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From US' spending on healthcare to H5N1 in Germany: Top 10 health news from across the world

10 health news briefs.

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Following is a summary of current health news briefs

1. Amgen, Allergan apply for European nod for Avastin biosimilar

Amgen Inc and Allergan Plc said they have submitted an application to the European health regulator seeking approval of their biosimilar version of Roche Holding AG's blockbuster cancer treatment, Avastin. The submission is based on the results of a late-stage study that showed Amgen and Allergan's ABP 215 was as safety and effective as Avastin in patients with the most common form of lung cancer.

2. Driving home from night shift may be safer with light therapy

Exhausted shift workers may be safer driving home at night when they're exposed to bright light before they hit the road, a small study suggests. To test the effect of light therapy on driving, researchers did a series of three experiments with 19 adults. In two scenarios, participants spent a night being sleep-deprived in a lab and then spent 45 minutes in dim or bright light before a driving test. For a third test, people got a good nights' sleep at home and then went to the lab for 45 minutes of bright light exposure before a driving test.

3. US health spending in 2015 rose at fastest rate since 2007

US health spending in 2015 rose at its fastest rate since 2007, driven by expanded access to insurance under the Affordable Care Act and high-priced specialty drugs, according to government figures released on Friday. Growth rose 5.8%  to $3.2 trillion, or $9,990 per person, according to federal data published in the independent journal Health Affairs and compiled into a report by officials with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

4. New data on risk vs benefit for potent CAR-T cancer drugs

A promising but risky new group of customized cancer drugs will be in focus this weekend at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), where clinical trial results will help clarify their potential for doctors and investors. Experimental chimeric antigen receptor T-cells, or CAR-Ts, are made by genetically altering a patients' own T-cells in the lab to help the immune system find and kill cancer cells. The altered cells are then infused back into the patient.

5. US pushes to close lead testing gaps, echoing Reuters report

US states must do more to ensure that all children enrolled in the Medicaid health care program are tested for lead poisoning, a US Government agency said this week, acknowledging major gaps in screening that were highlighted in a recent Reuters investigation. In a bulletin published on Wednesday, the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) directed states to comply with requirements to test all Medicaid-enrolled children for lead at ages one and two. It also cited steps that state Medicaid administrators should take to ensure children do not miss the tests.

6. Heavy teenage drinking linked to abnormal brain development

Teens who drink heavily are more likely than their peers to have less grey matter, an important brain structure that aids in memory, decisions, and self-control, according to a Finnish study. The study was observational, so it is impossible to say whether heavy drinking caused this stunted brain development. People may have less brain matter due to genetic factors, and this abnormality may make them more likely to abuse alcohol, the researchers write in the journal Addiction.

7. FDA lets Lilly cite Jardiance heart data, shares jump

US regulators said on Friday they would allow Eli Lilly and Co to state that its diabetes drug Jardiance reduces risk of death from heart problems, lifting company shares almost 3% and potentially giving a strong boost to the drug's future sales. Jardiance, a once-daily pill also known as empagliflozin, was approved by the FDA in 2014 to help lower blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes. It generated global sales of $48 million in the third quarter.

8. Germany detects H5N1 bird flu on poultry farm in Brandenburg

Germany reported a first case of the contagious bird flu strain H5N1 on Friday on a small poultry farm in the northeastern state of Brandenburg, the state's consumer protection ministry said. The farm in the Oberhavel district was sealed off and some 500 chicks, ducks and geese were culled, a spokeswoman for the consumer protection ministry of Brandenburg said.

9. Higher blood clot risk after starting testosterone treatment

Men may have an increased risk of blood clots after they start taking testosterone to treat sexual dysfunction, a recent study suggests. In the first six months after starting testosterone, men have a 63% higher risk of clots in the legs and lungs than they did before beginning treatment, the study found.

10. Ex-drug executive Shkreli congratulates Australian students

Former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli has congratulated a group of Australian students who reproduced the active ingredient for a life-saving, anti-parasitic drug at the centre of a drug-price controversy involving his former company. The students from Sydney Grammar School drew global media attention this week after they said they had produced the drug Daraprim for about $2 a dose, a fraction of the current list price of $750 per dose.

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