TheState.com: Health

Jury: HMO liable for $24M in Vegas hep C outbreak

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 19:55 EDT

A Nevada state court jury found the state's largest health management organization liable Thursday for $24 million in compensatory damages to three plaintiffs in a negligence lawsuit stemming from a Las Vegas hepatitis C outbreak that lawyers called the largest in U.S. history.

Plaintiffs Bonnie Brunson, 70, and her husband, Carl, who is 72, clasped hands tightly and she sobbed quietly as the verdict was read, ending the liability phase of what has been a six-week civil trial in Clark County District Court.

Plaintiff Helen Meyer, 76, whispered, "I'm in shock," to her friend, Robyn Sedillos.

"This country needs for people to know they can trust their health insurance company," Carl Brunson said later.

The Brunsons' attorney, Robert Eglet, said he'll ask the jury of three men and five women on Friday to hold Health Plan of Nevada and Sierra Health Services responsible for another $1 billion in punitive damages for what Eglet called "reckless disregard" for patients' health and safety.

Lead poisoning toll revised to 1 in 38 young kids

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:45 EDT

More than half a million U.S. children are now believed to have lead poisoning, roughly twice the previous high estimate, health officials reported Thursday.

The increase is the result of the government last year lowering the threshold for lead poisoning, so now more children are considered at risk.

Too much lead can harm developing brains and can mean a lower IQ. Lead poisoning used to be a much larger concern in the United States, but has declined significantly as lead was removed from paint and gasoline and other sources.

The new number translates to about 1 in 38 young children. That estimate suggests a need for more testing and preventive measures, some experts said, but budget cuts last year eliminated federal grant funding for such programs.

Those cuts represent "an abandonment of children," said David Rosner, a Columbia University public health historian who writes books about lead poisoning.

Sandy criticism prompts change in storm warnings

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:40 EDT

Responding to criticism after Superstorm Sandy, the National Hurricane Center said Thursday it would change the way it warns people about tropical storms that morph into something else.

At the height of Sandy, as the hurricane knocked on the Northeast coast, forecasters at the center stopped issuing advisories and warnings because the storm merged with two cold-weather systems, lost its tropical characteristics and mutated into a hybrid megastorm.

Sandy lost the hurricane part of its name and the prestige that comes with the hurricane center's constant attention and reliable forecasts, and some people said that caused Northeast residents to underestimate its danger.

Under the new policy, the hurricane center in Miami will continue to put out warnings and advisories if a storm threatens people and land, even if a hurricane or tropical storm becomes something different.

"You don't want to change the flow of information in the middle of an event. And what we had before was a situation in where hurricane information comes from the hurricane center, information on non-tropical system comes from other parts of the National Weather Service," said James Franklin, forecast chief for the National Hurricane Center. "And, so, we didn't want see that kind of break in the flow of information occur, so the changes we're introducing this year will allow that flow of information to be very seamless."

China kills market birds as flu found in pigeons

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:21 EDT

China announced Friday a sixth death from a new bird flu strain while authorities carried out the slaughter of all poultry at a Shanghai market where the virus was detected in pigeons being sold for meat.

The mass bird killing is the first so far as the Chinese government responds to the H7N9 strain of bird flu, which has sickened 14 people, many critically, along the eastern seaboard in its first known infections of people. The first cases were announced Sunday.

Health officials believe people are contracting the virus through direct contact with infected fowl and say there has been no evidence so far that the virus is spreading easily between people. However, scientists are watching closely to see if the flu poses a substantial risk to public health or could potentially spark a global pandemic.

The Agriculture Ministry confirmed late Thursday that the H7N9 virus had been detected in live pigeons on sale at a produce market in Shanghai. The killing of birds at the Huhuai market in Shanghai started Thursday night after the city's agricultural committee ordered it in a notice also posted on its website.

State media on Friday ran pictures of animal health officials in protective overalls and masks working through the night at the market, taking notes as they stood over piles of poultry carcasses in plastic bags.

Bird flu 101: How bad is the new H7N9 strain?

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:15 EDT

A bird flu virus never before found in humans has grabbed world attention this week after it infected and killed people in China. Scientists have been scrambling to understand how it happened and, more importantly, whether it poses a risk to public health or could potentially spark a global pandemic.

The good news is that so far there's no sign that the H7N9 virus is spreading from person to person, but experts say it has mutated in a way that has left them a bit worried. Here's a crash course in Bird Flu 101 to help explain what's known about the strain and why it matters:

Q: What is the H7N9 virus and what do we know about it?

