Health News Roundup: How to delay spread of prostate cancer, downside of medical crowdfunding

A non-opioid drug developed by Pfizer and Eli Lilly met the main goals of a late-stage study, in which over half of the patients reported a significant reduction in osteoarthritis pain of the knee or hip.

Pfizer-Lilly non-opioid drug helps reduce osteoarthritis pain

A non-opioid drug developed by Pfizer and Eli Lilly met the main goals of a late-stage study, in which over half of the patients reported a significant reduction in osteoarthritis pain of the knee or hip. The results come as the United States faces an opioid abuse epidemic, because of which health regulators have been pushing drugmakers to develop alternative pharmaceuticals.

Bayer, Orion drug shown to delay the spread of prostate cancer

German drugmaker Bayer and Finland's Orion said on Wednesday a study showed a prostate cancer drug they are jointly developing can delay the spread of the disease to other parts of the body, boosting Orion's shares. A study on men with non-metastatic prostate cancer that could not be helped with hormonal therapy met the primary goal of showing oral drug darolutamide can delay the spread of metastases, the companies said in a statement.

Omega 3 fatty acids found in seafood tied to healthy ageing

People may be more likely to age without health problems when they have more omega 3 fatty acids in their blood, a recent study suggests. The study authors focused on so-called healthy ageing or the number of years people live without developing disabilities or physical or mental health problems. They examined data on 2,622 adults who were 74 years old on average, following them from 1992 to 2015. Only 11 per cent of participants experienced healthy ageing throughout the entire study period.

The study shows the downside of medical crowdfunding

While crowdfunding platforms can fill insurance gaps, helping patients pay for essential care and avoid medical debt, they are also being used to raise large sums of money for ineffective and experimental treatments, a new study suggests. Researchers found numerous campaigns raising funds to pay for non-proven therapies, according to the study published in JAMA.

Trump to sign anti-opioid abuse package in rare bipartisan step

Medical treatment would be more widely available to opioid abusers, while mailing illicit drugs would become more difficult under a rare bipartisan measure aimed at tackling the nation's addiction crisis expected to be signed into law on Wednesday by U.S. President Donald Trump. In a year more typically marked by partisan gridlock, Trump was expected to sign the sweeping opioids package passed by Congress earlier this month to tackle a problem that led to a record 72,000 drug overdose deaths in 2017.

China blames feeding kitchen waste to pigs for African swine fever spread

China's agriculture ministry said on Wednesday it would ban the feeding of kitchen waste to pigs after linking the practice to the majority of the early cases of African swine fever. The statement from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs is the government's first comment on how the deadly disease has spread in the world's top pork producer.

Don't give decongestants to children for colds, experts say

For children under age 12, decongestants might ease the common cold symptoms of a blocked or running nose, but these medications may not be safe for this age group, according to a research review. For adults, there's little evidence that decongestants help with congestion, one of the most bothersome cold symptoms. For kids, there is no clear evidence they work at all, but plenty of research showing mild or potentially dangerous side effects, the study team writes in The BMJ.

Vaccine confidence low in Europe, raising disease outbreak risk

Low levels of public confidence in vaccines in the European Union are pushing immunization rates down and the number of disease outbreaks up, according to an expert report on Tuesday. Recent outbreaks of measles – the highest number in the EU for seven years – are a sign of the immediate impact of declining vaccine coverage, the report said and should prompt governments to act to boost vaccine awareness and confidence.

Siemens Healthineers partners with Healthy.io for smartphone-based urine testing

Siemens Healthineers has teamed up with Israeli start-up Healthy.io to allow patients to test their urine at home by using a smartphone camera that scans a dipstick and sends the results to their doctor. The alliance is the latest partnership between Medtech firms and technology companies aimed at helping patients monitor their own health, as well as lowering the costs of managing chronic diseases.

AbbVie rheumatoid arthritis drug succeeds in late-stage trial

AbbVie Inc on Tuesday said its experimental rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment showed significant improvement in physical function, pain and quality of life compared with the commonly prescribed generic drug methotrexate in a late-stage clinical trial. The U.S. drugmaker hopes the drug, upadacitinib, can help replace lost revenue from its top-selling RA treatment Humira when it starts to face biosimilar competition in the United States in 2023.

(With inputs from Reuters)