Reuters - Health Report

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Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Dalian Wanda to invest $10 billion in China healthcare hub

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Dalian Wanda Group Co Ltd will invest 70 billion yuan ($10 billion) in a health park in China's southwest, the firm said in a statement sent to Reuters on Monday, as some of the country's biggest companies look to tap demand for private healthcare.

Activity trackers not always great for monitoring exercise heart rate

(Reuters Health) - - Some people who rely on fitness trackers to see how hard they work out may want to rethink this approach, according to a small study that suggests the increasingly popular devices may get more accurate heart rate readings when users are at rest than during exercise.

UK cost agency turns down Bristol drug for head and neck cancer

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's healthcare cost-effectiveness watchdog NICE said on Tuesday that Bristol-Myers Squibb's immunotherapy drug Opdivo was not worth using on the state health service for treating head and neck cancer due to its high price.

Online forum reveals users may stop taking stroke-prevention pills

(Reuters Health) - - Stroke survivors may grow frustrated with doctors' advice and ultimately stop taking medicines that could prevent a second stroke, suggests a new analysis from the UK.

OncoMed sinks as cancer drug fails; Bayer opts against licensing drugs

(Reuters) - OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Inc said it would discontinue a trial testing experimental stem cell therapy demcizumab as an initial treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer, after the addition of the drug to standard-of-care failed a mid-stage study.

Obese teens' odds of high blood pressure vary by race

(Reuters Health) - Obesity is a strong predictor of high blood pressure early in life, but a U.S study suggests the connection may be stronger for Hispanic and white teens than for adolescents in other racial and ethnic groups.

Canada to introduce legal marijuana legislation Thursday: source

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian government will introduce on Thursday legislation to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Stroke hospitalizations rising among younger U.S. adults

(Reuters Health) - A growing number of younger U.S. adults are being hospitalized for strokes, and a new study suggests that’s at least in part because more of them have risk factors like high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.

Roche's Alecensa notches trial win against Pfizer's Xalkori

ZURICH (Reuters) - Roche's Alecensa kept people with a specific lung cancer alive longer without their disease progressing than Pfizer's Xalkori, the Swiss drugmaker said on Monday, as it seeks to move in on the U.S. company's share of early treatment of the disease.

Exclusive: Yum's KFC to curb antibiotic use in the chickens it buys

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Yum Brands Inc's U.S. KFC chain plans to curb the use of antibiotics in its chicken supply, making it the last of the big three chicken restaurants to join the fight against the rise of dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as superbugs.