Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Lynparza stalls pancreatic cancer in patients with BRCA mutations: study

AstraZeneca and Merck & Co's Lynparza helped patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who carry BRCA gene mutations go longer without their disease worsening than those who received a placebo, according to data from a late-stage clinical trial presented on Sunday. BRCA mutations are typically linked with breast and ovarian cancers, but occur in other cancers as well. Merck's Keytruda sets new five-year survival standard for advanced lung cancer

Nearly a quarter of patients who received Merck & Co's immunotherapy Keytruda as an initial treatment for advanced lung cancer were still alive after five years, according to data presented at a major medical meeting on Saturday. That represents a huge gain over the historical five-year survival rate of just 5 percent for those with the disease prior to the introduction of medicines like Keytruda that spur the immune system to fight cancer. Missouri abortion clinic to stay open for now after court order

Missouri's only abortion clinic will stay open at least a few more days after a judge on Friday granted a request by Planned Parenthood for a temporary restraining order, allowing the facility to keep operating until a hearing on Tuesday. Planned Parenthood sued Missouri this week after state health officials said the license for Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood in St. Louis was in jeopardy, meaning the clinic could have closed at midnight unless the judge granted the request for a temporary restraining order. 'How can she have HIV?':Pakistan town struggles with surge in infections

Doctors in a town in Pakistan are struggling to cope with a surge in patients infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, with nearly 700 cases since April, most of them children. Health officials suspect the outbreak is linked to reused syringes and needles and improperly screened blood transfusions. Heritage Pharmaceuticals to pay $7 million to settle price-fixing allegations

Heritage Pharmaceuticals has agreed to pay more than $7 million to settle allegations that it fixed the prices of several medicines, including a key diabetes drug, the Justice Department said. The company, a subsidiary of India-based Emcure Pharmaceuticals, is accused of working with other generic drug makers to fix prices and rig bids for medicines like glyburide, a diabetes drug. Mediterranean diet tied to better memory for diabetics

People with diabetes may have better brain function if they follow a Mediterranean diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, fish and healthy fats, a U.S. study suggests. Mediterranean diets have long been linked to better heart and brain health as well as a lower risk of developing diabetes. But research to date hasn't offered a clear picture of whether any cognitive benefits of eating this way might differ for people with and without diabetes, said lead study author Josiemer Mattei of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. Novartis hopes Kisqali data will help narrow gap to blockbuster rival

Novartis has released data showing sharply improved overall survival rates for its breast cancer drug Kisqali, which the Swiss drugmaker hopes will help it chip away at the dominance of Pfizer's blockbuster Ibrance. Novartis's Kisqali had $235 million in sales in 2018, well behind the $4.1 billion for Ibrance, as Pfizer's first-to-market drug captured the lion's share of women with metastatic HR+/HER2- cancer. Childhood adversity tied to sleep problems decades later

Children who suffer adverse experiences like abuse and neglect may be more likely to have sleep problems in adulthood, a U.S. study suggests. Adverse childhood experiences, commonly called ACEs, can include witnessing parents fight or go through a divorce, having a parent with a mental illness or substance abuse problem, or suffering from sexual, physical or emotional abuse. ACEs have been linked to what's known as toxic stress, or wear and tear on the body that leads to physical and mental health problems that often continue from one generation to the next. Hong Kong reports second swine fever case, to cull 4,700 pigs

Hong Kong has confirmed its second case of African swine fever, in a further sign that the virus is continuing to spread beyond mainland China, with the government ordering a cull of 4,700 animals. The case of the disease, fatal to pigs but harmless in humans, was found in a slaughterhouse in the New Territories, bordering China's southern province of Guangdong, health chief Sophia Chan said late on Friday.