'No solid evidence' for IVF add-on success

BBC Panorama research suggests there is no hard evidence IVF add-ons increase pregnancy chances.

Autumn Statement: Row as care funding omitted from measures

Health and social care leaders condemn the Autumn Statement as a missed opportunity for new funding.

Florida lifts Zika transmission zone in parts of Miami Beach

TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - - Florida officials removed part of Miami Beach from an active Zika transmission zone on Tuesday, saying more than 45 days had passed since the last local case of the mosquito-borne virus that has been linked to microcephaly, a rare birth defect.

Doctors Talk About Getting Peanuts Into a Baby's Diet, Which May Cut Allergies

Early peanut exposure can slash a child's chances for developing peanut allergies, and allergists and pediatricians are sharing tips on how to work peanuts into a baby's diet.

'Brain wi-fi' reverses leg paralysis in primate first

An implant that beams instructions out of the brain is used to restore movement in paralysed primates.

Migrant debate still divides Germany's conservatives, CSU says

By Andreas Rinke and Jörn Poltz MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - The leader of Germany's Christian Social Union (CSU) acknowledged on Friday he was wrong to openly criticize conservative ally Chancellor Angela Merkel for her refusal to adopt limits on refugees. "I've learned my lesson." Because of the unresolved dispute, Seehofer will also not attend the CDU's party congress next month in Essen - an unprecedented mutual snub for the leaders of the parties whose alliance has governed Germany for 47 of the last 66 years.

Risks from GI-Led Sedation: The Anesthesiology News Report

(MedPage Today) -- Also, OSA increases complications for pregnant women and fetus

'Real-life Cinderella' film delves into plight of Hong Kong maids

By Beh Lih Yi JAKARTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Cyril Goliava cut an elegant figure in her yellow evening gown as she won a beauty pageant in Hong Kong, smiling to cheers from the crowd as she was presented with a tiara and trophy. Six days of stressful work, I'll be eating alone again and a full day of a repetitive job." The story of Goliava, a Filipina domestic helper, and her fellow workers is the subject of a new documentary that seeks to shatter stereotypes about the millions of women employed in households across the world. Directed by filmmaker Baby Ruth Villarama, "Sunday Beauty Queen" follows five domestic workers as they gear up for the annual Miss Philippines Tourism Hong Kong, a pageant organized by the maids in the Asian financial hub since 2008.

White substance found at Clinton office not hazardous: police

(Reuters) - Preliminary analysis has found that a white substance that prompted the evacuation of Hillary Clinton's campaign headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, was not harmful, police said on Saturday. The substance arrived through the mail at Clinton's campaign office in Manhattan, and was transported to the headquarters in Brooklyn Heights, police said. The floor was evacuated as a precaution, and several people were exposed to the substance.

ICRC steps up aid for Iraq amid fears of post-Mosul sectarian strife

By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - As Iraqi families begin streaming out of villages in the path of an army offensive to retake Mosul from Islamic State, some fear that the onslaught may stoke future sectarian strife in the volatile region, a senior Red Cross official said on Thursday. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is prepared to provide aid to 800,000 people who could flee the looming battle for Mosul, including against any use of chemical weapons, said Patrick Hamilton, the ICRC's deputy director for the Near and Middle East. Islamic State militants have used banned chemical agents previously against Iraqi Kurdish forces.

U.S. health officials outline Zika spending priorities

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health officials outlined on Tuesday how they planned to divide up $1.1 billion in funds approved by Congress to fight the Zika virus, including repaying $44.25 million they were forced to borrow from a fund allocated for other emergencies.

Overwhelmed With Paperwork?

(MedPage Today) -- Even with automated systems, are you still bogged down with paperwork?

Morning Break: WHO Wants Sugar Tax; Unsick Days; Worst Psychiatrist Ever

(MedPage Today) -- Health news and commentary from around the Web, gathered by the MedPage Today staff

One in 10 Primary one pupils 'overweight or obese'

More than one in 10 children in Scotland have started primary school overweight or obese in the last decade, according to new figures.

U.S. warns pregnant women on travel to 11 Southeast Asia countries over Zika

(Reuters) - U.S. health officials on Thursday recommended that pregnant women postpone travel to 11 Southeast Asian countries because of the risk of Zika virus infection, which has been shown to cause severe birth defects.

Allergan buys second fatty liver-disease company

(Reuters) - Allergan Inc on Tuesday said it had paid $50 million for Akarna Therapeutics Ltd, a privately held company developing treatments for a incurable fatty liver disease called NASH.

Prostate cancer treatment 'not always needed'

Just keeping an eye on small prostate cancers results in the same 10-year survival rate as treating them, a major study suggests.

