News For Sunday Oct 12, 2008 News For Sunday Oct 12, 2008

Health Health

Limit on cold remedies for kids was FDA's idea - Added 1 day ago

When drug makers made a surprise announcement this week that they no longer recommend cough and cold remedies for youngsters under 4, they didn't let on that it was the government's idea. And why age 4 rather than the...

1 in 4 US teen girls got cervical cancer shot - Added 2 days ago

One in four teen girls have rolled up their sleeves for the relatively new vaccine against cervical cancer, federal health officials said Thursday. The figures represent the government's first substantial study of...

German doing well after 1st double arm transplant - Added 3 days ago

A German farmer who received the world's first complete double arm transplant said Wednesday that incredulity gave way to joy when he woke from surgery to discover he had arms again. Karl Merk, who lost his arms in a...

Stem cells from testicles an option to embryos - Added 3 days ago

Cells taken from men's testicles seem as versatile as the stem cells derived from embryos, researchers reported Wednesday in what may be yet another new approach in a burgeoning scientific field. The new type of stem...

Drug companies: No cold medicines for kids under 4 - Added 4 days ago

Don't give over-the-counter cold remedies to kids under 4, drug companies said Tuesday. What sniffling little ones need, doctors said, are plenty of fluids and lots of tender, loving care. "The best thing a parent can...

Get moving: Guidelines set healthy activity levels - Added 4 days ago

Get moving: New exercise guidelines released Tuesday set a minimum sweat allotment for good health. For most adults, that's 2 1/2 hours a week. How much physical activity you need depends largely on age and level of...

Fan use linked to lower risk of sudden baby death - Added 4 days ago

Using a fan to circulate air seemed to lower the risk of sudden infant death syndrome in a study of nearly 500 babies, researchers reported Monday. Placing babies on their backs to sleep is the best advice for...

Fan use linked to lower risk of sudden baby death - Added 4 days ago

Using a fan to circulate air seemed to lower the risk of sudden infant death syndrome in a study of nearly 500 babies, researchers reported Monday. Placing babies on their backs to sleep is the best advice for...

Task force: Colon cancer screenings can stop at 75 - Added 5 days ago

Most people over 75 should stop getting routine colon cancer tests, according to a government health task force that also rejected the latest X-ray screening technology. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force _ in a...

Unclear how much pounding new hips, knees can take - Added 5 days ago

One in 75 patients who gets a knee or hip replaced must get it replaced again within three years, new research finds, although the studies underscore a question: Just how much pounding can a new joint take if you want...

Doctors: No hamsters or exotic pets for young kids - Added 5 days ago

Warning: young children should not keep hedgehogs as pets _ or hamsters, baby chicks, lizards and turtles, for that matter _ because of risks for disease. That's according to the nation's leading pediatricians' group...

Jump seen in staph-linked flu deaths in kids - Added 6 days ago

More children have died from flu because they also had staph infections, according to a new government report that urges parents to have their kids get the flu shot. The number of deaths wasn't high _ 73 during the...

Recent winners of the Nobel Prize in medicine - Added 6 days ago

Recent winners of the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, and their research, according to the Nobel Foundation: _ 2007: Mario R. Capecchi and Oliver Smithies of the United States and Martin J. Evans of the United...

Medicine award kicks off Nobel Prize announcements - Added 6 days ago

Two scientists who have won acclaim for research into the growth of cancer cells could be candidates for the Nobel Prize in medicine when the 2008 winners are presented on Monday, kicking off six days of Nobel...

Salmonella sickens people in 12 states - Added 6 days ago

The government is urging consumers to thoroughly cook frozen chicken dinners after 32 people in 12 states were sickened with salmonella poisoning. The health warning by the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited frozen...

Rabid Iraqi dog arrives in US; warning issued - Added 1 week ago

Federal health officials have issued a public health warning against rabies after an Iraqi puppy with the disease arrived in the United States. The dog was part of a rescue operation to unite American soldiers with...

FDA: Tiny bit of melamine OK in most foods - Added 1 week ago

Tiny traces of melamine, the chemical that has set off a global food safety scare, are not harmful in most foods, except baby formula, government experts said Friday. The Food and Drug Administration said Friday its...

