(This story has been posted on The Wall Street Journal Online's
Health Blog at http://blogs.wsj.com/health.)
By Katherine Hobson
J&J Settles With Texas: Johnson & Johnson said it would
pay $158 million to settle claims by Texas that the company
promoted its antipsychotic drug Risperdal for unapproved uses,
resulting in overcharges to the state's Medicaid program, the WSJ
reports. J&J said the settlement, to be paid to a plaintiff who
filed a whistleblower suit and his attorneys, the state of Texas
and the U.S. government, "will circumvent potentially and costly
appellate activities."
Analyzing Autism's Definition: An analysis presented at a
scientific meeting suggests that changes proposed to the definition
of autism would reduce the number of people diagnosed with the
disorder enough to effectively end the sharp increase in cases, the
New York Times reports. Still, experts working on the new
definition -- which will appear in the forthcoming update of the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders -- say the
new estimates of the changes' impact are overblown and that
previous analyses showed fewer people would be excluded.
Pulling Sprouts: Winn-Dixie Stores said it is voluntarily
pulling some Leasa brand broccoli, gourmet, spicy and onion sprouts
from all of its retail grocery stores on fears the sprouts may be
contaminated with salmonella, the WSJ reports. The company says it
hasn't received any reports of illness linked to the sprouts but is
nonetheless recalling sprouts sold from Jan. 7 to Jan. 18, with
expiration dates between Feb. 1 and March 15, the paper says.
Mental Health Survey: New government statistics suggest that
about 20% of U.S. adults suffer a form of mental illness every
year, with less than half getting treatment, the Washington Post
reports. Drug and alcohol problems weren't considered mental
illnesses for the purposes of the survey, which also found that 5%
of American adults experience a serious mental disorder every year,
only 60% of whom receive treatment.
Image: iStockphoto
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