Category: A.M. Vitals: FDA Warns of Fake Avastin in U.S.

MEwens
Fake Avastin in the U.S.: A counterfeit version of Roche’s Avastin anti-cancer drug has been found in the U.S., though it’s not known how much was distributed, whether patients received it or whether it caused harm, the WSJ reports. The FDA has notified 19 medical practices in the U.S. that it says might […]

MEwens
Remember being a teenager? You probably wanted to spend as little time with your parents as possible. So it’s not surprising that the usual weight-control strategy used for younger kids — counseling and advice delivered to the whole family at once — isn’t so appealing to adolescents.
Researchers at Kaiser Permanente wanted to test […]

MEwens
Asking About Off-Label Use: Families of Alzheimer’s patients are asking physicians and advocacy groups about the off-label use of a skin-cancer drug, bexarotene, in their loved ones following a study suggesting a benefit for the drug in diseased mice, the WSJ reports. Still, experts say, it’s not yet clear whether the drug will […]

MEwens
Many kids spend a not-insignificant chunk of their time in carpools, being shuttled to school, sports practices and various other commitments.
But as a 681-person study just published in Pediatrics shows, kids in carpools are sometimes missing out on something they get when driving alone with their parents: booster seats.
The American Academy of Pediatrics […]

MEwens
Lipitor Benefit Changes: Pharmacy-benefit manager Express Scripts will move brand-name Lipitor to the third tier of its national drug formulary from the second tier as of Feb. 1, increasing co-pays for some patients and emphasizing Pfizer’s challenge of holding on to sales of the drug, the WSJ reports. The generic versions of Lipitor […]

MEwens
Formula Comes Up Clean: Mead Johnson Nutrition said Sunday that fresh tests on its Enfamil Premium Newborn formula, a batch of which was pulled from the shelves of retailers including Wal-Mart, Walgreen and Kroger, have turned up no traces of a bacteria implicated in the death of a 10-day-old infant, the WSJ reports. […]

MEwens
Up to the States: The onus is on the states to make the tough decisions about what treatments must be covered by individual and small-group plans under the health-care overhaul law, the WSJ reports. The Obama administration said states would be able to align coverage standards with those of popular federal- and state-employee […]

MEwens
The FDA said it approved an external pump with implantable tubes to keep kids’ hearts going while they await a transplant.
The official name for the device is the Excor Pediatric System. But it’s commonly known by the name of its manufacturer, a German company called Berlin Heart.
Heart failure in kids is far less […]

MEwens
It’s no secret that reversing the childhood obesity epidemic in the U.S. will be a long slog. While obesity rates among children and teens appear to have leveled off in recent years, nearly a third remain overweight, and about 17% are obese.
And while many cities and towns have programs and events to attack […]

MEwens
Researching Lefties: Experts are studying left-handed people for clues to disorders including ADHD, dyslexia and schizophrenia, the WSJ reports. Those problems are more common in lefties for reasons that aren’t known, though some scientists speculate that the 30% of lefties who rely on their right brains (or a mix of the right and […]