# Johnson hit with $247 mln verdict in hip implant trial (Adds plaintiff lawyer's comment, background)By Tina BellonNEW YORK, Nov 16 (Reuters) - A federal jury in Dallas on Thursday ordered Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy Orthopaedics unit to pay $247 million to six patients who said they were injured by defective Pinnacle hip implants.Delivering a third straight win to patients, the jury fo
By Reuters StaffNEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Increases in the genetic burden of LRRK2 risk variants are associated with an earlier age at onset of Parkinson's disease (PD) in Asians, a new study suggests.The S1647T, R1628P, and G2385R variants of LRRK2 are established risk factors for PD in Asian populations. However, it's not known whether the presence of multiple LRRK2 risk variants influ
#J wins Calif. lawsuit claiming asbestos in talc caused cancer Nov 16 (Reuters) - A California jury on Thursday ruled in favor of Johnson & Johnson in a lawsuit by a woman who said she developed the cancer mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos in the company's talc-based products including J&J's Baby Powder.The Los Angeles Superior Court jury's verdict came in the first trial
By Reuters StaffZURICH (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Roche's Hemlibra, a new medicine for hemophilia A that the Swiss drugmaker is counting on to help to offset eroding sales of older medicines going off patent.But the FDA slapped Roche's medicine with a black box warning for blood clots, giving a boost to shares in rival Shire, which leads the $11
By Nellie PeytonLONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When Bisi Alimi came out as gay in Nigeria, his parents took him to a church where he underwent seven days of isolation, prayers and fasting to be "cured" of homosexuality, he said. The experience, which prompted him to attempt suicide at the age of 17, is common for gay people from Nigeria to China to the United States, LGBT activists said o
By Reuters StaffNEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The novel biomarker urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) has “substantial accuracy” identifying febrile infants and young children with and without urinary tract infections (UTIs), clinicians from Columbia University in New York City have found.Dr. Tamar Lubell and colleagues did a prospective cross-sectional study of 84 infants you
By Marilynn LarkinNEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? Positron emission tomography (PET)-based molecular imaging biomarkers may predict therapeutic response and survival in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), researchers say.“Glycolysis (Glyc) and androgen receptor (AR) expression are two of the most important biochemical characteristics of prostate cancer, particularly
By Ben HirschlerLONDON (Reuters) - Battle lines are being drawn as the first gene therapy for an inherited condition nears the U.S. market, offering hope for people with a rare form of blindness and creating a cost dilemma for healthcare providers. Spark Therapeutics, whose Luxturna treatment has been recommended for U.S. approval, told investors last week there was a case for valuing it at more t
By Ben HirschlerLONDON (Reuters) - Battle lines are being drawn as the first gene therapy for an inherited condition nears the U.S. market, offering hope for people with a rare form of blindness and creating a cost dilemma for healthcare providers.Spark Therapeutics, whose Luxturna (voretigene neparvovec) treatment has been recommended for U.S. approval, told investors last week there was a case f
By Lisa Rapaport(Reuters Health) - For people who already have cardiovascular problems, having high blood sugar below the cutoff for diabetes diagnosis doesn’t raise the risk of potentially fatal heart events, a recent study suggests. Diabetes has long been linked to an increased risk of coronary artery disease as well as higher odds of heart attacks, cardiac arrest, and unstable angina.Research h
By Lisa Rapaport(Reuters Health) - For people who already have cardiovascular problems, having high blood sugar below the cutoff for diabetes diagnosis doesn’t raise the risk of potentially fatal heart “events,” a recent study suggests. Diabetes has long been linked to an increased risk of coronary artery disease as well as higher odds of heart attacks, cardiac arrest and what’s known as unstable
By Nate RaymondBOSTON (Reuters) - The billionaire founder of Insys Therapeutics Inc was expected to appear in federal court in Boston on Thursday to plead not guilty to charges that he participated in a scheme to bribe doctors to prescribe a fentanyl-based cancer pain drug. John Kapoor, who stepped down as Insys' chief executive officer and chairman in January but remains the majority sharehol
By Marilynn LarkinNEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? An oral probiotic formulation may reduce both atopic dermatitis severity and use of topical steroids to treat it in young people with moderate disease, researchers say.“The microbiota is essential for proper body growth, and the development of immunity and nutrition,” according to Dr. Vincente Navarro-Lopez of the Saint Anthony Catholic University San
By Reuters StaffVATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis condemned on Thursday inequality in healthcare, particularly in rich countries, saying governments had a duty to protect all citizens."Increasingly sophisticated and costly treatments are available to ever more limited and privileged segments of the population," Francis said in an address to a conference of European members of the World Medic