GSK biotech asthma drug wins UK approval after extra price cut

GlaxoSmithKline's new injectable asthma drug Nucala has been recommended for use in Britain's state-run health service in the most severe patients, after the drugmaker provided further analyses on its use and made an additional price cut.

China vows to cap water consumption, crack down on polluters

China will keep national annual water consumption below 670 billion cubic meters (bcm) through to 2020, the state planning agency said on Wednesday, part of efforts to ease chronic regional shortages by cutting waste and boosting efficiency. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said it would also aim to cap total water consumption at less than 700 bcm a year though to 2030. China has long been worried about a water supply bottleneck that could jeopardize future economic development, with per capita supplies at less than a third of the global average.

Japan orders major poultry cull after first bird flu outbreak in nearly two years

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan has started culling more than 300,000 chickens and ducks after the discovery of a highly contagious form of bird flu on farms in the north of the country, local officials said.

6 Take Homes from Liver Meeting

(MedPage Today) -- From HCV to PSC, AASLD sessions covered the waterfront

China plans skiing, skating drive for 2022 Winter Games

China wants to get 300 million citizens involved in winter sports by the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and plans to encourage them by building more than 500 ice skating rinks and 240 ski slopes over the next six years, the government said. The country's top economic planner said on Friday that the number and scale of China's current facilities did not match its winter sports development targets. "At the moment... there is a large gap with other developed countries with winter sports," the National Development and Reform Commission said in a document signed by other government bodies including the finance and sports ministries.

3 Australians critically ill after rare thunderstorm asthma

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - An official says three patients remain critically ill three days after a rare condition known as thunderstorm asthma killed four people and sent hundreds to hospitals in Australia's second-largest city.

Survey finds many experience new problems after LASIK

(Reuters Health) - Many people who undergo laser surgery to correct their vision experience new eye problems months after the procedure, according to a new study from the U.S. government.

Huge study finds a billion people suffer from high blood pressure

LONDON (Reuters) - The number of people with high blood pressure has almost doubled in 40 years to over 1.1 billion worldwide, scientists said on Wednesday, with the burden of the condition shifting from the rich to the poor.

Prisons fight opioids with $1,000 injection: Does it work?

SHERIDAN, Ill. (AP) - U.S. prisons are experimenting with a high-priced monthly injection that could help addicted inmates stay off opioids after they are released, but skeptics question its effectiveness and say the manufacturer has aggressively marketed an unproven drug to corrections officials.

Timing of Meals Linked to Fatty Liver (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Distributing calories during the day could reduce NAFLD risk

Israel reports H5N8 bird flu at farm: OIE

Israel has reported an outbreak of highly contagious H5N8 bird flu virus on a farm, a case likely due to contact with wild birds migrating from Europe, international animal health body OIE said on Monday. The outbreak occurred in Hefzi-Bah in the northern district of Hazafon and killed 1,500 birds out of 34,500 on the farm, the OIE said, citing information from the Israeli authorities. "Israel is on the migration route of wild birds coming from Europe to Africa.

J&J arthritis drug goes up against Humira, with mixed results

(Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson said its experimental sirukumab treatment for rheumatoid arthritis showed mixed results against AbbVie Inc's top-selling Humira in a large trial.

British American Tobacco to test tobacco e-cigarette in Japan

By Taiga Uranaka and Martinne Geller TOKYO/LONDON (Reuters) - British American Tobacco PLC (BAT) plans to test a new tobacco-based cigarette alternative in Japan next month, it said on Tuesday, taking aim at Philip Morris International Inc's popular iQOS and Japan Tobacco Inc's Ploom Tech. BAT said it plans to launch its new product, called "glo", on Dec. 12 in the northeastern city of Sendai. Glo electronically heats tobacco enough to create an inhalable vapor.

Three U.S. senators ask Mylan for EpiPen military reimbursements

(Reuters) - Three members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, ahead of a planned hearing late this month, said Mylan NV appears to have greatly overcharged the military for its lifesaving allergy treatment EpiPen and asked the pharmaceutical company when it plans to reimburse the Department of Defense. The reimbursement demand came in a letter on Monday to Mylan Chief Executive Heather Bresch, from Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, and committee members Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, both Democrats. "We are alarmed that Mylan may have overcharged our military for this life-saving drug," the Senators wrote.

