Here are some of the latest health and medical news
developments, compiled by the editors of
HealthDay:
Genetic Tests Must Be Approved By FDA
Five companies that make genetic tests have been sent regulatory
letters notifying them that their tests are considered medical
devices and must be approved as safe and effective by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration.
The agency says that none of the companies -- 23andMe Inc.,
deCODE Genetics, Illumina, Navigenics and Knome Inc. -- have
submitted their genetic tests for approval, the
Associated Press reported.
The companies were told to contact the FDA to make arrangements
to submit their tests for review.
The letters may be the first sign of increased FDA oversight of
companies that claim to use DNA samples to identify potential
inherited health problems, the
AP reported.
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Drug Companies to Share Alzheimer's Data
In an effort to trigger new ideas for Alzheimer's disease
treatments, a dozen drug companies have created a shared database
with information collected from thousands of patients in clinical
trials.
The database, which currently includes 4,000 patients and will
continue adding more, was created in consultation with U.S.
regulators and the National Institute of Health. The partnership,
called the Coalition Against Major Diseases, was to be announced
Friday, the
Associated Press reported.
The pooled data from drug company clinical trials can be used by
scientists to identify promising new areas of research. Researchers
who aren't affiliated with drug companies will also have access to
the database, the
AP reported.
Eventually, the database will include other brain diseases, such
as Parkinson's.
"This is the kind of thing that's not going to produce a new treatment next week," said Food and Drug Administration Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein, the AP reported. However, "it's the kind of collaboration that
does represent a major shift in thinking about how to accelerate
drug development."
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Ikea Recalls Millions Of Window Blinds
More than three million window blinds that pose a possible child
strangulation hazard have been recalled by Ikea.
All 3.36 million Roman shades and roll-up blinds sold at Ikea
stores in the United States from January 1998 to June 2009 are
included in the recall, the
Associated Press reported.
The recall was announced Thursday after the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission received a report of an 18-month-old
Massachusetts boy who almost strangled on a blind's cord.
The blinds were made in China, Estonia, India and Poland, the
AP reported.
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High Meat Diet Linked To Early Periods: Study
Girls who eat a lot of meat begin having their period at an
earlier age than other girls, finds a new study.
U.K. researchers looked at the diets of more than 3,000
12-year-old girls and found that eating a lot of meat at age three
(more than eight portions a week) and age seven (12 portions) was
strongly associated with early periods,
BBC News reported.
A meat-rich diet in childhood may prepare the body for
pregnancy, thus triggering an early period, wrote study leader Dr
Imogen Rogers, senior lecturer in human nutrition at the University
of Brighton, and colleagues.
The average age at which girls experience their first period
fell dramatically during the 20th Century and it's "plausible" that
the trend may be linked with increased meat consumption, Dr. Ken
Ong, a pediatric endocrinologist at the Medical Research Council in
the U.K., told
BBC News.
The study appears in the journal
Public Health Nutrition.
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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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