Health Headlines - January 1

Happy New Year! Please don't drink and drive.

Journal Tells FDA Lilly Knew of Prozac Risk

The British Medical Journal said on Friday it has sent documents to U.S. health regulators that appear to suggest a link between the antidepressant Prozac and suicidal behavior.

Pregnancy Can Go Well for Women with Diabetes

Women with type 1 diabetes who monitor their blood glucose daily both before and during pregnancy have better outcomes, Danish researchers report.

Migraine Patients May Have Genetic Abnormalities

People who suffer from migraine headaches appear to express more genes that produce platelets, the specialized components in blood that are involved in clotting, researchers report.

Isolated-Limb Chemo Curbs Advanced Melanoma

For people with advanced but localized melanoma, delivering potent chemotherapy to just the limb with the cancer is highly effective both in terms of local disease control and survival, Dutch clinicians report.

Bone Loss Seen with Lung Disease Treatment

People who use an inhaled steroid long-term to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or emphysema, face a loss of bone mineral density in the hip and spine, a new study shows.

Anti-Rejection Drug Curbs Aspirin-Induced Asthma

The immune-suppressant drug tacrolimus, usually used to prevent rejection of transplanted organs, can also help people who suffer from aspirin-triggered asthma, Japanese researchers report.

FDA Warns Barr Over Seasonale Commercial

A television commercial for Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Seasonale misleads consumers by excluding risk information to make the birth control pill seem safer, U.S. health regulators warned in a letter released on Thursday.

Rule May Let Workers Keep Health Coverage

For U.S. workers who change or lose their jobs, a new rule issued by the Bush administration just before the end of 2004 could provide better access to group health plan coverage — in keeping with changes Congress agreed to eight years ago.

R.I. to Allow Residents to Import Drugs

Rhode Island has become what is believed to be the first state in the nation to approve regulations that allow its residents to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada.

FDA Approves Pfizer Drug for Diabetes

Pfizer Inc. said Friday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved its medication for pain caused by nerve damage from diabetes or shingles, but it is still under review for treating partial seizures in adults.

Every minute counts, UN warns as Indonesian death toll nears 100,000

Starvation, injury and disease are pushing massive numbers of refugees in tsunami-devastated Aceh closer to death "every minute", the United Nations warned as the number of Indonesians confirmed killed in the disaster climbed towards 100,000.

2005 shapes up as key year in fight against AIDS

The world is focused right now on the aftermath of the killer tsunamis that swept the Indian Ocean on December 26, yet lurking in the wings is an older, deadlier, man-made threat that is doomed to return to centre-stage.