— The French drug giant Sanofi Pasteur recalled 800,000 shots of H1N1 vaccine sent to the US in November. The doses, designed for children age 6 to 35 months, were 12% less potent than required, according to a company spokesman. (CNN)

— Levels of the hormone leptin — which can quell appetite — may be a marker for the onset of Alzheimer’s, according to a 12-year study of nearly 200 participants. Individuals with the lowest levels of leptin were three times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s than those with the highest levels. (BBC)

— People in the US looking across the border for savings on medications will have to wait. Two amendments that would have allowed for the importation of potentially cheaper prescription drugs from Canada and other countries both failed to garner the 60 votes needed to pass in the US Senate last night. (WSJ)

— Patients with certain surgical infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can rack up charges of more than $60,000 on average, according to a study of seven US hospitals. Along with finding a seven-fold increase in risk of death and 35-fold increase in readmission, the study (based on data prior to 2003) suggests that the costs of preventing MRSA infection greatly outweigh the risks. (Reuters)

Image by Matti Mattila via Flickr Creative Commons