Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Telemedicine not ideal for kids with respiratory infections

(Reuters Health) - Children with acute respiratory infections were prescribed antibiotics more often when the doctor "visit" was via telemedicine instead of at a primary care office or an urgent care clinic, a new study shows. "We found that compared to primary care and urgent care, children with these acute respiratory infections who received care through direct-to-consumer telemedicine were much more likely to receive antibiotics and much less likely to receive antibiotics that were appropriate for the diagnosis they were given," said the study's lead author, Dr. Kristin Ray, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Exclusive breastfeeding tied to healthier cholesterol in teens

(Reuters Health) - Babies who consume nothing but breast milk for their first three months of life may have healthier cholesterol levels by adolescence than infants who drink formula, a new study suggests. Pediatricians recommend that mothers exclusively breastfeed infants until they're at least 6 months old because it can bolster babies' immune systems and reduce their risk of ear and respiratory infections, sudden infant death syndrome, allergies, obesity and diabetes. Breast milk does contain more cholesterol than formula, however, and little is known about how this might impact cholesterol levels later in life, researchers note in Pediatrics. Exclusive: Pain-care specialist agrees to testify against Purdue, other drug makers - court documents

A physician ally of Purdue Pharma LP whose views helped drive the explosive growth in the use of addictive pain relievers for common aches and pains in the United States has agreed to testify against the OxyContin maker and other drug companies, newly disclosed court records show. Dr. Russell Portenoy, a professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, was an early advocate for the use of opioids for chronic pain, a position he shared in medical journal articles, with regulators, at physician conferences and in other forums. He also was named as a defendant in some of the lawsuits filed by cities, counties and states seeking to hold opioid makers - including Endo and Mallinckrodt Plc - and their distributors liable for the cost of the U.S. opioid epidemic. Congo Ebola outbreak 'far from contained,' U.S. aid chief says

The deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is far from contained, U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Mark Green said on Tuesday. "In the last week we have seen a number of signs that the outbreak is far from contained. There's a long way to go," the top U.S. aid official told a U.S. congressional hearing. New York declares measles emergency, blasts misinformation fueling outbreak

A measles outbreak in Brooklyn, primarily among Orthodox Jewish children, prompted New York City on Tuesday to declare a public health emergency, requiring unvaccinated people in the affected areas to get the vaccine or face fines The city's largest outbreak since 1991 of the once virtually eradicated virus has mainly been confined to the Orthodox Jewish community in the borough's Williamsburg neighborhood, with 285 cases confirmed since October, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference. That's up sharply from only two reported cases in all of 2017. In New York, confusion reigns in the emerging CBD edibles business

New York state officials told food growers and processors in mid-December that they had the state's blessing to produce and sell tea and chocolates laced with CBD, the cannabis derivative reputed to ease anxiety and other ills without marijuana's high. But since then, New York City health inspectors have seized thousands of dollars worth of CBD-infused food and drinks at the Fat Cat Kitchen and other local cafes and restaurants, and warned owners to stop selling them or face penalties. The crackdown came just weeks after federal law explicitly made CBD legal across the country. U.S. charges 24 in telemedicine healthcare fraud causing $1.2 billion losses

U.S. authorities on Tuesday said 24 defendants have been charged in connection with one of the largest health care fraud schemes prosecuted by the federal government, involving telemedicine companies and resulting in more than $1.2 billion of losses. Authorities said the charges concern an alleged scheme by so-called durable medical equipment companies to pay kickbacks and bribes in exchange for referrals of Medicare beneficiaries for medically unnecessary back, knee, shoulder and wrist braces. Crystal meth and crowded jails: problems mount in Iraqi oil city

The southern Iraqi city of Basra is struggling to cope with a growing drug problem that has overcrowded prisons and strained police resources, only months after violent protests over poor municipal services. Basra's prison system is clogged up and creaking. On a recent day in one police station, Reuters reporters saw about 150 men, their heads shaved, squatting in two small, cramped holding cells. Amgen's postmenopausal osteoporosis drug gets FDA greenlight

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it had approved Amgen Inc's osteoporosis treatment for postmenopausal women who are at high risk of fracture. Postmenopausal osteoporosis is a chronic condition resulting from progressive bone loss beginning around menopause. Alkermes says long-acting drugs could help schizophrenics stay on medication longer

Alkermes Plc said on Tuesday its long-acting injectable therapy for schizophrenia has helped reduce symptoms and can become an effective option for ensuring patients stay on medication even after being discharged from hospital. The six-month study showed that Alkermes' Aristada, given every two months, was as effective as Johnson & Johnson's monthly injectable Invega Sustenna, with both helping to achieve statistically significant improvements in schizophrenia symptoms.