Self-care could cut need for millions of GP visits

Simple self-care measures could end millions of unnecessary GP visits every year, says the LGA.

Amyloid Scans Change Dementia Diagnoses (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Is this the study that wins Medicare coverage for amyloid PET imaging?

Subcutanous ICDs Exchange Lead Risks for Erosion, Failures (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Complication rates similar but types differ versus transvenous devices

U.S. watchdog highlights dire state of Afghan road system

Billions of dollars spent building up Afghanistan's road infrastructure over more than a decade risk going to waste because of poor maintenance, a U.S. Congressional oversight body said on Saturday. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said U.S. agencies had spent $2.8 billion since 2002 building roads in Afghanistan but wear and tear as well as the Taliban insurgency had damaged the system badly. "USAID and (the Department of Defense) spent billions of dollars on road construction in Afghanistan, but have had only limited success in ensuring the long-term sustainability of those roads," the report said.

Nigerian activist held in solitary in Japan, prompting calls for her release

By Minami Funakoshi and Ami Miyazaki TOKYO (Reuters) - A prominent Nigerian asylum seeker and activist is being held in solitary at a Tokyo detention center, a case that has highlighted a growing crackdown on foreigners living in Japan without visas and prompted demands for her release. Elizabeth Aruoriwo Obueza was detained two weeks ago after authorities turned down an appeal against her asylum rejection, Obueza and her lawyer told Reuters. Obueza, 48, campaigns for asylum seekers and the 4,700 people on "provisional release" from immigration detention - a status that lets foreigners out from detention but bars them from working and traveling freely.

Zimbabwe's Mugabe skirts retirement talk at burial of friend

By Cris Chinaka HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's veteran President Robert Mugabe on Saturday avoided the controversial subject of his future as he buried a senior political colleague and friend who had been pressing him to retire. Mugabe, 92 and one of Africa's longest serving leaders, is eligible to seek re-election at the end of his current five-year term in 2018, but has increasingly looked frail, stoking a scramble in his ruling ZANU-PF party to succeed him. In an hour-long speech on Saturday at the state funeral of Cephas Msipa, a former cabinet minister and ZANU-PF member, Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, largely dwelt on his comrade's role in the 1960s-70s liberation struggle.

Sanders tells soda tax opponents to stop using his name

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Saying that consuming too much sugar is a serious health problem, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders told the soft drink industry to stop using his name in ads fighting proposed soda taxes in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Rural trauma patients more likely to die before reaching hospital

(Reuters Health) - Critically injured patients in rural communities are less likely to be treated at trauma centers than their urban counterparts, a U.S. study suggests.

You're Welcome, World: America's Behind Climbing Childhood Obesity Rates

From First Lady Michelle Obama's “Let's Move!” campaign and Jamie Oliver's “Food Revolution” to parents who pester their kids to eat their vegetables and put down the video games, health advocates around the world are doing their best to reduce childhood obesity. Despite these efforts, new research released this week shows the childhood obesity epidemic is on track to get worse over the next decade. The report, published in the October issue of Pediatric Obesity by the World Obesity Federation, found that the World Health Organization's goal of halting the rise in obesity levels for children, adolescents, and adults by 2025 is unlikely to be achieved-and the obesity rate for children is set to soar.

Concussion Specialists Debate Sports' Impact on Kids' Brains

(MedPage Today) -- Recommendations expected Friday

Teens with celiac disease may be smaller than peers

By Kathryn Doyle (Reuters Health) – Girls diagnosed with celiac disease tend to be slightly shorter than their peers and boys to be underweight, but the size differences are not significant or concerning, Israeli researchers say. Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disorder that damages the small intestine and interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food. The new study ultimately clarifies that regardless of gluten-free diet adherence, body measurements at late adolescence including final height are only marginally affected, said lead study author Dr. Amit Assa of Tel-Aviv University.

6 Symptoms You Shouldn't Ignore

Some medical symptoms are warnings that you need immediate care. WebMD describes how to recognize these six.

Bariatric Surgery Helps Forestall Gout (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Risk of gout decreased by 34% over more than 2 decades

U.N.'s Zeid cool on Syrian opposition plan to bypass Russian veto

By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - The top U.N. human rights official repeated his call on Wednesday for a dilution of big powers' United Nations veto in cases of serious war crimes, but he gave little support to Syrian opposition hopes of strong-arming Russia over eastern Aleppo. Russian war planes have bombed rebel-held eastern Aleppo in the past two weeks in support of Syrian and allied ground forces who are besieging about 275,000 civilians. The United Nations says hospitals have been hit and more than 400 people killed.