Activist Starboard demands rapid changes at Perrigo

Starboard Value LP on Monday disclosed a 4.6 percent stake in Perrigo Co Plc , and said the Dublin-based drugmaker needs to make immediate improvements to turn around its sagging stock price. Starboard delivered a scathing letter to Perrigo's chief executive John Hendrickson and its board on Monday, criticizing their performance since the company spurned a $26 billion takeover bid from generic drug maker Mylan NV late last year. "Unfortunately, since that time, results have gone decidedly in the wrong direction, and management's promises have been woefully unfulfilled," Starboard said.

Mexico joins Philippines, Brazil with dengue vaccine

While the world awaits a Zika vaccine, the first ever injection against dengue fever is spreading, with Mexico becoming next week the latest country where people can get the shot. French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi is presenting its Dengvaxia vaccine to doctors at an event in eastern Mexico on Saturday, while people aged nine to 45 will be able to get the shot from their physicians from Monday. After public programs were launched in the Philippines and Brazil's state of Parana this year, the company is rolling out the vaccine in the private sector in Mexico while health authorities prepare a public immunization plan.

Crimean dissident says psychiatric detainment a risk to his health

By Anton Zverev SIMFEROPOL, Crimea (Reuters) - A Crimean dissident undergoing enforced psychiatric testing by Russian authorities is being held in a dilapidated medical facility and says the poor conditions are a danger to his physical health. Ilmi Umerov, deputy head of the Crimean Tatars' semi-official Mejlis legislature, which was suspended by Moscow after it annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, was committed to compulsory psychiatric testing by local authorities in August. The 59-year-old, who says his mental health is fine, had previously been criminally charged over statements he made protesting what he called the "Russian occupation" of Crimea.

Clinton offers plan to curb 'unjustified' price hikes on life-saving drugs

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton said on Friday that if elected to the White House she would create an oversight panel to protect U.S. consumers from large price hikes on long-available, lifesaving drugs and to import alternative treatments if necessary, adding to her pledges to rein in overall drug prices.

More U.S. counties to see Obamacare marketplace monopoly: analysis

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nearly a third of U.S. counties will likely be served by only one insurer that participates in an Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace in 2017, according to an analysis published Sunday by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Italy's quake survivors fear family villages will become ghost towns

By Steve Scherer SANT'ANGELO, Italy (Reuters) - Tiny villages that dot the valley around the town of Amatrice, which was leveled by Wednesday's earthquake, were home to generations of families who once farmed the land, but later moved to cities for work and now return for the holidays. "The fear is that they will now be abandoned," said Giancarla Celli, 50, standing outside the 300-year-old family villa that withstood the quake, but which has been badly damaged and is now unsafe, cracks zigzagging up its walls. Most of the other homes in the hamlet of Sant'Angelo, where more than 100 people pass the hot summer months but which is sparsely populated in winter, have been reduced to rubble.

FDA recommends Zika testing for all blood donated in U.S.

CHICAGO/TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended on Friday that all blood donated in the United States and its territories be tested for Zika virus, as it moves to prevent transmission of the virus through the blood supply.

Florida governor complains U.S. not doing enough to fight Zika

CHICAGO/MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott said on Wednesday the federal government had so far not delivered all the Zika antibody tests and laboratory support he had requested as the state battles the spread of the virus. On Wednesday, the Florida Department of Health reported a second non-travel related case of Zika in Palm Beach County, bringing the state's total to 43. Health officials warned pregnant women last week not to travel to Miami Beach after Florida confirmed the mosquito-borne Zika virus was active there, becoming the second area in Miami to be affected after Wynwood.

Fists not football: Brain injuries seen in domestic assaults

CHICAGO (AP) - There are no bomb blasts or collisions with burly linemen in Susan Contreras' past. Her headaches, memory loss and bouts of confused thinking were a mystery until doctors suggested a probable cause: domestic violence.

Most antipsychotic drugs not tied to birth defects

(Reuters Health) - Pregnant women on antipsychotic drugs can continue taking most of those medications without worrying the pills will increase the risk of their newborns having birth defects, a new study suggests.

Ex-Insys employees plead not guilty in U.S. drug-kickback case

Two former Insys Therapeutics Inc employees pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges that they engaged in a scheme to pay doctors kickbacks including speaker fees to prescribe a drug containing the opioid fentanyl. Jonathan Roper, a former Insys district sales manager, and Fernando Serrano, a former sales representative, entered their pleas in Manhattan federal court to charges including that they violated the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. Insys, based in Arizona, is not identified by name in the indictment against Roper, of Commack, New York, and Serrano, of Manalapan, New Jersey.

