Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Swapping out eggs, white bread for oatmeal linked to lowered stroke risk

People who eat oatmeal for breakfast instead of eggs and white toast may be lowering their risk of stroke, a Danish study suggests. Consuming breakfast every day, and oatmeal in particular, has long been linked to reduced stroke risk. But research to date hasn't offered a clear picture of how substituting oatmeal for common breakfast foods like eggs, toast and yogurt might impact stroke risk, the study team notes in the journal Stroke. Fewer than 900,000 new Japanese babies this year for first time on record

The number of babies born in Japan fell an estimated 5.9% this year to fewer than 900,000 for the first time since the government started compiling data in 1899, the welfare ministry said on Tuesday. The dwindling number of births will put more strain welfare finances to support snowballing costs of supporting an aging population, which would undermine economic growth, analysts say. Allergan signs $750 million settlement with purchasers of Alzheimer's drug Namenda

Purchasers of Allergan Plc's Namenda asked a federal judge on Tuesday to approve a $750 million settlement of claims that the drugmaker conspired to keep generic versions of the Alzheimer's medication off the market. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said the preliminary settlement, which requires a judge's approval, would be the largest amount paid by one defendant to resolve a class action brought by "direct purchasers" under the federal Hatch-Waxman antitrust law, which encourages the manufacture of generic drugs. Countries implementing about half of WHO recommendations

About half of the recommendations suggested by the World Health Organization to reduce chronic disease are put into practice, according to a new study. Implementation is slowly improving, yet alcohol and tobacco policies are the least widely practiced, researchers report in The Lancet Global Health. FDA approves first generic of Bristol-Myers, Pfizer's blood thinner Eliquis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Monday it has approved the first generic version of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co and Pfizer Inc's blood thinner Eliquis. The approval was granted to Micro Labs Ltd and Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc, the agency said. (https://reut.rs/2PRJPpE) Correvio's heart drug fails to get FDA approval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has declined to approve Correvio Pharma Corp's drug to correct irregular rhythm in the upper chambers of the heart, the company said on Tuesday. In the so-called complete response letter, the FDA stated that while the submitted data provides substantial evidence of the drug's effectiveness, the data does not provide reassuring evidence of Brinavess' safety, the company said. Recreational marijuana becomes legal in Illinois on New Year's Day

Many pot-smoking adults in Illinois will ring in the new year on a high note when recreational marijuana use becomes legal in the state on Jan. 1. Starting New Year's Day, people 21 and older will be able to legally buy up to 30 grams of marijuana flower, 5 grams of marijuana concentrate, or 500 grams of THC-infused products such as edibles at licensed commercial dealers throughout the state. Roche dives deeper into gene therapy with $1.15 billion Sarepta licensing deal

Roche Holding AG made its second major gene therapy deal in a year on Monday, spending $1.15 billion to obtain the rights to Sarepta Therapeutics Inc's investigational drug to treat duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) outside the United States. The Swiss drugmaker closed a $4.3 billion deal to acquire Sparks Therapeutics this month, underscoring the growing appetite among large drugmakers for gene therapies. China detects African swine fever in Sichuan

African swine fever has been detected in pigs being illegally transported in China's southwestern Sichuan province, the agriculture ministry said on Tuesday. A total of 435 pigs were being transported from outside Sichuan when the fatal disease was detected, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said. Some 15 pigs had already died, it said. Vaping is taking off among younger children and 'tweens'

The proportion of e-cigarette users in the United States who started vaping by age 14 has more than tripled in the past five years, a recent study suggests. From just 8.8% in 2014, the share of vapers who had picked up their first e-cigarette at age 14 or earlier surged to 28.6% in 2018, according to researchers who analyzed survey data from almost 27,000 youth.