Largest study of US children to begin in January - Added 1 week ago

The largest study of U.S. children ever performed _ aiming to track 100,000 from conception to age 21 _ will start recruiting mothers-to-be in North Carolina and New York in January. The ambitious National Children's...

As economy sags, faces do too, cosmetic docs say - Added 1 week ago

The economy isn't the only thing that's sagging _ so are faces, breasts and bellies as would-be cosmetic surgery patients increasingly opt against costly nips and tucks because of tough financial times. Anecdotal...

Computers help docs spot breast cancer on X-rays - Added 1 week ago

A computer is as good as a second pair of eyes for helping a radiologist spot breast cancer on a mammogram, one of the largest and most rigorous tests of computer-aided detection found. Like spell-checkers looking for...

Mailmen might deliver meds in next anthrax attack - Added 1 week ago

If there ever is another anthrax attack, the letter carrier may deliver your antibiotics. Federal health officials are beginning a project in Minneapolis-St. Paul to let letter carriers stockpile a personal supply of...

Study traces AIDS virus origin to 100 years ago - Added 1 week ago

The AIDS virus has been circulating among people for about 100 years, decades longer than scientists had thought, a new study suggests. Genetic analysis pushes the estimated origin of HIV back to between 1884 and 1924,...

Faster genetic test for flu virus approved - Added 1 week ago

The government approved a new genetic test for the flu virus Tuesday that will allow labs across the country to identify flu strains within four hours instead of four days. The timesaving test could be crucial if a...

Study: Voting could be hazardous so be careful - Added 1 week ago

Could voting for president be hazardous to your health? An analysis of Election Day traffic deaths dating back to Jimmy Carter's 1976 win suggests yes, but the authors say that's no reason not to go to the polls. The...

Group calls for free malaria treatment in Africa - Added 1 week ago

Making tests and treatment for malaria free dramatically increases the number of people who seek treatment for the disease that kills 1 million people a year, an international medical aid group said Tuesday. Medecins...

Heart patients should be screened for depression - Added 1 week ago

Heart patients should be regularly screened for signs of depression, the American Heart Association recommended Monday. Depression is about three times more common in heart attack survivors and those hospitalized with...

Heart patients should be screened for depression - Added 1 week ago

Heart patients should be regularly screened for signs of depression, the American Heart Association recommended Monday. Depression is about three times more common in heart attack survivors and those hospitalized with...

Health clubs gear programs for those with ailments - Added 1 week ago

!!-- pobj:DN203-0717081217 -->!!-- pobj:DN201-0717081225 -->!!-- pobj:DN202-0717081228 -->When Patti Kiernan found out she had osteoporosis, she decided it was time to find a more focused workout. The 61-year-old...

West Nile season appears to be mildest in 7 years - Added 2 weeks ago

The West Nile virus season is on track to be the mildest in seven years, with less than a third the number of serious cases as last year's total, U.S. health officials said. As of Tuesday, there were 368 severe cases,...

Medicare officials advise seniors to shop around - Added 2 weeks ago

Federal health officials encouraged Medicare participants on Thursday to shop around for their prescription drug coverage next year because it could include significant price increases or changes regarding which drugs...

Study: Seniors not quite embracing generic drugs - Added 2 weeks ago

Seniors who switch between low-cost generic drugs and the original products based on who's footing the bill are likely driving up the cost of the government's Medicare drug plan, according to a new study. Figures...

Study: Extending time of stroke drug treatment OK - Added 2 weeks ago

!!-- hobj:296 -->!!-- hobj:297 -->Stroke sufferers can still benefit from clot-busting medicine even if they receive it an hour or so beyond the current three-hour window after symptoms start, an important new study...

Flu shot season begins with ample supply coming - Added 2 weeks ago

Just about everybody needs a flu vaccine _ unless you're an infant or a healthy adult hermit _ but far too few of the Americans who need protection the most get it. That's the message as flu-shot season officially...

2 die of Legionnaires' disease in NJ hospital - Added 2 weeks ago

New Jersey health officials say two men have died after contracting Legionnaires' disease in a hospital. Health Department spokeswoman Marilyn Riley said Wednesday that one died Sept. 12 and the other Monday at St....

