FDA approves pill for diabetics
Diabetics gained a new way of controlling their blood sugar levels Tuesday with federal approval of a novel pill for Type 2 diabetes, which affects about 20 million Americans.
The Food and Drug Administration said it approved Januvia, which enhances the body’s ability to lower blood sugar levels, after clinical trials showed the new pill works just as well as older diabetes drugs but with fewer side effects such as weight gain. The drug is made by Merck & Co. Inc.
Merck is expected to charge $4.86 for the once-daily tablet, a price tag that may limit its use. Older diabetes drugs can cost 50 cents a day.
Januvia, also known as sitagliptin phosphate, works with a one-two punch: It increases levels of a hormone that triggers the pancreas to produce more insulin to process blood sugar while simultaneously signaling the liver to quit making glucose.
West Palm Beach, Fla.
Foley to identify alleged abuser
Disgraced former Congressman Mark Foley, who claimed he was sexually abused by a Roman Catholic clergyman when he was a teen, will reveal the man’s identity to the Archdiocese of Miami, his attorney said Tuesday.
No criminal charges can be filed because the statute of limitations on sexual assault expired long ago, but the archdiocese requested information about Foley’s accusations, attorney Gerald Richman said.
“We’re talking about issues that happened 36 to 38 years ago,” Richman said. “This is all part of the healing process for Mark Foley.”
Richman said that when details are released they would deflate critics who have accused Foley, 52, of making up the abuse allegation shortly after he was confronted last month with sexually explicit electronic messages he had sent to teenage male pages.
Boston
Navel piercer’s mother convicted
A mother whose teenage daughter nearly died from an infection caused by a bellybutton piercing was convicted Tuesday of endangering the girl’s life by failing to seek medical attention until she was gravely ill.
Deborah Robinson, 39, could get up to five years in prison.
The girl developed an infection after piercing her own navel and inserting a ring.
Prosecutors said Robinson watched for several weeks as her 13-year-old daughter dropped from 115 pounds to 75 pounds, became incontinent and grew so weak that she could not get off the couch. When paramedics arrived at the family’s apartment in 2005, the girl was emaciated and was wearing an adult diaper.
A jury convicted Robinson of wantonly and recklessly permitting substantial bodily injury to a child.
The girl suffered extensive organ damage from an infection that ravaged her body. For nearly a week, doctors were unsure whether she would survive. But after a series of operations and weeks of rehabilitation, she made a full recovery.