Category: Allergies

MEwens
Generic Lipitor Approval: Indian drug company Ranbaxy, a unit of Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo, has received FDA approval for its generic version of Pfizer’s Lipitor, the WSJ reports. (Ranbaxy will share profits from the drug during the first 180 days with Teva, according to the company.) The FDA says Ranbaxy’s atorvastatin calcium tablets will […]

MEwens
Weighing Bone Drug Safety: An FDA advisory panel will Friday consider whether women taking certain bone-building drugs called bisphosphonates should limit their treatment period or take a so-called drug holiday in order to prevent rare instances of thigh fractures and jaw-bone decay, the WSJ reports. Manufacturers of the drugs, including Warner Chilcott, Roche […]

MEwens
If Wilbur can’t get past the co-op board, will a dog or cat do?
If kids who live in close proximity to farm animals seem to develop asthma at lower-than-average rates, can urban or suburban children reap the same benefits by acquiring a dog or cat?
That was our first question after reading a recent […]

MEwens
A panel sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has guidelines for food allergies, but questions remain.
Read more this great post here

MEwens
Wall Street Journal health blogger Katherine Hobson will take questions from readers in a live chat on Monday, Nov. 1 about the TEDMED conference in San Diego.  Ask your questions now.
Read more this great post here

MEwens
Wall Street Journal health blogger Katherine Hobson will take questions from readers in a live chat on Monday, Nov. 1 about the TEDMED conference in San Diego.  Ask your questions now.
Read more this great post here

JGrimes
The study puts the prevalence of food allergies at “more than 1% to 2% but less than 10% of the population.”
Read more this great post here

JGrimes
A tony restaurant can be a health obstacle course, filled with hidden dangers for people with food allergies. Worries about the allergens that may lurk in an innocuous-looking dish are enough to dissuade some allergy sufferers from eating out at all.
The WSJ’s Beckey Bright reports on options and precautions for diners who […]

JGrimes
Some school pranks just aren’t cool.
An eighth grader in Kentucky was arrested Sunday on a charge of felony wanton endangerment, accused of planting peanut butter cookie crumbs in the lunchbox of a classmate with a severe peanut allergy, the Associated Press reported. The classmate, whose allergy a school spokeswoman said was well known, […]

JGrimes
The Health Blog looked for stories you might have missed this weekend. Here’s our short list.
As presidential wannabe John Edwards campaigned in New Hampshire, he picked up support from the family of Nataline Sarkisyan, a 17-year-old California girl whose liver transplant was turned down by her insurer, Cigna. The company reversed itself but […]