Health News Roundup: 'Man's best friend' is a robot dog to some with dementia; Facebook to tackle content with misleading health claims

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Karyopharm Therapeutics prices blood cancer treatment after FDA approval

Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc on Wednesday set a list-price for its blood cancer treatment Xpovio at $22,000 per month, following accelerated approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Karyopharm said it expects Xpovio to become commercially available in the United States by July 10.

Men who eat yogurt may have lower colon cancer risk

Men who eat at least two servings a week of yogurt may be lowering their risk for colorectal cancer, a recent study suggests. Researchers examined data on 32,606 male and 55,743 female health professionals who had a colonoscopy between 1986 and 2012. Study participants provided detailed information about their health, lifestyle, eating and exercise habits every four years.

Facebook to tackle content with misleading health claims

Facebook Inc said on Tuesday it was taking steps to reduce promotion of products based on misleading health-related claims. In a blog post, the social media company said it had made two updates last month to reduce posts with exaggerated or sensational health claims.

Experimental wristband may give wearer feedback on moods

A wristband made of smart fabric may someday provide real-time insight into wearers' emotions, researchers say. The wristbands are designed to change color, pressure or temperature in response to changes in arousal levels. In a small preliminary trial, they alerted people to possible fluctuations in mood, researchers reported at the annual meeting of the Association for Computing Machinery in San Diego.

U.S. judge blocks Ohio 'heartbeat' law to end most abortions

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked Ohio from enforcing a new law that critics said would effectively ban most abortions in the state, starting as early as six weeks into pregnancy. U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett in Cincinnati issued a preliminary injunction against enforcing the "Heartbeat Protection Act," saying it imposed an unconstitutional "undue burden" on a woman's right to obtain a pre-viability abortion.

China has shown 'shortcomings' in bid to contain African swine fever: cabinet

China has shown shortcomings in some aspects of preventing African swine fever, and the situation remains complicated and severe, the country's cabinet said on Wednesday. The management of transporting live hogs is not strict enough, while there is insufficient capacity in testing for African swine fever virus in hog slaughtering, processing, and circulating procedures, China's State Council said in guidelines on prevention and control of the pig disease.

GSK's HIV drug receives EU marketing nod

GlaxoSmithKline said its specialist HIV company had received marketing authorization from the European Commission for its drug to treat advanced stage HIV infections in adults and adolescents above the age of 12 and weighing at least 40 kg. ViiV Healthcare, which is majority owned by GSK and with Pfizer Inc and Shionogi Ltd as shareholders, got the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the treatment Dovato in April.

States agree to pause lawsuits against bankrupt opioid maker Insys

Five states have agreed to facilitate settlement talks by dropping objections to a bid by Insys Therapeutics Inc in bankruptcy court to put on hold their lawsuits alleging the drugmaker helped fuel the opioid epidemic. The agreement was announced on Tuesday by a lawyer for Chandler, Arizona-based Insys during a hearing before a federal bankruptcy judge in Wilmington Delaware, who was set to consider whether to block the states from moving forward with their cases.

Roche says one-dose Xofluza flu drug as good as older Tamiflu in kids

Swiss drugmaker Roche said its new one-dose flu medicine Xofluza was comparable to its 20-year-old drug Tamiflu in reducing the duration of symptoms of the viral disease, citing a study of the drug in children aged one to 12 years old. Xofluza, an oral treatment, was well tolerated in children, said Roche, whose medicine is already approved broadly in Japan and for people older than 12 in the United States. The company is seeking to establish Xofluza as a more-convenient alternative to its older Tamiflu, which must be taken twice daily for five days and which is off patent, allowing cheap copies to crowd in.

'Man's best friend' is a robot dog to some with dementia

A robot dog under development in California is vying to be a best friend to people with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, offering comfort by responding to human touch with life-like motions. Entrepreneur Tom Stevens recently presented a test version of the robotic yellow Labrador puppy to residents of a nursing home in Thousand Oaks, California.

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