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Weight loss pill Qnexa wins panel vote and awaits approval

The drug was rejected in a 10-6 vote the first time it came before a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel, in 2010, due to safety concerns. However when the medication returned for another review in February, the advisory committee gave it near-unanimous approval (20-2). Because the FDA often follows the advisory panel's advice, Qnexa is likely to get FDA approval, probably by mid-April.

5 Apr 2012

FDA alerts on fake cancer drug imports

This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alerted healthcare professionals that 120 vials of fake cancer drug Altuzan - which contained no active ingredient - had entered the U.S from distributors in the U.K. after being purchased from wholesalers in Turkey.

5 Apr 2012

Brand of egg truffles recalled due to labelling error

The recall is for five batches of Heritage-brand Belgian Milk Chocolate Egg with chocolate truffles in a 270-gram package, sold exclusively through Coles supermarkets. The product contains almond, hazelnut and gluten, but these ingredients are not listed on the package due to a labeling error.

5 Apr 2012

Plasma torch kills surface bacteria in seconds

According to scientists a simple hand-held torch-like device can swiftly kill dangerous bacteria, offering a potential boon for emergency workers battling infection risks in wars or disaster zones. The device was created by an international team of researchers from China's Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Australia's CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering, the University of Sydney and the City University of Hong Kong.

5 Apr 2012

Financial incentives for purchasing a healthier food option

The aging baby boomers and subsequent generations will be looking to the food industry to provide products that can help them live longer, healthier and more active lives than previous generations, according to research presented at the Institute of Food Technologists' Wellness 12 meeting.

5 Apr 2012

Phenomenex, AB SCIEX announce new solution to ensure food safety in India

AB SCIEX, a global leader in life science analytical technologies, and Phenomenex, a global leader in separation science techniques, today announced a new workflow solution specifically tailored for laboratories in India to ensure the safety of spices, teas, fruits, vegetables and other food products for domestic and export markets.

5 Apr 2012

Early-life bisphenol A exposure affects later-stage learning impairment

In testing the effects of the controversial chemical bisphenol A (BPA) on zebrafish, UWM scientist Daniel Weber found himself in familiar territory.

5 Apr 2012

Physician groups identify unnecessary procedures

The list of 45 tests and procedures was pulled together by nine medical speciality groups to help reduce spending and improve patients' health.

5 Apr 2012

Humanitarian agencies suspend aid programs in northern Mali after armed groups ransack, loot offices, warehouses

After armed groups in the north of Mali "ransacked government offices, hospitals, hotels, private property as well as the offices and warehouses of aid groups" over the weekend, the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) "suspended some activities in the northern and central regions of Mali," according to a WFP spokesperson, AlertNet reports.

5 Apr 2012

Low glycemic index food may help prevent high blood sugar

Eating foods at breakfast that have a low glycemic index may help prevent a spike in blood sugar throughout the morning and after the next meal of the day, researchers said at the Institute of Food Technologists' Wellness 12 meeting.

5 Apr 2012

Crizotinib reduces testosterone levels in men with ALK positive lung cancer

Men experience a marked drop in their testosterone levels when taking a targeted therapy to control a specific type of lung cancer. That's according to a University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the April issue of Cancer, the official journal of the American Cancer Society.

5 Apr 2012

Piceatannol blocks preadipocytes’ ability to develop and grow

A compound found in red wine, grapes and other fruits, and similar in structure to resveratrol, is able to block cellular processes that allow fat cells to develop, opening a door to a potential method to control obesity, according to a Purdue University study.

5 Apr 2012

Unmarried baby boomers face poorer economic and health outcomes

Nick and Bobbi Ercoline, the couple depicted on the "Woodstock" soundtrack album cover, have now been happily married for over 40 years. However, a new special issue of The Gerontologist showing the Ercolines as they look today - a portrait of successful aging - finds that their unmarried baby boomer counterparts generally fare much poorer in terms of economic, health, and social outcomes.

5 Apr 2012

FDA clears additional indications for Anulex’s fiXate Tissue Band product

Anulex Technologies, Inc., a privately held medical device manufacturer, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared additional indications for use of its fiXate Tissue Band product.

5 Apr 2012

Brain games, exercise and diet help prevent cognitive slide

Exercising, eating a healthy diet and playing brain games may help you keep your wits about you well into your 80s and even 90s, advises a new book by researchers at George Mason University.

5 Apr 2012

Olanzapine improves survival in mouse model of anorexia nervosa

Low doses of a commonly used atypical antipsychotic drug improved survival in a mouse model of anorexia nervosa, University of Chicago researchers report this month. The result offers promise for a common and occasionally fatal eating disorder that currently lacks approved drugs for treatment.

5 Apr 2012

Elite athletes ambivalent on sports advertising

“Building on the resistance of elite athletes to promoting alcohol and junk food could transform the use of sport in sponsorship and advertising,” said Dr Anne Grunseit from the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney.

4 Apr 2012

Getting pregnant while on a diet may lead to an obese baby: Study

Researchers found in a study on sheep that giving ewes less food at the time of conception caused DNA changes in the brains of their young. The University of Manchester scientists suspect the findings may hold true for humans as well and could explain why twins are more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes in adulthood.

4 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 4, 2012

In today's headlines, President Barak Obama goes on attack against GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and the Republican budget blueprint; a federal court judge asks for clarifications regarding Obama's comment on judicial activism and the high court's consideration of the health law; as well as reports that doctors are stepping into the effort to curb unnecessary medical treatments.

4 Apr 2012

India must focus on food supply chain to improve malnutrition rates

The cause of malnutrition in India -- which "results in a loss of productivity, indirect losses from impaired cognitive development, and losses from increased long-term health care costs" -- is "not so much a lack of nutrient-rich food, but rather a weakness in the food supply chain," William Thomson, a research assistant at the U.S. Naval War College, writes in an opinion piece in The Diplomat.

4 Apr 2012