- FDA Lax on Drug Follow-Up Studies: GAO
- Korean Stem Cell Researcher Convicted, Spared Jail
- Cell Phones Linked To Brain Tumors: Study
- Unhealthy Breakfast Cereals Heavily Marketed to Children: Study
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
FDA Lax on Drug Follow-Up Studies: GAO
The use of several drugs to treat cancer and other conditions has been allowed to continue even though follow-up studies showed they didn't extend patients' lives, says a U.S. Government Accountability Office report to be released Monday.
The GAO also said that the Food and Drug Administration has never ordered a company to take a drug off the market because promised follow-up studies about the drug's benefits haven't been completed. In some cases, that follow-up information is more than a decade overdue, the Associated Press reported.
The FDA also needs to do more to monitor whether drugs approved under its so-called "accelerated approval" program actually fulfill their promise, the GAO said. The accelerated approval program is designed to speed availability of treatments for the most serious diseases.
The GAO said that since 1992, the FDA has requested follow-up 144 studies of drugs approved under the program, but only 64 percent have been completed and more than one-third are still pending, the AP reported.
The GAO report presents an overly-negative assessment of the program and there are no plans to get more aggressive about follow-up, according to the FDA.
"Millions of patients with serious or life-threatening illnesses have had earlier access to new safe and effective treatments," through the accelerated approval program, the agency said, the AP reported.
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Korean Stem Cell Researcher Convicted, Spared Jail
Disgraced South Korean stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk has been convicted of embezzling research funds and illegally buying human eggs in connection with a cloning scandal that ruined his career.
In 2004, Hwang and colleagues claimed they'd created the first cloned human embryos and had extracted stem cells from them. But an investigation revealed that the claims were false.
Hwang was found not guilty on the main charge of fraud. After his conviction on the other charges, prosecutors asked for a four-year prison term but the Seoul Central District Court judge said Hwang had shown remorse and gave him a suspended sentence, the Associated Press reported. He'll avoid jail if he stays out of trouble for three years.
Hwang made no comment as he left the courthouse.
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Cell Phones Linked To Brain Tumors: Study
Long-term cell phone users are more likely than other people to develop brain tumors later in life, according to a World Health Organization study that included 12,800 people in 13 countries.
People who used cell phones for 10 years or longer had a "significantly increased risk" of brain tumors, study leader Elisabeth Cardis told The Daily Telegraph, United Press International reported.
Cardis recommended restricting cell phone use by children, but they shouldn't be banned from using them because they're important in emergencies and for maintaining contact with parents.
As for adults, they should moderate their use and reduce direct contact by using wireless ear devices, headsets and other hands-free devices.
More than 30 previous studies have found no link between cell phone use and harmful health effects, said a representative of the Mobile Operators Association, UPI reported.
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Unhealthy Breakfast Cereals Heavily Marketed to Children: Study
Breakfast cereals marketed to children contain 85 percent more sugar, 65 percent less fiber, and 60 percent more sodium than those targeted at adults, says a Yale University study.
The least nutritious cereals -- such as Reese's Puffs, Lucky Charms and Cap'n Crunch -- are often the most heavily marketed to children, found that researchers at Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, USA Today reported.
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