Health Highlights: July 2, 2012

HealthDay – 7 mins ago Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Drug Giant GlaxoSmithKline Fined $3 Billion for Fraud

In what government officials say is the largest health-care fraud settlement in U.S. history, drug maker GlaxoSmithKline has been fined $3 billion for falsely promoting two drugs and failing to report important safety data on a third medicine.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Monday that the drug giant promoted the use of the antidepressant Paxil for children, even though it was not approved for people under the age of 18, the Associated Press reported.

Justice officials also said the company encouraged Wellbutrin for purposes other than depression, the only condition for which it has received approval.

The government also charges that between 2001 and 2007, GlaxoSmithKline failed to report on two trials assessing the heart safety of its diabetes drug Avandia, the AP said.

The penalties include $1 billion for criminal fines and forfeitures and $2 billion for civil settlements with federal and state governments.

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Woman With Flesh-Eating Bacteria Leaves Hospital

Aimee Copeland, the young woman from Georgia who has waged a two-month-long battle against a flesh-eating bacteria, left the hospital Monday, CNN reported.

Copeland was discharged Monday morning from Doctors Hospital in Augusta, Ga., according to a hospital spokesman.

Copeland, 24, contracted the infection May 1 in a zip-lining accident in which she tore a gash in her left calf. Three days later she was admitted to the emergency department and was diagnosed as having been infected with necrotizing fasciitis caused by the Aeromonas hydrophilia bacteria.

Copeland had to have most of her hands, one leg and her remaining foot amputated as part of her ordeal and has had multiple skin grafts due to tissue being removed from her abdomen.

She is to be transferred to a rehabilitation facility prior to a return home.

According to her father, Andy Copeland, "Aimee is very excited, like a kid going off to college," CNN reported Monday. "But she also realizes that rehab will be arduous. But she says she will handle it."

Last week he told CNN that his daughter, "needs to be able to develop the autonomy to be able to transfer from her bed to a wheelchair to the shower to the bathroom or anywhere else in the house. And she can do it."

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5 Million 'Test Tube' Babies Born to Date

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Chronic Pain May Depend on Emotional Reaction to Injury

HealthDay – 7 mins ago MONDAY, July 2 (HealthDay News) -- Whether a person's injury will lead to chronic pain may depend on the level of communication between two parts of their brain, a new study finds.

According to the report, published in the current issue of Nature Neuroscience, brain regions related to emotional and motivational behavior seem to communicate more in those who develop chronic pain.

"For the first time, we can explain why people who may have the exact same initial pain either go on to recover or develop chronic pain," senior study author A. Vania Apkarian, a professor of physiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, said in a university news release.

"The injury by itself is not enough to explain the ongoing pain," Apkarian added. "It has to do with the injury combined with the state of the brain."

For the study, the researchers used brain scans to examine interaction between two parts of the brain -- the frontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens -- in 40 patients who had back pain develop recently for the first time. The patients were followed for one year.

By analyzing the scans, the investigators were able to predict whether the patients would develop chronic pain with an 85 percent level of accuracy.

The findings suggest that the brain's emotional reaction to the injury is crucial.

"It may be that these sections of the brain are more excited to begin with in certain individuals, or there may be genetic and environmental influences that predispose these brain regions to interact at an excitable level," Apkarian said. "Now we hope to develop new therapies for treatment based on this finding."

An estimated 30 million to 40 million U.S. adults suffer from chronic pain. Back pain is especially common.

"Chronic pain is one of the most expensive health care conditions in the U.S., yet there still is not a scientifically validated therapy for this condition," Apkarian said.

Although the study showed an association between levels of communication in the brain and chronic pain, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

More information

For more about chronic pain, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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Family History of Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder May Up Kids' Risk for Autism

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Coffee May Cut Your Risk for Common Form of Skin Cancer

HealthDay – 7 mins ago MONDAY, July 2 (HealthDay News) -- Yet another report points to the possible health benefits of caffeine, whether it comes in coffee, tea, cola or even chocolate.

A study published July 1 in the journal Cancer Research suggests that drinking caffeinated coffee could lower the chances of developing basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer. The study also found that caffeinated tea, cola and chocolate also appears to reduce risk.

Women in the study who drank more than three cups of caffeinated coffee per day were 21 percent less likely to develop the disease than women who drank less than one cup per month. Among men, the risk reduction was 10 percent.

"It's the caffeine that's most likely responsible for the beneficial effect," said study co-author Jiali Han, an associate professor at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, in Boston. "Caffeine inhibits tumor progression. We saw the effect in mice and thought we should do this research to see if it applies to humans, too."

Han said that it's likely that the more you drink, the lower the risk of basal cell cancer. But he's cautious about recommending coffee for everyone. "I'm not going to say we need to promote coffee based on this research, but this is just one more addition to the list of ways coffee has been associated with positive health benefits," he said.

The new research adds to a range of recent studies that have shown that coffee may protect against some illnesses, including type 2 diabetes, heart failure, Parkinson's disease, liver cancer and cirrhosis of the liver, and that it might improve exercise performance.

Basal cell skin cancer begins in the outer layer of skin and is usually found on areas of the body exposed to the sun. According to the U.S. National Cancer Institute, about 2 million people a year are treated for basal cell carcinoma, which rarely spreads to other parts of the body.

