Health News Roundup: With more choices of vegetarian cafeteria meals, more are sold and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

People taking blood thinners may risk danger by mixing with OTC meds

People taking blood-thinning medications often use over-the-counter (OTC) medicines with the potential to cause dangerous internal bleeding, a recent study suggests. The study focused on 791 patients prescribed apixaban, one of several newer blood thinners known as NOACs (non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants) that are recommended to prevent stroke in people with atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm disorder.

AstraZeneca's combo drug for lung cancer succeeds in late-stage trial

AstraZeneca Plc said on Monday a combination of its cancer drug, Imfinzi, along with chemotherapy helped curb the progression of lung cancer in a late-stage study, sending its shares up as much as 2%. The combination, when added to the drugmaker's tremelimumab therapy, also met the secondary goal of improving progression-free survival, the British drugmaker said.

Missouri, Planned Parenthood debate 'safety concerns' at abortion clinic hearing

The fate of Missouri's only abortion clinic was at stake on Monday, as a state arbiter heard arguments from Planned Parenthood and state officials who have threatened to close it and make Missouri the sole U.S. state without legal abortion services. Planned Parenthood, the women's healthcare and abortion provider that operates the facility, sued the state health department in June for its refusal to renew the St. Louis clinic's license. The state court judge presiding over the case referred the matter to the Administrative Hearing Commission, an independent arbiter.

New tuberculosis treatment for developing countries to cost $1,040

A newly approved three-drug treatment for tuberculosis will be available in 150 countries including India and South Africa, priced at $1,040 for a complete regimen, more than twice the cost proposed in the past by advocacy groups for other treatments. The United Nations-backed Stop TB Partnership said on Monday that BPaL would be obtainable in eligible countries through the Global Drug Facility (GDF), a global provider of TB medicines created in 2001 to negotiate lower prices for treatments.

Allergan settles Alzheimer's therapy lawsuit for $750 million

Allergan Plc would pay $750 million to settle a class action lawsuit from a group of direct purchasers of Alzheimer's disease therapy Namenda, the drugmaker said, in a resolution to the litigation that was set to face trial on Monday. The settlement makes no admission of wrongdoing on its part and will be recorded as a charge to its third-quarter earnings, the company said.

With more choices of vegetarian cafeteria meals, more are sold

When cafeterias sell more vegetarian meals, people will indeed purchase more meat-free entrees, a recent study suggests. Researchers examined data on 94,644 meals purchased in 2017 at three university cafeterias. When the cafeterias doubled the proportion of vegetarian meals available from 25% to 50%, vegetarian meal sales rose by 41% to 79%.

Mirati drug shrinks tumors in some cancer patients in early-stage trial

An experimental drug from Mirati Therapeutics Inc that targets a specific genetic mutation significantly reduced tumor size in 40% of patients with advanced lung and colorectal cancer so far evaluated in a small, early-stage trial, researchers said on Monday. Investors have been keen to see how Mirati's data stacks up against results for a similar drug, AMG510, under development by Amgen Inc. Both target a mutated form of a gene known as KRAS that occurs in around 13% of non-small cell lung cancer cases, 3-5% of colorectal cancers and up to 2% of other solid tumor cancers.

Medicinal cannabis not proven in mental health, study finds

Evidence is weak for whether medicinal cannabis treatments can relieve mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression and psychosis, and doctors should prescribe them with great caution, researchers said on Monday. In a review of scientific studies that analyzed the impact of medicinal cannabinoids on six mental health disorders, the researchers found "a lack of evidence for their effectiveness."

Female and minority health professionals face discrimination from rural colleagues

Even as rural America struggles to attract enough healthcare providers, women and minority health professionals are sometimes driven out of rural communities by the discrimination and harassment from colleagues, a new study finds. In interviews for the study, many of the healthcare professionals who were female, nonwhite, and of certain sexual orientation and gender identity minority groups described burnout from bias, harassment and hostility from their colleagues, researchers report in JAMA Network Open.

Justice Department issues grand jury subpoenas in J&J opioid probe: filing

Johnson & Johnson received grand jury subpoenas in August from the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of New York related to its opioid medication policies, the company said in a regulatory filing on Monday. J&J said the subpoenas were related to anti-diversion policies and procedures and the distribution of its opioid medications developed by its Janssen pharmaceuticals unit.