By MIKE STOBBE on Sep 02, 2010 06:56PM

Can home cooking be hazardous to your health?

By MATTHEW PERRONE on Sep 02, 2010 01:01AM

Botox maker to pay $600M to resolve investigation

By MARILYNN MARCHIONE on Sep 01, 2010 03:27PM

New test seen as big advance in diagnosing TB

By STEPHANIE NANO on Sep 01, 2010 03:25PM

Journal editors question sale of diet pill Meridia

By CARLA K. JOHNSON on Aug 31, 2010 04:48PM

Benefits seen for high-risk women in ovary removal

By DYLAN LOVAN on Sep 02, 2010 02:17PM

Double hand transplant patient shows new hands

By MATTHEW PERRONE on Aug 31, 2010 12:35PM

FDA looks to curb abuse of cough medicine

Sep 03, 2010 06:00PM

Workers Paying 14% More For Family Health Coverage This Year, USA

The US worker is paying an average of $482 extra this year for family health coverage, 14% more than last year, even though total premiums - including what employers contribute - only rose 3% to an average of $13,770 in 2010, according to a survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust. The 2010 Employer Health Benefits Survey revealed that workers are paying almost $4,000 this year for family health coverage. The total amount of employers' contributions for family coverage remains unchanged, the report reveals...

Sep 03, 2010 11:00AM

4.7 Million Uninsured But Eligible Children Not In Medicaid Or CHIP

There are still about 4.7 million uninsured American children who are eligible for CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) or Medicaid and are not enrolled, says a new report published in the journal Health Affairs. The report estimated about 7.3 million American children were uninsured on an average day in 2008 - of those, 65% of them (4.7 million) were eligible for Medical or CHIP but not enrolled. According to the report, ten states had participation rates either close to or above 90%. 39% of eligible uninsured children live in California, Florida or Texas, while 61% (2...

Sep 03, 2010 11:00AM

Half Of Severe Asthma Cases In Children Are Not Untreatable; Just Follow The Basics

Many youths appear resistant to treatment from the onset of a severe asthmatic condition. Why? Simply put, many have been wrongly diagnosed or caretakers have not followed asthma treatment guidelines properly. There is no one cure-all for this condition that is a chronic, or long-term lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways...

Sep 03, 2010 09:00AM

Prescription Drug Use Rises 10%, Spending More Than Doubles In One Decade

The number of people in the USA who took one prescription medication in a one month period rose 10% during the decade up to the end of 2008. Americans spent US234.1 billion on prescription medications in 2008, more than double the figure in 1999, according to a report published by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). A prescription drug or medication is one that requires a doctor's prescription, as opposed to an OTC (over-the-counter) drug, which can be purchased straight from the pharmacy without having to see the doctor first...

Sep 03, 2010 08:00AM

Important Breakthrough In Origins Of Aggressive Breast Cancer

Researchers have made a major breakthrough in finding out how aggressive cancers originate, raising hope of novel targeted therapies for future breast cancer patients, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell Stem Cell. The scientists say this is the first study to show that the most aggressive cancers probably arise from intermediary, or progenitor, cells, which may significantly influence future research into fighting breast cancer...

Sep 02, 2010 11:01AM

NIH-sponsored research yields promising malaria drug candidate

A chemical that rid mice of malaria-causing parasites after a single oral dose may eventually become a new malaria drug if further tests in animals and people uphold the promise of early findings. The compound, NITD609, was developed by an international team of researchers including Elizabeth A. Winzeler, Ph.D., a grantee of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Sep 02, 2010 08:46AM

Lower blood pressure goal benefits African-Americans with chronic kidney disease, protein in the urine

On average, a lower blood pressure goal was no better than the standard blood pressure goal at slowing progression of kidney disease among African-Americans who had chronic kidney disease resulting from high blood pressure, according to results of the African-American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK), the largest and longest study of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in African-Americans. However, the blood pressure goal did benefit people who also had protein in the urine, which is a sign of kidney damage. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, appears in the Sept. 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Sep 02, 2010 06:41AM

New TB Diagnostic Proves Effective, Expedient, Study Finds

A molecular test designed to easily diagnose tuberculosis (TB) and detect a drug-resistant form of the bacterium that causes TB can provide much more specific, sensitive and rapid results than currently available TB diagnostics, according to a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine. In a test involving 1,730 patients with suspected drug-sensitive or multidrug-resistant pulmonary TB, the Xpert MTB/RIF TB test successfully identified 98 percent of all confirmed TB cases and 98 percent of patients with rifampin-resistant bacteria in less than two hours.

Sep 01, 2010 01:41PM

NIH awards grants to support biomedical research in space

The National Institutes of Health announced today that it has awarded the first new grants under the Biomedical Research on the International Space Station (BioMed-ISS) initiative, a collaborative effort between NIH and NASA. Using a special microgravity environment that Earth-based laboratories cannot replicate, researchers will explore fundamental questions about important health issues, such as how bones and the immune system get weak.

Sep 01, 2010 01:36PM

Association between elevated levels of lead, cadmium and delayed puberty in girls

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions have found that exposure to lead in childhood may delay the onset of puberty in young girls, with higher doses increasing the chance for later maturation.