Health News Roundup: Insys kickback conviction; WHO decries measles failure and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

New York doctor convicted of taking kickbacks from opioid maker Insys

A New York doctor was convicted on Thursday of accepting thousands of dollars in bribes and kickbacks from Insys Therapeutics Inc in exchange for prescribing his patients addictive fentanyl spray the drug manufacturer produced. Gordon Freedman was the fourth medical practitioner to face trial on charges stemming from what prosecutors say was a wide-ranging bribery scheme orchestrated by the now-bankrupt drugmaker that helped fuel the U.S. opioid epidemic.

Rural hospital acquisitions may reduce patient services

Although hospitals can improve financially when they join larger health systems, the merger may also reduce access to services for patients in rural areas, according to a new study. After an affiliation, rural hospitals are more likely to lose onsite imaging and obstetric and primary care services, researchers report in a special issue of the journal Health Affairs devoted to rural health issues in the United States.

U.S. health spending recovers after two slow years: CMS

U.S. healthcare spending recovered in 2018 after two consecutive years of decline, a government health agency reported on Thursday. The total national health expenditures last year grew 4.6% to $3.6 trillion, or $11,172 per person, boosted by faster growth in private health insurance and government-sponsored health insurance programs, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said.

WHO decries 'collective failure' as measles kills 140,000

Measles infected nearly 10 million people in 2018 and killed 140,000, mostly children, as devastating outbreaks of the viral disease hit every region of the world, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. In figures described by its director general as "an outrage", the WHO said most of last year's measles deaths were in children under five years old who had not been vaccinated.

U.S. FDA approves generic versions of Novartis blockbuster MS treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved three generic versions of Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG's top-selling multiple sclerosis (MS) medicine Gilenya. The approval allows HEC Pharm Co Ltd, Biocon Ltd and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd to produce the drug for the treatment of relapsing forms of MS in adult patients.

North Korea to launch medical tourism, targeting visitors from China

North Korea, one of the world's most reclusive states, plans to branch out into medical tourism next year, offering foreign visitors, most likely from China, treatments including cataract surgery, dental implants and therapy for tumors. The ruling party's Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported on Friday the recent launch of the "Treatment Tourism Exchange Corporation", aimed at capitalizing on the "rising demand for tourism, including medical care, in line with an international trend".

FDA probes diabetes drug metformin for carcinogen NDMA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other healthcare regulators are investigating whether diabetes drug metformin had contaminations of a cancer-causing chemical that prompted a recall of a commonly used heartburn medication this year. The move is part of the FDA's broader push to investigate a range of drugs for the presence of the carcinogen, known as N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), with heartburn drug Zantac being recalled this year for fear it contained NDMA.

Many doctors in training may skip routine health care

Trainee doctors often miss out on routine medical care and preventive health services even when they take daily prescriptions, a small study suggests. Researchers surveyed 299 residents at 20 teaching hospitals in New England about their physical and mental health. Participants were 31 years old, on average, and 35% reported having no routine place for medical care, the study found.

U.S. vaping-related deaths rise to 48, cases of illness to 2,291

U.S. health officials on Thursday reported one new case and one more death from a respiratory illness tied to vaping over a two-week period, taking the total death toll to 48. As of Dec. 4, 2019, there were 2,291 hospitalized cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 50 states, the District of Columbia, and two U.S. territories. There are more deaths under investigation, health officials said.

Biogen builds case for its Alzheimer's drug, skeptics say more data needed

Biogen Inc on Thursday laid out more data on its experimental Alzheimer's drug that raised no major safety alarms but also offered little compelling evidence the drug, once declared a failure, actually works. Experts had been watching closely for any statistical abnormalities or excess safety issues that would affect how the drug is reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). If approved, aducanumab would be the first treatment designed to delay progression of the fatal, mind-robbing disease for millions of patients.

(With inputs from agencies.)