Health News Round up:Teens are smoking, Flu drug speeds relief, J&J, Arrowhead in gene-silencing

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Teens are smoking, vaping and eating cannabis

Adolescents who try marijuana are not just smoking it. Many are also vaping or eating cannabis, a U.S. study suggests. Almost one in three teens have smoked cannabis at least once, the survey of 3,177 Los Angeles high school students found. More than one in five adolescents have consumed edible cannabis, and more than one in 10 have vaped it.

E-cigarette maker Juul files complaints against 'copycat products'

Juul Labs, the e-cigarette maker at the heart of a U.S. crackdown on youth vaping, has filed patent infringement complaints in the United States and Europe against what it said were copycat rivals.

The complaints follow the seizure this week by U.S. health regulators of more than 1,000 pages of documents from Juul Labs about its sales and marketing practices, as they investigate growing e-cigarette use among young people that threatens to create a new generation of nicotine addicts.

Flu drug speeds relief from symptoms in at-risk patients: Roche

Influenza drug baloxavir carboxyl significantly sped time to relief for patients highly vulnerable to serious complications, a late-stage clinical trial has shown, Swiss drugmaker Roche said on Thursday.

If approved, it would mark the first new way to treat influenza in nearly two decades, Roche added.

Most older breast cancer patients do not suffer mental decline after chemo

Most older women who get chemotherapy for breast cancer do not experience problems with cognition in the first two years after diagnosis and treatment, a new study finds.

But researchers did find one small subset of women who suffered some declines in attention, mental processing speed and decision making, according to the results published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Tech breakthrough offers an early warning system for heart attacks

A new method of analyzing images from CT scans can predict which patients are at risk of a heart attack years before it occurs, researchers say.

The technology, developed by teams at Oxford University and institutions in Germany and the United States, uses algorithms to examine the fat surrounding coronary arteries as it shows up on computed tomography (CT) heart scans.

J&J, Arrowhead in gene-silencing drug deal worth up to $3.7 billion

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Thursday Johnson & Johnson would develop and market its gene-silencing Hepatitis B drug and pick up a minor stake in the company in a deal that could be potentially worth more than $3.7 billion.

Under the deal, J&J's Janssen Pharmaceuticals unit will obtain a worldwide license for Arrowhead's ARO-HBV drug and an option to collaborate on up to three new RNA interference (RNAi)drugs, which use gene-silencing technology.

Blackstone to buy Clarus as part of its life sciences push

Blackstone Group on Thursday said it would acquire global life sciences investment firm Clarus for an undisclosed amount, as the investment manager pushes deeper into the healthcare sector.

The deal comes weeks after Blackstone, the world's largest manager of alternative investments, said http://bit.ly/2NsEHbT that advancements in life sciences created "unprecedented" investment opportunities, especially since big pharmaceutical companies have been pulling back on research funding as their earnings come under pressure.

Lilly's diabetes drug shines in the study, rival Novo shares slips

Eli Lilly and Co said on Thursday data from a mid-stage trial of a new two-in-one diabetes drug lowered blood sugar and reduced weight in type 2 diabetes patients, hurting shares of arch-rival Novo Nordisk.

The novel drug targets two key gut hormones - GLP-1 and GIP - at the same time, and could pose a threat to currently available single-hormone drugs, focused on GLP-1, which form a large and growing part of Novo's business.

Impatient patients turn to online 'buyers club' for new drugs

Frustrated by delays in new medicines reaching their own country, a small but growing number of patients are turning to an online broker that bills itself as a legal version of the Dallas Buyers Club.

While regulators warn of the risk of buying drugs online, the Amsterdam-based Social Medwork sees its network of trusted suppliers as filling a gap in the market for the latest drugs against diseases such as cancer, migraine and multiple sclerosis.

The attack on Congolese Red Cross Ebola ambulance wounds three volunteers

Three volunteers for the Congolese Red Cross helping with the burial of an Ebola victim in eastern Congo were injured in an attack by villagers, prompting the International Committee of the Red Cross to suspend burials in the area, health officials said on Wednesday.

The attack on an ambulance transporting the body to a cemetery in North Kivu province's Beni region is the latest disruption to efforts to control the current outbreak, which is believed to have killed 106 people since July.