Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Less heart disease, stroke in immigrants than in U.S.-born
People living in the U.S. but born elsewhere may have lowerrisk for heart disease and stroke than their native-bornneighbors, suggests a new study. Foreign-born residents had arange of risks, however. Women from Europe and men from Africaor South America had the lowest stroke rates compared toU.S.-born peers. Heart disease rates were lowest among men andwomen from Asia, the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico andhighest among men from the Indian Subcontinent and Europe.
First women's yoga training center opens doors in Gaza
A small group of Palestinian women in Gaza are stretchingtheir limbs with yoga to help them teach others to cope with thestresses and traumas of living in the embattled territory. TheGaza Strip, which is dominated by the Islamist Hamas faction,has experienced three wars with neighboring Israel in the past11 years.
Happiness 101: Psychology course strikes chord with Yalestudents
The search for life's sweetest but most elusive treasure -happiness - brings nearly 1,200 Yale University undergraduatestwice a week into an enormous hall on the Connecticut school'scampus for its most popular class ever. "Psychology and the GoodLife" is such a hit that one in four undergraduate students atthe Ivy League university is enrolled in the spring semestercourse, said Laurie Santos, the psychology professor who teachesthe class. It is the largest class enrollment size in thehistory of Yale, founded in 1701.
Teva wins reversal of U.S. jury's $235 million GSK drugpatent verdict
A federal judge on Wednesday overturned a U.S. jury'sverdict that required Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltdto pay GlaxoSmithKline Plc more than $235million for infringing a patent covering its blood pressure drugCoreg. U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark in Wilmington, Delawareruled that the evidence did not support the jury's finding inJune that Teva sales of a generic version of the drug causeddoctors to infringe GSK's patent.
Childhood cancer survivors may develop heart problems sooner
Adult survivors of childhood cancer have a greater risk ofheart disease and develop risk factors like high blood pressureand elevated cholesterol earlier in life compared to the generalpopulation, a German study suggests. Researchers studied 951adults, ages 23 to 48, who had been diagnosed with cancer whenthey were less than 15 years old. The study team looked at labtests for risk factors for heart disease, and also forconditions like heart failure, stroke and heart attacks. Alongwith the cancer survivors, they studied more than 15,000similar people who didn’t have malignancies as children.
Aging Japan: Robots may have role in future of elder care
Paro the furry seal cries softly while an elderly woman petsit. Pepper, a humanoid, waves while leading a group of seniorcitizens in exercises. The upright Tree guides a disabled mantaking shaky steps, saying in a gentle feminine voice, “right,left, well done!” Robots have the run of Tokyo's Shin-tominursing home, which uses 20 different models to care for itsresidents. The Japanese government hopes it will be a model forharnessing the country's robotics expertise to help cope with aswelling elderly population and dwindling workforce.
Ireland sets abortion referendum date for May 25
Ireland will hold a referendum on May 25 on whether or notto liberalize its abortion law, the first opportunity in 35years to overhaul one of the world's strictest regimes that haslong divided the once deeply Catholic nation. A complete ban onabortion was only lifted five years ago for cases where themother's life was in danger. That move fueled calls to givevoters under the age of 50 their first say on more comprehensivereform.
Colon cancer screening rates vary widely across U.S.
The proportion of U.S. adults who get recommended coloncancer screenings has never been as high as doctors would like,but a new study suggests that it’s much lower than expected insome pockets of the country. To catch colon cancer early, whenit’s easier to treat and less lethal, physicians typicallyrecommend that adults aged 50 to 75 get screened every 10 yearswith a colonoscopy or annually with fecal tests. Nationwide,only about 67 percent of adults in this age range were currentwith screening, the study found.
FDA working on a 'dozen' policies to boost copycat biotechdrugs
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration is working on around adozen actions to boost use of cheaper versions of expensivebiotech medicines, the head of the agency Scott Gottlieb said onWednesday. The United States has lagged behind Europe in use ofso-called biosimilars, to the frustration of FDA policymakerswho are starting to approve such products but who are seeingother impediments to getting them to consumers.
Pregnant? Warm weather exercise and hot baths might be okay
Pregnant women who exercise outside on warm days or spend alittle time in a hot bath or sauna may not necessarily raisetheir body temperature enough to cause problems, a researchreview suggests. While most women without health problems cansafely exercise during pregnancy, doctors discourage workouts inhot weather because it can lead to heat stress and dehydration.Physicians also advise women to avoid saunas and hot tubsbecause these activities can raise the body temperature andincrease the risk of birth defects.
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