Today's Globe: teen liver disease, colon cancer followup, drug industry window

In a new and disturbing twist on the obesity epidemic, some overweight teenagers have severe liver damage caused by too much body fat, and a handful have needed liver transplants.

Many colon cancer patients aren't getting the screenings recommended after surgery to make sure the disease hasn't returned, new research shows (fourth item).

"In November, the Supreme Court will hear a case that could make it much more difficult for public officials to expose drug industry practices that put profits ahead of patients," Alison Bass, author of "Side Effects: A Prosecutor, A Whistleblower and a Bestselling Antidepressant on Trial," writes on the op-ed page. "Consumer advocates are worried that a sweeping Supreme Court decision ... would not only make it difficult for those harmed by new drugs to seek redress, but would shutter an important porthole into the less than savory tactics some drug companies use to market their wares."