Ample Supplies of Shingles Vaccine Return

People 60 and older who want to ward off the risk of getting shingles now stand a better chance of getting the only approved vaccine, Merck’s Zostavax.

As Dow Jones Newswires reports, Merck has restored supplies of the vaccine after several years of manufacturing problems limited availability. Now, back orders are filled and the drug maker has started running TV ads about the painful skin and nerve condition caused by the same virus behind chickenpox….

Siemens Sees Resurgence in Diagnostics as a Cost Cutter

The Health Blog caught up at TEDMED with Gregory Sorensen, chief executive of Siemens Healthcare in North America, to talk about the changing health-care field and what it means for diagnostics, an area in which Siemens is a player.

“We’re beginning to see resurgence in diagnostics as a way to save costs,” Sorensen, formerly a radiology professor at Harvard Medical School, told the Health Blog….

A.M. Vitals: Texas Board to Vote on Stem-Cell Rules

Here’s what’s making health news this morning:

Texas Eyes Change in Stem-Cell Rules (WSJ): The state’s medical board will vote today on rules that would make it easier for physicians to offer treatments using adult stem cells.

Bayer Said to Pay $110 Million in Yaz Birth-Control Cases (Bloomberg News): People familiar with the agreements told Bloomberg that the German drug maker will settle about 500 lawsuits claiming the pills caused blood clots….

Patients Make Poor Health-Care Consumers, Says Quest Diagnostics’ CMO

Are patients good consumers of healthcare?

Nope, says Jon Cohen, a vascular surgeon and chief medical officer at Quest Diagnostics.

The average American spends twice as much time before buying a TV as they do looking for a doctor, he told participants today at TEDMED in Washington….

Don’t Let the Math Scare You, E.O. Wilson Tells Would-Be Science Students

E.O. Wilson, professor and honorary curator in entomology at Harvard, had some advice for students pursuing science during his talk today at TEDMED in Washington.

First, don’t shy away from science because you’re afraid of math, says Wilson, whose theories about the evolution of species and societies have stirred debate for decades. A lot of scientists are actually pretty lousy at math, he told a laughing audience at this gathering of scientists and other thinkers to discuss the future of health care….

Study Links Mothers’ Weight and Blood-Sugar Levels to Health of Newborns

Pregnant women with weight and blood-sugar levels even slightly above average may pose a risk to their pregnancies and the health of their newborns, a study suggests.

A new review of data from the 2008 Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome study shows that blood-sugar levels and weight even just above average can boost newborns’ birth weights and insulin levels, and lower blood sugar. Having a larger-than-average baby can lead to infant injuries during delivery and more, risky Caesarean births….

A.M. Vitals: FDA Sets Phase-out of Antibiotics Use to Spur Livestock Growth

Here’s what’s making health news this morning:

FDA Warns on Antibiotic Use (WSJ): The agency set a three-year timetable for the phase-out of the drugs to spur animal growth, amid concerns people will eat meat containing antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

48% of Chicken in Small Sample Has E. Coli (New York Times): A study by the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine found nearly half of 120 products purchased in 10 major cities showed the sign of fecal contamination, but food-safety experts noted the sample’s small size and that the E. Coli discovered doesn’t threaten human health….

A Key Ingredient in Success? Failure, Says CDC Head

Tracking the outcome of a treatment or prevention program is critical not just to demonstrate that it’s effective, but also to see when it isn’t.

Thomas Frieden, who runs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discussed the importance of failure in his talk at TEDMED on Wednesday as a way to keep researchers, doctors and public health officials accountable.

In the private sector, he said, if a product doesn’t work, it fails.

Bridge the Gap Between Basic Research and Patient Care, NIH Head Urges

Francis Collins, head of the National Institutes of Health, painted a stark picture at TEDMED about the difficulty of translating basic scientific knowledge into applications that could be useful to patients.

We need to “build a bridge across this yawning gap,” Collins told the audience at this gathering in Washington of researchers and other thinkers to discuss the future of health care. Collins first serenaded the crowd with his guitar and a song about the need to knock out disease….

A.M. Vitals: Report Calls for Tax on Medical Care

Here’s what’s happening in health news this morning:

Institute of Medicine Report Calls for Tax on Medical Care (WSJ): A report by an advisory group says U.S. healthcare is focused too much on treating the sick rather than preventing illness, and calls for a tax on medical care to drive improvements in the system.

