Health News Roundup: Drinking with certain drugs tied to fall risk for seniors; Limited language fluency tied to repeat hospitalizations

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Drinking with certain drugs tied to fall risk for seniors

Older adults who take many common medicines may be more likely to fall and be injured when they drink alcohol, a recent study suggests. Researchers focused on a wide variety of medicines that can have potentially dangerous side effects when mixed with alcohol including certain blood pressure treatments, allergy pills, painkillers, psychiatric medicines and diabetes therapies.

Moderate weight gain may be healthiest in twin pregnancies

Pregnant women may be "eating for two" - or more - but when it comes to twin pregnancies, gaining too much weight may be as bad as gaining too little, a U.S. study suggests. There isn't a lot of evidence for an ideal amount of weight gain in a twin pregnancy, the study team writes in Obstetrics & Gynecology. But in a large analysis of twin pregnancies, they found that both very high and very low weight gain was associated with more preterm births and infant death.

PTSD tied to higher, earlier stroke risk

Young adults who develop PTSD may be more likely to have a stroke by the time they are middle aged, a study of U.S. veterans suggests. Researchers followed almost one million young and middle-aged veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan for more than a decade, starting when they were 30 years old, on average, and had no history of stroke. Overall, 29% had been diagnosed with PTSD.

Teva’s proposed opioid settlement could cost drugmaker pennies on the dollar

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd's proposed $23 billion drug giveaway to settle thousands of U.S. opioid lawsuits will likely cost the company a fraction of that figure due to how it has valued those medicines, according to a Reuters review of pricing data and industry analysts. When Teva announced the value of the donated medicine - a generic version of opioid addiction treatment Suboxone - it based the figure on the drug's list price, which does not account for significant discounts routinely provided by the drugmaker.

South Korea warns of 'serious risk' from vaping, considers sales ban

South Korea on Wednesday advised people to stop using liquid e-cigarettes due to growing health concerns and vowed to speed up an investigation into whether to ban sales, a move likely to hit major producers such as Juul and local tobacco company KT&G. While long-term health impacts from vaping remain largely unknown, e-cigarettes were viewed as a healthier alternative that could help users quit smoking when they were first launched a few years ago.

Biogen, Eisai revive plans for Alzheimer's drug, surprising market

Biogen Inc revived plans on Tuesday to seek U.S. approval for Alzheimer's treatment aducanumab, surprising investors and saying data from more patients in two discontinued studies showed the drug reduced the decline of patients. The drugmaker's shares soared 27% in New York trading, recouping almost all of the $18 billion it lost when it said in March it was abandoning the two studies. Shares in Eisai Co, Biogen's Japanese partner in the drug, were quoted up 18% to the daily limit high of 6,534 yen in Tokyo trading.

That last toke for the road could be a downer with pot breathalyzers coming

One toke for the road could end up being a total bummer for drivers who smoke pot, with several companies in the United States preparing to market cannabis breathalyzers as legalized marijuana spreads across the country. Law enforcement agencies will require breathalyzers to detect marijuana as they are "faced with the necessity of stopping more and more motor vehicles being operated under the influence of THC," said Brett Meade, a retired police chief and a senior program manager for Washington-based non-profit group the Police Foundation.

Eli Lilly to target cancer drug developers for deals

Eli Lilly and Co will target cancer drug developers for deals, Chief Executive Officer Dave Ricks said on a post-earnings conference call on Wednesday. "Probably because of the number of opportunities, you will see us active in oncology - that's where a lot of early stage biotech is," Ricks said.

Limited language fluency tied to repeat hospitalizations

Poor language comprehension may raise the odds of a repeat hospitalization, a Canadian study suggests. Researchers in Toronto found that patients with limited English proficiency were more likely than fluent English speakers to be hospitalized more than once in the same month.

Johnson & Johnson CEO testified Baby Powder was safe 13 days before FDA bombshell

Facing off against a plaintiff’s lawyer for the first time about Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder, the company’s Chief Executive Alex Gorsky earlier this month insisted that the company’s iconic brand was safe. “We unequivocally believe that our talc and our baby powder does not contain asbestos,” Gorsky testified in an Oct. 3 deposition in a case involving a retired Indiana college professor who alleges his cancer was caused by the Baby Powder he used for decades. The deposition has not been previously reported.

Also Read: Older adults with dementia are misdiagnosed with Alzheimer's disease: Study

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)