All About: Bristol-Myers, Indoor pollution, Insomnia, E-coli bacteria

Bristol-Myers Squibb said on Wednesday its experimental drug helped reduce the severity of the most common form of psoriasis in a mid-stage trial.

Bristol-Myers plaque psoriasis drug shows promise in mid-stage trial

Bristol-Myers Squibb said on Wednesday its experimental drug helped reduce the severity of the most common form of psoriasis in a mid-stage trial. The study tested the drug, BMS-986165, in 267 patients with plaque psoriasis, a chronic condition that causes dry, red skin lesions covered with silvery scales.

Air filters to curb indoor pollution tied to blood pressure improvement

Seniors living in housing with poor indoor air quality may have healthier blood pressure when they use portable air filters than when they don't have these devices, a small experiment suggests. Exposure to so-called PM2.5 - tiny particles of dust, dirt, soot, and smoke - has long been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, researchers note in JAMA Internal Medicine. But less is known about whether portable air filters might help reduce this risk.

Doctors offer advice for insomnia

People who have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep may want to seek advice from a doctor and avoid long-term use of sleeping pills, medical experts advise. Good sleep hygiene and a specific kind of talk therapy may help people create good bedtime habits and figure out why they're not sleeping well, the experts say in a new resource for patients published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Egypt prosecutor says e-coli was factor in deaths of British tourists

Egypt's public prosecutor said on Wednesday that e-coli bacteria were a factor in the deaths of two British tourists in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada last month. The prosecutor said John Cooper, 69, was suffering from health problems but that e-coli caused gastroenteritis and heart failure which killed him. Cooper's wife Susan, 63, was also likely to have been affected by e-coli and died of Hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), a blood ailment.

Lack of surgical care in U.S. prisons may cost lives

(Reuters Health) - Poor health care in America's prisons may be leading to avoidable deaths, a new study suggests. Researchers who examined autopsy reports for inmates who died while incarcerated in Florida's Miami Dade County found that two-thirds of those who needed surgery for a non-liver-related medical condition never got it, according to the report published in JAMA Surgery.

Exclusive: Brazil prosecutors seek leniency talks with BRF in food fraud probe

Brazilian federal prosecutors probing whether chicken processor BRF SA and certain laboratories colluded to cheat on food safety tests are seeking cooperation from the firms in return for more lenient penalties, a federal prosecutor told Reuters in an interview. Prosecutors had found "grave irregularities" and would demand that the companies carry out a root-and-branch restructure as part of any leniency deal, federal prosecutor Lyana Helena Joppert Kalluf said last week.

FDA considers ban on flavored e-cigarettes to protect minors

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering a ban on flavored e-cigarettes as it grapples with an "epidemic" of youth e-cigarette use that threatens to create a new generation of nicotine addicts, the agency's head said on Wednesday. In a speech at FDA headquarters, Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the agency would also revisit a policy that extended the dates for some manufacturers of flavored e-cigarettes to get FDA approval before selling their products. That could lead to the removal of some major flavored e-cigarette brands, including the popular products made by Juul Labs Inc. if they do not address the issue to the agency's satisfaction.

Zimbabwe police ban public gatherings in capital to contain cholera outbreak

Zimbabwe's police on Wednesday issued a ban on all public gatherings and illegal food vending to control the spread of cholera, which has killed 21 people in the capital Harare. The ban was announced a day after the government declared the disease an emergency.

Saudi Arabia tells WTO it plans to adopt plain tobacco packaging

Saudi Arabia notified the World Trade Organization on Wednesday that it plans to adopt plain packaging of tobacco products, a public health measure strongly opposed by major tobacco firms. The move by Saudi Arabia, a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council trade bloc, follows a WTO ruling in June in favor of Australian packaging laws in what was seen as a test case for tobacco control.

Lou Gehrig's disease may affect the mind

Even though the neurologic disorder known as Lou Gehrig's disease has long been thought to ravage the body while leaving the mind untouched, a new study suggests that the condition may also affect thinking skills and behavior. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease after the New York Yankees first baseman who retired after developing this condition. The rare neurologic disease mainly affects the nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement such as walking or talking. It has no cure and gets worse over time until it eventually leads to death, most often from respiratory failure.