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The number of overdose deaths from the painkiller methadone appears to have peaked, U.S. health officials say. But it still accounts for 30% of all painkiller overdose deaths. This happens even though only 2% of painkiller prescriptions are for methadone, officials said. The numbers are from 2009, the most recent available. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the report. The CDC said most people who died from methadone overdose had been taking it for pain. Methadone is best known as a treatment for heroin addiction. But it has been used more often for pain in recent years. Some doctors have chosen it because of growing problems with abuse of oxycodone. Some believed methadone was safer. The low cost of methadone has also increased its use. The CDC said there were fewer than 800 methadone-related deaths in 1999. That rose to more than 5,500 in 2007.

A drug that combines two types of medicines for chronic lung disease showed positive results in four studies, drug maker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said. The drug is a dry powder inhaler for treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It contains two types of drugs that often are used for COPD. One is an anticholinergic called umeclidinium bromide. The other is a beta agonist, vilanterol. These two types of drugs relax airways, but in different ways. The new combination drug is long-acting. It is taken once a day. In a 24-week study, the inhaler showed better results than its two component drugs given separately, GSK said. A separate study compared the new inhaler with tiotropium (Spiriva), a rival anticholinergic drug. The new inhaler also provided better results in this study, GSK said. GSK is developing the new drug along with the British drug maker Theravance.

Far more U.S. children are visiting dentists now than 50 years ago, surveys show. And a racial gap in dental care has disappeared, a new study finds. The study looked data from 5 health surveys. The first survey was taken in 1964. Then, 48% of children had visited a dentist in the last 12 months. That included 20% of African-American children and 52% of white children. By 2010, the last survey, 78% of children had a recent dental visit. The percentage was the same for both races. The journal Pediatrics published the study July 2.

In a landmark ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld nearly all of the 2010 health care reform law. The court approved even the law’s most disputed part — a requirement that nearly all Americans have health insurance. Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, joined four liberal justices in the 5-4 ruling. They found that the mandate to buy insurance is allowed under the government’s taxing powers. The Obama administration also sought approval based on the power to regulate interstate commerce. But the court rejected that argument. The majority did reject one provision of the Affordable Care Act. That section dealt with the expansion of the Medicaid program. This is one major way that the law expands insurance coverage. The court said that the expansion can proceed.

Drinking coffee does not appear to increase the risk of developing heart failure, a review of recent research finds. The study put together results from 5 large previous studies. All were done in Sweden or Finland. They included a total of 140,220 people. In all, 6,522 developed heart failure. People who said they drank coffee had no higher risk of heart failure than others. Those who drank 4 to 5 cups actually had about an 11% lower risk than those who drank none. Risk was slightly high – about 3% — for people who drank at least 10 cups a day. The studies did not say whether people drank regular or decaffeinated coffee. The journal Circulation Heart Failure published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it June 26.

Even when parents know a child has a food allergy and what foods to avoid, allergic reactions often occur, a new study finds. The study included 512 preschool children. All of them had been diagnosed with or were at risk for a food allergy. They were allergic to milk, eggs or peanuts. Parents were counseled often about avoiding the problem foods. Yet in the 3 years of the study, 72% of the children had an allergic reaction. Just over half had 2 or more reactions. In about half of the reactions, the parent gave the child a problem food by accident. In other cases, the food came from a caregiver, a grandparent, another child or a teacher. Only 30% were treated with the medicine epinephrine when that was appropriate, the study found. Many caregivers were afraid of side effects or not sure that the medicine was needed. The journal Pediatrics published the study.

Statin drugs might not benefit women as much as they do men, a new research analysis suggests. But experts writing a related editorial found fault with the conclusions. The new study pooled the results of 11 prior studies. They included a total of 43,191 people. Only one-fifth of those were women. Among women and men, taking statins reduced the risk of a heart attack 27%. Men taking statins also had a lower risk of repeat stroke than those taking placebo pills. Their risk of death from all causes also was lower. But for women, the difference in risk for stroke and all-cause death was smaller. Researchers said it was small enough that it could have been the result of chance. The journal Archives of Internal Medicine published the study. Writers of an editorial in the same journal said the analysis left out too many relevant studies.