Health Headlines - May 14

AIDS Drugs Lower Infection Risk for Couples

The new generation of AIDS drugs is doing more than helping HIV-positive people live healthier, longer lives: The medicines also greatly reduce the risk that infected heterosexuals will pass the virus along to their uninfected partners, new research suggests.

'Keyhole' Surgery Found Effective for Colorectal Cancer

Echoing an American study done a year earlier, British researchers have found that minimally invasive surgery for colorectal cancer is just as effective as conventional surgery.

Giving Older Cancer Patients a Fighting Chance

A new tool can help doctors identify those older cancer patients able to tolerate -- and benefit from -- cancer therapy.

Behavior Therapy Cuts Need for ADHD Drug

A combination of behavioral therapy and medication may be the best means of helping children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and might even help them get by with a lowered dose of medicine, researchers conclude.

Taking Action Against Childhood Asthma

Parents play a crucial role in helping to keep a child's asthma under control, according to experts at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI).

Monitoring of Drug Side Effects Lacking

Amid concerns about rising rates of medical errors, a new study finds that close to half of hospital outpatients taking medications for chronic illnesses failed to receive recommended laboratory tests aimed at spotting dangerous side effects.

Green Laser Pointers Point to Danger

Even brief exposure to commercially available green laser pointers can damage the human eye, warn the authors of a new study.

Targeted Therapies Hit Breast Cancer Hard

Evidence is mounting that so-called targeted therapies, including Herceptin, work well against breast cancer.

New Cancer Drugs Fight Tumors Many Ways

A new generation of experimental cancer drugs is poised to upstage current hotshots by attacking the multiple methods tumors use to grow and spread, instead of just one.

Congo Says Seven Dead, Possibly of Ebola

Medical experts are investigating whether a disease that has killed several people in northern Republic of Congo could be an outbreak of the Ebola virus.

Study: Breast-Cancer Drugs Saving Lives

The risk of dying from breast cancer has been falling rapidly for the past 15 years mainly because the drugs used to treat the disease have been effective at stopping the cancer from returning, according to a major new analysis.

Probe of Foster Kids' Drug Trials Begins

A congressional panel has begun investigating whether the government has adequate safeguards to protect foster children used in federal research after an Associated Press story detailed the use of child wards in some AIDS drug experiments.

Banned Swimmer Wins Case Over Supplements

A swimmer who claimed a contaminated vitamin caused him to test positive for steroids, costing him a shot at the 2004 Olympics, has won $578,635 in a lawsuit against a maker of dietary supplements.

Food Fact:
Fillet buster.

When trying to decide on the freshest fish, a few simple rules will help end the debate. First, let your nose by your guide. Fresh fish should smell like seawater, not "fishy." Fillets should look moist, not slimy or dried out. Fish has a reputation as "brain food," and while eating it hasn't been shown to actually increase your IQ, it's certainly smart to eat fish often. Fish is a protein with little artery-clogging saturated fat. Lean, white-fleshed fish, such as cod or flounder, has about one gram of fat and 125 calories in a 4-oz. portion.

Fitness Tip of the day:
Get back on track.

Fell off the exercise wagon? It's never too late to get back on! Losing your routine may slow you down, but you can get back on track in short order if you resume regular sessions. Get motivated by setting new goals; when you start back up, reduce by half the difficulty level where you left off.

FAQ of the day:
Why cut back on calories if I have diabetes?

Listen to your doctor. Cutting back on calories will improve your blood sugar, blood cholesterol profile and blood pressure -- classic signifiers of insulin resistance syndrome -- whether or not you lose weight. Even if you are eating only slightly more calories than you are burning each day, you are overloading your system, which is triggering an inherited tendency for Type 2 diabetes. If you continue to take in your current number of calories from middle age on, the imbalance will get worse, and your risk of heart disease will go up.