Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Health Headlines - February 8

Vector CEO Says Views Changed on Tobacco Effects

The chief executive of tobacco holding company Vector Group Ltd. backed away from past admissions that smoking is a proven cause of disease during testimony on Monday in the government's racketeering trial against the industry.

Sleep Hormone May Affect Sex Organs, Study Finds

Melatonin, a hormone available in over-the-counter supplements and popped freely by many frequent air travelers, may affect the sex glands, U.S. and Japanese researchers reported on Monday.

Study Links Autism and Mother's Illnesses

Expectant mothers suffering from asthma, allergies or a type of skin disease have a higher risk of giving birth to an autistic child, a study said on Monday.

Diet Lowers Cholesterol as Well as Drug

A diet rich in fiber and vegetables lowered cholesterol just as much as taking a statin drug, Canadian researchers reported on Monday.

Sunlight May Have Unexpected Anti-Cancer Effects

Two new studies suggest that exposure to sunlight might not be as risky for cancer as is generally believed.

Study Adds Evidence -- Bad Teeth Equal Bad Heart

People with more bacteria in their mouths also have more evidence of heart disease, researchers said on Monday in a study strengthening the evidence for a link between gum disease and heart disease.

Birth Size Linked to Some Adult Cancers

Bigger babies seem to have a greater risk of developing certain cancers as adults, a new study finds.

Marijuana Affects Brain Long-Term, Study Finds

Marijuana users have faster blood flow in their brains, even after a month of not smoking, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

Hormone May Combat Mid-Life Depression

A nonprescription hormonal supplement sometimes marketed as a "fountain of youth" drug may be effective in combating mid-life depression, doctors said on Monday.

Bush Would Boost Funds for FDA Drug Safety Office

The Bush administration proposed on Monday a 24 percent increase in funding for the Food and Drug Administration office that monitors the safety of drugs after they hit the market.

Doctors Prescribing Exercise to Fight Fat

Take two hikes and call me in the morning. It may sound like an unusual prescription, but it's an increasingly common one at a hospital where physical fitness is part of doctor's orders for patients battling obesity.

Electric Light-Breast Cancer Link Studied

College researchers are studying whether electric light changes hormone levels in women and makes breast cancer more prevalent in developed countries.

Romanian Woman Has Twins, Two Mos. Apart

A 33-year-old Romanian woman who gave birth to a son in December on Monday gave birth to his twin brother almost two months later in what has been called a medical first in Romania.

Group Wants Hospitals to Report Infections

A consumer group has been pushing for hospitals to report rates of patients infected during their hospital stays, although medical officials have been reluctant to do so out of concerns over cost.

FDA Warns Against Home Tests From Canada

The government warned consumers Monday not to use certain home diagnostic tests marketed by a Canadian company because they have not been approved for sale in the United States and could give false results.

Skull Surgery Goes Well for Egyptian Twin

Ahmed Ibrahim, one of the formerly conjoined Egyptian twins, was doing well Monday following a four-hour surgery to reconstruct his skull, surgeons said.

Sweet Drinks Linked to Preschool Obesity

Sweet drinks — whether Kool-Aid with sugar or all-natural apple juice — seem to raise the risk of pudgy preschoolers getting fatter, new research suggests.

Study: Young Cancer Survivors Adjust Well

Cancer doesn't doom youngsters to a miserable childhood, new research suggests, finding that after treatment, many are just as happy and well-adjusted as those who never had the illness — sometimes even more.

India Tests Anti-AIDS Vaccine

Indian scientists on Monday began the country's first human clinical trials of a vaccine designed to prevent AIDS.

Puberty Starts With a 'KiSS'

When it's time for boys and girls to enter that daunting stage of life known as puberty, their reproductive systems are first awakened with a kiss, namely the KiSS-1 gene.

Infant Infection May Impair Adult Memory

Infections in early childhood may affect memory function in later life, suggests a study in rats.

Races Respond Differently to Asthma Drugs

Race may affect a person's response to asthma medications, according to a study in the February issue of the journal Chest.

Some Hospital Transfers in Heart Cases Potentially Harmful

Transferring a heart attack patient to a hospital equipped for advanced artery-opening surgery such as angioplasty, rather than the quick use of clot-dissolving drugs, can cause potentially harmful delays in treatment.

Depo-Provera Bone Loss Reversible

The bone loss experienced by teenagers who use Depo-Provera for birth control appears to be reversible.

3 Risky Diabetes Drugs May Be Safe for Heart Patients

Three drugs that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says should not be prescribed for diabetics who have heart failure may actually help many of those patients, a new study suggests.

Dutch patients prefer cannabis cafes to pharmacies for medical marijuna

With legal cannabis readily available, the Dutch government's program for issuing medical marijuana through pharmacies is losing money as stocks pile up because patients seem to prefer buying at authorized cannabis cafes.

Cuba, land of fabled tobacco, bans indoor smoking

The land of legendary cigars imposed new anti-smoking laws aimed at protecting Cuba's non-smokers in a country where more than half of the adult population lights up.

Bird flu epidemic abating in Vietnam, official says

Vietnam's latest bird flu epidemic is showing signs of abating, an agriculture department official said, and the country hopes to have the current outbreak under control by the end of this month.

Canada clinic to offer heroin, despite US needling

Despite harsh US protests, a Canadian government clinic will doll out free heroin to hard-core addicts after it opens on Wednesday, a stone's throw from the US border.

Cambodia widens net for bird flu testing

Cambodian health officials said they were testing for bird flu in poultry in a province bordering Vietnam as well as in a village where the kingdom's first outbreak since September was reported.

China develops new, longer-lasting bird flu vaccine

Chinese scientists have developed a new vaccine that can protect poultry from bird flu for a longer period of time, the ministry of agriculture said as the country braces for the migratory season.

No cause for "panic" over new cases of mad cow disease

The recent cases of mad cow disease reported in North America, as well as the unique case detected in a goat in France, are "isolated incidents" and no cause for alarm, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said.

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