Health News Roundup: Sichuan province bans live hog, Ebola outbreak, Weight loss links breast cancer risk

China's Sichuan province has banned the import of all live hogs and hog products from other regions to prevent African swine fever, the provincial government said in a notice posted on its website on Friday.

U.S. regulators snip red tape for medical devices to curb the opioid crisis

Laura Perryman expected her medical company, Stimwave Technologies Inc, would have to wait several years for its painkilling device to win U.S. approval as a treatment for chronic migraines. She now thinks it could be done in months, thanks to a new initiative by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to use medical device-based treatments, diagnostic tests and mobile medical apps to address the country's opioid crisis.

China's Sichuan province bans live hog, hog product imports to prevent African swine fever

China's Sichuan province has banned the import of all live hogs and hog products from other regions to prevent African swine fever, the provincial government said in a notice posted on its website on Friday. The ban was effective from Nov. 8 and comes after several provinces bordering Sichuan reported outbreaks of the highly contagious disease.

Doctors not pushing smokers with artery disease to quit

Smokers with narrowed blood vessels in their legs would do well to quit smoking, but many doctors may not be giving them enough support to do it, a recent study suggests. Smoking can dramatically increase the risks of peripheral artery disease (PAD), which restricts blood flow to the extremities and can lead to mobility limitations, amputations and heart attacks. For the current study, researchers examined data on 1,272 patients in Australia, the Netherlands and the U.S. with new or worsening PAD symptoms in their legs and ankles.

The U.S. concerned about Ebola outbreak in Congo conflict zone: official

The United States is worried about the outbreak of Ebola in conflict-hit eastern Congo where there are 312 confirmed and probable cases and 191 deaths, a USAID official said on Thursday. "We are absolutely concerned about the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo," the senior USAID official, who is working with response teams, told Reuters. "It is not comparable at this point to the outbreak that occurred in West Africa in 2014," which spread to nine countries and involved more than 28,000 cases, she said.

Current Ebola outbreak is worst in Congo's history: ministry

The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is the most severe in the country's history with 319 confirmed and probable cases, the health ministry said late on Friday. The hemorrhagic fever is believed to have killed 198 people in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, where attacks by armed groups and community resistance to health officials have complicated the response.

Many troubled by their sexual feelings 

The number of people in the U.S. who have difficulty controlling sexual feelings and urges may be greater than realized, researchers say. Seven per cent of women and more than 10 per cent of men said they were distressed due to difficulty controlling sexual urges, feelings and behaviours, according to study results published in JAMA Network Open.

The U.S. to restrict e-cigarette flavours to fight teenage vaping 'epidemic'

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration next week will issue a ban on the sale of fruit and candy flavoured electronic cigarettes in convenience stores and gas stations, an agency official said, in a move to counter a surge in the teenage use of e-cigarettes. The ban means only tobacco, mint and menthol flavours can be sold at these outlets, the agency official said, potentially dealing a major blow to Juul Labs Inc, the San Francisco-based market leader in vape devices.

Weight loss after menopause tied to lower breast cancer risk

Older women who lose weight may have a lower risk of developing invasive breast cancer than those who maintain or gain weight, a large U.S. study suggests. While obesity has long been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, previous research has offered a mixed picture of the potential for weight loss to help reduce that risk. For the current study, researchers assessed weight and height to calculate body mass index (BMI) for more than 61,000 women twice, three years apart.

Mylan and Theravance's COPD treatment gets FDA approval

Theravance Biopharma Inc and partner Mylan NV on Friday won U.S. regulatory approval for their treatment for a chronic lung condition that causes breathing-related problems. The treatment, Yupelri, is a once-daily inhalable solution to be used by patients of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a lung disease characterized by a wheezing or a chronic cough.

Soy baby formula linked to severe menstrual cramps later in life

A feeding infant girls baby formula containing soy may set them up for more painful menstrual periods as young women, a new study suggests. The research, which included information on more than 1,500 African American women, reinforces findings in earlier studies that included mostly Caucasian women.

(With inputs from agencies.)