Reuters Health News Summary


Reuters | Updated: 07-12-2018 18:26 IST | Created: 07-12-2018 18:26 IST

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

CDC says nine more people added to E.coli infection investigation

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday an additional nine people are being investigated in connection with the multistate outbreak of E. coli infections related to romaine lettuce. This brings the total number of people who have reported infections from 15 states to 52. [https://bit.ly/2Dzorjd ]

U.S. healthcare spending growth slows for second year in a row

Healthcare spending growth in the United States slowed for the second year in a row in 2017, mainly due to slower spending growth for hospital care, physician and clinical services as well as retail prescription drugs, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. National health spending grew at a rate of 3.9 percent to $3.5 trillion, the health agency reported on Thursday. In 2016, it grew at 4.8 percent. The low rate of spending growth in 2017 was similar to the average annual growth rate of 3.9 percent seen between 2008 and 2013.

UK readying plans for medical supplies in no-deal Brexit

Britain is working on plans to use aeroplanes and fast-track trucks to ensure the continued supply of medicines if it leaves the European Union without a deal in March. "We are working on ensuring that we have aviation capacity," Health Minister Matt Hancock told BBC radio on Friday.

Roche's lung cancer combo treatment wins FDA approval

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG said on Thursday that its Tecentriq immunotherapy in combination with Avastin and chemotherapy won U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval as a first-line treatment for a type of lung cancer. The approval was based on results from a late-stage study, which showed the Tecentriq regimen helped patients with metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) live significantly longer, compared with Avastin and chemotherapy, the company said in a statement.

Nestle recalls batch of Alfamino infant formula in Germany

Nestle has recalled a batch of its Alfamino amino acid specialist infant formula in Germany, saying a number of the products have a substantially increased dose of minerals that could make children sick. "A baby that consumes a product from amongst these few (faulty) tins, can become sick with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and headaches," Nestle Germany said on its website late on Wednesday. "We urge you to immediately seek out a doctor in such cases."

AstraZeneca's Imfinzi fails to meet main goals in head and neck cancer study

AstraZeneca Plc's immunotherapy treatment Imfinzi did not meet the main goals in a late-stage study for advanced head and neck cancer, the London-listed drugmaker said on Friday. The study, known as "EAGLE", did not improve overall survival compared with standard chemotherapy in patients with the hard-to-treat disease, the company said.

J&J unit to pay $360 million to U.S. to resolve charity kickback probe

A Johnson & Johnson unit will pay the U.S. government $360 million to resolve an investigation into its financial support of a charity that helped Medicare patients cover out-of-pocket drug costs, the Justice Department said on Thursday. The settlement with Actelion Pharmaceuticals US Inc, which became a subsidiary of J&J following a 2017 acquisition, was the largest so far to result from an industry-wide probe into drugmakers' support of patient assistance charities.

Joining a choir may help elders enjoy life

Singing in a community choir may provide some psychological benefit to seniors, a small study suggests. Researchers had primarily hoped to see choir participation yield improvements in elderly people's thinking skills and physical fitness, but that didn't happen. They did, however, see improvements in loneliness and interest in life among seniors in the singing groups.

Migrants tend to be healthier, live longer: study

Migrants tend to be healthier than the residents of wealthy countries they travel to, such as the United States, and often help fight diseases by becoming healthcare workers in those nations, according to a study published on Wednesday. Populist arguments that migrants pose a health risk and a burden to health systems are myths used to drive anti-immigrant sentiment, the report published by University College London and the Lancet medical journal concluded. https://bit.ly/2ASQyqF

More evidence fruits and greens can be good for the brain

Middle-aged men who eat lots of fruits and vegetables may be lowering their odds of cognitive problems as they get on in years, compared to peers who don't consume these foods very often, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers followed almost 28,000 men for two decades starting when they were 51 years old, on average. Every four years, participants answered questionnaires about their consumption of fruits, vegetables and other foods. They also took tests of thinking and memory skills when they were 73 years old, on average.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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