The researchers found caffeine intake did not reduce the risk of squamous cell carcinoma or melanoma, other forms of skin cancer.

The authors analyzed more than 20 years of data from the Nurses' Health Study, a large and long-running study designed to track women's health, and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, a similar project that involved men. More than 112,000 people were included in the analysis.

While the study uncovered an association between greater caffeine consumption and reduced risk of basal cell cancer, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

Some experts urged caution about the new study. Rob van Dam, an associate professor in the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at National University of Singapore, said that while the study is exciting, the contrast in risk between coffee drinkers and non-drinkers was relatively small.

Van Dam said the potential benefit from caffeine may not be as valuable as other known prevention strategies. "We have very obvious ways to decrease your risk of basal cell carcinoma, methods that have been proven to be effective," he said.

Dr. Albert Lefkovits, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, noted that coffee can vary greatly in its caffeine content, depending on the size of the cup and the strength of the brew. He said he also hasn't seen a correlation between coffee drinking and reduced risk of skin cancer in his practice. "I have many patients with multiple basal cell cancer lesions who drink a lot of coffee," he noted.

Lefkovits doesn't want people to think coffee is the new sunscreen. "If you want to drink coffee, go ahead," he said. "But it doesn't permit you to neglect using a complete sun protection regimen that includes seeking shade, covering up with sun-protective clothing, including wide-brimmed hats and UV-blocking sunglasses, and wearing broad spectrum sunscreen every day."

More information

To learn more about skin cancer, go to the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

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Gel Shows Promise as Future Male Contraceptive

HealthDay – 7 mins ago MONDAY, July 2 (HealthDay News) -- Men may one day have a birth-control option other than the condom or vasectomy -- if early research on a new contraceptive gel pans out.

Preliminary findings suggest that when applied to the skin, the gel dramatically lowers sperm counts, thus also lowering -- though not eliminating -- the risk for pregnancy.

This is the first time that a combination of testosterone and a synthetic progestin called Nestorone has been tested as a gel that could be applied topically. Previous research involved administering the combination by injection or via a patch, said study senior author Dr. Christina Wang, a professor of medicine at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute.

The combination contraceptive needs to undergo further testing before it is commercially available.

Although men have sometimes received a bad rap for not being willing to assume responsibility for birth control, Dr. Joseph Alukal, an assistant professor of urology at NYU Langone Medical Center, in New York City, thinks this reputation may be somewhat undeserved.

"I think

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It's Not So Much the Heat, It's the Lack of Power

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Antipsychotic Drugs Linked to Higher Odds for Diabetes in Pregnancy

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FACT CHECK: Buyer beware in health debate

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Early full-term babies may face later school woes

Even for infants born full-term, a little more time in the womb may matter.

The extra time results in more brain development, and a study suggests perhaps better scores on academic tests, too.

Full-term is generally between 37 weeks and 41 weeks; newborns born before 37 weeks are called premature and are known to face increased chances for health and developmental problems.

The children in the study were all full-term, and the vast majority did fine on third-grade math and reading tests. The differences were small, but the study found that more kids born at 37 or 38 weeks did poorly than did kids born even a week or two later.

The researchers and other experts said the results suggest that the definition of prematurity should be reconsidered.

The findings also raise questions about hastening childbirth by scheduling cesarean deliveries for convenience

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GlaxoSmithKline to pay $3B for health fraud

for criminal and civil violations involving 10 drugs that are taken by millions of people.

The Justice Department said Monday that GlaxoSmithKline PLC will plead guilty to promoting popular antidepressants Paxil and Wellbutrin for unapproved uses. The company also will plead guilty to failing to report to the government for seven years some safety problems with diabetes drug Avandia, which was restricted in the U.S. and banned in Europe after it was found in 2007 to sharply increase the risks of heart attacks and congestive heart failure.

In addition to the fine, Glaxo agreed to resolve civil liability for promoting Paxil, Wellbutrin, asthma drug Advair and two lesser-known drugs for unapproved uses. The company also resolved accusations that it overcharged the government-funded Medicaid program for some drugs, and that it paid kickbacks to doctors to prescribe several drugs including Flovent for asthma and Valtrex for genital herpes.

Sir Andrew Witty, Glaxo's CEO, expressed regret Monday and said the company has learned "from the mistakes that were made."

This is the latest in a string of settlements related to drug companies putting profits ahead of patients. In recent years, the government has cracked down on drugmakers' tactics, which include marketing medicines for unapproved uses. While doctors are allowed to prescribe medicines for any use, drugmakers cannot promote them in any way that is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"Let me be clear, we will not tolerate health care fraud," Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole said Monday during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington.

Glaxo is scheduled to plead guilty to the criminal charges and have the settlement approved at a hearing Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boston. In addition to the $3 billion penalty

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Shell, BASF ordered to pay $500 mln in Brazil pollution case

"The corporate logo of Shell, a Dutch petroleum company. A Brazilian judge has ordered oil giant Shell and chemical behemoth BASF to pay $500 million in compensation for hundreds of ex-workers suing for damages in a suspected plant contamination case, a judicial source said Monday. (AFP Photo/Tengku Bahar)" title

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