Daily Rounds: Cholesterol Drug Alert; New Concussion Rules; Health Law In Court; More E. Coli Confusion

F.D.A. Issues Safety Alert on Zocor - NYTimes.com "The Food and Drug Administration announced new safety restrictions on high-dose simvastatin, also known as Zocor, a cholesterol-lowering drug taken by an estimated 2.1 million Americans. The agency said the 80-milligram dose caused a potentially severe muscle disease, called myopathy, especially in the first year of taking the medication." (prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com)

State Public Health Council approves concussion rules - White Coat Notes - Boston.com "Student athletes suspected of having a concussion must be cleared by a doctor before they can get back in the game or return to practice, under rules approved this morning by the state Public Health Commission. The rules apply to all public middle and high school teams and all members of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association." (boston.com)

Appeals Court Hears 26-State Challenge To Health Law : Shots - Health Blog : NPR "The judges heard oral arguments in the much-watched case brought by Florida and 25 other states. The government is appealing a ruling by Pensacola federal Judge Roger Vinson, who in February ruled that the entire Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional — not just the section requiring most Americans to obtain health insurance starting in 2014." (npr.org)

New Questions Rise in Cause and Trajectory of Germany E. Coli Outbreak - NYTimes.com "On Wednesday, even as the authorities said the sprouts were still prime suspects, the hunt took a new and apparently baffling turn when the state authorities in Magdeburg, in eastern Germany — far from the original epicenter of the infection in northern Germany — said traces of the pathogen identified in the outbreak had been found on discarded cucumber leftovers in a garbage can belonging to a family among those sickened by E. coli." (nytimes.com)