Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma to pay states' lawyers, urged to help victims

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP got court approval on Tuesday to reimburse millions of dollars in legal fees for states that back its proposed $10 billion settlement of opioid lawsuits, but with a condition meant to help victims of the addiction crisis. Purdue had told Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain at Tuesday's hearing in White Plains, New York that paying the fees for seven firms that work on behalf of states and local governments would help bring structure to its Chapter 11 case and resolve it quickly. France pledges more cash and debt relief for hospitals to quell unrest

France will absorb 10 billion euros ($11.1 billion) of public hospital debt, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Wednesday, in an emergency measure designed to end months of protests by disgruntled doctors and nurses. Philippe also promised an extra 1.5 billion euros over three years for hospitals, including an 800 euro bonus for 40,000 nurses and carers earning less than 1,900 euros per month. Women more likely to be warned away from surgery careers due to gender

(Reuters Health) - Punishing hours and concerns about having little time to marry and have children deter both male and female medical students from choosing careers in surgery, but more women say they've been warned away from the field because of their gender, a survey found. Researchers sent surveys to roughly 720 students at Harvard Medical School. Among the 261 who responded, similar proportions of both genders intended to become surgeons- roughly one in four men and one in five women. Dutch hospitals close down as workers strike for higher pay

Dozens of hospitals throughout the Netherlands closed for anything but the most urgent cases on Wednesday, as nurses and doctors went on strike demanding higher pay and better working conditions. Hospital workers are demanding a general wage hike of 5%, higher bonuses for unexpected extra work and measures to relieve their workload. Bristol-Myers misses main goal of late-stage skin cancer trial

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co said on Wednesday a late-stage trial testing a combination of its cancer drugs missed a main goal of preventing skin cancer from recurring in a certain group of patients, sending its shares down nearly 1%. The company said the trial will continue unchanged as per the recommendation of a data monitoring committee. Omega-3 oils boost attention as much as ADHD drugs in some children

Omega-3 fish oil supplements can improve attention in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) just as much as drug treatments, but only in those whose blood levels of omega-3 are low, trial results showed on Wednesday. Researchers in Britain and Taiwan who conducted the placebo-controlled trial with 92 children said their findings suggest a "personalized medicine" approach should be adopted in this and other psychiatric conditions. Philippine leader says to ban 'toxic' e-cigarettes and arrest users

The Philippines will outlaw the use and importation of e-cigarettes and arrest anyone using them, its president said on Tuesday, joining a growing number of nations moving to ban devices that have been linked to deaths and addiction. President Rodrigo Duterte announced the order during a late night news conference after being asked about a Department of Health report confirming the first case of lung injury related to vaping in the country. Donors pledge $2.6 billion for 'last mile' of polio eradication

Donor governments and philanthropists pledged $2.6 billion on Tuesday to help fund a worldwide polio eradication plan that has taken decades to reach what global health specialists say is now the "last mile". The funding - almost of half of which came in a single donation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - will be used to immunize 450 million children against polio each year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement. Influential U.S. doctors group calls for ban on vaping products

The American Medical Association (AMA) on Tuesday called for a total ban on all e-cigarette and vaping products that are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as smoking cessation tools. The AMA is urging regulators and legislators at the state and local levels to ban the sale and distribution of all e-cigarette and vaping products, and stipulates that those products should only be available by prescription. Healthcare tangles in Democratic White House race could carry risk in 2020, polls show

A trio of polls released ahead of Wednesday's Democratic presidential debate showed a majority of Americans support Medicare for All, but offered conflicting signals about whether the proposed healthcare overhaul could hurt the party in the November 2020 general election. As with the previous four debates, Wednesday's televised clash in Atlanta is likely to be dominated by the intra-party battle over how best to expand healthcare coverage to millions of Americans.

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