Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. U.S. Supreme Court takes no action in Indiana abortion cases

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday took no action on appeals seeking to revive two restrictive Republican-backed abortion laws from Indiana, even as debate rages over a new measure in Alabama that would prohibit the procedure almost entirely. Neither Indiana case was on the list of appeals on which the court acted on Monday morning. The court could next announce whether or not it will hear the cases on May 28. Doctors end life support for French patient in landmark right-to-die case

Doctors stopped giving food and water to French quadriplegic Vincent Lambert on Monday, lawyers said, renewing a fierce debate over the right to die that has split his family and country. The 42-year-old former psychiatric nurse has been in a vegetative state since a motorcycle accident in 2008. He has almost no consciousness but can breath without a respirator and occasionally moves his eyes. Teens made up most of e-cigarette maker Juul's Twitter following - study

Almost half of the people who followed Juul Labs Inc on Twitter last year were not old enough to legally purchase e-cigarettes in the United States, according to a study published on Monday. Researchers analyzed data collected in April 2018 on public followers of Juul’s Twitter account (@JUULvapor) with at least one public tweet. About 45 percent of those who followed Juul were 13 to 17 years old, according to the study published online in JAMA Pediatrics. Little Caesars to use Impossible Foods' meatless sausages in pizzas

Little Caesars will use meatless sausages made by Impossible Foods in some of its pizzas, making it the latest food chain to tap into growing demand for plant-based alternatives to meat. Plant-based substitutes have been gaining popularity with more people opting for vegan or vegetarian diets, and companies like Beyond Meat Inc and Impossible Foods are fighting to get a share of the pie by launching new products in North America. South Africa's Aspen sells Australian prescription portfolio to Mylan

Aspen Pharmacare said on Monday that Mylan NV had exercised an option to buy the South African drugmaker's portfolio of prescription and over-the-counter products in Australia for 188 million Australian dollars ($130 million). In December, Aspen said its wholly owned subsidiary incorporated in Mauritius, Aspen Global Incorporated, and its Australian subsidiaries had entered into a distribution arrangement with Alphapharm, a subsidiary of Mylan in respect of the portfolio commercialized in Australia and New Zealand. Missouri governor expected to sign eight-week abortion ban into law

Missouri's Republican governor could sign a law as early as this week banning most abortions in the Midwestern state after the eighth week of pregnancy, part of a wave of restrictions aimed at driving a challenge of abortion to the U.S. Supreme Court. Republican Governor Mike Parson told reporters on Friday he planned to sign the bill, which was approved by the Republican-controlled state legislature last week and would enact one of the United States' most restrictive bans. He has not yet set a date for the signing, a spokeswoman in his office said, but he has until July 14 to do so, according to local media reports. 'Center of Excellence' may not mean fewer deaths or readmissions

Select hospitals designated as "Centers of Excellence" by major U.S. health plans may not necessarily have lower death rates or fewer repeat admissions than other hospitals, a study of heart patients suggests. Several health insurance plans have created Centers of Excellence (COE) programs to identify hospitals that deliver high quality care. A growing number of American patients find that health plans are trying to limit their choice of hospitals and doctors to Centers of Excellence, but whether steering patients to these particular hospitals leads to better outcomes hasn't been clear. Supreme Court gives Merck another shot to avoid Fosamax lawsuits

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday gave Merck & Co a new opportunity to avoid lawsuits accusing the company of failing to properly warn patients of debilitating thigh-bone fractures from taking its osteoporosis drug Fosamax, throwing out a lower court decision that had revived the litigation. The nine justices unanimously directed the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision to let the lawsuits proceed even though the Food and Drug Administration had rebuffed Merck when the company sought to add a warning to Fosamax's label about fracture risk. Measles outbreak spreads to Oklahoma as U.S. reports 41 new cases

The worst measles outbreak in the United States in 25 years has spread to Oklahoma, federal health officials said on Monday as they reported 41 new cases nationwide, raising the total number sickened this year to 880 people. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a 4.9% increase in the number of measles cases from May 10 to May 17 in an outbreak that has now reached 24 states. The agency has been providing weekly updates every Monday. Israel's MyHeritage expands DNA testing to health

Israel's MyHeritage, a service for family history and DNA testing, said on Monday it was launching a test that provides comprehensive health reports to consumers. Like MyHeritage's at-home DNA ancestry test, the new product provides a percentage breakdown of ethnic origins and matching to relatives through shared DNA while also showing users their risk of developing or carrying genetic conditions, the company said.