Changes in depression symptoms tied to lung cancer survival

(Reuters Health) – - Worsening depression symptoms are associated with shorter survival for lung cancer patients, particularly those in the early stages of disease, according to a new U.S. study.

Hurricane Matthew toll in Haiti rises to 1,000, dead buried in mass graves

By Joseph Guyler Delva PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haiti started burying some of its dead in mass graves in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, a government official said on Sunday, as cholera spread in the devastated southwest and the death toll from the storm rose to 1,000 people. The powerful hurricane, the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade, slammed into Haiti on Tuesday with 145 mile-per-hour (233 kph) winds and torrential rains that left 1.4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. A Reuters tally of numbers from local officials showed that 1,000 people were killed by the storm in Haiti, which has a population of about 10 million and is the poorest country in the Americas.

RA: Switching to Tocilizumab OK When DMARDs Not Tolerated (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Tocilizumab monotherapy nearly as effective as combination therapy

Wirral health chiefs scrap homeopathy funding

Wirral health bosses are stopping funding for homeopathy after "overwhelming consensus" to end the practice.

How tattoos can help patients with skin grafts and scars

(Reuters Health) - Patients who get tattoos to cover facial skin grafts and scars may feel happier with both their appearance and quality of life, a Dutch study suggests.

Blood Clot Removal Could Help More Stroke Victims, Study Finds

Study found some stroke patients benefited from early clot removal.

Pelzman's Picks: Proposed Presidential Health Plans

(MedPage Today) -- Also, price transparency tools, frequent flyers, and more

Two police officers in Texas shot while responding to suicide call: police

One of the officers was shot multiple times while the other was shot once and suffered minor injuries when the round struck his protective vest, Fort Worth Police Department Marc Povero told a news conference aired on a local NBC affiliate. The police department said on Twitter that both officers, who were not identified, were in a stable condition and one was to be released from the hospital early on Saturday.

Bayer's Monsanto acquisition to face politically charged scrutiny

WASHINGTON D.C./NEW YORK (Reuters) - As the global agricultural sector races to consolidate, Bayer AG's $66 billion all-cash deal to acquire Monsanto Co will test growing political and consumer unease in the United States and abroad over the future of food production.

FDA panel recommends dropping serious warning on Pfizer's Chantix

Pfizer's Chantix was approved about a decade ago, but thousands of reports of mental health problems in users led to the FDA imposing the "black box" warning - the most severe available - in 2009. On Wednesday, four of the 19 panelists voted to update the language in the box warning - of neuropsychiatric risks including suicidal thoughts, hostility and agitation - while five recommended retaining it. The 10 who voted in favor of removal stressed that the benefits of quitting smoking far outweighed the potential severe side-effects of the drug, and that the evidence of causality between Chantix and the side-effects was not clear enough to warrant a black box.

At least 21 civilians killed in Saudi-led air strikes in Yemen: residents

At least 21 civilians were killed in two separate air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition in northern Yemen on Saturday, residents said on Sunday, as fighting intensified in the country before the Muslim Eid al-Adha feast. Residents said Saudi-led coalition warplanes, apparently mistaking the drilling machine for a rocket launcher, bombed the site and killed four workers. The planes conducted a second raid when residents of the village rushed to the scene, killing at least 11 more and wounding 20.

Danaher to buy Cepheid in $4 billion deal to expand in diagnostics

(Reuters) - Danaher Corp said on Tuesday it would buy molecular diagnostics company Cepheid in a deal valued at $4 billion, including debt, to strengthen its diagnostics business. Danaher will pay $53 per share in cash, a premium of 54 percent to Cepheid's close of $34.42 on Friday. Danaher, which develops technology for the dental, life sciences, diagnostics and environmental industries, said the addition of Cepheid would improve operational efficiencies and expand margins in its $5 billion diagnostics business.

Three Ways to Manage Staffing Shortages

(MedPage Today) -- Gaps can be avoided or at least minimized

Singapore confirms 27 more locally transmitted Zika cases

Twenty-five new cases were linked to the initial outbreak area, one was linked to a potential new cluster and the remaining new case had no known links to any existing cluster, the Ministry of Health and National Environment Agency said in a joint statement. "There is a potential new cluster involving one previously reported case and a new case today...," the statement said.

