| HEALTH NEWS |
| Cancer |
| FDA Thinks Shortage of Cancer Drug for Kids Can Be Averted |
| The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it was cautiously optimistic that a feared shortage of a life-saving drug used to treat a form of childhood leukemia will be averted. |
| Vitamin B and fish oil fail to prevent cancer |
| Among more than 2,500 people in France with a history of heart disease, taking B vitamins or omega-3 fatty acid supplements did not reduce the risk of developing cancer in a new study. In fact, for a small group of women, fish oil was linked to higher cancer risk. |
| Neurological Disease |
| Sleeplessness Tied to Early Alzheimer’s, Study Says |
| Poor-quality sleep may have worse effects than simple fatigue: A preliminary new study suggests it’s linked to the buildup of brain plaques seen in people with Alzheimer’s disease. |
| Brain Scans May One Day Be Used to Predict Dementia |
| Using brain scans, researchers were able to monitor mental decline over a two-year period in people without dementia and even predict the disorder before it happened, according to a new report. |
| HIV |
| Drugmakers Seek Deals to Gain Share of Future Hepatitis C Combination Pill |
| A developing medical theory that hepatitis C can be overcome with the same type of drug cocktails that tamed HIV may drive acquisition strategies as companies try to anticipate which products work best with other medicines. |
| Other News |
| Bishops plan aggressive expansion of birth-control battle |
| Catholic bishops, energized by a battle over contraception funding, are planning an aggressive campaign to rally Americans against a long list of government measures which they say intrude on religious liberty. |
| Decision time for researchers of deadly bird flu |
| When 22 bird flu experts meet at the World Health Organization this week, they will be tasked with deciding just how far scientists should go in creating lethal mutant viruses in the name of research. |
| Medicare puzzle: Big rise in artificial feet costs |
| What’s wrong with this picture? Medicare’s bill for artificial feet rose nearly 60 percent in recent years, although foot and leg amputations due to diabetes continued a dramatic decline. |
| Ind. health department confirms 13 measles cases |
| Three more cases of measles have been confirmed in Boone and Hamilton Counties, bringing the total to 13, state health officials said today, as they released a list of places that others may have been exposed to the highly infectious disease. |
| Hip Implants U.S. Rejected Sold Overseas |
| The health care products giant Johnson & Johnson continued to market an artificial hip in Europe and elsewhere overseas after the Food and Drug Administration rejected its sale in the United States based on a review of company safety studies. |
| 400 shades of lipstick found to contain lead, FDA says |
| A recent federal analysis showing that 400 shades of popular lipstick contained trace amounts of lead has exacerbated an ongoing dispute between regulators and consumer activists over how much lead is safe in cosmetics. |
| Study suggests skipping antibiotics for sinus infections |
| When you have a sinus infection, the first thing you want is relief from your pain. If you’re like most people, you want your doctor to prescribe an antibiotic to speed that process. And the last thing you want is to be told to just wait it out. |
| INDUSTRY NEWS |
| Roche warns of counterfeit cancer drug in US |
| The maker of the widely prescribed cancer drug Avastin is warning doctors and patients about counterfeit vials of the product that have been distributed in the U.S. |
| Pfizer says its drug is best hope for Alzheimer’s |
| Pfizer Inc research chief Mikael Dolsten said the company’s experimental treatment for Alzheimer’s disease is the drug industry’s “best chance” to delay progression of the memory-robbing illness. |
| Merck strikes Brazil joint venture to sell medicines |
| Merck & Co plans to form a joint venture with two Brazilian pharmaceutical companies to sell medicines in Brazil, the U.S. drugmaker said on Wednesday. |
| MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY NEWS |
| Apple factory inspections begin |
| Apple’s iPhone and iPad assembly lines in China’s Shenzhen region on Monday were opened to outside inspections in a bid by Apple to counter labor abuse allegations. The Washington, D.C.-based Fair Labor Association began its first inspections at Foxconn City. Chinese factories run by Taiwan-based Foxconn have come under scrutiny for labor conditions, accidental deaths and reports of suicides. |
| Today in Tech: Apple iCloud’s stunning growth |
| Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference in San Francisco yesterday, addressing topics like working conditions in Chinese Foxconn factories, the runaway successes of the iPhone and iPad, and emerging markets. |
