Vermont’s Lyme disease rate is the second highest in the nation, according to the Center for Disease Control. The infection rate in Vermont is close to 10 times higher than the national average for the most common tick born sickness. Vermont has an incidence rate of 76 cases of Lyme disease for every 100,000 people, which represents less than 1/10 of the state population. The state with the highest incidence of the debilitating disease is Delaware, while the third highest is New Hampshire. The... 

Men who had prostate had lesser of a risk of dying of the cancer as their consumption of vegetable fat increased. This came from data taken from a large cohort study. The mortality rate for prostate cancer was nearly 50% less for men who had consumed the most fat from vegetables versus the men who had consumed the least. Ingestion of vegetable fat also created an inverse association with mortality rates for all causes during an 8 ½ year follow up, said the study’s data. Studies of a possible relationship... 

AstraZeneca has agreed to buy Pearl Therapeutics a respiratory specialist firm in the U.S., for $1.15 billion. The second largest drug maker in Britain is attempting to rebuild it pipeline for products through acquisitions. The new acquisition of the private company secures a position for AstraZeneca in the new emerging market of a new class of treatments for lungs know by the terms LABA/LAMA that is promising to improve disease control and patient compliance, without the use of steroids. Some analysts... 

Regulators in the European Union will start clamping down on the deals made of “pay for delay” in the pharmaceutical industry in June. Lundbeck from Denmark along with eight more generic drug makers will be fined for limiting the access of cheaper products in the market. Following a 2009 inquiry, the European Commission, the anti-trust regulator of the European Union will impose a large fine on the Danish firm and Merck from Germany as well as seven other smaller drug makers, when it releases... 

On Tuesday, pediatricians said that doctors need to screen babies, as well as young children regularly for any delays in the development of motor skills, including trouble standing, sitting or speaking. A panel of the American Academy of Pediatrics through a clinical report said that diagnosing and then treating those types of problems early, might at some point improve the child’s outlook and help give families additional support. The panel from the AAP set forth the skills that children should... 

According to Albert Einstein College of Medicine researchers at Yeshiva University, vitamin C has killed tuberculosis bacteria that were drug resistant in a laboratory culture. The new discovery suggests adding the vitamin to existing TB medications might help in reducing the length of TB therapy. It also highlights a new era in the design of drugs. TB takes place following an infection caused by M tuberculosis bacterium. Data released by the World Health Organization shows that during 2011 over... 

Babies that have an early loss of weight might benefit from being given a limited amount of formula in addition to their mother’s breast milk, suggested a new study published in Pediatrics on Monday. In fact, the trial, which was randomized, suggests that the early feedings of formula might help babies transition later to only breast milk. Thirty-eight newborns were studied by researchers. The babies had lost a minimum of 5% of their body weight in the first 24 to 48 hours after being born. Nineteen... 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a GlaxoSmithKline/Theravance Inc inhaler drug for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD. The inhaler drug, Breo Ellipta, is to be taken just once per day. The FDA gave approval of Breo for those suffering from COPD or smoker’s cough. The disease currently ranks third in the U.S. for cause of death, according to data from the U.S. Center for Disease Control’s National Lung, Heart and Blood Institute. The recent report says close to... 

GlaxoSmithKline and Merck, two of the world’s largest drug makers, have slashed the price of vaccines for cervical cancer in the world’s poor countries. The price cut will deliver the shots to these countries at a cost of only $5 per dose. The new low price for the HPV – human papillomavirus vaccines should mean that protection against the disease would be available to millions of girls in these developing countries, said the Global Alliance for Vaccines on Thursday. In a prepared statement,... 

If a man does not have any prostate risk factors he can go his entire life without needing to take the PSA test, said members of the American Urological Association. In an updated clinical guideline that was unveiled on Friday, urologists said that just men aged between 55 and 69, should consider getting a PSA test if they show symptoms or signs of prostate cancer. The guideline said men should be tested only after discussing the entire pros and cons regarding the test with their physician. If they... 

Merck, the giant pharmaceutical maker missed its earnings target during the first three months of 2013. At first glance, earnings jumped 85 cents a share, which exceeded estimates from Wall Street analysts by over 6 cents a share. However, that was due to a one-time tax benefit. Sales were a big disappointment as they came in 4% below estimates at $10.7 billion, which was over $500 million below expectations. Merck tried to lessen the blow from the earnings report by announcing a buyback on shares... 

In New York, federal prosecutors filed a lawsuit accusing Novartis of providing illegal kickbacks to pharmacies. The kickbacks took the form of discounts and rebates and were intended to cause the pharmacies to promote use of one of the company’s drugs. The suit began as a whistle-blower lawsuit that remains under seal, as does the identity of the whistle-blower. The lawsuit was filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan. The Novartis drug involved in the dispute is called Myfortic and is an... 