A: The H7N9 strain - named for the combination of proteins on its surface - has infected at least 14 people in China since February, killing five of them, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The latest cases were confirmed Thursday, four days after the initial announcement. Symptoms include fever and respiratory problems, including severe pneumonia. Much still remains unknown about the virus, including how people are getting infected, but scientists say it contains genetic markers that could help it infect humans. It is believed to be able to circulate in poultry stocks without sickening birds. This can allow it to spread in flocks unnoticed, making it much harder to track and also possibly creating more contamination since the birds are surviving and spending more time on farms, in markets and elsewhere.

Q: How concerned should the public be about the H7N9 virus?

Mars missions scaled back in April because of sun

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 04:40 EDT

It's the Martian version of spring break: Curiosity and Opportunity, along with their spacecraft friends circling overhead, will take it easy this month because of the sun's interference.

For much of April, the sun blocks the line of sight between Earth and Mars. This celestial alignment - called a Mars solar conjunction - makes it difficult for engineers to send instructions or hear from the flotilla in orbit and on the surface.

Such communication blackouts occur every two years when the red planet disappears behind the sun. No new commands are sent since flares and charged particles spewing from the sun can scramble transmission signals and put spacecraft in danger.

Mission teams prepared by uploading weeks of scaled-back activities beforehand.

"They're on their own," said Rich Zurek, chief Mars scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Many young women live with men first, marry later

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 01:00 EDT

Nearly half of young women say the first time they lived with a guy, they weren't married.

That's the finding of a government survey released Thursday.

The results are a marked changed from 1995 when only 34 percent said they moved in together. Now it is 48 percent. Back then, 39 percent said they married first, compared to 23 now.

Experts say the numbers show living together is increasing used as a testing ground for marriage. About 40 percent of the women who lived with a guy went on to marry him within 3 years.

The survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention questioned more than 12,000 women younger than 45 from 2006 to 2010.

Rare Florida panther released back into the wild

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 23:55 EDT

An endangered Florida panther rescued as a kitten and raised in captivity has made a rare run back into the wild.

The sandy-colored, 120-pound panther cautiously poked its head out of the crate that wildlife officials drove Wednesday from northeast Florida to Palm Beach County, then it trotted out onto a gravel road in the Rotenberger Wildlife Management Area.

It built up speed with longer and longer strides, sprinting several hundred yards before veering off into the brush and disappearing.

"To see him run straight like that for such a distance and running free off into the woods makes everything worthwhile," said Dave Onorato, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission scientist who opened the panther's crate.

The 2-year-old male panther and its sister were rescued by wildlife officials in September 2011 in Collier County after their mother was found dead. They have been raised at the White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee since they were 5 months old.

Rare Florida panther released back into the wild

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 19:01 EDT

An endangered Florida panther rescued as a kitten and raised in captivity has made a rare run back into the wild.

It built up speed with longer and longer strides, sprinting several hundred yards before veering off into the brush and disappearing.

Study: Dementia tops cancer, heart disease in cost

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 19:27 EDT

Cancer and heart disease are bigger killers, but Alzheimer's is the most expensive malady in the U.S., costing families and society $157 billion to $215 billion a year, according to a new study that looked at this in unprecedented detail.

The biggest cost of Alzheimer's and other types of dementia isn't drugs or other medical treatments, but the care that's needed just to get mentally impaired people through daily life, the nonprofit RAND Corp.'s study found.

It also gives what experts say is the most reliable estimate for how many Americans have dementia - around 4.1 million. That's less than the widely cited 5.2 million estimate from the Alzheimer's Association, which comes from a study that included people with less severe impairment.

"The bottom line here is the same: Dementia is among the most costly diseases to society, and we need to address this if we're going to come to terms with the cost to the Medicare and Medicaid system," said Matthew Baumgart, senior director of public policy at the Alzheimer's Association.

Dementia's direct costs, from medicines to nursing homes, are $109 billion a year in 2010 dollars, the new RAND report found. That compares to $102 billion for heart disease and $77 billion for cancer. Informal care by family members and others pushes dementia's total even higher, depending on how that care and lost wages are valued.

Scientists find possible hint of dark matter

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 16:57 EDT

It is one of the cosmos' most mysterious unsolved cases: dark matter. It is supposedly what holds the universe together. We can't see it, but scientists are pretty sure it's out there.

Led by a dogged, Nobel Prize-winning gumshoe who has spent 18 years on the case, scientists put a $2 billion detector aboard the International Space Station to try to track down the stuff. And after two years, the first evidence came in Wednesday: tantalizing cosmic footprints that seem to have been left by dark matter.

But the evidence isn't enough to declare the case closed. The footprints could have come from another, more conventional suspect: a pulsar, or a rotating, radiation-emitting star.

The Sam Spade in the investigation, physicist and Nobel laureate Sam Ting of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said he expects a more definitive answer in a matter of months. He confidently promised: "There is no question we're going to solve this problem."

