Herbal mixture "significantly suppressed cell proliferation in colon cancer cell lines" after 72 hours of exposure, Sergio Huerta, UCLA, et al., report in September Cancer Research. In an in vitro study, 11 female mice were given 250 mg/kg/day PC-SPES (Botanic Lab) five times a week for 10 weeks, while 10 mice in placebo group were given .2 mL "vehicle solution." Researchers also report results of in vivo study demonstrating oral PC-SPES-treated mice saw a "significant decrease in polyp number in the medial and distal segments of the small intestines." Huerta et al. conclude the supplement has "potent anticancer effects and results in both cell cycle arrest and apoptosis." UCLA is working with PC-SPES inventor to guarantee future research on herbal blend, which has been plagued by Rx contamination problems (1"The Tan Sheet" Aug. 5, 2002, In Brief)...

The final opinion of ECHA’s Socio-Economic Analysis Committee, published on 1 March, is largely unchanged from its July 2020 draft opinion with regard to microplastic in cosmetic products. That means industry may have to convince EU member state authorities that the restriction proposal has a serious proportionality problem.

Representatives from cardiac monitoring device manufacturers and professional societies are working together to persuade Medicare carrier Novitas to reconsider its payment rates for extended cardiac monitoring. See what Michael Coyle, iRhythm’s CEO, said about it here.