Health News Roundup: Few heart patients use cardiac rehab after stenting; France leads world in mistrust of vaccines

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

French drugmaker Sanofi, Google to use data tech for innovations

French healthcare company Sanofi has teamed up with Google to work on innovations, aimed at using emerging data technologies to change how medicines and health services will be delivered in future. Sanofi and Google will use data sets to improve their understanding of key diseases and extract patients' insights and feedback, the companies said in a joint statement.

Northeast Congo insecurity hampers response to measles outbreak

Insecurity in northeast Congo has hampered a measles vaccination drive and forced people to flee their homes, local responders said on Wednesday, complicating efforts to control the spread of a virus that has killed more people that Ebola this year. At least 1,500 people have died from measles in Democratic Republic of Congo since the start of 2019, according to health authorities, compared with 1,390 felled by an Ebola epidemic in the east.

Explainer: Mysterious 'brain fever' killing children in India

More than 110 children in India, most from poor rural families, have died this month from encephalitis, a type of brain disease that has afflicted the eastern state of Bihar for more than two decades. Health experts have long been dumbfounded by the root of the encephalitis outbreak, commonly known as brain fever, in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district.

More than a third of people in the Americas may have obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may affect as many as 37% of adults in North, Central and South America, according to a review of epidemiological studies presented June 9 at Sleep 2019, the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in San Antonio, Texas. The finding was no surprise to the review's senior author, Dr. Adam Benjafield of ResMed, a manufacturer of medical breathing devices in San Diego, California. In an email to Reuters Health, he pointed to the rising rate of obesity, a risk factor in OSA, and recent changes in scoring rules from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).

Lack of sleep linked to mental health problems for college students

Poor sleep may be linked to a greater risk for poor mental health on college campuses, new research suggests. With each night of insufficient sleep, the risk of mental health symptoms increased by roughly 20%, according to findings presented June 11 at Sleep 2019, the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

No provisions in USMCA to change U.S. pharmaceutical patent laws: Lighthizer

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement has no provisions that would force changes to U.S. laws with respect to pharmaceutical companies, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Tuesday. "To the extent that a member (of Congress) thinks anything in here will stop you from changing laws, then we have to correct that," Lighthizer said at a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee.

France leads the world in mistrust of vaccines

For Marie-Claire Grime, who works in a pharmacy northeast of Paris, questions about vaccines are a daily challenge. They come mainly from parents who say they're worried about "a lot of chemicals" being put into their children, she says. She does her best to allay such fears. "We spend time deconstructing the myths. We try hard to convince them of the huge advantages vaccination brings," Grime told Reuters at her shop in the town of Bobigny. "It is sometimes discouraging to find ourselves repeating the same things all over again."

Bayer asks trial judge to reverse $2 billion Roundup jury verdict

Bayer AG has asked a California judge to overrule a $2 billion verdict by jurors who found the company's glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer responsible for a couple's cancer, arguing the jury decision was not supported by evidence. The German drugmaker and chemicals company in court filings on Monday in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland blamed the massive verdict on "inflammatory, fabricated and irrelevant evidence" from the couples' lawyers.

Euthanasia law takes effect in Australia's Victoria state

Voluntary euthanasia became legal in the Australian state of Victoria on Wednesday, with the government saying it had extensive safeguards to prevent the process being misused while allowing people a compassionate choice over how they die. The legislation came into effect 18 months after it was passed by the state parliament in November 2017. Experts think the Victorian model may become a template for other Australian states if the introduction is seen as successful.

Few heart patients use cardiac rehab after stenting

Just one in three patients enrolls in recommended cardiac rehabilitation after having a blocked heart artery cleared and a stent inserted, a Michigan study suggests. Despite benefits from rehabilitation such as better quality of life and lower rates of rehospitalization, patients may not attend these sessions because of issues related to insurance, costs and access to a rehab facility, the study authors report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)