Health News Roundup: Marburg cases rise to sixteen in Equatorial Guinea; US Supreme Court poised to act on abortion pill curbs and more

The decision, for the most part, granted a request from J&J to freeze cases while it attempts to reach a permanent settlement with current plaintiffs that would also set aside money for future lawsuits. Exclusive-Lilly expects US Medicare to reverse course, fully cover Alzheimer's drugs Eli Lilly and Co expects the U.S. Medicare health plan to back down from strict coverage limits on new Alzheimer's drugs as more evidence emerges in coming weeks showing that clearing amyloid brain plaques can help patients, a company executive told Reuters.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Marburg cases rise to sixteen in Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea has confirmed 16 positive cases of Marburg disease since the beginning of the outbreak, the country's health ministry said on Thursday. Marburg virus disease is a viral haemorrhagic fever that can have a fatality rate of up to 88%, according to the WHO.

US Supreme Court poised to act on abortion pill curbs

The U.S. Supreme Court is poised on Friday to determine whether the abortion pill mifepristone will continue to be broadly available in the United States as it weighs a bid by Democratic President Joe Biden's administration to defend the drug in a challenge to its regulatory approval by anti-abortion groups. The court faces a self-imposed deadline to act by 11:59 p.m. EDT (0359 GMT on Saturday) before restrictions on access to mifepristone, ordered by conservative U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Texas on April 7, take effect.

US judge halts most talc lawsuits against J&J, stops trials

A U.S. judge on Thursday halted most of the tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder and other talc products caused cancer and stopped any trials as part of a company subsidiary’s second attempt to settle cases in bankruptcy proceedings. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan put most of the litigation temporarily on hold during a hearing in Trenton, New Jersey. The decision, for the most part, granted a request from J&J to freeze cases while it attempts to reach a permanent settlement with current plaintiffs that would also set aside money for future lawsuits.

Exclusive-Lilly expects US Medicare to reverse course, fully cover Alzheimer's drugs

Eli Lilly and Co expects the U.S. Medicare health plan to back down from strict coverage limits on new Alzheimer's drugs as more evidence emerges in coming weeks showing that clearing amyloid brain plaques can help patients, a company executive told Reuters. Lilly plans to release results from a trial of its experimental amyloid-targeting drug donanemab before the end of June. More study data on Leqembi, a rival drug from partners Eisai Co Ltd and Biogen Inc, is also expected in the coming months.

'It totally backfired': The pitfalls of Alzheimer's genetic testing

Wendy Nelson watched her mother slowly die of Alzheimer's disease, unable to move or swallow at the end. "All her pleasures of life were gone," Nelson said. Grief-stricken, terrified of facing the same death, Nelson ordered 23andMe DNA test kits for Christmas 2020 for herself and three adult daughters.

Factbox-What is APOE4 and how does it relate to Alzheimer's disease?

APOE4 is the strongest risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's, the most common form of the disease that develops after the age of 65, according to the National Institutes of Health. The disease afflicts more than 6 million people in the United States. It is one of three forms of the apolipoprotein E gene, which encodes instructions for a protein that carries cholesterol around the bloodstream. Three decades ago, scientists discovered that the gene also plays a role in Alzheimer's risk, though exactly how is still not clear.

Inside an Arizona nursery caring for drug-dependent babies

A nursery in Phoenix, Arizona, is treating some of the most vulnerable victims of the long-running U.S. opioid crisis: newborn babies. The facility treats babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), a condition similar to withdrawal that develops when babies essentially become addicted to drugs their mothers use during pregnancy. Babies with NAS can tremble uncontrollably, clenching their muscles and gasping for breath.

One drug medication abortion with misoprostol grows in US

Use of the drug misoprostol on its own to terminate pregnancies is on the rise in the United States as providers seek a preemptive alternative while a ban on abortion pill mifepristone is being considered in court. Misoprostol is already part of the only medication abortion protocol approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but only when taken in combination with mifepristone.

Altria faces first trial over claims it helped market Juul to teens

Tobacco giant Altria Group Inc is set to face trial Monday in a lawsuit by San Francisco's public school district accusing the company of fueling a teen vaping epidemic, along with e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. The San Francisco Unified School District says teachers and staff "have had to go to extreme lengths to respond to the ever-growing number of students using e-cigarettes on school grounds," and is seeking to force Altria to pay for the cost of tackling the problem.

More African countries set to approve malaria shot; 20 million doses ready in 2023

African countries are lining up to approve a new vaccine for malaria, with 20 million doses available for them to buy this year, the shot’s manufacturer told Reuters. This week, Nigeria's medicines regulator followed Ghana's, with the two nations becoming the first countries in the world to back the new R21 vaccine, developed by scientists at Oxford University and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and Novavax.