Health Highlights: April 3, 2015

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

Teen Must Stay in Hospital to Complete Chemotherapy: Judge

A 17-year-old girl who was forced to undergo chemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma must stay in the hospital until she completes her treatment later this month, a judge ruled Wednesday.

The judge also said the Connecticut girl’s mother cannot visit her in hospital while the teen is in temporary state custody, CBS News/Associated Press reported.

The teen, identified only as Cassandra C., is at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford. When she turns 18 in September, she will be free to make her own medical decisions.

During a closed hearing last month, the teen asked to complete her chemotherapy at home or to have her mother visit her in the hospital, CBS News/AP reported.

Cassandra was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma last September, but said she didn’t want chemotherapy. The state was awarded temporary custody of the teen after she missed several medical appointments and ran away.

Her cancer is in remission but doctors say she needs the remaining treatments, CBS News/AP reported.

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State Attorneys General Want Tighter Controls on Herbal Supplements

Congress should investigate the herbal supplements industry and consider giving the Food and Drug Administration stronger oversight of the sector, says a letter from a group of 14 state attorneys general.

“When consumers take an herbal supplement, they should be able to do so with full knowledge of what is in that product and confidence that every precaution was taken to ensure its authenticity and purity,” New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Thursday, the Associated Press reported.

“The FDA has long been aware of problems in the dietary and herbal supplement supply chain, from dubious ingredient sourcing to a failure to carry out proper testing on finished products,” the letter says.

Federal controls on herbal supplements, vitamins and other dietary supplements are much weaker than on pharmaceutical products, the AP reported.

Along with Schneiderman, the letter is signed by the attorneys general of Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Northern Mariana Islands, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.

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