Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Quality of surgical care across a hospital network may vary

Just because the flagship hospital gets good marks for patient care doesn't mean results will be equally good in affiliated hospitals in the same network, a new study finds. Researchers found variable surgical outcomes across networks associated with hospitals that received the highest rankings from U.S. News & World Report, according to the study published in JAMA Surgery. California jury awards $29 million to woman with cancer who used J&J talc

A California jury on Wednesday awarded $29 million to a woman who said that asbestos in Johnson & Johnson's talcum-powder-based products caused her cancer. The verdict, in California Superior Court in Oakland, marks the latest defeat for the healthcare conglomerate facing more than 13,000 talc-related lawsuits nationwide. U.S. proposes stricter curbs on e-cigarette sales

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday released formal plans to curb the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and slow a surge in teenage use of the popular nicotine devices. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who has called teenage use an "epidemic," issued the draft guidelines during his final weeks as head of the agency, after a surprise resignation announcement last week. Breast cancer risk tied to DDT varies by exposure timing

The once-common pesticide DDT has long been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. Now, research suggests that women's age at first exposure to DDT may influence when in life the risk for breast malignancies is greatest. Women exposed to DDT before age 14, particularly in infancy and early childhood, were most likely to develop breast cancer, before age 50 and before they went through menopause, researchers report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. However, women exposed to DDT after infancy had a greater risk of developing cancer later, at ages 50 to 54. U.S. court rejects Alvogen's patent challenge for Celgene's cancer drug

The U.S. patent office on Thursday rejected a filing by Alvogen Pine Brook Llc for a review challenging patents on Celgene Corp's blockbuster myeloma drug Revlimid. Shares of Celgene were up 1.2 percent at $88.33 in early trading. Experts call for halt to gene editing that results in 'designer babies'

Top scientists and ethicists from seven countries on Wednesday called for a global moratorium on gene editing of human eggs, sperm or embryos that would result in genetically-altered babies after a rogue Chinese researcher last year announced the birth of the world's first gene-edited twins. News of their birth prompted global condemnation of the work, raising the ethical specter of so-called designer babies in which embryos could be genetically modified to produce children with desirable traits. WHO says Ebola area contained but Congo needs long-term support

The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo is now concentrated in two areas and could be stopped by September, but the country also needs help tackling its broader health problems, the head of the World Health Organization said on Thursday. The outbreak, the second worst in history, is believed to have killed 587 people in a region beset by violence and poverty. A rapid international response has so far stopped the disease spreading into neighboring countries. Diabetics more likely to report back pain

People with diabetes are more likely to report back and neck pain, but it's still unclear if diabetes is the cause of their pain, a research review concludes. Diabetes was associated with a 35 percent higher likelihood of reporting back pain, in an analysis of five studies with a total of 131,431 people, and with a 24 percent greater risk of neck pain, according to two studies with 6,560 people. Turkey's Erdogan opens giant city hospital in Ankara amid criticism from medics

President Tayyip Erdogan opened one of the world's largest hospitals in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday, brushing aside criticism of what is the latest in a series of mega projects that have marked his 16 years in power. The Ankara City Hospital, built at a cost of around 1 billion euros, is equipped with some 3,810 beds and covers an area the size of around 100 football pitches. Critics in the health sector say its size will cause logistical problems. Excess pregnancy weight gain tied to risk for delivery complications

Women who gain more weight than recommended while pregnant may increase their chances for serious complications at delivery, a study of more than a half-million births in New York City suggests. In particular, women who gained more than 20 pounds above the guideline amounts had significantly higher rates of heart failure, severe high blood pressure and needing a transfusion or ventilation, researchers report in Obstetrics & Gynecology.