Undermining China: towns sink after mines close

By David Stanway HELIN, China (Reuters) - Deep in the coal heartlands of northern Shanxi province, people in Helin village are fighting a losing battle as the ground beneath them crumbles: patching up cracks, rebuilding walls and filling in sinkholes caused by decades of coal mining. Around 100 pits in Helin - buried in the hilly rural outskirts of the city of Xiaoyi - have been exhausted, and cluttered hamlets totter precariously on the brittle slopes of mines. It's scary, but what can we do?" Mines that burrowed under villages and towns during China's three-decade coal boom have left the authorities with the need to evacuate hundreds of communities in danger of sinking.

McDonald's pressured to serve up global antibiotics ban

A new online campaign is putting pressure on fast food giant McDonald's to impose a global ban on products from animals treated with antibiotics.

More than a third of female students 'have mental health problems'

A survey suggests one in three female students has a mental health problem.

Doctors at top Indian hospital charged in kidney harvesting racket

By Nita Bhalla NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The chief executive, medical director and three other doctors at a prestigious Indian hospital have been charged with offences related to illegal organ transplants after a kidney trafficking racket was uncovered, a police spokesman said. Operating out of the private L.H. Hiranandani Hospital in Mumbai, the organ harvesting ring was busted by police in July following a tip-off that poor villagers were being paid to sell their kidneys to recipients via a network of agents. Mumbai Deputy Police Commissioner Ashok Dudhe said the five doctors were arrested late on Tuesday after police had examined the findings of a government inquiry into the case.

Zika will not be issue at Olympics: Rio health official

The risk of Zika virus infections at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro is low and has been overcome, health officials in Brazil said on Sunday, five days before South America's first Games are due to begin. Rio de Janeiro's health secretary, Daniel Soranz, said Zika should not deter travelers from coming to the Games, as cases of the virus had dipped significantly in recent months. The mosquito-borne virus has been linked to microcephaly, a birth defect among babies of pregnant mothers infected by Zika, and its discovery in Brazil last year led to concern over the Games, which are expected to attract some 500,000 visitors.

Florida Zika cases prompt UK advice for pregnant travellers

Public Health England advises pregnant women to consider postponing any non-essential trips to Florida amid concerns over the Zika virus.

Obama signs opioid addiction bill into law -White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday signed a bill passed by Congress aimed at combating a nationwide epidemic of heroin and other opioid addictions, the White House said. The measure aims to help communities develop treatment and overdose programs at a time when fewer than half the estimated 2.2 million Americans who need help for opioid abuse are receiving it, according to U.S. health officials. (Reporting by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Eric Beech)

Zafgen to scrap lead obesity drug, shares slide

(Reuters) - Zafgen Inc said it was suspending the development of its lead obesity drug, beloranib, more than six months after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked the company to halt all tests on the drug following the death of two patients. Zafgen's shares tumbled more than 40 percent in extended trading on Tuesday after the company also said it would reduce its workforce by about 34 percent to 31 employees by December. The FDA has approved drugs made by Vivus Inc, Orexigen Therapeutics Inc and Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc in the past few years, but asked for additional studies to check for safety of these drugs.

Baltimore police lieutenant acquitted in Freddie Gray case

A Baltimore police lieutenant was acquitted of manslaughter and two other charges in the April 2015 death of black detainee Freddie Gray, dealing prosecutors another setback in their efforts to secure a conviction in the highly charged case. Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams found Lieutenant Brian Rice not guilty in a bench trial. Rice, 42, was the highest-ranking officer charged after Gray's death from a broken neck suffered in a police transport van.

Healthcare Spending Increases 'Unsustainable'

(MedPage Today) -- Problem must be dealt with, analyst says

Life-or-death 999 call target missed for year

Ambulances in England have missed their target for responding to the most life-threatening calls for a whole year, new data shows.

Philanthropist Edhi, 'Pakistan's Mother Teresa', buried after state funeral

By Syed Raza Hassan KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, revered as a "living saint" in the South Asian nation, was buried on the outskirts of Karachi on Saturday after a state funeral attended by thousands of people. Edhi, 88, died late on Friday after a long kidney illness, triggering an outpouring of grief in the impoverished nation of 190 million for a man who transcended social, ethnic and religious divisions. At one moment during the country's first state funeral since the 1980s, a crowd broke through military lines at Karachi's National Stadium to help carry Edhi's coffin, which was draped with Pakistan's green and white flag and covered with rose petals.

