- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments,
compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Large Increase Predicted in Cancer Drug
Spending

Compared to all other drugs, spending on cancer medicines worldwide
will grow twice as fast in coming years because emerging nations such as
China, Russia and Brazil are boosting spending on diagnosing and treating
cancer, according to a report released Thursday by the health care
research firm IMS Health.

The overall global drug market is expected to grow by 6.4 percent a
year through 2012, while cancer drug spending is expected to increase
between 12 percent and 15 percent a year, reaching $75 billion to $80
billion by 2012, the Associated Press reported.

In addition to increased cancer spending by emerging nations, cancer is
a priority among drug firms with multibillion-dollar research and
development budgets.

Oncology is the top of the bill when it comes to new products in
development. Oncology RD dwarfs all other research efforts within
these organizations, the wire service quoted Titus Pattel, an IMS vice
president, as saying.

This year, worldwide cancer drug sales are expected to reach $48
billion.



Court Overturns Vioxx Verdict

A multimillion dollar verdict in a Vioxx lawsuit has been overturned by
a Texas court.

The family of 71-year-old Leonel Garza was awarded $32 million two
years ago, although damage caps reduced the amount to about $8 million.
Garza had been taking Vioxx for less than a month when he died, the
Associated Press reported.

But the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals said Garzas family failed to
prove that a 23-year battle with heart disease wasnt the cause of his
fatal 2001 heart attack.

s decision reaffirms that there is simply no reliable scientific
evidence that Vioxx caused Mr. Garzas heart attack, Ted Mayer, outside
legal counsel for drug maker Merck and Company, said in a prepared
statement, the AP reported.

Vioxx was taken off the market in 2004 after studies showed it
increased users risks of heart attack and stroke. Merck faces numerous
lawsuits over the drug.



Sweetwater Cheese Recalled Due to Possible
Listeria Contamination

Potential listeria contamination has prompted the recall of Tennessee
Aged Black Pepper Cheese made by Sweetwater Farm, Inc. of Philadelphia,
Tenn. Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young
children, the elderly, and others with weak immune systems, the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration said.

In healthy people, listeria may cause short-term symptoms such as high
fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. In
addition, listeria can cause miscarriage and stillbirths among pregnant
women. No illnesses in connection with the cheese have been reported.
The recalled cheese, lot number 616-361, was distributed in 5-, 7-, and
10-ounce bars through the Sweetwater retail store in Philadelphia, Tenn.
and a winery in Portland, Tenn. between December 27, 2007 and May 12,
2008.
Consumers with the recalled cheese should return it to the store for
replacement or a refund. For more information, contact Sweetwater at
1-877-862-4332.

Multi-Drug Approach Needed in Bird Flu
Pandemic: Study
No single drug alone would be adequate to treat all people who would
become infected during a worldwide flu pandemic, and nations need to
stockpile more than one type of drug, say scientists at the National
Institute for Medical Research in Great Britain.
They analyzed samples of H5N1 bird flu that had infected humans and
found a mutation that made it resistant to the anti-viral drug Tamiflu.
However, the mutation didnt protect the virus from another drug called
Relenza, BBC News reported.
The study appears in the journal Nature.
In order not to be outflanked by the virus, it will be necessary to
have stocks of both existing drugs, said research team leader Dr. Steve
Gamblin, BBC News reported. There is a huge imperative to develop
further drugs and it is likely a future pandemic will need to be tackled
using a three- or four-pronged approach, much as we tackle HIV today.
Meningitis B Vaccine Shows
Promise
Preliminary clinical trials of a vaccine against meningitis B yielded
results, according to drug maker Novartis.
Doses of the vaccine were given to 150 British infants at two, four,
six and 12 months. One month after the third dose, the childrens immune
response against three strains of meningitis B was 89 percent, 98 percent
and 93 percent. After the fourth dose, the immune response was 100
percent, 98 percent and 93 percent, BBC News reported.
These initial results show that the vaccine induces an immune
response against strains containing the vaccine components. The next step
is to find how broad these responses are against other strains that cause
disease, said Dr. Andrew Pollard, head of the Oxford Vaccine Group at the
University of Oxford. Pollard helped run the study.
This could be a major advance in combating meningitis, Professor David
Salisbury, director of immunization, U.K. Department of Health, told
BBC News.
We have vaccinations against three of the four causes of bacterial
meningitis. The one we have been waiting for is meningitis B. It has been
a challenge for the past 20 years, Salisbury said. This could be the
beginning of getting a solution for meningitis B. The challenge has been
to find a vaccine that works across different strains of the disease.
Vitamin D May Prevent Prostate Cancer:
Study
Vitamin D may be able to prevent prostate cancer, according to
University of Rochester Medical Center researchers who found that the
vitamin increases the activity of the gene G6PD and its production of an
enzyme called glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase.
Increased activity of this enzyme clears cells of free radicals that
can damage DNA and lead to cancer, United Press International
reported.
The researchers used 1,25-hydroxylvitamin D3, the most powerful and
active form of vitamin D in the human body. The study is published in the
International Journal of Cancer.
If you reduce DNA damage, you reduce the risk of cancer or aging,
study leader Yi-Fen Lee said in a prepared statement, UPI
reported.
Our study adds one more beneficial effect of taking a vitamin D
supplement. Taking a supplement is especially important for senior
citizens and others who might have less circulation of vitamin D, and for
people who live and work in areas where there is less sunshine, Lee
said.

