HEALTH NEWS
FDA warns of deadly side effect with imaging drugs
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health regulators are warning doctors that a class of injectable drugs used in MRI medical imaging scans can cause a rare and sometimes fatal condition in patients with kidney disease. ...Read More
CDC: Adults eating less fruit, not enough veggies
ATLANTA (AP) — An apple a day? Apparently not in the United States. ...Read More
Study: Flamboyant male dancing attracts women best
LONDON (AP) — John Travolta was onto something. Women are most attracted to male dancers who have big, flamboyant moves similar to the actor's trademark style, British scientists say in a new study. ...Read More
Doctors see eye hazard in powerful laser pointers
NEW YORK (AP) — A 15-year-old boy damaged his eyes while playing with a laser pointer he'd bought over the Internet, say doctors who warn that dangerously high-powered versions are easily available online. ...Read More
Study: More omega-3 fats didn't aid heart patients
NEW YORK (AP) — Eating more heart-healthy omega-3 fats provided no additional benefit in a study of heart attack survivors who were already getting good care, Dutch researchers report. ...Read More
FDA cites claims on 2 green tea beverages
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health regulators have issued warnings to the makers of Canada Dry ginger ale and Lipton tea for making unsubstantiated nutritional claims about their green tea-flavored beverages. ...Read More
US smoking rate still stuck at 1 in 5 adults
ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. smoking rates continue to hold steady, at about one in five adults lighting up regularly, frustrated health officials reported Tuesday. ...Read More
Scientists expect C-section rate to keep rising
WASHINGTON (AP) — More women will be giving birth by C-section for the foreseeable future, government scientists said Monday, releasing a study into the causes of a trend that troubles maternal health experts. ...Read More
Group backs mandatory flu vaccinations for doctors
CHICAGO (AP) — The nation's largest pediatricians' group is endorsing mandatory flu vaccinations for doctors, nurses and other health workers. ...Read More
Time to get your flu shot, but just one this year
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's flu-shot season already, and for the first time health authorities are urging nearly everyone to get vaccinated. There is even a new high-dose version for people 65 or older. ...Read More
FDA: only 2 egg farms so far show salmonella
WASHINGTON (AP) — Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg says there is no evidence that there are additional farms involved in a massive recall of more than half a billion eggs. ...Read More
AP Exclusive: Back to work after salmonella case
WASHINGTON (AP) — The peanut industry executive whose filthy processing plants were blamed in a salmonella outbreak two years ago that killed nine people and sickened hundreds more is back in the business. ...Read More
New test seen as big advance in diagnosing TB
Scientists are reporting a major advance in diagnosing tuberculosis: A new test can reveal in less than two hours, with very high accuracy, whether someone has the disease and if it's resistant to the main drug for treating it. ...Read More
Journal editors question sale of diet pill Meridia
NEW YORK (AP) — Editors of a top medical journal call Meridia "another flawed diet pill" and question whether it should stay on the market as a study shows it raises the risk of heart attack and stroke in people with heart problems. ...Read More
Aging vets' costs concern Obama's deficit co-chair
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The system that automatically awards disability benefits to some veterans because of concerns about Agent Orange seems contrary to efforts to control federal spending, the Republican co-chairman of President Barack Obama's deficit commission said Tuesday. ...Read More
Salmonella find links 2 Iowa egg farms to recall
WASHINGTON (AP) — Food and Drug Administration officials say they have found positive samples of salmonella that link two Iowa farms to a massive egg recall. ...Read More
Salmonella find links 2 Iowa farms to egg recall
WASHINGTON (AP) — Food and Drug Administration officials say they have found positive samples of salmonella that link two Iowa farms to a massive egg recall. ...Read More
Benefits seen for high-risk women in ovary removal
CHICAGO (AP) — Surgery to remove healthy ovaries gives a triple benefit to high-risk women: It lowers their threat of breast and ovarian cancer, and boosts their chances of living longer, new research suggests. ...Read More
Botox maker to pay $600M to resolve investigation
WASHINGTON (AP) — Allergan Inc., the maker of wrinkle-smoothing Botox, has agreed to pay $600 million to settle a yearslong federal investigation into its marketing of the top-selling, botulin-based drug. ...Read More
Can home cooking be hazardous to your health?
ATLANTA (AP) — Could your kitchen at home pass a restaurant inspection? ...Read More
Anxiety still rampant in Katrina kids, study says
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A startling number of Gulf coast area children displaced by Hurricane Katrina still have serious emotional or behavioral problems five years later, a new study found. ...Read More
Mouse virus link to chronic fatigue is studied
WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. government study has uncovered a family of mouse viruses in some people with chronic fatigue syndrome, raising still more questions about whether an infection may play a role in the complicated illness. ...Read More
Recession may have pushed US birth rate to new low
Forget the Dow and the GDP. Here's the latest economic indicator: The U.S. birth rate has fallen to its lowest level in at least a century as many people apparently decided they couldn't afford more mouths to feed. ...Read More
Johnson & Johnson gets FDA warning on marketing
TRENTON, NJ. (AP) — A Johnson & Johnson business that makes joint replacements has been warned by the Food and Drug Administration that it is illegally marketing two products. ...Read More
Are the eggs sold at my supermarket safe to eat?
