Reuters - Health Report

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Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Trump urges U.S. Congress to back 'right to try' for terminally ill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said in his State of the Union address to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday that he wants lawmakers to support the "right to try" for terminally ill patients to try experimental therapies not approved by federal authorities.

Southeast Asia a 'hotspot' for antibiotic abuse, FAO official says

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Overuse and misuse of antibiotics in food is rife in Southeast Asia, a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) official said on Wednesday, warning of serious risks for people and animals as bacterial infections become more resistant to treatment.

Sanofi and partner seek European Medicines Agency review for sleep sickness product

PARIS (Reuters) - French healthcare group Sanofi, along with its business partner, has asked the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to review the fexinidazole product for the treatment of sleeping sickness, the company said on Wednesday.

Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan partner to cut U.S. healthcare costs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc , Berkshire Hathaway Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co said on Tuesday they will form a company to cut health costs for hundreds of thousands of their employees, setting up a major challenge to an inefficient U.S. healthcare system.

Global cancer survival rates improve, but wide gaps remain

LONDON (Reuters) - Cancer patients' survival prospects are improving, even for some of the deadliest types such as lung cancer, but there are huge disparities between countries, particularly for children, according to a study published on Wednesday.

Vape shops sue to block U.S. regulation covering e-cigarettes

(Reuters) - A group of vape shops in five U.S. states on Tuesday announced a trio of lawsuits challenging a rule adopted by the Food and Drug Administration that allows the regulator to treat e-cigarettes and similar devices like cigarettes.

Wrigley lawsuit: Don't use Starburst, Skittles to sell e-cigarette liquid

(Reuters) - The chewing gum and candy company Wm Wrigley Jr Co said in a new lawsuit that a seller of e-liquid for electronic cigarettes should stop trading off its Starburst and Skittles brands in its marketing.

Weight-loss surgery tied to slight increased risk of suicide

(Reuters Health) - Obese people who get surgery to lose weight are slightly more likely to attempt suicide than their counterparts who try other approaches to shed excess pounds, a Swedish study suggests.

Scientists urge UK to fortify flour with folic acid to limit birth defects

LONDON(Reuters) - Britain's failure to legislate to make food producers fortify flour with folic acid to help prevent babies being born with birth defects is based on flawed analysis and should be reversed, scientists said on Wednesday.

U.S. judge sentences Novelion's Aegerion in drug marketing case

BOSTON (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc for improperly marketing a cholesterol drug and ordered that some of the $40.1 million it agreed to pay to resolve a U.S. investigation go to the company's victims.