Health News Roundup: Sanofi, Google to use data tech for innovations; Congo measles outbreak and more

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.

Liver donation for transplant misunderstood, underutilized

Lack of knowledge among community physicians may be keeping them from raising the possibility of living donor transplants with their patients with liver disease, new survey data suggest. And misperceptions among the general public about liver disease, liver transplants in general and the people who need them may be keeping some Americans from registering to become organ donors after death, according to survey results released June 14 by WebMD and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center at the Living-Donor Liver Transplant Summit at the National Press Club in Washington DC.

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.

Strobing stage lights could up risk of epileptic seizures

Flashing light effects that have become the norm for electronic dance music concerts could bring on epileptic seizures in young people who may not know they have a vulnerability, Dutch researchers say. Young people flock to electronic dance music festivals that are popular for their loud music and intense stroboscopic light beams piercing the darkness. But those lights may be putting certain visitors at risk of injuries, hospitalization or other complications related to provoked seizures.

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.

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.