"It's a tantalizing hint," said California Institute of Technology physicist Sean Carroll, who was not part of the team. "It's a sign of something." But he can't quite say what that something is. It doesn't eliminate the other suspect, pulsars, he added.

Michelle Obama challenges kids with lunch contest

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 10:26 EDT

Children from across the nation will rub elbows with Michelle Obama and dine off fine china in the East Room of the White House this summer as part of a contest to promote healthy eating.

The first lady is asking children ages 8 to 12 and their parents to create nutritious lunch recipes that represent each of the food groups for "The Healthy Lunchtime Challenge."

Winners will travel to Washington to sample some of the original dishes at the second White House kids' "state dinner" luncheon this summer.

The deadline to submit recipes is May 12. Last year's challenge received more than 1,200 entries.

The contest, created by Epicurious.com, is a partnership among the food website, Mrs. Obama and the departments of Education and Agriculture.

New bird flu strain causes fourth death in China

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 08:20 EDT

A middle-aged man who transported poultry for a living has died from a new strain of bird flu, the fourth death among 11 confirmed cases in China, the government and state media reported Thursday.

The 48-year-old man, who died in Shanghai, is one of several among the infected believed to have had direct contact with fowl, which may carry the virus. Until recently, the virus, known as H7N9, was not known to infect humans.

It is not known how people are becoming sick with the virus, and health officials and scientists caution that there are no indications it can be transmitted from one person to another. Scientists who have studied the virus's genetic sequence said this week that the virus may have mutated, spreading more easily to other animals and potentially posing a bigger threat to humans.

Guidelines issued Wednesday by the national health agency identify butchers, breeders and sellers of poultry, and those in the meat processing industry as at higher risk.

Experts only identified the first cases on Sunday. Some among the 11 confirmed cases fell ill several weeks ago but only now are being classified as having H7N9.

Okla. board pushes for charges against dentist

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:09 EDT

Citing the scope of a public health scare involving thousands of patients of an Oklahoma oral surgeon, the head of the state's dentistry board said Monday she wants prosecutors to consider pursuing criminal charges.

Nearly 1,000 of Dr. W. Scott Harrington's 7,000 patients have now been tested in Tulsa for hepatitis B and C as well as HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. About 400 people showed up at a clinic north of downtown Saturday, the first day the free tests were offered, and nearly 560 people showed up Monday.

Susan Rogers, the executive director of the Oklahoma Board of Dentistry, told The Associated Press that she talked with Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris on Monday to discuss whether Harrington is criminally liable.

"We're looking for the witnesses and individuals who can testify for us that this is what happened to me in (Harrington's) office," Rogers told AP.

The 17-count complaint filed last week by Rogers' office called Harrington a "menace to the public health." The complaint also said officials found rusty instruments, potentially contaminated drug vials and improper use of a machine designed to sterilize tools at Harrington's two Tulsa-area offices.

New world strategy aims to eradicate polio by 2018

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 17:53 EDT

A new global plan aims to end most cases of polio by late next year, and essentially eradicate the paralyzing disease by 2018 - if authorities can raise the $5.5 billion needed to do the work, health officials said Tuesday.

Part of the challenge will be increasing security for vaccine workers who have come under attack in two of the hardest-hit countries. And the plan calls for changing how much of the world protects against polio, phasing out the long-used oral vaccine in favor of a pricier but safer shot version.

Intense vaccination campaigns have dropped cases to a historic low, a good opportunity for what's being called the "endgame" strategy for this paralyzing disease, noted Dr. Rebecca Martin of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We have a chance now, with the fewest cases in the fewest places," she said, joining officials from the World Health Organization, Gates Foundation and Rotary International to discuss the strategy that will be finalized later this month.

Officials acknowledged that financing the six-year plan upfront will be difficult given tight government budgets. The money would cover vaccinations as well as the monitoring required to be sure polio really is gone.

Polish horse meat tested positive for banned drug

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:16 EDT

The Czech Republic veterinary authority says horse meat imported from Poland tested positive for phenylbutazone, a drug given to horses that can cause health problems in humans.

Horse meat from the animals treated with the drug is banned from being sold in the European Union.

Josef Duben, spokesman for the authority, said Tuesday the drug was detected in correctly labeled horse meat on sale in a store in the eastern city of Ostrava near the Polish border. Authorities so far are aware of about 300 kilograms (661 pounds) of the tainted meat delivered from Poland to the store.

Thousands of meat products are being tested for the drug, and for horse DNA, after horsemeat was found in food products labeled as beef or pork across Europe.

Health subsidies: How much do you qualify for?

