Month: June 2013

By Jane Dreaper Health correspondent, BBC News

People with HIV will be given medication much earlier

New guidelines for HIV treatment could see millions more people in developing countries getting life-saving medicine.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is recommending that patients start taking medication at a much earlier stage of the disease.

The WHO says the guidelines, which are being launched at an international Aids conference in Kuala Lumpur, could help avert an extra 3m Aids deaths by 2025.

The charity MSF welcomed the move – but said extra investment would be needed.

The entrance of Pfizer World headquaters in New York City, August 31, 2003. ECONM

Credit: Reuters/Jeff Christensen

(Reuters) – The blood clot preventer Eliquis, sold by Pfizer Inc and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, proved as effective as widely used warfarin in treating a dangerous condition known as venous thromboembolism and caused far less bleeding, according to data from a large clinical trial.

The Pfizer and Bristol-Myers pill met the main goal of the study by showing it worked just as well as conventional treatment with warfarin, a generic blood thinner, in reducing recurrence of the condition and related deaths.

U.S. President Barack Obama takes the stage to speak about the Affordable Care Act during a visit to San Jose, California June 7, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

NEW YORK (Reuters) – About 550,000 people in Oregon do not have health insurance, and Aaron Karjala is confident the state’s new online insurance exchange will be able to accommodate them when enrollment under President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform begins on October 1.

WASHINGTON | Fri Jun 28, 2013 11:32am EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl who sparked a national debate about child access to organ donation took her first independent breath this week on a second set of donor lungs after her first transplant failed, the girl’s family said on Friday.

Sarah Murnaghan, who had cystic fibrosis and needed a lung transplant, had been kept off an adult organ transplant list due to an age restriction. She became eligible for an adult pair of lungs only after a judge’s order.

Diclofenac is used for conditions such as headaches, back pain and arthritis

People with heart problems have been advised to stop using one of the most commonly prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs in the UK.

The medicines regulator said painkiller diclofenac could significantly increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke for some patients.

The advice has been updated after a European review of the risks.

Millions of people take diclofenac for a range of conditions including headaches, back pain and arthritis.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Bed rest immediately after an in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure, despite being common practice, did not help women ultimately have a baby in a new study.

“The old wives’ tale of bed rest should be debunked once and for all, that you don’t need bed rest in any way, shape or form,” said Dr. Jani Jensen, a fertility expert at the Mayo Clinic, who was not part of the study.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Bed rest immediately after an in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure, despite being common practice, did not help women ultimately have a baby in a new study.

“The old wives’ tale of bed rest should be debunked once and for all, that you don’t need bed rest in any way, shape or form,” said Dr. Jani Jensen, a fertility expert at the Mayo Clinic, who was not part of the study.

By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News

Opponents fear that other forms of genetic modifications could follow

The UK looks set to become the first country to allow the creation of babies using DNA from three people, after the government backed the IVF technique.

It will produce draft regulations later this year and the procedure could be offered within two years.

Experts say three-person IVF could eliminate debilitating and potentially fatal mitochondrial diseases that are passed on from mother to child.