Health News Roundup: Eye injuries from laundry pods rising in U.S. and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Chinese court sentences 'gene-editing' scientist to three years in prison

A Chinese court sentenced the scientist who created the world's first "gene-edited" babies to three years in prison on Monday for illegally practising medicine and violating research regulations, the official Xinhua news agency said. In November 2018, He Jiankui, then an associate professor at Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, said he had used a gene-editing technology known as CRISPR-Cas9 to change the genes of twin girls to protect them from getting infected with the AIDS virus in the future.

Samoa ends measles state of emergency as infection rate slows

The South Pacific island nation of Samoa has lifted a six week-state of emergency after the infection rate from a measles outbreak that has swept the country started to come under control. Samoa's island population of just 200,000 has been gripped by the highly infectious disease that has killed 81 people, most of them babies and young children, and infected more than 5,600 people.

Diet Dr Pepper does not promise weight loss or deceive consumers: U.S. appeals court

A U.S. federal appeals court on Monday said the maker of Diet Dr Pepper did not deceive consumers into thinking the soft drink promoted weight loss by including "diet" in its name, a decision that could doom a similar lawsuit over Diet Coke. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected California resident Shana Becerra's claim that Dr Pepper/Seven Up, now part of Keurig Dr Pepper Inc, misled consumers, including through ads featuring physically attractive models, and that its conduct violated California consumer fraud laws.

Sol-Gel acne cream reduces marks in late-stage studies, shares soar

Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd's shares more than tripled in value on Monday after the company said its lead acne drug candidate, Twyneo, met the main goal of reducing marks in two late-stage studies. Twyneo is a once-daily topical non-antibiotic cream containing a fixed-dose combination of encapsulated benzoyl peroxide and tretinoin.

California pharmacies rarely take back unused opioids

Only 1 in 10 California pharmacies have programs to take back unused prescription opioids and just one in five give consumers accurate disposal information, according to a study that suggests drugstores could do more to help combat substance abuse. For the "secret shopper"-style study, researchers called 898 pharmacies in California to inquire about the availability of take-back programs for leftover opioids and antibiotics, and find out how to safely dispose of these medicines at home.

China bans imports of pigs from Indonesia due to African swine fever

China's customs said it has banned imports of pigs, wild boars and related products from Indonesia due to African swine fever. The deadly disease has swept across China itself since being first detected in the country in August last year, slashing the world's top pig herd by more than 40%.

Eye injuries from laundry pods rising in U.S.

A growing number of kids are getting chemicals from laundry detergent pods in their eyes, even as ocular injuries from other types of household cleaners steadily decline, a U.S. study suggests. Nationwide, poison control centers received 319,508 calls from 2000 to 2016 about people getting household cleaning products in their eyes, an average of 18,795 calls a year, researchers report in the journal Eye.

Low levels of environmental pollutants may slow fetal growth

Pollutants that persist for decades in the environment may affect fetal growth, a U.S. study suggests. Even when women had low blood levels of these pollutants, which include substances such as DDT and PCBs, babies' growth in utero was impacted, researchers report in JAMA Pediatrics.

Syrian med students trade translation services for e-learning access

Arabic-speaking medical students in war-torn Syria are providing translation services to an online educational company in exchange for free access to videos that teach clinical processes and procedures. In a letter to The Lancet, Dr. Lamia Kouba of Damascus University and colleagues write that the eight-year-long war in Syria has prompted more than 50% of Syria's physicians to leave the country. That's left medical students more reliant on material available via the internet to supplement their education.

AstraZeneca, Merck score win with Lynparza approval for pancreatic cancer

AstraZeneca and Merck's ovarian cancer drug Lynparza has received U.S. regulatory approval for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer, cementing its lead in a niche category of cancer treatments. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug's use as a first-line maintenance therapy for patients with BRCA gene mutations whose cancer had spread beyond the pancreas and whose tumors did not worsen after chemotherapy of at least 16 weeks, the British drugmaker said on Monday.