Health and Wellness- | News Tribune

Health and Wellness

Puerto Rico indicts suspects in $650M drug scheme

Members of a group accused of generating $650 million in revenue by selling prescription drugs not approved by the FDA to pharmacies in the U.S. have been arrested in one of the largest cases of its kind, federal officials said Thursday.

Lilly ends 1 trial of rheumatoid arthritis drug

Eli Lilly & Co. said Thursday that it stopped one late-stage trial of its experimental drug tabalumab as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.

Surprise: New insurance fee in health overhaul law

Your medical plan is facing an unexpected expense, so you probably are, too.

Social Security fast-tracks rare disease claims

In an effort to ease the burden of being stricken with a debilitating condition, the Social Security Administration is expanding a program that fast-tracks disability claims by people who get serious illnesses such as cancer, early-onset Alzheimer’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease — claims that could take months or years to approve in the past.

Brinksmanship on Obama Medicaid expansion for poor

It's health care brinksmanship, with hundreds of billions of dollars and the well-being of millions of people at stake.

Asperger's dropped from revised diagnosis manual

The now familiar term "Asperger's disorder" is being dropped. And abnormally bad and frequent temper tantrums will be given a scientific-sounding diagnosis called DMDD. But "dyslexia" and other learning disorders remain.

Flu cases up, still rising

5- to 14-year-olds most affected, officials say

As of Friday, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services had reported 2,088 flu cases since the start of flu season in September. This number is nearly 10 times the five-season average for this time of year.

Feds propose fee on health insurers in new market

Health insurance companies will have to pay to play in new health insurance markets coming under President Barack Obama's health care law, the administration said in a regulatory notice issued Friday.

Drugmaker Ranbaxy halts generic Lipitor production

Problem-plagued Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc. has halted production of generic cholesterol drug Lipitor while it investigates how tiny glass particles got into the ingredients used for dozens of batches of the drug that were recalled in November. It was Ranbaxy's second recall of the drug, called atorvastatin, since August.

Gilda's Club name change insult to late comedian?

Younger generations might not recognize the characters popularized by comedian Gilda Radner. Nor might they remember Radner herself, an original cast member of "Saturday Night Live" who died 23 years ago and for whom a national cancer support group is named.

State pressed to expand Medicaid

Medical groups see thousands of new jobs by 2014; Nixon to address issue today

Missouri medical groups launched a campaign Wednesday to expand Medicaid coverage to thousands of working adults, citing a study estimating the expansion largely funded by federal money could lead to 24,000 new jobs across the state.

7-year-old gets medical marijuana to combat chemo

A seven-year-old girl suffering from leukemia is one of Oregon's youngest medical marijuana patients.

Study finds mammograms lead to unneeded treatment

Mammograms have done surprisingly little to catch deadly breast cancers before they spread, a big U.S. study finds. At the same time, more than a million women have been treated for cancers that never would have threatened their lives, researchers estimate.