Regulator says hospitals need strict heparin rules - Added 2 weeks ago

A regulatory group told hospitals Wednesday to adopt strict measures to prevent errors involving blood thinners including heparin _ mistakes that have been made nearly 60,000 times and led to dozens of deaths in recent...

Inhaler lung drugs tied to heart problems, deaths - Added 2 weeks ago

Inhaler drugs used by millions of people with emphysema and bronchitis may slightly raise the risk for heart attacks and even death, a study suggests. The results aren't conclusive and inhalers provide significant...

EPA won't limit toxic pollutant in drinking water - Added 2 weeks ago

The Environmental Protection Agency has decided there's no need to rid drinking water of a toxic rocket fuel ingredient that has fouled public water supplies around the country. EPA reached the conclusion in a draft...

Resetting immune system in bid to beat scleroderma - Added 2 weeks ago

First Bari Martz's fingers turned blue. Then she started gasping for breath, and her joints stiffened so that she couldn't even open her hands. Doctors diagnosed scleroderma, part of an insidious family of diseases...

More parents ponder cancer gene tests for kids - Added 2 weeks ago

!!-- pobj:NYKR101-0917081457 -->!!-- pobj:NYKR102-0917081457 -->!!-- pobj:NYKR103-0917081457 -->Women are going for breast cancer gene testing in record numbers, forcing more parents to face a tough question: Should we...

Institutionalized Medicaid recipients sue Florida - Added 2 weeks ago

Charles Todd Lee spent a lifetime going backstage at concerts, following politicians on the campaign trail and capturing iconic shots of everyone from Martin Luther King Jr. to Mick Jagger to Mickey Mantle. Today, he...

Public needs to know vaccines are safe, docs say - Added 3 weeks ago

A new coalition of 22 major medical groups says public confidence in vaccine safety needs to be restored to avoid risks for deadly disease outbreaks. Thursday's message comes from the Chicago-based American Medical...

Big Apple paring down with healthier city meals - Added 3 weeks ago

The Big Apple is trying to pare down. New York City launched its first formal food standards Friday, mandating less frying, lower salt and more fruits and vegetables in the millions of meals city agencies serve in...

Public needs to know vaccines are safe, docs say - Added 3 weeks ago

A new coalition of 22 major medical groups says public confidence in vaccine safety needs to be restored to avoid risks for deadly disease outbreaks. Thursday's message comes from the Chicago-based American Medical...

For dinner: Genetically altered 'super chicken' - Added 3 weeks ago

Super Chicken strutted a step closer to the dinner table Thursday. The government said it will start considering proposals to sell genetically engineered animals as food, a move that could lead to faster-growing fish,...

WHO: Recalculation cuts malaria cases by half - Added 3 weeks ago

The World Health Organization halved its estimate of the number of people who get malaria each year, saying Thursday that better measurement techniques had cut the number from 500 million people to 247 million. The...

Colon X-ray seen as effective at spotting cancer - Added 3 weeks ago

A long-awaited federal study of an X-ray alternative to the dreaded colonoscopy confirms its effectiveness at spotting most cancers, although it was far from perfect. Medicare is already considering paying for this...

US researchers call off controversial autism study - Added 3 weeks ago

A government agency has dropped plans for a study of a controversial treatment for autism that critics had called an unethical experiment on children. The National Institute of Mental Health said in a statement...

Medical device ads criticized on Capitol Hill - Added 3 weeks ago

Medical experts told lawmakers Wednesday that new television advertisements for medical devices pose even greater risks to patients than ads for drugs, which have been scrutinized for years. The Senate Aging Committee...

FDA defends plastic linked with health risks - Added 3 weeks ago

With scientists at odds about the risks of a chemical found in plastic baby bottles, metal cans and other food packaging, the government on Tuesday gave consumers some tips on how to reduce their exposure to BPA even as...

Many products contain the chemical BPA - Added 3 weeks ago

Bisphenol A, or BPA, a chemical used in consumer goods, was the subject of a federal safety hearing Tuesday where new preliminary research suggested it might be linked to a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes. ...