Flesh-eating germ rare, especially for the healthy
• Infections • May 15 12
Aimee Copeland, a Georgia grad student, is fighting for her life because of the flesh-eating bacteria that infected her after she gashed her leg…
Sunscreens Remain Safe, Effective Form of Sun Protection
• Dermatology • May 15 12
The American Academy of Dermatology (Academy) today reiterated the safety and effectiveness of sunscreens to protect against the damaging effects from exposure to ultraviolet…
Most people brush their teeth in the wrong way
• Dental Health • May 15 12
Almost all Swedes brush their teeth, yet only one in ten does it in a way that effectively prevents tooth decay. Now researchers at…
Acupuncture may help some people with COPD: study
• Alternative Medicine • • Respiratory Problems • May 15 12
Three months of acupuncture improved breathing problems in people with chronic lung disease, in a new study from Japan.
According to one researcher, the…
Insecticide resistance threatens malaria fight
• Infections • • Public Health • May 15 12
Malaria-carrying mosquitoes in Africa and India are becoming resistant to insecticides, putting millions of lives at greater risk and threatening eradication efforts, health experts…
Children at risk as “button” battery use grows: study
• Children's Health • • Emergencies / First Aid • May 14 12
Children face a growing risk from “button” batteries, according to a U.S. study showing a near doubling of emergency room visits in the past…
Study sheds new light on importance of human breast milk ingredient
• Dieting • • Fat, Dietary • May 14 12
A new University of Illinois study shows that human milk oligosaccharides, or HMO, produce short-chain fatty acids that feed a beneficial microbial population in…
Brain circuitry is different for women with anorexia and obesity
• Brain • • Obesity • • Psychiatry / Psychology • May 14 12
Why does one person become anorexic and another obese? A study recently published by a University of Colorado School of Medicine researcher shows that…
How to minimize stroke damage
• Stroke • May 14 12
Following a stroke, factors as varied as blood sugar, body temperature and position in bed can affect patient outcomes, Loyola University Medical Center researchers…
Marijuana may ease multiple sclerosis symptoms
• Neurology • • Tobacco & Marijuana • May 14 12
People with multiple sclerosis have long said that smoking marijuana helps ease their painful muscle cramping. And a new clinical trial suggests they are…
Prenatal smoking tied to worse asthma in kids
• Asthma • • Pregnancy • • Tobacco & Marijuana • May 12 12
Children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy may have a tougher time controlling their asthma than other kids do, a new study suggests.
The findings,…
America’s hatred of fat hurts obesity fight
• Fat, Dietary • • Obesity • May 12 12
One night when Lynn McAfee was 5 years old, her psychologically troubled mother left her at the side of a road as punishment for…
Scripps doctors study novel new device to diagnose irregular heartbeat
• Emergencies / First Aid • • Heart • May 12 12
A study conducted at Scripps Health has found that a novel new heart monitoring device helped emergency room patients avoid unnecessary follow-up care. Scripps…
Gene therapy for hearing loss: potential and limitations
• Hair Loss • May 12 12
Regenerating sensory hair cells, which produce electrical signals in response to vibrations within the inner ear, could form the basis for treating age- or…
Obesity and the biological clock
• Obesity • May 10 12
Urgent appointments, tight work timetables and hectic social schedules structure modern life, and they very often clash with our intrinsic biological rhythms. The discrepancy…
Smoking Ban Reduced Maternal Smoking and Preterm Birth Risk
• Pregnancy • • Tobacco & Marijuana • May 10 12
A citywide ban on public smoking in Colorado led to significant decreases in maternal smoking and preterm births, providing the first evidence in the…
Forced to be fat
• Fat, Dietary • • Obesity • May 10 12
Americans are fatter than ever, but it’s not their fault. That’s according to the latest effort to solve an obesity crisis in the only…
Whooping cough epidemic declared in Wash. state
• Respiratory Problems • May 10 12
Washington state’s worst outbreak of whooping cough in decades has prompted health officials to declare an epidemic, seek help from federal experts and urge…
FDA advisers back first drug to prevent HIV
• AIDS/HIV • • Drug News • May 10 12
The first drug shown to prevent HIV infection won the endorsement of a panel of federal advisers Thursday, clearing the way for a landmark…
Arena obesity pill wins over U.S. advisers
• Drug News • • Obesity • May 10 12
An experimental obesity pill from Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc won the support of U.S. advisers on Thursday, as public health advocates push for new solutions…
Helping Hands reaches out to patients with cerebral palsy
• Neurology • May 10 12
With the aid of multiple force sensors and a digital dinosaur, a team of Rice University seniors known as Helping Hands hopes to restore…
ICU stays for worst asthma drop 74 percent, review finds
• Asthma • • Emergencies / First Aid • May 10 12
A review of 30 years of life-threatening asthma cases in a San Antonio intensive care unit found that annual ICU admissions for the condition…
Patients see benefits and risks to direct-to-consumer genetics tests
• Genetics • • Public Health • May 10 12
Patients see potential benefits from direct-to-consumer genetic testing, but are also concerned about how the test results will be used, and generally are unwilling…
Sleep loss from ‘social jetlag’ tied to obesity
• Obesity • May 10 12
A mismatch between when our internal clock wants us to wake up and when the alarm clock rings to get people to work and…
Argentina’s senate votes for “dignified death” law
• Mortality and Morbidity • • Public Health • May 10 12
Argentina’s senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a “dignified death” law giving terminally ill patients and their families more power to make end-of-life decisions.
The…