Health Headlines - December 1

World Kicks Off AIDS Day, China Gets Tough

The world marked AIDS Day on Wednesday, promising to eradicate ignorance and prejudice about a disease that was at first dismissed by many as a Western evil confined to drug users, homosexuals and prostitutes.

Dirty Teeth Can Kill You, U.S. Study Shows

Germs found in dental plaque can make their way into the lungs and cause potentially fatal pneumonia in elderly nursing home patients, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

FDA Reviewers Mixed Over Two New Cancer Drugs

U.S. FDA staff reviewers on Tuesday said data on a new non-Hodgkin's lymphoma drug made by Inex Pharmaceuticals Corp. and Enzon Pharmaceuticals Inc. may be unreliable due to the trial's structure and size.

Asthma in UK Children Quadrupled Since 70s

Asthma rates among UK children have quadrupled since the 1970s and more than doubled in the past decade, according to a study published on Wednesday.

Device Useful for Excessive Menstrual Bleeding

A tiny device that is placed inside the uterus and releases the hormone levonorgestrel is an effective treatment for excessive menstrual bleeding, a problem called menorrhagia, new research shows.

Muscle Training Often Useful for Leaky Bladder

About half of women with stress urinary incontinence, a type of urine leakage that occurs with actions like coughing or laughing, benefit from training designed to strengthen the bladder muscles, according to a new study.

Job Exposure to Pesticide Linked to Lung Cancer

Workers exposed to the pesticide chlorpyrifos may have an elevated risk of lung cancer, U.S. government researchers reported Tuesday.

Immune Drugs Useful for Psoriasis

New research shows that tacrolimus ointment and pimecrolimus cream, which suppress the immune system, are effective treatments for intertriginous psoriasis, a form of the scaly skin disease affecting body regions where skin rubs against skin.

Friday the 13th Not Bad Omen for Drivers

Drivers are no more likely to have traffic injuries on Fridays that fall on the 13th day of the month than on other Fridays, new study findings report.

Rocket Fuel Chemical Found in Organic Milk

The government has found traces of a rocket fuel chemical in organic milk in Maryland, green leaf lettuce grown in Arizona and bottled spring water from Texas and California.

Vaccine Against Ricin to Be Tested

Texas researchers will begin clinical trials of an experimental vaccine against the deadly toxin ricin, a biological agent that can be tested only in select labs.

Groups Says Condom Limits Sap AIDS Fight

Criticism of condoms and restrictions on access to them are undercutting the fight against HIV/AIDS in countries ranging from Nigeria to Peru to the United States, Human Rights Watch said in a report Tuesday.

Chinese President on TV With AIDS Patients

Chinese President Hu Jintao was shown on state television Tuesday smiling and shaking hands with AIDS patients, a first for China and signaling a new level of official recognition of the threat the virus poses to the world's most populous country.

Schools Will Reward Kids Who Eat Right

If a healthy heart and smaller waistline aren't incentive enough for kids to eat healthy foods, maybe a bracelet or key chain will do the trick.

Celebrex Benefits From Vioxx Withdrawal

Pfizer's Celebrex gained a majority of sales for new-generation painkillers in the month after Merck & Co. yanked Vioxx due to safety concerns, according to IMS Health, a pharmaceutical information company.

Race Not a Factor in Cancer Drug Risk

Women who take tamoxifen to combat breast cancer have about the same benefits and risks whether they are black or white, according to a study on the effects of the cancer drug.

Vaccine for Food Poisoning Possible

Washington University researchers are the first to grow a common cause of diarrhea, vomiting and other stomach problems in a lab, a move that a North Carolina expert said could speed along development of a vaccine, the university said Monday.

Gleevec Shows Promise Against Kaposi's Sarcoma

The drug Gleevec (imatinib) has shown promising activity in AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma, says a small study in the Nov. 30 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Scans May Spot Bipolar Disorder

Imaging technology called magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy may make it easier for psychiatrists to diagnose people with bipolar disorder.

Health Tip: Gotta Have Your Coffee?

If you missed your morning coffee and now you have a headache and can't concentrate, you might be going through caffeine withdrawal.

Elderly Better Off With Underactive Thyroid

Very old people with underactive thyroid glands do not experience adverse effects and may even live longer than people of the same age with normally functioning thyroids, Dutch researchers say.