Health Headlines - January 5

Study: Sex Habits Unchanged by 'Morning After Pill'

Easy access to a "morning after pill" for contraception does not influence the degree to which women have unprotected sex, according to a study published on Tuesday.

Condom Testing Reveals Best Brands

The consumers group best known for rating cars and washing machines has turned its testing prowess to condoms to find out which ones measure up best and how other birth control methods compare.

Curry Spice May Fight Alzheimer's

The pigment that gives curry spice its yellow hue may also be able to break up the "plaques" that mark the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients, early research suggests.

Study: Test Detects Pregnancy Complication

Testing for a protein in the urine of pregnant women accurately predicts whether they will develop preeclampsia, a potentially deadly condition that affects one in 20 U.S. pregnancies, a study said on Tuesday.

Pick a Diet and Stick to It, Study Says

Only one in four people can stick to a diet for a full year, a study comparing adherence to weight-loss programs said on Tuesday.

Light Alcohol Use Doesn't Raise Stroke Risk

New findings from a large study suggest that drinking up to two alcoholic beverages a day does not significantly increase the risk of stroke.

Antidepressant Useful for Hot Flashes

The antidepressant venlafaxine (Effexor) appears to be effective in treating postmenopausal hot flashes in otherwise healthy women, according to a report in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

U.S. Panel Mulls Dispute Over Uganda AIDS Trial

A study aimed at showing whether a single dose of an AIDS drug could prevent mothers from passing the virus to their newborns was so sloppily run that it should be disregarded, a fired oversight expert said on Tuesday.

Statin Use May Slightly Impair Brain Function

The results of a new study suggest that treatment with a cholesterol-lowering statin called simvastatin (Zocor) may have small negative effects on brain function.

Disease Emerges in Wake of Tsunami

Hungry and filthy, thousands of Indonesians queued for water on Tuesday as aid deliveries to tsunami-ravaged Aceh province hit new snags and cases of disease and infection among survivors emerged.

Cosmetic Procedures Are Gaining Among Men

Craig Sowash, a 43-year-old sales manager with a pulp and paper company, says he feels more confident with customers ever since he had the wrinkles on his face smoothed out with a few injections.

Listeria Food Poisoning Cases Rose in '03

Listeria food poisoning increased slightly in 2003, according to a consumer group that said the Bush administration stalled and then changed regulations aimed at curbing the sometimes deadly infection.

Woman to Give Birth to Second Twin

A 33-year-old Romanian woman has given birth to a son and is due to give birth to his twin six weeks later in what has been called a medical first in Romania, a doctor said Tuesday.

Polish Conjoined Twins Undergo Separation

Polish twin girls who were separated by Saudi doctors in an 18-hour operation are recovering in the intensive care unit and will be roused from general anesthesia in less than 48 hours, the official Saudi Press Agency reported Tuesday.

Protein May Protect Against Lung Disease Damage

A protein believed to cause lung problems may actually help protect the lungs against damage caused by asthma and other chronic respiratory diseases, says a University of Texas Medical School at Houston study.

Health Tip: Passing Kidney Stones

If you've had a kidney stone, you know how painful it can be. Most kidney stones pass from the body without medical help. But sometimes a stone will not just go away. It may even get larger.

Health Tip: Be Smart When Applying Makeup

The most common injury from applying cosmetics is scratching the eye with a mascara wand, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Bulk of Constipation Myths Unfounded

Conventional wisdom about constipation is often only folklore, with no basis in fact, a new German report claims.

WHO estimates tsunami injured at half million

The World Health Organisation put at 500,000 the number of people believed to have been injured in the Indian Ocean tidal waves and warned of a "health disaster" if survivors are not given quick access to clean drinking water.

Trauma on the rise as tsunami reality hits Sri Lankans

The harsh reality of their losses is starting to strike Sri Lankan tsunami survivors, who are increasingly showing symptoms of hypertension and mental trauma, medics in a ravaged village said.