China launches drive to eradicate violence against hospital staff

China is kicking off a year-long campaign this month to stamp out persistent violence in its overcrowded hospitals by angry patients targeting medical staff, state news agency Xinhua said on Saturday. Healthcare is a flashpoint for many people in China, who have long faced issues from ticket touts illegally trading appointment tickets, snarling queues to see top doctors and rampant corruption that can push up the cost of receiving care. Since 2013, campaigns to discourage abuse of hospital personnel have reined in much of the violence, but as many as 71,000 instances of conflict have still required mediation by authorities, it added.

Google's DeepMind to peek at NHS eye scans for disease analysis

One million anonymised eye scans from Moorfields Eye Hospital are to be used to train an artificial intelligence system from Google.

It's safe to prescribe fewer antibiotics for coughs and colds

A study of 610 general practices has found that efforts to curb the spread of antibiotic resistance do not lead to more complications like meningitis

Morning Break: Robotic Butt; Drunkorexia; End of Chinese Medicine?

(MedPage Today) -- Health news and commentary from around the Web, gathered by the MedPage Today staff

University graduates face higher brain tumour risk: study

People with at least three years of higher education are at greater risk for cancerous brain tumours than those with no more than nine years of schooling, perplexed researchers said Tuesday. "There is a 19 percent increased risk that university-educated men could be diagnosed with glioma," said Amal Khanolkar, a scientist at the Institute of Child Health in London and lead author of a study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community. "It was a surprising result which is difficult to explain," Khanolkar told AFP.

MedPAC Sets Sights on Cutting Part B Expenses

(MedPage Today) -- Medicare advisors promote new ASP model, other ways to rein costs

Research Points to 'Smoking Gun' for PPI Risks

Research Points to 'Smoking Gun' for PPI Risks

New Trial 'Justifies' FDA Nod for Ibrance

(MedPage Today) -- Phase III study had almost identical results as pivotal trial

Bigger baby bottles linked to weight gain

By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) - Babies who drink from large bottles early in life may be experience more weight gain by six months of age than infants who drink from smaller bottles, a study suggests. About 45 percent were being fed from bottles that held at least six ounces of baby formula. Compared with babies fed from smaller bottles, infants with at least six-ounce bottles had about a half-pound (0.21 kilograms) more weight gain by six months, the study found.

MD Tech Tips: Use Doodle to Schedule Meetings Quickly

(MedPage Today) -- Doodle is easy and doesn't require registration

Early Alzheimer's Linked to Brain 'Leakage'

Normally, blood-brain barrier prevents this from happening

Put Your Own Oxygen Mask on FIRST!

Ever flown in an airplane? At the beginning of the flight, the flight attendants review what to do in an emergency, and they always stress that if the oxygen masks come down, you should put your own mask on before helping anyone else.I always nod wisely when they say that, because of course, if you don't have oxygen, you won't be able to help...

New aid network to boost local charities helping people in crisis

By Megan Rowling ISTANBUL (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - African, Asian and Middle Eastern aid groups have set up a network to help them gain more funding for their work with communities hit by war and natural disasters, and a greater say in how aid is delivered. Large international aid agencies often take priority over smaller local groups when it comes to resources and deciding how to help people hit by a crisis, groups based in developing countries said. The Network for Empowered Aid Response (NEAR), launched in Istanbul ahead of the May 23-24 World Humanitarian Summit, brings together some 55 organizations with the aim of sharing their expertise and gaining greater recognition for their work.

Devout Women May Enjoy Better Health

They were one-third less likely to die over 20-year period, study suggests

BMA to re-enter junior doctors talks

The British Medical Association says it will re-enter talks with the government over outstanding contract issues for junior doctors in England.

Elevated lead, copper levels found in 19 Detroit public schools

Detroit public school children have been forced to switch to bottled water after elevated levels of lead and copper were found at 19 Detroit public schools, or nearly a third of those tested, officials said on Thursday. The results also came the same day Michigan lawmakers extended by four months a state of emergency in Flint, about 70 miles northwest of Detroit, to boost aid to authorities managing a crisis over lead contamination in the city's drinking water. Last month, water fountains at 30 schools in Newark, New Jersey, were shut off due to elevated levels of lead.

India sacks some foreign-funded consultants; health programs may suffer

By Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is firing dozens of foreign-funded health experts working inside the government, seen as part of a broader clampdown to reduce the influence of non-government organizations (NGOs) on policy. A shortage of technical experts has for years forced India to turn to the World Health Organization (WHO) and aid groups like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to manage large-scale public health schemes. Of the nearly 140 people who run India's HIV/AIDS program, 112 are consultants seconded from foreign organizations.