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 14:01 EDT

Starting next year, President Barack Obama's new health care law will offer subsidies to help people buy private health insurance on state-based exchanges, if they don't already get coverage through their employers. The premiums paid by taxpayers will be tied to their income, with the government subsidies making up any shortfall.

---

Single adult

Age: 30

Income: $30,000

Northeast drilling boom threatens forest wildlife

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:16 EDT

Hawks swoop in and gobble up songbirds. Raccoons feast on nests of eggs they never could have reached before. Salamanders and wildflowers fade away, crowded out by invasive plants that are altering the soil they need to thrive.

Like a once-quiet neighborhood cut up by an expressway and laced with off ramps, northeastern forests are changing because of the pipelines crisscrossing them amid the region's gas drilling boom, experts say.

Environmentalists have loudly worried that hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, may threaten water and air, though the Obama administration and many state regulators say the practice is safe when done properly.

Threats to wildlife have flown largely under the radar. But as studies detail plans for thousands of miles of new pipelines and related infrastructure, the dangers to biologically rich forests that have rebounded since vast clear-cutting in the 1800s are taking on new urgency.

"If you wanted to create a perfect storm for biological invasion, you would do what the energy companies are doing in north-central Pennsylvania," said Kevin Heatley, an ecologist with the national firm Biohabitats who works to restore areas that have been damaged by human activity. "You can only put so many bloody parking lots in the woods."

Obamacare credits could trigger surprise tax bills

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:03 EDT

Millions of people who take advantage of government subsidies to help buy health insurance next year could get stung by surprise tax bills if they don't accurately project their income.

President Barack Obama's new health care law will offer subsidies to help people buy private health insurance on state-based exchanges, if they don't already get coverage through their employers. The subsidies are based on income. The lower your income, the bigger the subsidy.

But the government doesn't know how much money you're going to make next year. And when you apply for the subsidy, this fall, it won't even know how much you're making this year. So, unless you tell the government otherwise, it will rely on the best information it has: your 2012 tax return, filed this spring.

What happens if you or your spouse gets a raise and your family income goes up in 2014? You could end up with a bigger subsidy than you are entitled to. If that happens, the law says you have to pay back at least part of the money when you file your tax return in the spring of 2015.

That could result in smaller tax refunds or surprise tax bills for millions of middle-income families.

NM governor signs space travel liability bill

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 20:21 EDT

Gov. Susana Martinez on Tuesday signed into law liability-waiving legislation aimed at saving the state's nearly quarter-billion-dollar investment in a futuristic spaceport and retaining its anchor tenant, British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.

The new law exempts spacecraft parts suppliers from liability lawsuits by passengers. Lawmakers had previously exempted spacecraft operators from liability, but some space companies began passing up the New Mexico spaceport in favor of states that had extended those protections to suppliers.

Martinez said in a statement after a signing ceremony at the nearly complete $209 million project in southern New Mexico that her administration was "not only reaffirming the major commitment New Mexicans have made to Spaceport America but we now have an even stronger opportunity to grow the number of commercial space jobs at the spaceport and across our state. This legislation will prevent lawsuit abuse and make it easier for businesses related to the space travel industry to thrive and succeed right here in New Mexico."

Virgin Galactic and Spaceport America officials have been fighting for years to get the legislation enacted, saying commercial space companies have passed over New Mexico in favor of states with more lenient liability exemptions.

Virgin Galactic had hinted last year it might abandon plans to launch its $200,000 per-person space flights from New Mexico if the bill failed again this year.

Scientists: China bird virus likely silent threat

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 06:31 EDT

Scientists taking a first look at the genetics of the bird flu strain that recently killed two men in China said Wednesday that the virus could be harder to track than its better-known cousin H5N1 because it might be able to spread silently among poultry without notice.

The scientists, at several research institutes around the world, said the H7N9 virus seems troubling because it can generate no symptoms in poultry while seriously sickening humans. They said the virus, previously known to have infected only birds, appears to have mutated, enabling it to more easily infect other animals, including pigs, which could serve as hosts spreading the virus more widely among humans.

The findings are preliminary and need further testing. In the meantime, the scientists are urging Chinese veterinary authorities to widely test animals and healthy birds in affected regions to detect and eliminate the virus before it becomes widespread.

In addition to causing two deaths in Shanghai, the virus also seriously sickened five other people in two eastern provinces in the strain's first known infections of humans. Those regions stepped up measures this week to guard against the spread of the disease, calling on hospitals to report severe pneumonia cases with unknown causes and schools to monitor for fevers.

In the wake of the outbreak, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention shared the genetic sequence of the new virus with the global health community. The data allow scientists to make preliminary interpretations of how the virus might behave in different animals and situations. Such hypotheses, while not conclusive, can help provide important early warnings to authorities dealing with the disease.

