition, his representatives said Monday.
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August 3, 2011
New approach a step forward for hepatitis C vaccine
LONDON (Reuters) - French scientists have developed a novel hepatitis C vaccine that may offer the first effective way to prevent an infection that can cause chronic liver disease and cancer.
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July 28, 2011
WHO renews push to cut hepatitis in babies in Asia
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Nine Asia Pacific countries will not meet a 2012 target to reduce hepatitis B infections among children, according to the World Health Organization which plans to intensify its fight against the disease.
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July 26, 2011
Third of the world infected with hepatitis: WHO
GENEVA (Reuters) - Around one third of the global population, or 2 billion people, have been infected with one of the viruses that causes the liver disease hepatitis, which kills about a million victims annually, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday.
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July 22, 2011
J&J warns doctors of Doxil cancer-drug shortage
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson has cautioned doctors not to begin treatment with its Doxil cancer drug because of shortages of the medicine made by an outside manufacturer.
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July 20, 2011
Jim Nabors hospitalized with throat infection
HONOLULU (Reuters) - Singer and actor Jim Nabors, star of the 1960s TV series "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.," has been admitted to a Honolulu hospital with a throat infection, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
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July 20, 2011
HK experts identify gene that promotes liver cancer growth
HONG KONG (Reuters) - A recently-discovered gene may be responsible for the proliferation of liver cancer cells, a study in Hong Kong has found, and researchers hope this finding may offer new ideas for therapy.
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July 14, 2011
Black men survive longer in prison than out: study
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Black men are half as likely to die at any given time if they're in prison than if they aren't, suggests a new study of North Carolina inmates.
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July 12, 2011
Gilead kickstarts patent pool for AIDS drugs
LONDON (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences , the leading maker of HIV drugs, is to share intellectual property rights on its medicines in a patent pool designed to make treatments more widely available to the poor.
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July 7, 2011
Experts find rogue stem cells in liver cancer
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Liver cancers are embedded with a type of super cancer stem cells that make them resistant to chemotherapy, spread to other body parts and stage a comeback even after they are surgically removed, researchers in Hong Kong reported on Thursday.
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June 28, 2011
Programs may curb hepatitis C in drug users
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Programs that give injection drug users clean needles or safer drug substitutes may help cut their odds of contracting the liver infection hepatitis C, a new study suggests.
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June 27, 2011
Amish parents mirror wider concerns over vaccines
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Among the minority of Amish parents who do not immunize their children, the most common reasons for skipping the shots were more related to concerns over the potential side effects of vaccines, than to religious beliefs, a new study finds.
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June 6, 2011
Next up for melanoma treatment: drug cocktails
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Executives from Bristol-Myers Squibb and Roche Holding AG huddled around a desk at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center about six weeks ago to iron out details of a novel clinical trial.
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June 6, 2011
Drugmakers cut vaccine prices for poorer nations
LONDON (Reuters) - Several leading drugmakers are cutting their prices on potentially life-saving vaccines for people in developing countries in an effort to sustain supplies via the GAVI international vaccine alliance.
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June 3, 2011
German blood supply secure despite E.coli-Red Cross
BERLIN (Reuters) - The deadly outbreak of E.coli in Germany has triggered a sharp rise in demand for blood plasma but stockpiles are still far from being depleted, the Red Cross said on Friday, in response to media reports of a shortage.
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June 1, 2011
Diabetics show higher risk of pancreas disease
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with type 2 diabetes may have a heightened risk of a painful condition known as acute pancreatitis, but those odds are curbed in people on diabetes drugs, a new study suggests.
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May 23, 2011
Vertex hepatitis C drug wins U.S. approval
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc's highly anticipated hepatitis C drug Incivek, also known as telaprevir, won U.S. approval, heralding a new era of treatment for the liver-destroying condition.
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May 16, 2011
US study finds easier way to prevent tuberculosis
NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - U.S. health officials say they have found a far simpler therapy for people at risk of developing tuberculosis, addressing a key barrier to preventing the spread of the disease.
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May 12, 2011
Do bedbugs carry superbugs?
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Researchers in Canada have found bedbugs carrying antibiotic-resistant superbugs, a surprise finding because scientists had thought the pests were not capable of spreading infections.
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May 6, 2011
Hepatitis C cases rising among Massachusetts youth
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Hepatitis C infections are rising quickly among white youth in Massachusetts, fueled by increases in the use of heroin and other injection drugs, local and federal health researchers said Thursday.
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May 5, 2011
Breastfeeding OK for moms with hepatitis B: study
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - New mothers with hepatitis B can safely breastfeed their babies, as long as they take a few important precautions, according to a new study.
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April 29, 2011
Blacks with liver cancer get fewer transplants
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - African Americans with liver cancer are less likely than whites to get a transplant for the disease, according to U.S. researchers.
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April 26, 2011
HIV infection raises heart failure risk: study
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, can increase the risk of heart failure even in patients who don't have a prior history of heart disease, a U.S. study said.
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April 25, 2011
US FDA sees safety issue with Merck hepatitis drug
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. drug reviewers highlighted safety issues with an experimental Merck & Co hepatitis drug, including anemia and reports of psychiatric problems, in documents released on Monday.
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April 13, 2011
Doctor-turned-trader paid cash for stock tips
NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) - An Ivy League-trained doctor-turned-stock-picker has been charged with insider trading, accused of showering a French physician with cash and a luxury trip to New York in exchange for secret details on a biotechnology company.
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April 8, 2011
China faces uphill battle to give better healthcare
HONG KONG (Reuters) - As a young Chinese doctor earning 4,000 yuan ($600) a month, Zhang Fei was faced with having to cough up 2,000 yuan for a bill that a patient left unpaid after Zhang removed a tumor from her womb.
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March 17, 2011
Minnesota nurse may have infected patients
MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - A nurse is suspected of inadvertently tainting intravenous painkillers at St. Cloud Hospital while seeking drugs, spreading bacterial infections to 23 patients since October, the hospital said on Wednesday.
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March 1, 2011
London council confiscates breast milk ice cream
LONDON(Reuters Life!) - A London council has confiscated supplies of breast milk ice cream from a specialist parlour which launched the new flavour in the British capital last week on concerns the frozen treat may spread viruses.
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February 24, 2011
U.S. may pay for sex disease tests for elderly
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health officials are considering including tests for sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis and hepatitis B for the elderly and disabled covered under Medicare.