FDA halts sale of some antibacterial hand, body wash products

The move affects 2,100 products, or roughly 40 percent of the over-the-counter antibacterial soap market, Dr. Theresa Michele, director of the FDA's division of nonprescription drug products, told reporters on a conference call. The ruling does not affect alcohol-based hand sanitizers or antibacterial products used in hospitals and clinics. The agency said it is banning products that contain any one of 19 ingredients that have not been proven safe.

PTSD in 9/11 Workers Linked to Higher Asthma Risk (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Causal mechanism related to stress appears likely, investigators say

Residency where marijuana is legal no reason for police search: U.S. court

By a 2-1 vote, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver said two Kansas Highway Patrol officers violated the constitutional rights of Colorado motorist Peter Vasquez in December 2011 by pulling him over and searching his car after he had been driving alone at night on Interstate 70. The officers relied heavily on Vasquez's residency to justify the search, which uncovered nothing illegal, saying Colorado was a known "drug source" where marijuana is legal.

Michael Bloomberg named World Health Organization ambassador

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Billionaire philanthropist and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has a new job - as global ambassador for the U.N. health agency with a mandate to help reduce deaths from prevalent diseases, traffic accidents, tobacco, alcohol and obesity.

Patent for J&J's Remicade invalidated, cheaper version looms

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - A cheaper version of Johnson & Johnson's top-selling drug, the rheumatoid arthritis treatment Remicade, could be available in the U.S. two years early after a federal judge ruled a key patent on the drug invalid.

The Latest: Cuba's surprise beach volleyball run ends

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - The Latest on the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (all times local):

South Korea looks to generate buzz for edible insects

By Jane Chung SEOUL (Reuters) - Bae Su-Hyeon's lunch of sweet potato soup and funghi pasta has bugs in it. "It didn't feel like eating insects," says Bae, an 18-year-old student having lunch with a friend at Papillon's Kitchen, a Seoul restaurant specialising in insects. Insect-eating, or entomophagy, has long been common in much of the world, including South Korea, where boiled silky worm pupae, or beondegi, are a popular snack.

Star Belgian Sailor Takes Sick After Racing on Polluted Bay

Belgian woman who won 2012 bronze medal takes sick after racing on polluted Guanabara Bay

Four New Zika Virus Cases Reported in Florida Outbreak

At least 21 people have been infected in the outbreak.

South Carolina girl dies from brain-eating amoeba

An 11-year-old South Carolina girl has died after she became infected by a brain-eating amoeba in a river where she had gone swimming, an undertaker said on Saturday. The girl, Hannah Collins, of Beaufort, died on Friday night at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, said Carla Smith, director-manager of the Anderson Funeral Home in Beaufort, which is handling the funeral. Hannah is thought to have been exposed to the amoeba on July 24 in Charleston County's Edisto River, the state health department said this week.

Behavior changes offer clues that dementia could be brewing

WASHINGTON (AP) - Changes in behavior or personality - not memory loss - might be an early warning sign that dementia is brewing.

U.S. charges three people in $1 billion Medicare fraud scheme

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three people have been charged with conspiracy, obstructing justice, money laundering and healthcare fraud in connection with a $1 billion scheme involving Miami-based healthcare providers, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday.

Olympics-Berdych pulls out of Olympics tennis event

Czech Tomas Berdych has become the third high-profile tennis player to withdraw from the Olympics in two days, saying his concerns over the Zika virus prompted his decision. The world number eight's announcement follows the decision by Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic and Simona Halep to withdraw from next month's Rio tournament. "It was a hard decision for me to take after a long and painstaking discussion with my dearest," Berdych, 30, said on his Twitter page on Saturday.

Contaminated Gloves a No-No in Hospitals

Not changing them between patients raises risk of spreading infection via hospital surfaces, study shows

Google Improves Its Symptoms Search Results With Help From Medical Professionals

Google has improved its symptoms-searching capabilities for the millions of people turning to the internet to diagnose their health conditions. The new algorithm gives users a list of related conditions when they search their medical symptoms. Google will also give an overview description for individual symptoms and self-treatment options, the tech giant explained in a blog post.