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Women who are overweight or obese have a significantly higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation than do women with a normal body mass index, and those who gain weight rapidly are at even greater risk, suggesting that weight control may be an effective means of preventing the most common form of arrhythmia, according to a report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology released May 17.

The use of Rotarix can be resumed and the use of RotaTeq can be continued, because there is no evidence that the porcine virus detected in both rotavirus vaccines poses a safety risk to humans, the Food and Drug Administration announced on May 14.

Treatment with intravenous alteplase improves outcomes for acute ischemic stroke patients only within the first 4.5 hours after stroke, a U.K.-led team of investigators has found, and should not routinely be administered later.

SILVER SPRING, Md. (EGMN) Members of two Food and Drug Administration advisory committees recommended against approval of naproxcinod, a combination of naproxen and nitric oxide, as a treatment for osteoarthritis, citing the need for more data.

Regular exercise may help ease some symptoms of schizophrenia, including anxiety and depression, and should be recommended to patients with the disease, according to a literature review published May 12 in the Cochrane Library.

VIENNA (EGMN) Routine prophylaxis with escitalopram slashed the risk of developing clinically relevant depression by 69% during 6-12 months of interferon-based antiviral therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection.

A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on May 7 agreed that the benefits of the two rotavirus vaccines licensed in the United States greatly outweighed the theoretical risk that the detection of porcine circovirus in the two vaccines could cause human infection, but recommended continuing study of this potential risk.

ADELPHI, Md. (EGMN) The majority of a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel agreed that the data on H.P. Acthar gel, an injectable formulation of adrenocorticotropin hormone, provided sufficient evidence that it was a safe and effective treatment for infantile spasms.

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Alcohol intake during pregnancy was associated with a significant increase in the risk of acute myeloid leukemia in children who were exposed during pregnancy, but not with an increased risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, in a review and meta-analysis of case-control studies from numerous countries.