Americano new top 10 >>> Health Highlights: May 25, 2008

News >>> Health Highlights: May 17, 2008

Cheneys Heart Rhythm Restored to
Normal

An electrical shock was used to restore normal rhythm to U.S. Vice
President Dick Cheneys heart Monday evening. The procedure at George
Washington University Hospital was described as a low-risk, standard
practice, the Associated Press reported.

An irregular heartbeat was detected in Cheney, 66, at about 7 a.m. ET
Monday by doctors checking the vice president for a lingering cough from a
cold. It was determined that he had atrial fibrillation, an abnormal
rhythm involving the upper chambers of the heart.

Cheney worked throughout Monday and went to the hospital at about 5
p.m. He was discharged about 7:30 p.m. and returned to work Tuesday, the
AP reported.

An electrical impulse was used to restore the upper chambers to normal
rhythm, said Cheney spokeswoman Megan Mitchell. The procedure went
smoothly and without complication.

Cheney has a history of heart problems. Hes had four heart attacks,
quadruple bypass surgery, two artery-clearing vacuum device for impotence
, and has an
implanted heart defibrillator, the AP reported.



Experimental Heart Stent Shows Positive
Results

Abbott Laboratories experimental Xience V heart stent continues to
show positive results in clinical testing, The New York Times
reported Tuesday.

Stents are wire mesh cylinders inserted into arteries after blockages
have been removed to prevent the vessels from reclogging. New data from a
two-year study of more than 600 patients showed the Xience device was more
effective in preventing reclogging than the market leader, Boston
Scientifics Taxus 2, the newspaper said.

Xience, however, did not show an advantage when it came to preventing
deaths or reducing heart attack rates, the Times said of data
provided by the company and federal regulators.

Xience is among a class of stents that are coated with a drug designed
to better prevent re-clogging than their bare-metal cousins.

An expert panel advising the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is
expected to meet Thursday to decide whether to recommend approval of
Xience by the full agency.



Rhode Island Hospital Fined After 3rd Brain
Surgery Mishap

Rhode Island Hospital has been fined $50,000 by the state health
department after doctors there performed surgery on the wrong side of a
patients head for the third time in less than a year, the Associated
Press reported Tuesday.

The hospital is owned by a venous leak impotence corporation, Lifespan, and is
a teaching hospital for Brown University, the wire service said.
After the Department of Health levied the fine and said it was
extremely concerned about the recent mishaps, the hospital issued a
statement saying it would re-evaluate its training methods and beef up
oversight procedures.
The most recent incident occurred Friday when the chief resident began
surgery on the wrong side of an 82-year-old mans brain, the department
said. That man was expected to recover, as has the victim of a similar
incident in February, the AP reported.
But in August, a patient died several weeks after a doctor operated on
the wrong side of his brain. Each of the three operations was performed by
different physicians.
The August death prompted the state to order the hospital to take
preventive steps, including launching an independent review of the
institutions neurosurgery practices, the wire service said.

Electronic Harassment of U.S. Adolescents
Increasing
The use of electronic media to harass American adolescents is a serious
problem, according to a series of studies published Tuesday in a
supplement to the Journal of Adolescent Health.
The supplement is the first collection of data to examine how
electronic media including blogs, instant messaging, chat rooms, email,
and text messaging affect American adolescents. The supplement was
funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Best sites about >>> Health Highlights: May 17, 2008

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