WSJ BLOG/Health: A.M. Vitals: Crackdown on Illegal Online Drug Sales

(This story has been posted on The Wall Street Journal Online's Health Blog at http://blogs.wsj.com/health.)

By Stefanie Ilgenfritz

Here's what's making health news this morning:

Canadian Web Drug Pioneer Arrested (WSJ): In a sign of a stepped-up crackdown on the illegal pharmaceutical trade, U.S. authorities arrested Andrew Strempler, a pioneer of the Canadian Internet pharmacy industry, on charges related to the sale of foreign and counterfeit medicines, according to officials in Miami.

FDA Warns Against Korean Seafood (WSJ): Regulators are urging stores and restaurants in the U.S. to stop selling imported Korean oysters, clams, mussels and some types of scallops because they may have been exposed to human fecal waste and are potentially contaminated with norovirus.

How Well Do You Sleep? The Answer May Depend on Your Race (Time Healthland): At a meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Boston, scientists report that the amount and quality of sleep people get vary across racial and ethnic lines. In one study, researchers found that blacks and Asians don't sleep as much as whites do, while another study showed that foreign-born Americans are less likely to report having sleep problems than those born in the U.S.

Dialysis Company's Failure to Warn of Product Risk Draws Inquiry (NY Times): The FDA is investigating whether the nation's largest operator of dialysis centers, Fresenius Medical Care, violated federal regulations by failing to inform customers of a potentially lethal risk connected to one of its products, an official said.

Swedes Implant Tissue-Engineered Vein in 10-Year-Old Girl (LA Times): Swedish researchers have, for the first time, implanted a tissue-engineered vein made from her own stem cells into a 10-year-old girl. The implant of the portal vein had to be repeated after a year, but the team reported that the new vein dramatically improved the young girl's quality of life, allowing her to grow taller, gain weight and begin exercising.

 
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