Obama proposes $100M for brain mapping project

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:56 EDT

President Barack Obama on Tuesday proposed an effort to map the brain's activity in unprecedented detail, as a step toward finding better ways to treat such conditions as Alzheimer's, autism, stroke and traumatic brain injuries.

He asked Congress to spend $100 million next year to start a project that will explore details of the brain, which contains 100 billion cells and trillions of connections.

That's a relatively small investment for the federal government - less than a fifth of what NASA spends every year just to study the sun - but it's too early to determine how Congress will react.

Obama said the so-called BRAIN Initiative could create jobs, and told scientists gathered in the White House's East Room that the research has the potential to improve the lives of billions of people worldwide.

"As humans we can identify galaxies light-years away," Obama said. "We can study particles smaller than an atom, but we still haven't unlocked the mystery of the three pounds of matter that sits between our ears."

In the UK, a DIY approach to mental health help

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 07:21 EDT

After crocheting a colorful blanket, Joan Ferguson snuggled up under it one night and proudly thought: "This is one groovy blanket. I'm brilliant."

Ferguson, 53, who struggles with low self-esteem, said it was the first time she had ever praised herself. She attributed the breakthrough in part to free self-help classes on mental health run by Britain's government-funded medical system.

With a long wait to see a psychologist, the British government is turning to the classroom to treat people with mild-to-moderate mental health problems with a mix of PowerPoint presentations and group exercises.

Ferguson's class of about 10 people, which meets once a week in east London, is led by two "psychological wellbeing practitioners." The instructors are trained for a year on how to help people change their behavior or thinking but they aren't fully fledged psychologists.

While some dismiss the approach as do-it-yourself therapy, experts say there is convincing evidence that people with conditions like depression and anxiety can be successfully treated without ever seeing a psychologist or a psychiatrist.

NJ governor signs ban on tanning bed use by minors

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 21:15 EDT

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has signed legislation banning anyone under 17 from using a tanning bed and anyone under 14 from getting a spray tan a year after the state's Tanning Mom became a tabloid sensation.

The legislation was developed after a northern Jersey woman accused of taking her 5-year-old daughter into a tanning booth was charged last year with child endangerment. The deeply tanned woman became known as the Tanning Mom, but a grand jury declined to indict her in February.

The measure signed Monday night allows 17-year-olds to use tanning salons provided a parent or guardian accompanies them to their first visit and consents.

Christie cites the "documented and well-understood" risks associated with the misuse of indoor tanning systems as a main reason for signing the legislation.

Salty remarks: NYC subway ads warn about sodium

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 20:05 EDT

Subway riders, after being cautioned about smoking, sugar and teen pregnancy, are getting a new message: Pass on the salt.

The city's Department of Health launched an ad campaign Monday urging passengers to scrutinize the salt in packaged foods and choose those with less. The ad shows two loaves of bread and zooms in on the sodium line in their nutrition labels, showing that one loaf has more than twice the sodium of the other.

"Too much salt can lead to heart attack and stroke," the ad warns.

While the tone may be serious, the approach is relatively low key for a city that has shown subway riders photographs of a woman's amputated fingers to illustrate the hazards of smoking; other subway ads featured a soda bottle pouring out what looks like globs of fat to tell people, "Don't drink yourself fat." Teen-pregnancy-prevention ads on many subway trains now feature a toddler crying and admonishing a hypothetical parent about comparatively low high school graduation rates among teens with their own children.

The cost of the new salt campaign wasn't immediately available Monday evening. The city said the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention paid for part of it.

Report predicts ever-bigger Lake Erie algae blooms

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:10 EDT

It was the largest algae bloom in Lake Erie's recorded history - a scummy, toxic blob that oozed across nearly one-fifth of the lake's surface during the summer and fall of 2011. It sucked oxygen from the water, clogged boat motors and washed ashore in rotting masses that turned beachgoers' stomachs.

It was also likely an omen of things to come, experts said in a study released Monday. The warming climate and modern farming practices are creating ideal conditions for gigantic algae formations on Lake Erie, which could be potentially disastrous to the surrounding area's multi-billion-dollar tourist economy. The shallowest and southernmost of the Great Lakes, Erie contains just 2 percent of their combined waters but about half their fish.

According to the report, which was compiled by more than two dozen scientists, the 2011 runaway bloom was fueled by phosphorus-laden fertilizers that were swept from corn and soybean fields during heavy rainstorms. Weak currents and calm winds prevented churning and flushing that could have short-circuited its rampant growth.

The combination of natural and man-made circumstances "is unfortunately consistent with ongoing trends, which means that more huge algal blooms can be expected in the future unless a scientifically guided management plan is implemented for the region," said the report's lead author, Anna Michalak, of the Carnegie Institution for Science.

