Health News Roundup: U.S. prices for multiple sclerosis drugs are on the rise

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Alternate-day fasting associated with weight loss

(Reuters Health) - People who start fasting every other day may lose more weight than they would if they stuck to their usual eating habits, a small study suggests. The 60 healthy people in the four-week study were not overweight. Researchers randomly assigned them to either stick to their usual eating habits or switch to alternate-day fasting, with 12 hours of unrestricted food followed by 36 hours of no food.

FDA gives fast track status to AstraZeneca's diabetes drug Farxiga

AstraZeneca Plc said on Tuesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted fast track status for the development of its diabetes drug Farxiga to prevent heart and kidney failure in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Farxiga, one of AstraZeneca's top 10 drugs by sales, is part of the SGLT2-inhibitor class of antidiabetics that cause the kidneys to expel blood sugar from the body through urine.

Venezuelan migrants to get regional vaccination cards under 10-nation pact

Venezuelan migrants will be provided with a regional vaccination card beginning in October, health officials from 10 countries agreed on Monday, in an effort to ensure they receive needed vaccines and are not given double doses. More than 4 million Venezuelans have fled an economic and political crisis in their home country that has caused widespread shortages of food and medicine.

U.S. prices for multiple sclerosis drugs are on the rise

Annual costs of disease-modifying treatments for multiple sclerosis more than quadrupled from 2006 to 2016 as several new, costly medicines entered the market, a U.S. study suggests. Before 2009, only four drugs were available to reduce symptoms and slow the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS), a disabling autoimmune disease that damages the central nervous system and can lead to fatigue, pain, vision loss, and impaired coordination and motor skills. Since 2009, seven new drugs have entered the U.S. market.

Childhood cancer survivors face variety of heart risks

(Reuters Health) - Childhood cancer survivors' risks for heart problems may be broader than what was previously recognized, researchers say. It's been known for years that some treatments for childhood cancer increase the risk of heart failure. But in a new study of more than 43,000 children, Canadian researchers found young cancer survivors had as much as a three-fold increased risk of developing a variety of other cardiovascular problems, too, according to the report published in Circulation.

Pureed peanuts advised for infants to stave off allergy

Feeding pureed peanut products regularly to babies before their first birthday could reduce their risk of developing peanut allergies later on, doctors advise. In a practice guide for health care providers published in CMAJ, a team of pediatricians and allergy specialists encourage introducing peanuts in pureed or powdered form as early as age 4 months for most babies, and making sure the babies continue to get exposure to "substantial" amounts of peanut products in their first years of life.

Purdue Pharma in discussion on $10 billion-$12 billion offer to settle opioid lawsuits: sources

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP and its owners, the Sackler family, are in discussion to settle more than 2,000 opioid lawsuits against the company for $10 billion to $12 billion, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Purdue is among several drugmakers and distributors that have been sued for fueling an opioid addiction crisis in the United States, which claimed 400,000 lives from 1999 to 2017, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

U.S. FDA grants orphan drug status to AstraZeneca's asthma drug Fasenra

AstraZeneca said on Wednesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted orphan drug status for its drug to treat eosinophilic esophagitis and unveiled positive results from a late-stage trial on a triple-drug therapy targeting a severe lung disease. Fasenra would treat allergic oesophagitis, an allergic inflammatory disease of the esophagus. The health regulator grants orphan status to drugs that are intended to treat and prevent rare diseases or disorders that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S.

U.S. records 12 new cases of measles, raising year's total to 1,215

The United States recorded 12 new measles cases last week, bringing the total number of cases for the year to 1,215 across 30 states in the worst outbreak since 1992, federal health officials said on Monday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there had been a 1% increase in the number of cases of the highly contagious and sometimes deadly disease between Aug. 15 and Aug. 22.

J&J liable for $572 million in Oklahoma opioid epidemic trial; shares rise

An Oklahoma judge on Monday ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $572.1 million to the state for its part in fueling an opioid epidemic by deceptively marketing addictive painkillers, a sum that was substantially less than investors had expected, driving up J&J's shares. The state's attorney general had filed the lawsuit, seeking $17 billion to address the impact of the drug crisis on Oklahoma. It had been considered a bellwether for other litigation nationwide over the opioid epidemic.

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