Health News Roundup: California man tells jury of getting cancer after using J&J baby powder; Mental health in spotlight in Hong Kong after violent attacks and more

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report that people with disabilities faced risk of death, physical, social, and mental health distress due to extreme heat particularly if "left to cope with dangerous temperatures on their own". GSK soothes investors by settling first Zantac cancer lawsuit due for US trial GSK agreed to settle a U.S. lawsuit alleging its discontinued heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer, the British drugmaker said on Friday, preventing the first such case from going to trial next month.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

California man tells jury of getting cancer after using J&J baby powder

A California man suing Johnson & Johnson told jurors on Monday how his life was upended by a cancer diagnosis that he blames on using the company's baby powder since childhood, as the first trial over the product in nearly two years neared its end. "I just turned into a scared little kid," Emory Hernandez, fighting back tears, said of his 2022 mesothelioma diagnosis while testifying in Alameda County Superior Court, according to an online broadcast of the trial by Courtroom View Network. He said he would have avoided J&J's talc if he had been warned it contained asbestos, as his lawsuit alleges.

Mental health in spotlight in Hong Kong after violent attacks

A series of brutal attacks in Hong Kong is shining a light on mental health in a city that has suffered from particularly acute strains while lacking sufficient resources to provide proper care for all who need it, mental health groups say. Violent crime is rare in the financial hub but this month two women were stabbed to death in a busy shopping mall by an attacker who police reported had a history of mental illness.

UnitedHealth bags Amedisys for $3.3 billion as home health firm scraps Option deal

Home health and hospice caregiver Amedisys on Monday agreed to a $3.3 billion sweetened cash offer from UnitedHealth Group and scrapped an all-stock deal with Option Care Health. UnitedHealth is buying the company for $101 per share, which is a dollar higher than its previous offer and above the $97.38 per share all-stock deal with Option Care in May.

COVID-19 vaccine scheme for poorest has $2.6bn left to spend as pandemic recedes

Several billions of dollars left in a scheme to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to the world's poorest could be diverted to prepare for other pandemics or to support vaccine manufacturing in Africa, the scheme's partners said. The COVAX initiative, run by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), has $2.6 billion left in its coffers as the emergency phase of the pandemic draws to a close, according to documents seen by Reuters and two sources close to the scheme.

First U.S. malaria cases diagnosed in decades in Florida and Texas

Five cases of malaria have been confirmed in Florida and Texas, the first time the potentially fatal mosquito-borne disease has been locally acquired in the United States in 20 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. The four Florida cases, along with one in Texas, have been diagnosed over a period of two months, the agency said.

Lilly experimental 'triple G' obesity drug leads to 24.2% weight loss in trial

Eli Lilly on Monday said a mid-stage trial of its next-generation obesity drug candidate "triple G" showed that it led to weight loss of up to 24.2% after 48 weeks, surpassing results seen with other weight loss drugs. The once-weekly injected drug, retatrutide, is part of a class known as incretins designed to mimic the action of the GLP-1 hormone, which helps regulate blood sugar, slow stomach emptying and decrease appetite. The new family of drugs has reignited interest in the weight-loss treatment market, which is estimated to reach $100 billion by the end of the decade.

Pfizer scraps one weight loss drug in race to develop Ozempic rival

Pfizer Inc said it is scrapping its once-a-day experimental obesity pill because of concerns about liver safety, but will continue developing its other obesity pill, the twice daily treatment danuglipron, as it races to rival the success of other weight loss treatments. The company's shares fell 3.5% in volatile premarket trading on Monday as Pfizer said it would stop developing its therapy lotiglipron after patients who took the drug in clinical studies were shown to have elevated levels of liver enzymes.

Merck accused of downplaying early evidence of drug's brain impact

An early magazine advertisement for Merck's breakthrough asthma and allergy medicine, Singulair, featured a happy child, hanging upside-down from a tree. Asthmatic kids could now breathe easier, the text assured, and side effects were "usually mild" and "similar to a sugar pill." When the drug launched in 1998, its label said the drug's distribution in the brain was "minimal," with no mention of psychiatric side effects.

Extreme heat 'disproportionately' impacts people with disabilities - report

People with disabilities in Spain and other European countries have been disproportionately affected by unprecedented heat extremes, a leading human rights watchdog said on Monday, urging authorities to provide adequate support. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report that people with disabilities faced risk of death, physical, social, and mental health distress due to extreme heat particularly if "left to cope with dangerous temperatures on their own".

GSK soothes investors by settling first Zantac cancer lawsuit due for US trial

GSK agreed to settle a U.S. lawsuit alleging its discontinued heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer, the British drugmaker said on Friday, preventing the first such case from going to trial next month. The company said it had reached a confidential deal with California resident James Goetz who alleged he developed bladder cancer from taking the drug. The trial was due to start on July 24, and would have been the first test of how Zantac cancer claims would fare before a jury.