Across the U.S., one patient in 20 at hospitals picks up an infection, with some being very hard to fight. The infections are ones patients did not have when they checked into the hospital and some are caused by the very dangerous “superbugs” that have become harder and harder to treat. The increase in superbugs as well as the increase in pressure from insurers and the government has cause hospitals to attempt various new approaches to try to stop the spread of the infections. Hospitals have... 

Illinois-based AbbVie announced earnings on Friday that passed Wall Street expectations. The biotech company said it could earn up to $1.5 billion more annually from Humira its popular rheumatoid arthritis drug, which already represents nearly 50% of the company’s overall sales. Officials said that Humira’s sales would increase as new uses for the drug are approved. During the first quarter of 2013, sales for Humira jumped 16% from the same quarter one year ago, which helped the company report... 

U.S. prosecutors have alleged that Novartis, the huge drug maker based in Switzerland, of giving physicians lavish dinners and trips for fishing and other excursions so the doctors would prescribe medications for medications produced by pharmaceutical giant. The Swiss pharmaceutical giant said the monies were used to pay physicians to speak at different educational programs in the U.S. However, prosecutors said that many of those programs or meetings were held in restaurants such as Hooters. Authorities... 

A new study ranks poultry and meat, based upon outbreaks of illnesses that are foodborne. In the U.S., the average person consumes about 130 pounds of poultry, beef and pork each year. That amount of meat consumption provides for ample opportunity to contract a foodborne illness during the course of one year. Fortunately, outbreaks of illness linked to poultry and meat have fallen over the past 12 years since regulatory oversight has become much stricter and litigation has made meat producers clean... 

A new study says that a treatment, which is minimally invasive and uses a small frozen ball, can treat chronic pain effectively. The treatment is cyroneurolysis and uses a small probe with a temperature of between minus 10 and minus 16 degrees Celsius. This probe effectively stops the nerves from emitting pain signals through burning the outer layer of the nerve that is damaged and not allowing pain signals to be emitted back to the brain. The condition that millions suffer from is called neuralgia... 

World Health Day is April 7 and the theme of the day this year is blood pressure or better yet high blood pressure also referred to by many as hypertension. To lower someone’s risk of kidney failure, cardiovascular disease and stroke the World Health Organization recommends lowering sodium or salt intake. However, researchers say great benefits would occur if the dietary intake of potassium was elevated at the same time sodium was reduced. WHO says that one billion individuals worldwide are affected... 

Men losing their hair could be more apt to suffer heart problems compared to men who maintain all their hair, said researchers from Japan. In a recent study, over 37,000 individuals were examined and the results indicated that males who are balding have a 32% higher likelihood of suffering from coronary heart disease than men do with all their hair. However, the scientists were quick to point out that the risks involved with baldness are much lower than those involved with obesity and smoking are. Losing... 

Recent research found that younger teens are not having less of an active sex life than previously. The research also found older teens are now putting off sex on a more frequent basis than the past. On Monday, the new study was released and found only 2.4% of young adolescents at age 12 had experienced sex. At the age of 16, that percentage had reached 33% who had been sexually active at least once in their life. For teens between 18 and 19, that percentage jumped to 71%. The lower rates for young... 

E-cigs Vs. Cigarettes Quitting smoking can be a real challenge. Although there are many nicotine replacement products on the market, such as nicotine patches or gum, smokers often find that the feel of holding a cigarette is really missed. This is why electronic cigarettes are worth considering if you are trying to quit smoking. Made to look like a real cigarette but without the harmful ingredients, electric cigarettes are able to deliver a nicotine fix without the damage. But what’s the lowdown... 

In China, two people have died after they were infected with the avian influenza H7N9, a subtype that previously was not transmitted to humans, said government officials Sunday. In February, a Shanghai man who was 87 years old fell ill and died March 4. Another man who was 27 became ill February 27 and on March 10 died, said a government website. A woman who is 35 years of age and lives in Anhui, an eastern province, became sick March 9 and is currently listed as being in critical condition. Each... 

The Department of Health in Tulsa, Oklahoma is warning more than 7,000 patients from a dentist that they might have been exposed to Hepatitis B or C or HIV from poor practices of sterilization. Dentist and oral surgeon Dr. Wayne Harrington a practices in Tulsa and is currently under investigation by the dental board of Oklahoma; the bureau of narcotics for the state; and the DEA because of recent patient that had been at his dentist office had tested positive for HIV and hepatitis C. After hearing... 

Experts in child development tell parents they should not give their babies solid foods, such as cereal, until the infant is between 4 and 6 months old. Nevertheless, new research has shown that close to 40% of parents have not heeded the advice of medical experts and have introduced their infants to solid food earlier than 4 months of age. Researchers also said they found that infants who are formula fed were much more apt to receive solid food too soon than those that are breast-fed. Officials... 

A group of doctors has urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to take more action to protect teenagers from the risk of ingesting too much caffeine from popular energy drinks. An 18-member group of medical experts said that there was evidence in scientific literature that has been published that the levels of caffeine in the popular energy drinks pose potential serous health risks. The group said in their letter to the FDA that manufacturers of energy drinks have not proven that the ingredients...