Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Wind Turbines Don’t Pose Serious Health Risks: Experts
Noise from wind turbines may disrupt sleep, but the turbines do not pose serious health risks to people who live near them, according to a report by a panel of experts appointed by Massachusetts public health and environmental agencies.
The experts concluded that there is “no evidence for a set of health effects … that could be characterized as ‘Wind Turbine Syndrome,'” the Associated Press reported.
However, the panel did suggest further study on the sleep issue and also recommended that Massachusetts adopt wind turbine noise limits similar to those in Germany and Denmark.
The report was commissioned after concerns were raised by residents who live near existing and proposed wind energy projects. Three public meetings are scheduled next month to hear comments about the report, the AP said.
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Development of Experimental Alzheimer’s Drug Halted
Development of a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease has been halted after more disappointing results from a late-stage clinical study.
The experimental drug Dimebon (latrepirdine) was being developed to try to stop or even reverse the course of Alzheimer’s. Just a few years ago, specialists had hoped the drug would be on the market this year, the Associated Press reported.
But drug makers Pfizer Inc. and Medivation Inc. said Tuesday that a study of about 1,000 patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s found that Dimebon did not significantly improve their cognitive ability, self-care or daily functions.
Last April, the drug companies said findings from another late-stage clinical trial showed that Dimebon failed to improve symptoms of the neurologic disorder Huntington’s Disease, the AP reported.
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Porn Actors Must Wear Condoms: L.A. Council
Condoms must be worn by actors in porn movies filmed in Los Angeles, says a new regulation that was approved Tuesday by city council and now goes to the mayor for his signature.
But before it takes effect, council has told the city attorney, police officials and others to hold meetings to determine how the new rule can be enforced, the Associated Press reported.
The move is an exercise in political correctness that can’t be enforced, according to adult entertainment executives.
“The only thing that the city could potentially achieve is losing some film permit money and driving some productions away, but you can’t actually compel an industry to create a product that the market doesn’t want,” Christian Mann, general manager of Evil Angel Productions, one of the industry’s biggest makers of porn films, told the AP.
Most consumers refuse to buy films in which condoms are used, he said.
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