The U.S. and Canada limited the use of phosphate laundry detergents and cracked down on Great Lakes pollution from industry and municipal sewage systems four decades ago. Those policies led to a drastic algae drop-off in Lake Erie, which had been declared all but dead. But algae began creeping back in the mid-1990s, and the blooms have gotten progressively bigger.

FDA says longer use of nicotine gum is OK

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:55 EDT

The Food and Drug Administration says smokers who are trying to quit can safely use over-the counter nicotine gum, patches and lozenges for longer than previously recommended in a move to help millions of Americans kick the habit.

Current labels suggest consumers stop smoking or using other products containing nicotine when they begin using the products to help them quit and that they should stop using nicotine replacement products after 12 weeks at most.

The federal agency said Monday that the makers of gum and other nicotine replacement products can change the labels that say not to smoke when using the products. The FDA also said the companies can let consumers know that they can use the products for longer periods as part of a plan to quit smoking, as long as they are talking to their doctor.

Nicotine replacement products, designed to help people stop smoking by supplying controlled amounts of nicotine to ease the withdrawal symptoms, were first approved about 30 years ago and have since gone from prescription to over-the-counter within the last 17 years. However, when they were approved for over-the-counter use little reliable data existed on the safety of long-term use or use of more than one product containing nicotine, the FDA said.

In recent years, the agency said, a number of stakeholders in public health have suggested the current labels were barriers for smokers that are trying to quit because they'd relapse if they stopped using the nicotine-replacement products after the suggested time period, and they'd abandon their attempt to quit if they had a cigarette while using them.

Shanghai raises flu response with emergency plan

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 06:21 EDT

China's financial capital, Shanghai, on Tuesday activated an emergency response plan following the recent deaths of two men from a lesser-known strain of bird flu.

The Shanghai city government said on its official microblog that it would launch the contingency plan. It did not immediately provide details but in general such plans call for more stringent monitoring of suspect cases.

China's health agency says specialists are investigating how the H7N9 bird flu virus, which previously was not known to infect humans, killed two men in Shanghai and seriously sickened a woman in another Chinese city.

Unverified reports on Chinese microblogs Tuesday say there's a fourth case of H7N9 in the eastern city of Nanjing. Authorities say either they did not know about it or are declining to comment.

Health authorities in Beijing also upped the capital's state of readiness, ordering hospitals to monitor for cases of bird flu and pneumonia without clear causes, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Can mass marketing heal the splits on 'Obamacare'?

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 03:20 EDT

How do you convince millions of average Americans that one of the most complex and controversial programs devised by government may actually be a good deal for them?

With the nation still split over President Barack Obama's health care law, the administration has turned to the science of mass marketing for help in understanding the lives of uninsured people, hoping to craft winning pitches for a surprisingly varied group in society.

The law's supporters will have to make the sale in the run-up to an election - the 2014 midterms. Already Republicans are hoping for an "Obamacare" flop that helps them gain control of the Senate, while Democrats are eager for the public to finally embrace the Affordable Care Act, bringing political deliverance.

It turns out America's more than 48 million uninsured people are no monolithic mass. A marketing analysis posted online by the federal Health and Human Services Department reveals six distinct groups, three of which appear critical to the success or failure of the program.

They're the "Healthy & Young," comprising 48 percent of the uninsured, the "Sick, Active & Worried," (29 percent of the uninsured), and the "Passive & Unengaged" (15 percent).

Drug maker Novartis loses India patent battle

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:35 EDT

India's Supreme Court on Monday rejected drug maker Novartis AG's attempt to patent an updated version of a cancer drug in a landmark decision that health activists say ensures poor patients around the world will get continued access to cheap versions of lifesaving medicines.

Novartis had argued that it needed a patent to protect its investment in the cancer drug Glivec, while activists said the drug did not merit intellectual property protection in India because it was not a new medicine. In response to the ruling, Novartis said it would not invest in drug research in India.

The court's decision has global significance since India's $26 billion generic drug industry, which supplies much of the cheap medicine used in the developing world, could be stunted if Indian law allowed global drug companies to extend the lifespan of patents by making minor changes to medicines.

Once a drug's patent expires, generic manufacturers can legally produce it. They are able to make drugs at a fraction of the original manufacturer's cost because they don't carry out the expensive research and development.

Pratibha Singh, a lawyer for the Indian generic drug manufacturer Cipla, which makes a version of Glivec for less than a tenth of the original drug's selling price, said the court ruled that a patent could only be given to a new drug, and not to those which are only slightly different from the original.

Paralyzed ex-athlete's foundation helping others

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 17:56 EDT

As he rolls through the front door of the sprawling Claremont Club fitness center and shouts a friendly hello here and there, for just a moment it's as if nothing has changed since Hal Hargrave Jr. was the big, friendly teenage gym rat who haunted this place.

