Reuters Health News Summary

Pregnant 10-year-old rape victim denied abortion in Paraguay

Paraguay's decision to deny a pregnant 10-year-old girl an abortion after she was allegedly raped by her stepfather has sparked a national debate over the country's strict abortion law. Paraguay's health minister recently refused a request from the girl's mother to terminate the pregnancy, but rights groups say the decision could put the girl's health at risk and is "tantamount to torture".

Overweight diabetes patients outlive slimmer ones - study

Patients with type-2 diabetes who are overweight but not obese outlive diabetics of normal weight, scientists reported on Monday, in another example of the "obesity paradox." Although public health officials issue dire warnings about the consequences of overweight, and employers are pressuring workers to slim down via "wellness programs," the relationship between weight and longevity is paradoxical: Studies show that although obesity increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD), overweight patients with CVD live longer than patients of normal weight.

Exclusive: U.S. approves $330 million for bird flu outbreak in poultry

The federal Office of Management and Budget has granted U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack the authority to transfer an additional $330 million in emergency funds for the agency's handling of the quickly spreading avian influenza outbreak, USDA agency sources told Reuters on Tuesday. The funds will be used to cover indemnity claims filed by poultry farmers whose flocks have been infected by the highly pathogenic H5 virus and other issues related to the outbreak, the sources told Reuters. The additional funds, added to the $84.5 million previously set aside by USDA for the outbreak, bring the federal costs so far to at least $414.5 million.

Global cancer drug spending hits $100 billion in 2014: IMS Health

Worldwide spending on cancer medicines reached $100 billion in 2014, an increase of 10.3 percent from 2013 and up from $75 billion five years earlier, according to IMS Health's Global Oncology Trend Report released on Tuesday. The $100 billion, which represents 10.8 percent of all drug spending globally and includes supportive care drugs to address things like nausea and anemia, was driven by expensive newer treatments in developed markets, IMS found.

Tiny Corbus looks to take on Vertex with experimental lung drug

Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc's experimental drug for cystic fibrosis, a rare lung-scarring disease, could be a real money spinner and pose a challenge to rival Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc's successful treatment, Kalydeco. Corbus, a tiny biopharmaceutical company, received $5 million from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation last month to develop the drug, Resunab, and expects to begin a mid-stage study this quarter.

Latest draftees could benefit from new-age concussion test

The 2015 NFL Draft class has now been welcomed into the league, one that could grow safer as their careers unfold through new-age research into identifying concussions. Following a final settlement of a lawsuit brought by former players over concussions that could cost the league $1 billion, and a stunning retirement by a young player concerned about brain injury risks, there is high-tech hope for the future.

IBM's Watson to guide cancer therapies at 14 centers

Fourteen U.S. and Canadian cancer institutes will use International Business Machines Corp's Watson computer system to choose therapies based on a tumor's genetic fingerprints, the company said on Tuesday, the latest step toward bringing personalized cancer treatments to more patients. Oncology is the first specialty where matching therapy to DNA has improved outcomes for some patients, inspiring the "precision medicine initiative" President Barack Obama announced in January.

China to stop setting most medicine prices from June 1

China will remove price caps for most medicines from June 1 and give the market a larger role in setting prices in the world's second largest pharmaceutical market, the country's economic planning agency said on Tuesday. The change would encourage "reasonable" pricing of medicines and help control costs in the country's state medical insurance schemes, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in an online statement .

UN hails progress on Ebola as new weekly cases below 20

The U.N. envoy on Ebola on Tuesday hailed "extraordinary progress" against the outbreak in West Africa after new cases last week fell below 20 for the first time since mid-2014, but he warned it would take time to end the epidemic completely. David Nabarro said that in the week to May 3 only nine new cases were reported in Guinea and the same number in neighboring Sierra Leone. Liberia once again had no new cases.

No problem with artificial heart fundamentals despite death: Carmat

The artificial heart fitted in a patient who died on Saturday malfunctioned due to a fault with the controls of its motor, but an initial analysis indicates there are no fundamental problems with the device, its manufacturer Carmat said in a statement. The patient, the second one to die while fitted with a Carmat artificial heart, suffered from a reduced flow of blood as a result of the malfunction, the company said.