Quality of life okay after repaired heart defect

Adults who have undergone surgery during childhood to repair a congenital heart defect called tetralogy of Fallot have a satisfactory quality of life, although…    

Older men should be screened for aortic aneurysm

Older men, particularly those who have smoked cigarettes, should undergo screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), according to a report in the Annals of…    

Texas teens increased sex after abstinence program

Abstinence-only sex education programs, a major plank in President Bush’s education plan, have had no impact on teenagers’ behavior in his home state of…    

Leprosy infections down but stigma persists: WHO

Leprosy cases have declined over the past two decades but much still needs to be done to help those suffering in silence because of…    

Hazard posed by infant bath seats and rings

Parents should not use bath seats and bath rings to bathe their infants, according to a Canadian child health organization. Their survey findings show…    

Too much fluoride in iced tea sickens woman

A woman developed painful, weak bones after drinking gallons of instant iced tea every day for years, which filled her body with harmful levels…    

Low risk to human health from BSE goat case: EU

The world’s first case of “mad cow disease” found in a goat poses only a minimal risk to human health and the brain-wasting disease…    

US Medicare, Medicaid costs rising fast-CBO chief

The costs of the Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programs are rising at unsustainable rates that will force policy makers to adopt major changes…    

Vioxx increases heart attack risk in elderly

A new study adds to the evidence that cardiac risk is increased in Vioxx (rofecoxib) users, even in those without a history of…    

Louse-borne bacteria found in 4000-year-old tooth

DNA from a microbe that is transmitted by body lice and can cause trench fever, was recently identified in a human tooth dating back…    

Benefits of early calcium supplementation persist

Adolescent girls who take calcium supplements may increase their total body bone mineral density (BMD), an effect that is sustained over time during puberty,…    

Investment in water needed to reduce hunger - FAO

Poor countries urgently need investment to improve water usage in agriculture and ecosystems to reduce hunger, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation…    

Disease risk still high in Indonesia’s Aceh: WHO

Tsunami-stricken Indonesia has escaped major disease outbreaks so far but hundreds of thousands of people are at high risk due to poor conditions in…    

Tuberculosis case sparks Dutch health scare

A supermarket worker in a central Dutch town has been diagnosed with a virulent form of tuberculosis (TB), sparking the largest health screening of…    

Singapore in medical school alliance with Duke

Singapore, keen to boost its medical science sector, will open its second medical school in 2007 in an alliance with Duke University of the…    

Human stem cells form nerve cells: study

Stem cells taken from human embryos were coaxed into becoming motor neurons in an experiment that might one day help scientists repair damaged nervous…    

Hormone shots could cut preterm births: US study

Weekly injections for pregnant women of a drug derived from the hormone progesterone could have prevented nearly 10,000 premature births in 2002, U.S. researchers…    

Bird flu kills Vietnam girl, Cambodia case possible

Bird flu has killed a 10-year-old girl in southern Vietnam, doctors said on Monday, and they hoped the death of a Cambodian women…    

Mental health charity calls for cannabis probe

A British health charity called on Saturday for an investigation into evidence that smoking cannabis may cause psychosis in people at risk of…    

IQ-related brain areas may differ in men, women

While neither men nor women may be the more intelligent sex, their brains may take different paths to reach the same intellectual level, according…    

Illinois governor blasts US over flu vaccine delay

Illinois may be unable to resell hundreds of thousands doses of flu vaccine it committed to buy in Europe three months ago but…    

Smoking harms women more than men: study

Cigarette smoking is more harmful to women than to men, cutting more than a decade off female smokers’ life expectancy but much less for…    

EU Commission proposes ban on mercury exports

The European Union, the world’s largest supplier of mercury, is set to ban exports of the metal by 2011 under new rules proposed by…    

Erectile dysfunction may signal heart problems

Erectile dysfunction is sometimes more than just an issue that negatively impacts a man’s quality of life—it can also be an early…    

China’s Wen urges “all measures” against bird flu

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called on Friday for “all possible measures” to fight the emergence and spread of deadly bird flu that has appeared…