Arsenic in water tied to breathing issues

By Genevra Pittman, NEW YORK | Fri Dec 2, 2011 5:20pm EST

(Reuters Health) - People in Bangladesh exposed to high levels of arsenic in drinking water were more likely to report shortness of breath in a new study than those who drank water with safer arsenic concentrations.

Though researchers didn't try to diagnose the study subjects with any specific illnesses, they noted in the European Respiratory Journal that diseases of the heart and lungs are common reasons people have trouble breathing.

Walgreen, others sue Pfizer over depression drug

By Jonathan Stempel, Thu Dec 1, 2011 6:39pm EST

(Reuters) - Pfizer Inc and Teva Pharmceutical Industries Ltd were sued by Walgreen Co and four other large retailers, accused of violating U.S. antitrust law by conspiring to keep generic versions of a popular antidepressant off the shelves.

Walgreen, Kroger Co, Safeway Inc, Supervalu Inc and HEB Grocery Co accused Pfizer's Wyeth unit of conducting an "overarching anticompetitive scheme" to prevent and delay the approval and marketing of generic versions of the prescription drug Effexor XR, causing them to overpay.

Behavioral therapy may ease kids' fibromyalgia

By Linda Thrasybule, NEW YORK | Fri Dec 2, 2011 5:19pm EST

(Reuters Health) - Teaching teens coping skills to deal with the chronic pain of fibromyalgia may provide them some relief, a small study suggests.

When researchers divided 114 teenagers with the condition into two groups -- one that received behavioral therapy for six months and one that just got information about the condition -- the behavioral therapy group emerged with much lower levels of disability at the end of the study.