Health Headlines - December 9

Smoking Is Bad for the Brain

Smoking not only damages health, it is bad for the brain too, according to a Scottish study spanning nearly 60 years.

Teenagers, Young Men Warned of Laptop Health Risk

Teenagers and young men should keep their laptops off their laps because they could damage fertility, an expert said Thursday.

Alzheimer Drug May Also Help Parkinson's Patients

The drug Exelon, prescribed to restore memory in Alzheimer's patients, may also offer some help for people who develop dementia from Parkinson's disease, researchers said on Wednesday.

Second Operation May Not Help Ovary Cancer Survival

There may be no benefit in putting women with advanced ovarian cancer through a second round of surgery to remove a tumor not taken out the first time, researchers said on Wednesday.

Roche, Glaxo Seek Nod for IV Osteoporosis Drug

Roche Holding AG and GlaxoSmithKline said on Wednesday they asked U.S. regulators to approve an intravenous form of their osteoporosis drug that could be administered far less frequently.

New Breast Cancer Drug Reduces Relapse

A new type of breast cancer drug is superior to the old standard, tamoxifen, in older women and should now be the first drug used to treat the cancer, U.S. and British researchers said on Wednesday.

Ritalin Seen to Help Child Cancer Survivors

Treatment with methylphenidate, better known as Ritalin, may reduce attentional and social problems in kids who've survived leukemia or brain tumors, according to researchers.

Scientists Find Gene Clue in Hunt for AIDS Vaccine

Scientists said Wednesday they have identified key genes involved in the body's response to HIV, which causes AIDS -- a finding that could narrow the search for an effective vaccine against the deadly illness.

J&J Warns Against Higher Procrit Doses

Doctors should stop using the anemia drug Procrit, made by Johnson & Johnson's Ortho Biotech Products L.P., if an oxygen-carrying agent in a patient's blood reaches high levels, the company said in documents released on Wednesday.

Drug Sales Visits Affect Doctors Little

The billions that drug companies spend on personal visits to promote new drugs and hand out free samples to doctors have little effect on how doctors prescribe drugs, according to a study published on Wednesday.

World Hunger Unchanged, Says U.N. Agency

The world is losing the battle against hunger, with the number of malnourished people in developing nations growing to more than 800 million people and rising, according to a U.N. report Wednesday.

Lilly Debuts Clinical Drug Trial Web Site

Eli Lilly & Co. debuted a Web site Wednesday for clinical trial data on its prescription drugs, including Prozac and its new antidepressant, Cymbalta.

How Birds Learn to Sing May Hold Clues to Human Language

Scientists taught baby sparrows to sing a complete bird song after exposing them only to overlapping segments of the song, in the process discovering how the birds store musical memories.