The burly Hargrave's head was filled with dreams of playing college baseball as he strode into the gym, stretched out on a bench and pressed 300 pounds above his body. Again and again.

He's still big and burly, his arms still muscular and he still works out nearly every day. Only these days Hargrave uses that strength to move his wheelchair in and out of the gym, where he still works out 20 hours a week and knows just about everybody in the place.

These days, though, Hargrave's goal is to get walking again, something he lost the ability to do on July 26, 2007, when he swerved his truck to avoid debris in the road. It flipped four times, the cab collapsing on him and snapping his spine. It left him paralyzed from the neck down.

The irony is never lost on Hargrave that he was delivering handicapped-accessible bathroom doors as part of a summer job. If it was a sign to a strapping 17-year-old athlete that his life was headed in the wrong direction, it would seem to have been a particularly harsh one, but Hargrave doesn't see it that way.

2 in China first known deaths from H7N9 bird flu

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 23:35 EDT

Two Shanghai men have died from a lesser-known type of bird flu in the first known human deaths from the strain, and Chinese authorities said it wasn't clear how they were infected but there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission.

A third person, a woman in the nearby province of Anhui, also contracted the H7N9 strain and was in critical condition, China's National Health and Family Planning Commission said in a report on its website Sunday.

There was no sign that any of the three, who were infected over the past two months, had contracted the disease from each other, and no sign of infection in the 88 people who had closest contact with them, the medical agency said.

H7N9 bird flu is considered a low pathogenic strain that cannot easily be contracted by humans. The overwhelming majority of human deaths from bird flu have been caused by the more virulent H5N1, which decimated poultry stocks across Asia in 2003.

The World Health Organization is "closely monitoring the situation" in China, regional agency spokesman Timothy O'Leary said in Manila.

Seeking to save Peter Cottontail from extinction

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 10:55 EDT

The New England cottontail was once so common that Massachusetts author Thornton Burgess adapted one named Peter for the children's stories he penned a century ago.

But the critter that inspired "The Adventures of Peter Cottontail" and the enduring song that came later faces an uncertain future. Its natural habitat is disappearing, and without intervention, it could be unhappy trails for the once-bountiful bunny.

Conservationists are hoping a new program to restore shrub lands across the Northeast and captive breeding efforts will help ensure the New England cottontail sticks around for many Easters to come.

"We're making headway, putting habitat on the ground in some really key places," said Anthony Tur, an endangered species specialist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "It's encouraging."

New England cottontails were abundant a century ago, thriving in an environment of shrubs, saplings, weeds and vines known as young forest. But in an uncommon turn of events, it is declining human activity to blame for its lost habitat - not urban sprawl.

Farm Rich products recalled over E. coli fears

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 09:42 EDT

Rich Products Corp. has announced a voluntary recall of its Farm Rich Mini Quesadillas and other Farm Rich products because of a possible contamination with E. coli bacteria.

The recall, announced Thursday, also includes the Buffalo, N.Y.-based company's Farm Rich Mini Pizza Slices, Farm Rich Philly Cheese Steaks, Farm Rich Mozzarella Bites and Market Day Mozzarella Bites.

The products were distributed in retail stores nationwide. The company says it's working with the Food Safety Inspection Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture to identify the possible source of contamination.

Health officials say symptoms of E. coli infection could occur up to 10 days after exposure and can include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting.

Consumers with questions about the recall can call 1-8888-220-5955 or visit the company's website at www.farmrich.com.

FDA OKs first-of-its-kind diabetes drug from J&J

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 15:45 EDT

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a first-of-its-kind diabetes drug from Johnson & Johnson that uses a new method to lower blood sugar - flushing it out in patients' urine.

The agency cleared J&J's Invokana tablets for adults with Type 2 diabetes, which affects an estimated 26 million Americans. The once-a-day medication works by blocking the kidneys from reabsorbing sugar, which occurs at higher levels in patients with diabetes than in healthy patients. Regulators highlighted the drug as the first in a new class of medications that could help address the nation's growing diabetes epidemic.

Analysts estimate Invokana could eventually grow into a blockbuster drug, generating more than $1 billion in sales annually for New Brunswick, N.J.-based J&J.

People with type 2 diabetes are unable to properly break down carbohydrates, either because their bodies do not produce enough insulin or have become resistant to the hormone, which controls blood sugar levels. These patients are at higher risk for heart attacks, kidney problems, blindness and other serious complications. Diabetics often require multiple drugs with different mechanisms of action to control their blood sugar levels.

