Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Could going veg lower your risk of heart disease?

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Vegetarians are one-third less likely to be hospitalized or die from heart disease than meat and fish eaters, according to a new UK study. Earlier research has also suggested that non-meat eaters have fewer heart problems, researchers said, but it wasn't clear if other lifestyle differences, including exercise and smoking habits, might also play into that.

Diabetics can eat right after using insulin: study

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with type 2 diabetes are sometimes told to wait after using insulin for the drug to work its way into the body before they can begin eating, but a new study from Germany says that's not necessary. In a group of about 100 diabetics, researchers found that blood sugar levels remained steady regardless of whether or not participants left a 20 to 30-minute gap between using insulin and eating a meal. The diabetics overwhelmingly preferred being able to eat right away, too.

Novartis recalls cough syrups due to cap seal defect

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Novartis AG <NOVN.VX> said on Thursday it is recalling 183 lots of cough syrup after discovering the child-resistant feature on some bottle caps was not functioning correctly. The Swiss drug company is recalling 142 lots of Triaminic and 41 lots of Theraflu Warming Relief Syrups manufactured in the United States before December 2011.

Global cosmetic surgery set to grow 10 percent in 2013

PARIS (Reuters) - The global market for cosmetic procedures grew 10 percent last year and is set to grow at a similar pace in 2013, according to a report by IMCAS, a French-based forum for plastic surgeons and dermatologists. Surgical procedures such as liposuction and breast augmentations, as well as non-invasive treatments like lasers and anti-wrinkle injections, totaled 4.4 billion euros ($6 billion) in 2012 and are expected to reach 4.9 billion euros this year, the report said.

Arkansas Senate passes ''fetal heartbeat'' law to ban most abortions

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - The Arkansas state Senate approved a bill on Thursday to ban most abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected, a move that would prohibit the procedure as early as five weeks into pregnancy. The Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act would also require women to undergo a vaginal probe to detect the heartbeat. The Republican-controlled Senate passed the bill 26-8.

UK cost agency rejects drugs from AstraZeneca, Bristol and Roche

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's healthcare cost watchdog NICE said on Friday it was not able to recommend a new diabetes drug from Bristol-Myers Squibb <BMY.N> and AstraZeneca <AZN.L>, and has asked for more information from the companies. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has been considering Forxiga, or dapagliflozin, as an add-on therapy for use with other medicines, including insulin.

Study: lumpectomy survival rates good for early breast cancer 2013-02-01T011539Z_1_BRE910034_RTROPTC_0_US-BREASTCANCER.XML () -

Time to kidney transplant varies by race, insurance 2013-01-31T220716Z_1_BRE90U1CK_RTROPTC_0_US-HEALTH-KIDNEY-TRANS PLANT.XML () -

WHO issues its first guidelines for sodium intake for children

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) has for the first time recommended limits on children's daily consumption of sodium which it hoped would help in the global fight against diet-related diseases becoming chronic among all populations. In advice to its 194 member states on Thursday, the U.N. agency noted high sodium levels were a factor behind elevated blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, the number one cause of death and disability worldwide.

Despite fears, ambulance diversion ban does no harm

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Ending a practice that was intended to reduce emergency room crowding did not make things worse, and may have prompted improvements at nine Boston hospitals, according to a new study. U.S. emergency departments have been diverting patients since the late 1990s, sending ambulances to other hospitals when conditions are crowded - despite evidence that sending seriously ill or injured patients away delays their treatment.

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