Two large Iowa farms have recalled 550 million eggs because of possible contamination with salmonella. Investigators from the Food and Drug Administration are trying to find the cause of the outbreak, but so far haven't pinpointed the source. ...Read More
Cholera kills 41 in Central African nation of Chad
N'DJAMENA, Chad (AP) — Health officials in Chad say an outbreak of cholera in the Central African nation has killed at least 41 people. ...Read More
Expert warns of complacency after swine flu fizzle
HONG KONG (AP) — A leading virus expert urged health authorities around the world Sunday to stay vigilant even though the recent swine flu pandemic was less deadly than expected, warning that bird flu could spark the next global outbreak. ...Read More
Group backs mandatory flu shots for health workers
CHICAGO (AP) — Flu vaccination should be required for all doctors, nurses and other health workers, the nation's largest pediatricians' group says, calling it a long overdue step to protect patients. ...Read More
FDA looks to curb abuse of cough medicine
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health regulators are weighing restrictions on Robitussin, NyQuil and other cough suppressants to curb cases of abuse that send thousands of people to the hospital each year. ...Read More
AIDS patients hurt by South African strike
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Doctors and activists say AIDS patients aren't getting treated because of a nationwide civil service strike in South Africa, the country with the most people infected with the virus that causes AIDS. ...Read More
Japan confirms its first case of new superbug gene
TOKYO (AP) — Japan has confirmed the nation's first case of a new gene in bacteria that allows the microorganisms to become drug-resistant superbugs, detected in a man who had medical treatment in India, a Health Ministry official said Tuesday. ...Read More
Will grandma ever quit smoking?
WASHINGTON (AP) — Even though they've lived with the health warnings much of their lives and doubtless seen the ill effects on friends, relatives and even themselves, about 4.5 million older Americans continue to smoke. ...Read More
Medicare expands coverage for smoker counseling
WASHINGTON (AP) — Even though they've lived with the health warnings much of their lives and doubtless seen the ill effects on friends, relatives and even themselves, about 4.5 million older Americans continue to smoke. ...Read More
Medicare expands coverage to help smokers quit
WASHINGTON (AP) — They've lived with the health warnings about smoking for much of their lives and doubtless seen the ill effects on friends, relatives and even themselves, yet about 4.5 million older people in the U.S. keep on lighting up. ...Read More
Doctors look for orange-size lump, find 56-pounder
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Doctors were shocked when they looked into a woman's uterus searching for an orange-size tumor but found something that resembled a giant rock instead. ...Read More
Frozen fruit bars recalled after typhoid outbreak
SANTA FE SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — Fruiti Pops, Inc. of Santa Fe Springs has recalled its mamey (mah-MAY') frozen fruit bars because of a possible link to a rare U.S. outbreak of typhoid fever. ...Read More
Austria reports 2 cases of superbug gene
VIENNA (AP) — Austria's health ministry is reporting two cases of a new gene that allows bacteria to become a superbug. ...Read More
CVS Caremark to give away up to $5M in flu shots
NEW YORK (AP) — CVS Caremark Corp. said Wednesday it will give away up to $5 million in seasonal flu vaccinations to people without health insurance. ...Read More
Restoring sight with new type of artificial cornea
WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists have created a new kind of artificial cornea, inserting a sliver of collagen into the eye that coaxes its own natural corneal cells to regrow and restore vision. ...Read More
Mexico beginning crackdown on antibiotic sales
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities have begun enforcing tougher rules designed to ensure that people have a doctor's prescription to buy antibiotics. ...Read More
Study: 1 in 7 home kitchens would flunk inspection
ATLANTA (AP) — A new study suggests that at least one in seven home kitchens would flunk the kind of health inspection commonly administered to restaurants. ...Read More
Diabetes now tops Vietnam vets' claims
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — By his own reckoning, a Navy electrician spent just eight hours in Vietnam, during a layover on his flight back to the U.S. in 1966. He bought some cigarettes and snapped a few photos. ...Read More
UK study: Nonreligious doctors hasten death more
LONDON (AP) — Doctors who are atheist or agnostic are twice as likely to make decisions that could end the lives of their terminally ill patients, compared to doctors who are very religious, according to a new study in Britain. ...Read More
US grapples with bedbugs, misuse of pesticides
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A resurgence of bedbugs across the U.S. has homeowners and apartment dwellers taking desperate measures to eradicate the tenacious bloodsuckers, with some relying on dangerous outdoor pesticides and fly-by-night exterminators. ...Read More
WHO wants faster, more flu vaccine production
HONG KONG (AP) — The vaccine used to contain the recent swine flu pandemic was effective, but health authorities will need to ramp up the speed and volume of production during the next global outbreak, a World Health Organization official said Monday. ...Read More
Cholera outbreak in Cameroon 'worst in 20 years'
YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — UNICEF says more than 300 people have died in the West African nation of Cameroon from the country's worst cholera outbreak in 20 years. ...Read More
FDA relents from midodrine withdrawal plan
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal regulators have backed off a plan to remove a Shire PLC low blood-pressure treatment from the market after warning in August that the drug has not been proven effective. ...Read More
Picking right blood pressure medicine challenging
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's hard to predict which pills will best lower which patient's high blood pressure, but researchers are hunting ways to better personalize therapy — perhaps even using a blood test. ...Read More
ER visits for concussions soar among kid athletes
CHICAGO (AP) — Emergency room visits for school-age athletes with concussions has skyrocketed in recent years, suggesting the intensity of kids' sports has increased along with awareness of head injuries. ...Read More
Questions loom over drug given to sleepless vets
WASHINGTON (AP) — Andrew White returned from a nine-month tour in Iraq beset with signs of post-traumatic stress disorder: insomnia, nightmares, constant restlessness. Doctors tried to ease his symptoms using three psychiatric drugs, including a potent anti-psychotic called Seroquel. ...Read More
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