Health News Roundup: Meditation may help ease veterans' PTSD symptoms; New cases of HIV rise in Eastern Europe

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Telemedicine surging in US but still uncommon

Although telemedicine visits have increased sharply in the U.S. in recent years, the vast majority of American adults still receive care from doctors in person rather than via remote technology, a new study suggests. The goal of telemedicine is to help improve access to specialty care, particularly in rural, underserved areas of the country, researchers note in JAMA. As of 2016, 32 states have passed so-called "parity" laws requiring insurance coverage and reimbursement for telemedicine visits.

Medicine or vice? Socially screened funds struggle to define cannabis industry

Is marijuana a medicine or a vice? The $8 trillion U.S. socially responsible investment industry is grappling with that question as more states approve the recreational use of cannabis, pushing consumption closer to "sin" stocks like alcohol and tobacco that ethically focused investors avoid.

New cases of HIV rise in Eastern Europe, decline in the West

More than 130,000 people were newly diagnosed with HIV last year in Eastern Europe, the highest rate ever for the region, while the number of new cases in Western Europe declined, global public health experts said on Wednesday. European Union and European Economic Area countries saw a reduction in 2017 rates, mainly driven by a 20 per cent drop since 2015 among men who have sex with men. That left Europe's overall increasing trend less steep than previously.

India throws book at schools making young pupils carry heavy bags

Concerned about producing a generation of children with hunched backs and other spine problems, India has denounced schools for making students carry heavy school bags and giving young children homework. The government has issued weight guidelines for school bags depending on a child's age, citing studies that show how the load can affect soft, developing spines.

Atrium Health says data of about 2.65 million patients involved in breach

Atrium Health, previously Carolinas HealthCare System, said on Tuesday data of about 2.65 million patients including addresses, dates of birth and social security numbers may have been compromised in a breach at its third-party provider AccuDoc Solutions. Atrium, which provides healthcare and wellness programs throughout the Southeast region in the United States, said a review revealed an unauthorized access to AccuDoc's databases between Sept. 22 and Sept. 29.

Scientists, officials in China abhor gene editing that geneticist claims

Chinese officials and scientists denounced on Tuesday the claims of a geneticist who said he had created the first gene-edited babies, and a hospital linked to his research suggested its ethical approval had been forged. More than 100 scientists said in an open letter the use of CRISPR-Cas9 technology to edit the genes of human embryos was risky, unjustified and harmed the reputation and development of the biomedical community in China.

Teva to recall certain blood pressure medicine in U.S

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd is recalling certain combinations of blood pressure drug valsartan in the United States following the detection of a probable cancer-causing impurity, the latest global recall of the medicine. The Israeli drugmaker will recall all lots of amlodipine-valsartan and amlodipine-valsartan-hydrochlorothiazide combination tablets due to an impurity in an ingredient made by an India-based unit of Mylan, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Tuesday. (http://bit.ly/2DOBSfu)

Roche buys U.S. biotech Jecure in race for liver disease drugs

Swiss drugmaker Roche is buying U.S.-based Jecure Therapeutics, joining Pfizer, Gilead Sciences and Novartis in pursuit of new drugs to treat fatty liver disease. Roche did not say how much it was paying for Jecure, which gives it a preclinical portfolio of so-called NLRP3 inhibitors being developed for fighting inflammatory diseases like non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and liver fibrosis as well as gout, inflammatory bowel disease and cardiovascular diseases.

Meditation may help ease veterans' PTSD symptoms

Some veterans may experience a sharper decline in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with meditation-based therapy than with other forms of treatment, a recent study suggests. Researchers randomly assigned 203 veterans with PTSD related to active military service to receive 12 weekly sessions of treatments based on meditation, or 12 weeks of sessions involving exposure to trauma, or to a control group that received only mental health education.

Harsh parenting can be buffered by warm relationships with teachers, peers

Children whose parents often threaten and criticize them are more likely to become defiant and aggressive, research shows. But these effects can be buffered by warm relationships with teachers and school friends, a new study suggests. Kindergartners who experienced harsh parenting but also had developed close buddies were less likely at the end of the school year to exhibit behaviours such as defiance towards adults, rule-breaking and angry outbursts than those who did not have warm relationships, according to the study published in Development and Psychopathology.

(With inputs from Reuters)

(With inputs from agencies.)