Invokana differs from older drugs that work by shrinking the amount of sugar absorbed from food and stored in the liver. The most common side effects of Invokana are yeast infections and urinary tract infections, due to the higher amounts of sugar passing through a patient's urine. The drug also can cause a sudden drop in blood pressure when a patient stands up, which can lead to dizziness or fainting, according to the FDA.

3 of 4 reptiles stolen from Calif. museum found

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 00:08 EDT

Three of four reptiles that were swiped from a science museum and thrown together into a garbage bag during a heist were recovered Friday, though a 3-foot-long ball python remained at large, officials said.

The 3 1/2-foot savannah monitor lizard, a 7-foot-long red-tailed boa constrictor and another 3-foot-long ball python were in good condition, said Mary Ellen Wright, the director of the Fresno Discovery Center. Authorities were searching for the missing python in an area frequented by a suspect, who has been arrested.

Wright had been worried about the reptiles' confinement together in the bag "because they are mortal enemies," she said.

"It would be like throwing two pit bulls in a locked room," she added, noting that the monitor lizard has sharp, 2-inch claws.

The reptiles were taken in a robbery that has perplexed museum officials and authorities, who have not released a motive.

New requirements for ballast water dumped by ships

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 03:15 EDT

The Environmental Protection Agency has issued new requirements for cleansing ballast water dumped from ships, which scientists believe has provided a pathway to U.S. waters for invasive species that damage ecosystems and cost the economy billions of dollars.

Commercial vessels are equipped with tanks that can hold millions of gallons of water to provide stability in rough seas. But live creatures often lurk in the soupy brews of water, seaweed and sediment. If they survive transoceanic journeys and are released into U.S. waters, they can multiply rapidly, crowding out native species and spreading diseases.

Ships are currently required to dump ballast water 200 miles from a U.S. shoreline. But under the new general permit released Thursday by the EPA, vessels longer than 79 feet - which includes an estimated 60,000 vessels - must also treat ballast water with technology such as ultraviolet light or chemicals to kill at least some of the organisms.

The new guidelines don't apply to vessels staying within the Great Lakes, a decision that environmentalists criticized as leaving the door open for ships to ferry invasive species around the lakes.

The permit imposes international cleanliness standards that the Coast Guard also adopted in regulations it issued last year. The EPA said studies by its science advisory board and the National Research Council endorsed the standards, which limit the number of living organisms in particular volumes of water.

Russian spaceship docks with orbiting station

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 05:25 EDT

A Soyuz capsule carrying three astronauts successfully docked Friday with the International Space Station, bringing the size of the crew at the orbiting lab to six.

Chris Cassidy of the United States and Russians Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin traveled six hours in the capsule before linking up with the space station's Russian Rassvet research module over the Pacific Ocean, just off Peru, at 02:28 GMT.

"It's such a beautiful sight, hard to believe my eyes," the 59-year-old Vinogradov, who had been in space in 1997 and 2006, was heard saying on NASA TV.

The incoming crew will spend five months in space before returning to Earth.

About two hours passed before pressure equalized between the capsule and the station, allowing safe entrance.

Americans oppose paying for storm-ravaged beaches

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 18:35 EDT

More than 4 out of 5 Americans want to prepare now for rising seas and stronger storms from climate change, a new national survey says. But most are unwilling to keep spending money to restore and protect stricken beaches.

The poll by Stanford University released Thursday found that only 1 in 3 people favored the government spending millions to construct big sea walls, replenish beaches or pay people to leave the coast.

This was the first time a large national poll looked at how Americans feel about adapting to the changes brought on by global warming, said survey director Jon Krosnick, a professor of political science and psychology at Stanford.

The more indirect options the majority preferred were making sure new buildings were stronger and reducing future coastal development. New building codes rated the highest with 62 percent of those surveyed favoring it.

Three in 5 people want those who are directly affected by rising seas to pay for protection, rather than all taxpayers.

US-Russian crew blasts off for space station

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 17:21 EDT

A Russian spacecraft carrying a three-man crew blasted off Friday from a launch pad in the steppes of Kazakhstan, for the first time taking a shorter path to the International Space Station.

Instead of the two-day approach maneuver used by Soyuz spacecraft in the past, this journey to the station would take NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russians Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin just under six hours.

The Soyuz TMA-08M lifted off on time from the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome at 2:43 a.m. Friday (2043 GMT; 4:43 p.m. EDT Thursday). It's set to dock at the space outpost at 10:32 p.m. EDT Thursday (0232 GMT Friday).

The trio are "on a fast track to the International Space Station," NASA spokesman Josh Byerly said, adding minutes after the launch that all was going well and the spacecraft went into orbit without any problems.

The new maneuver has been tested successfully by three Russian Progress cargo ships, an unmanned version of the Soyuz used to ferry supplies to the space station.