Saturday, January 22, 2005

Health Headlines - January 22

FDA Delays Nonprescription Morning-After Pill Rule

U.S. regulators on Friday delayed a decision on whether to approve over-the-counter sales of a Barr Pharmaceuticals "morning-after pill" to prevent pregnancy, prompting a lawsuit from a women's rights group.

Vioxx, Celebrex Were Overprescribed, Study Says

The two popular painkillers Vioxx and Celebrex, heavily marketed as "super-aspirin," were prescribed for millions of patients who did not need them or should not have taken them, researchers said on Friday.

Bush to Boost AIDS Funds; Critics Say More Needed

President Bush will propose $3.2 billion for next year to combat the spread of AIDS globally, one of the few increases in what is expected to be a tight foreign aid budget, administration and congressional sources said on Friday.

Robust DNA Repair May Lower Breast Cancer Risk

The innate capacity to repair damaged DNA seems to affect a woman's chance of developing breast cancer. Deficient DNA repair appears to triple the risk of breast cancer, researchers have found.

Stuttering Kids Need Help to Cope with Bullying

Parents and teachers need to do more to help kids who stutter deal with any bullying or teasing, according to a speech pathologist.

Managed Health-Care Execs Bullish on 2005 -Survey

The tides are turning in the health care industry, with managed care executives becoming bullish about growth in 2005, while pharmaceutical executives are rattled, a new survey shows.

New Treatment Promising for Cystic Fibrosis

Inhaling a compound that is normally produced in the lungs but is lacking in people with cystic fibrosis seems to be helpful for such patients, results of a pilot study indicate.

Pollutants Blamed for Most Kids' Cancers in UK

Exposure to high-temperature combustion products and volatile organic compounds before birth and shortly after probably cause most cases of childhood cancers and leukemias, a UK researcher says.

'Morning After' Treatment Advised to Prevent AIDS

A "morning after" treatment for the AIDS virus can help prevent infection after a rape, contact with a contaminated needle or even a night of passion without a condom, U.S. health officials said on Thursday.

Smoking May Protect Against Parkinson's

A study in Swedish twins confirms that smoking is associated with a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease.

Medicare Issues Prescription Drug Rules

Medicare issued final rules Friday for its new drug benefit, laying the foundation for a program that could cover the drug expenses of some 11 million low-income older and disabled Americans.

Probe: Cattle From Canada Farm Healthy

Investigators probing Canada's third case of mad cow disease said Friday that none of the cattle from the same farm show any trace of the brain-wasting disease.

Johnson & Johnson Reports Reminyl Deaths

Patients taking Alzheimer's drug Reminyl in a test for another use had higher death rates than those taking a placebo, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development LLC announced Friday.

Despite Dangers, Miners Smoking in Mines

The surgeon general's warning that smoking can be hazardous to your health takes on new meaning inside a coal mine, where the flicker of a cigarette lighter could trigger a deadly methane gas explosion.

Woman Gives Birth to Giant Baby

A woman in northeastern Brazil has given birth to what one doctor called a "giant baby," a boy weighing 16.7 pounds.

Midwives' Deaths Affect Indonesia Newborns

Some women have been forced to deliver their newborns in dark tents without even a bar of soap, using shards of bamboo to cut the umbilical cords. Others have had to walk through miles of jungle for prenatal help.

Mouse Experiment Offers Alzheimer's Hope

Brain cells in mice recovered rapidly after brain plaques characteristic of Alzheimer's disease were removed, offering hope that plaque-clearing treatments could benefit patients with the disease, Washington University researchers said Thursday.

Health Tip: Housework Will Keep You Fit

If you're stuck with housework when you'd really rather be at the gym, you'll be happy to learn that you're getting the same workout either way.

Health Tip: Feel Better About Yourself

Women in America are under pressure to measure up to a certain cultural ideal of beauty, which can lead to poor body image, the National Women's Health Information Center says.

Elevated Phosphate Levels a Danger for Kidney Patients

Elevated phosphate levels may indicate an increased risk of death for people with chronic kidney disease.

Veggie Diet May Lower High Blood Pressure

Vegetarians tend to have lower blood pressure than the general population, but it hasn't been clear whether their diet or their lifestyle guards them against hypertension.

Abused Women Less Likely to Have Stable Relationships

Poor women who've suffered sexual or physical abuse at some time in their lives are less likely to maintain stable intimate relationships.

Maternal Study Finds Small Divide Between Adults, Teens

Adult mothers lavish more affection on their babies than teen moms, who are more likely to focus on instrumental behavior such as tending to their infants' clothes or soothers.

New Hope for HIV Treatment

An artificial HIV gene could help in efforts to develop an HIV vaccine, say Duke University Medical Center scientists.

Doctor Report Cards Not Always Clear

Increasingly popular "doctor report cards" don't always provide clear-cut information when comparing quality of care, according to new research from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

New Colon Cancer Marker Found

Harvard researchers have found a new marker that may signal more invasive and lethal forms of colon cancer.

Heart Attack: Less Treatment May Be Better

Someone who has a heart attack or other life-threatening heart condition may be better off going to a general community hospital than to one with a sophisticated cardiology facility, a new, large study finds.

Swiss drug Roche says hepatitis B drug closer to EU approval

The Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche said that the European Union had moved closer to approving its Pegasys drug which treats life-threatening chronic hepatitis B.

Stem cell treatment reverses diabetes: Argentine researchers

Millions of diabetics worldwide could put insulin injections behind them if a stem cell treatment that Argentine physicians have successfully used to reverse the disease confirms promising early results.

MSF reopens cholera clinic in Burundi after outbreak

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said it had reopened a free clinic in Burundi's capital to treat victims of a cholera outbreak that has killed at least five people and infected another 105 in the past two weeks.

Britain announces new anti-binge drinking laws

Britain launched a major crackdown on the nation's increasing fondness for excessive drinking, warning bars that they might have to cover the costs of policing their unruly customers.

Ugandan police to begin enforcing ignored public smoking ban

Ugandan police said they will begin the enforcement of a year-old public smoking ban that has so far been almost completely ignored.

Italian man commits suicide over wife's coma, but she recovers hours later

A Italian man committed suicide in despair after seeing his wife in a coma, but the woman regained consciousness just hours later, a news report said.

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