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January 22, 2010
Calif. court rejects limits on medical marijuana
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The California Supreme Court on Thursday rejected limits on medical marijuana imposed by state lawmakers, finding that people with prescriptions for pot can have and grow all they need for personal use.
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January 21, 2010
Study links thyroid disease to non-stick chemicals
LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have linked a chemical used in consumer goods like non-stick pans and water-resistant fabrics with thyroid disease, raising questions about the potential health risks of exposure to the substance.
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January 21, 2010
US team finds potential path for hepatitis C drugs
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. scientists have identified a new class of drugs that appear to block the hepatitis C virus from replicating in laboratory experiments, researchers said on Wednesday.
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January 13, 2010
Common chemical may affect liver at low levels
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study suggests that a synthetic chemical that is ubiquitous in the environment and in people's blood may affect the liver -- though the significance for human health remains unclear.
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January 13, 2010
Scientists link plastics chemical to health risks
LONDON (Reuters) - Exposure to a chemical found in plastic containers is linked to heart disease, scientists said on Wednesday, confirming earlier findings and adding to pressure to ban its use in bottles and food packaging.
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January 12, 2010
Price rises are key to tackling alcohol abuse: WHO
GENEVA (Reuters) - Binge drinking and other growing forms of harmful use of alcohol should be tackled through higher taxes on alcoholic drinks and tighter marketing regulations, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended.
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January 8, 2010
Report calls for research on nanoparticles in food
LONDON (Reuters) - A global scarcity of scientific research on using nanotechnology in foods means food safety authorities are unable to properly regulate products that may be beneficial or harmful, a British science panel said on Friday.
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January 8, 2010
Forget "fad" diets and eat less, say UK experts
LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Now that you're discovering all the extra flab from the Christmas and New Year food and booze binge, you're casting around for the latest diet to lose it all in time for summer.
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January 5, 2010
Gaps in US kids' vaccine coverage shrinking
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More US kids are fully immunized against common childhood illnesses, and disparities in vaccine coverage among socioeconomic groups are shrinking, a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.
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December 28, 2009
Egypt debates transplant law to cut organ trade
CAIRO (Reuters) - Soheila, an Egyptian village housewife, traded her kidney for $2,185 to pay off debt -- the best option the desperate mother of three could find to keep food on the family table.
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December 28, 2009
No perfect cure for stomach acid reflux: study
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients with severe gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can choose between medication and surgery for relief of their symptoms, but researchers caution that while both strategies are effective, they're also different in some important ways.
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December 23, 2009
'Good' cholesterol less protective with diabetes
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Diabetes may lower the heart-protective benefits of high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, the so-called "good" cholesterol, but giving diabetics niacin, a drug that raises HDL levels, might restore the benefit, researchers said on Tuesday.
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December 21, 2009
Experts warn of cancer linked to certain herbs
HONG KONG (Reuters) - The consumption of popular Chinese herbal products containing aristolochic acid is associated with an increased risk of urinary tract cancer, a study in Taiwan has found.
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December 16, 2009
Walgreens to offer H1N1 shots nationwide in Dec.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Walgreen Co aims to offer the H1N1 vaccine shot in all 50 states by the end of December, a move that could help the largest U.S. drugstore chain bring more consumers into its stores and clinics.
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December 14, 2009
Milk thistle may limit liver damage from chemo
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - An herb used since ancient times to treat liver ailments may help reduce the liver damage caused by some cancer drugs, a study published Monday suggests.
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December 10, 2009
Marrow transplant cures adult sickle cell disease
BOSTON (Reuters) - Bone marrow transplants, already used to treat some children with sickle cell disease, also may cure some adults with this deadly genetic defect that causes red blood cells to contort, U.S. scientists said on Wednesday.
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December 9, 2009
Safety data from kid drug trials often unpublished
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - When drugs approved for adults are studied in youngsters, the research yields important safety data that could guide the use of these medications in children, a report published this week indicates.
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December 3, 2009
Hepatitis C drug fights virus in new way
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A drug that targets hepatitis C in an entirely new way was highly effective at suppressing the virus in chimpanzees and kept working for several weeks after the treatment stopped, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
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December 2, 2009
CT scans may predict survival in colorectal cancer
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Doctors may be able use an advanced X-ray called a CT scan to see whether patients with advanced colorectal cancer are responding to treatment with Avastin and chemotherapy, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
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December 1, 2009
Needle injuries often not reported by med students
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Medical students are commonly stuck by needles but often fail to report their injuries to employee health services, placing them at risk for hepatitis, HIV and other blood borne diseases, results of a survey show.
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November 25, 2009
Experts scan disease links with Chinese "gene map"
HONG KONG (Reuters) - A large analysis of the genes of 8,200 ethnic Chinese has revealed subtle genetic differences between inhabitants in northern China and southern China, and even between different Chinese dialect groups.
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November 19, 2009
UK's NICE says Bayer liver cancer drug too costly
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's health watchdog has blocked a critical liver cancer drug, saying it is too pricey for the state health service, leaving manufacturer Bayer vowing to appeal the decision.
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November 11, 2009
Statins may protect the gallbladder: study
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Long-term use of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may offer protection against the development of painful gallstones that require surgery, results of a large study hint.
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November 11, 2009
Tainted food surprisingly deadly in adults - WHO
GENEVA (Reuters) - Millions of adults die every year from bugs and toxins in what they eat, according to new World Health Organisation data that shows food-borne diseases are far more deadly than the U.N. agency previously estimated.
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November 5, 2009
Italy's waste woes taking toll on citizens' health
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Decades of illegal waste disposal in southern Italy may be having dire consequences for the health of people living in the area, new research shows.
