Health News Roundup: Counting steps might make you healthier; Akorn gets FDA warning

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Migraine in pregnancy linked with complications for mothers and babies

Pregnant women with migraine headaches are more likely to develop complications, and their babies are at higher risk for complications early after birth, too, a large study from Denmark suggests. Using Danish registries, researchers identified 22,841 pregnant women with migraine and compared them with 228,324 pregnant women without migraine. They found that the debilitating disorder was tied to pregnancy-associated blood pressure problems as well as miscarriage.

Akorn gets FDA warning letter for another manufacturing plant

Akorn Inc said on Tuesday it received a warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding its manufacturing facility in New Jersey, the latest in a string of setbacks for the generic drugmaker. Shares of the company were down 1% at $4.67 in afternoon trading. They had fallen nearly 13% in trading before the opening bell on the news.

Unproven stem cell therapies often peddled by doctors without training

At U.S. clinics advertising unproven stem cell treatments, roughly two-thirds of the clinicians may be physicians, but a new study suggests these doctors are often trained in specialties unrelated to the services they provide. "About half of the companies we examined offer unproven stem cell treatments for conditions (for) which they do not have a physician with the appropriate residency and fellowship training," said senior study author Zubin Master, of the Biomedical Ethics Research Program at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Tobacco, vape shops sell more to minors than other retailers

U.S. regulations require retailers to check ID for everyone under age 27 who tries to buy tobacco products, but half of tobacco and vape shops don't do this, a 2018 study of California retailers suggests. Forty-five percent of tobacco and vape shops sold e-cigarettes and vaping supplies to researchers posing as underage shoppers, the analysis also found. Sales violations were more common with vaping products than with traditional cigarettes.

Novartis wins Gilenya reprieve as judge blocks generics, for now

Novartis has won a U.S. federal court order preventing rival generic makers from selling versions of the Swiss drugmaker's top-selling multiple sclerosis medicine Gilenya in the United States, at least until a patent dispute is resolved. Novartis had asked for a preliminary injunction to halt generics makers including Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Torrent Pharma and Aurobindo Pharma, among others, from making or selling a Gilenya copy in the United States until a final decision on a Novartis patent for the medicine.

Illinois joins 10 other U.S. states in legalizing recreational marijuana

Illinois on Tuesday became the 11th U.S. state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana by adults after Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law a bill that also provides for the removal of certain previous drug convictions and will generate new revenue for the financially troubled state. The Democratic governor hailed the measure, which was passed by the legislature last month, for allowing as many as 700,000 marijuana-related records and convictions to be erased.

FDA warns companies selling kratom products on opioid addiction claims

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters on Tuesday to two privately held companies for illegally selling unapproved, misbranded drugs containing kratom claiming to cure opioid addiction and withdrawal symptoms. Leaves of the kratom tree, native to southeast Asia, can be used as a stimulant or sedative and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has listed it as a "drug and chemical of concern".

Yes, counting steps might make you healthier

People who track their daily steps may not only be more active, they may also be less likely to develop health problems that lead to events like heart attacks or broken bones, a new study suggests. Researchers examined data on 1,297 participants from clinical trials that randomly assigned half of the people to track steps with pedometers over 12 weeks while the rest of them did no tracking at all. When they joined the trial, people took about 7,500 steps a day and got 90 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous physical activity in at least 10-minute bouts.

FDA declines to approve Acer Therapeutics' rare genetic disorder treatment

Acer Therapeutics Inc said on Tuesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve its treatment for a severe, rare genetic disorder that can cause blood vessels to fatally rupture, sending its shares plunging as much as 78%. The treatment, Edsivo, aims to treat vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (vEDS)- the most severe type of a hereditary disorder of the connective tissue.

Vitamin deficiencies may be the only sign of celiac disease

Adults with undiagnosed celiac disease often have nutrient deficiencies as the only sign of the condition, researchers say. Doctors often look for typical signs like unexplained weight loss or extreme thinness, but the hallmark signal of celiac disease may be low levels of vitamins and other micronutrients, according to a report in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.