Heart Journal Stands by Report (WSJ): The journal Heart Rhythm will move forward with print publication of a study about deaths tied to failures of a piece of equipment connecting defibrillators to patients’ hearts, turning down a request by St. Jude Medical to retract the report….

A.M. Vitals: People With Depression at Greater Risk For Aging-related Diseases

Here’s what’s making health news this morning:

People With Depression at Greater Risk For Aging-Related Diseases (WSJ): Scientists discover that people who suffer stress, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder show signs of accelerated aging, opening new ways to treat psychological conditions.

Study Finds Gene May Be Connected to Pain Sensitivity (WSJ): Study on mice and then DNA of humans who had breast cancer surgery and osteoarthritis showed lower pain sensitivity in those with a particular gene mutation, raising hope of developing new treatments for chronic pain…

ICD-10 Likely to Be Pushed Back a Year

It’s official – the Obama administration is proposing to push back by a year the deadline for a new medical-coding standard that was originally set to go into effect on October 1, 2013….

As Sheri McCoy Departs J&J, Pharma Loses Another High-ranking Woman

As head of Johnson & Johnson’s prescription drugs business and more recently the company’s vice chair, Sheri McCoy had been the pharmaceutical industry’s highest ranking woman. Now she’s leaving J&J to run Avon, disappointing some women close to the industry who had considered her a role model and were looking forward to the first female CEO of a drug maker.

Preventing Physical Decline In Middle Age Helps Preserve Good Health Later in Life

Middle age is a critical time to prevent physical declines that creep up with advancing years, according to the Health Matters column in the Next special report today.

With more than 70 million Americans who will be 65 and older by 2030, the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Johns Hopkins University are conducting  a new National Health and Aging Trends study http://www.nhats.org/,  a long-term research program that will measure, among other things  . . .

Do Kids Depend Too Much on Their Parents? Ask the Kids!

Rarely has the Health Blog received as delightful a batch of letters about a WSJ story as those sent recently by Brittany Stanzel, a fourth-grade teacher at McSwain Elementary School, in Staunton, Virginia, on behalf of her students. The 9- and 10-year-olds weighed in on whether they feel that American kids are overly dependent on [...]

J&J’s McCoy Named CEO at Avon

It didn’t take long for Sheri McCoy, the runner-up in Johnson & Johnson’s search for a new CEO, to find a new landing spot. As the WSJ reports, she’s taking the helm at Avon Products.

Her new role won’t be …

A.M. Vitals: Autism Risk Tied to Mom’s Weight and Health During Pregnancy

Here’s what’s making health news this morning: Autism Risk Tied to Mom’s Weight and Health During Pregnancy (WSJ): University of California, Davis, researchers find mtohers who are obese or have diabetes during pregnancy are at increased risk of having a child with autism. FDA Approves Alzheimer’s Test (WSJ): Test by Eli Lilly & Co uses [...]

Four months after Lipitor goes off patent, Ranbaxy is the leading seller

Odds are patients taking Lipitor, the leading-selling drug of all time, will be getting pills from generic drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories rather than longtime maker Pfizer, according to new data from Wolters Kluwer Pharma Solutions.

AM Vitals: Federal drug-store raids widen in probe of pain pill abuse.

Here’s what’s making health news this morning:

Pain-Pill Crackdown Spreads (WSJ)

Federal agents searched six stores and a Florida distribution center owned by Walgreen Co., WAG -1.38%, as federal authorities widen efforts to curb abuse of pain pills …

FTC Wins Temporary Halt to Hospital Merger (WSJ)

A U.S. District Court judge sided with the Federal Trade Commission, which is seeking to block  local health monopolies, by temporarily stopping the merger of two Rockford, Ill., hospitals …

California Regulator Criticizes Aetna Rate Increase As ‘Unreasonable’

A California insurance regulator ruled that an Aetna Inc. health-insurance rate increase was “unreasonable,” in the latest salvo of a long-running back-and-forth over the cost of coverage in the state.

The announcement by California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones focused on a boost that affects small-group plans and became effective April 1. It was the first time the department has officially used a new ability, granted under a state law that took effect at the beginning of 2011, to call out rates as unreasonable.

But the regulator has been jawboning carriers over their rate filings . . .