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November 4, 2009
FDA aims to fight avoidable harm from medicines
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health officials unveiled plans to fight avoidable injuries from medication errors or misuse, a problem that harms hundreds of thousands of people each year and can be deadly.
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November 2, 2009
How long does hepatitis B vaccine protection last?
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The hepatitis B vaccine - given to protect against infection by a virus that can cause severe liver damage and cancer - may protect for more than two decades, according to a new study.
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November 2, 2009
Working with poultry linked to certain cancers
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Poultry workers may be at particularly high risk of developing several forms of cancer, according to a new study that points to viruses carried by birds as a possible cause.
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October 27, 2009
Sanofi gets FDA warning over Uroxatral promotion
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has sent a warning letter to Sanofi-Aventis accusing the French drugmaker of distributing misleading promotional material on its Uroxatral treatment for urinary problems caused by an enlarged prostate.
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October 26, 2009
Coffee may slow liver damage from hepatitis
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A few cups of coffee everyday may help slow the progression of liver disease associated with long-term infection with the hepatitis C virus, a new study hints.
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October 16, 2009
Second test backs single dose of Glaxo H1N1 shot
LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline said on Friday a second clinical trial of its H1N1 swine flu vaccine Pandemrix had confirmed that a single dose could provide a strong immune response.
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October 16, 2009
Paracetamol dampens infant vaccine effect: study
LONDON (Reuters) - Giving paracetamol to babies to prevent fever after routine vaccinations may reduce the effect of the shots themselves, Czech scientists said on Friday.
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October 14, 2009
Kids younger than 10 may need two swine flu shots
LONDON (Reuters) - Children under 10 years of age may need two shots of swine flu vaccine to get optimal protection, French drugmaker and the world's biggest flu vaccine producer Sanofi-Aventis said on Wednesday.
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October 9, 2009
Stressful childhood may mean earlier death
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Having a stressful childhood may slash decades off a person's life, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report.
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October 8, 2009
Cancer, bowel drugs on FDA safety scrutiny list
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than a dozen drugs including a cancer therapy and a bowel medicine are under early scrutiny for potential side effects, U.S. regulators said in a quarterly list released on Thursday.
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October 6, 2009
Kids' weight a factor in hospital admission
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Overweight or underweight children who are seen in the emergency department are more likely to be admitted to the hospital, and to stay longer, than normal-weight youngsters, according to a study reported Monday at the American College of Emergency Physicians' annual meeting in Boston.
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September 28, 2009
US FDA eyes possible risk with iron drug
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health officials are looking into whether patients with a certain bone marrow disorder are more at risk for death and serious complications with the drug Exjade, made by Novartis AG.
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September 16, 2009
Men's sex lives may suffer on hepatitis C therapy
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men taking the antiviral drugs peginterferon and ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C virus infection often experience sexual dysfunction, results of a study indicate.
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September 15, 2009
Swine flu deaths show this flu is different-experts
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Autopsies on people who have died from the new pandemic H1N1 flu show this virus is different from seasonal influenza, even if it has not yet caused more deaths, experts told a meeting on Tuesday.
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September 15, 2009
Patrick Swayze dead of pancreatic cancer at 57
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Patrick Swayze, whose turn as a smoldering dance instructor in "Dirty Dancing" made him one of the iconic film stars of the 1980s, died on Monday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.
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September 11, 2009
Needle attacks and rumors spread in China
BEIJING (Reuters) - Mysterious needle attacks have spread to new cities in China's restive far-western region of Xinjiang, the China Daily newspaper said on Friday, although once again the assaults appear to be a mix of real and imagined.
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September 9, 2009
US FDA panel backs Glaxo cervical cancer vaccine
GAITHERSBURG, Md.(Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline PLC's proposed cervical cancer vaccine is safe and effective for girls and young women ages 10 to 25, a U.S. advisory panel said on Wednesday.
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September 9, 2009
UK's NICE again rejects Bayer liver cancer drug
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's healthcare cost-effectiveness watchdog has again rejected Bayer's drug Nexavar for treating liver cancer on the state health service, despite a revised charging scheme from the company.
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September 3, 2009
Study finds potential way to make an AIDS vaccine
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The discovery of immune system particles that attack the AIDS virus may finally open a way to make a vaccine that could protect people against the deadly and incurable infection, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
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August 31, 2009
Race not a factor in liver transplantation
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Racial disparities exist in many areas of health care, from heart disease treatment to rates of surviving cancer. And studies have suggested that white patients do better than African Americans following liver transplants. But race may not play a role in survival after liver transplants for hepatitis B infection, nor while waiting for one, according to a new study.
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August 31, 2009
New stroke drug looks set to replace warfarin
BARCELONA (Reuters) - Patients at risk of stroke due to an irregular heartbeat should soon have a viable alternative to 50-year-old warfarin, after a new pill from Boehringer Ingelheim beat expectations in a major clinical study.
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August 28, 2009
One drug fights fat and diabetes in mice
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers searching for a cure for obesity said on Thursday they have developed a drug that not only makes mice lose weight, but reverses diabetes and lowers their cholesterol, too.
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August 25, 2009
U.S. probes possible diet drug-related liver injury
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health officials are reviewing reports of liver injury in people who took Roche Holding AG's weight loss drug Xenical or the over-the-counter version sold by GlaxoSmithKline.
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August 21, 2009
Keep swine flu drugs for serious cases, says WHO
GENEVA (Reuters) - Healthy patients who get H1N1 swine flu without suffering complications do not need to be treated with antivirals like Tamiflu, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday.
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August 21, 2009
Daily drinking may raise risk of several cancers
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men who drink beer or liquor on a regular basis may face a heightened risk of several different types of cancer, a new study suggests.