Here are some of the latest health and medical news
developments, compiled by the editors of
HealthDay:
Passport Gender Can Be Changed Without Surgery: U.S.
Officials
Surgery will no longer be needed for transgender Americans to
change their stated gender on passports, federal officials said
Wednesday.
Previously, a holder's gender on a passport could be changed
only if the person had completed sexual reassignment surgeries,
according to the National Center for Transgender Equality, the
Associated Press reported.
As of Thursday, transgender people applying for a U.S. passport
need only show a physician's certification that they have
"undergone appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition,"
the State Department announced.
Appropriate treatment could mean surgery for some and
non-surgical care for others, Mara Keisling, director of the
National Center for Transgender Equality, told the
AP.
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Company Drops Chocolate Toddler Drink
A new chocolate-flavored toddler drink has been taken off the
market after criticism that the product and others like it, made by
Mead Johnson, contribute to childhood obesity.
Nutritionists and parents say the Enfagrow Premium drinks, aimed
at children as young as 1 year old, are mostly milk and sugar, and
there's no proof to back up the company's health claims about the
drinks,
ABC News reported.
The company says the drinks contain more than 25 additives that
help boost immunity, brain development and growth.
Mead Johnson has dropped the chocolate-flavored Enfagrow
Premium, which contains 19 grams of sugar. However, the company
still sells the vanilla-flavored version, which has 16 to 17 grams
of sugar, and three unflavored versions with 10 to 11 grams of
sugar.
The products are targeted at so-called "picky eaters" who might
benefit from a nutritional supplement,
ABC News reported.
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Safer Radiation Therapy Equipment Promised By Companies
Within the next two years, new radiation therapy equipment and
software will include fail-safe features to lower the risk of
dangerous radiation overdoses and other errors, according to
manufacturers.
The new equipment will turn off if the treatment plan has not
been checked, if the beam-modifying devices have not been correctly
placed, or if the patient is not properly positioned,
The New York Times reported.
Currently, these types of safety checks are at the discretion of
radiation therapy machine operators, according to David Fisher,
executive director of the industry group Medical Imaging and
Technology Alliance.
While the changes sounds promising, several medical physicists
at a patient-safety conference in New York told
The Times that they're waiting to see the specific changes
made by manufacturers.
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Tyverb Not Cost Effective: U.K. Health Agency
The breast cancer drug Tyverb (lapatinib) isn't cost-effective
and should not be used to treat patients with advanced disease, the
U.K.'s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence said
Tuesday.
The GlaxoSmithKline drug costs about $2,300 per treatment course
in Britain, the
Associated Press reported.
The health agency's ruling means that about 2,000 women in the
U.K. would no longer get the drug, according to Glaxo, which called
the decision "deeply disappointing."
Tyverb, which is used in combination with another drug, is given
to advanced breast cancer patients who haven't responded to
standard medicines such as Herceptin, the
AP reported. There are no other approved treatments for these
patients. Tyverb is available in the U.S. and a number of other
countries.