Here are some of the latest health and medical news
developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

FDA Approves New Drug for Type 2
Diabetes

Bydureon (exenatide extended release), Amylin Pharmaceuticals'
long-acting version of the diabetes drug Byetta, has been
approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The once-weekly injection will include a label warning that the
drug caused certain thyroid tumors in rats, the Dow
Jones news service reported. It's not known whether the
drug causes such tumors in people, the label warning says. But
the drug shouldn't be used by people with a family history of
medullary thyroid carcinoma (a form of cancer), the warning
continues.

Twice in 2010, the FDA declined approval of Bydureon,
requesting additional studies and clinical information, Dow
Jones reported.

Bydureon is a "glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor," a
class of medications that helps the body produce more insulin,
which helps regulate blood sugar.

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Erin Brockovich Takes on High
School Girls' Mystery Illness

The environmental activist Erin Brockovich says she's
investigating the case of more than a dozen teen girls at an
upstate New York high school with tics and involuntary verbal
outbursts.

They mystery illness among the girls at Le Roy high school
began several months ago. Extensive testing of the school
grounds failed to detect any signs of infectious disease or
toxins, msnbc.com reported.

Dr. Laszlo Mechtler, a neurologist who has seen and is treating
10 of the girls, had diagnosed them with a rare condition
called mass psychogenic illness, more commonly known as mass
hysteria.

He noted that while the girls' symptoms may be psychological in
origin, that doesn't mean they aren't real, msnbc.com
reported.

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H1N1 'Swine' Flu Cases Increase
in Mexico

There's agreement about an increased number of H1N1 swine flu
and other flu cases in Mexico this season, but while newspapers
are warning of a worrisome rise in cases, federal and state
officials say the number of cases is within the normal range
and there is no cause for alarm.

However, confusing figures about flu cases are listed on the
Mexican health ministry's website and it hasn't specified the
rise in cases, the Associated Press reported.

There are also conflicting reports about screening measures
being implemented in schools to check for the H1N1 virus, which
is now considered a seasonal flu. The federal education
ministry said Wednesday that screening measures were being
implemented in all elementary schools, but later said
screenings are being conducted only at schools where children
exhibit symptoms.

Mexico is seeing more cases of H1N1 flu this season, while the
United States is seeing more cases of a strain called H3N2,
according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. This year's seasonal flu vaccine contains
antibodies for both strains.

"We are not aware of any unusual changes in the virus in Mexico
that would be concerning," CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said in an
email to the AP.

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Spinal Cord Injury Treatment
Tested on Dogs

Researchers are using dogs to test an experimental drug to
treat spinal cord injuries. If it's effective, it could lead to
human treatments.

The U.S. Department of Defense-funded study will test the drug
GM6001 in dachshunds and other long-bodied dogs with spinal
cord injuries to see if it will help them walk again, ABC
News reported.

The drug blocks an enzyme that promotes damage after a spinal
cord injury.

"After you have a spinal cord injury, the deficits you see are
not just a consequence of the initial injury, but rather events
that occur after the injury," study co-investigator Linda
Noble-Haeusslein told ABC News. "These events are a
little more delayed in onset, so we have the possibility of
preventing them."

Read more:
Health Highlights: Jan. 27, 2012

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