Health Headlines
White House at odds with bishops over abortion
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 1:29 P.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House is on a collision course with Catholic bishops in an intractable dispute over abortion that could blow up the fragile political coalition behind President Barack Obama's health care overhaul....
Guidelines for cancer screening differ by group
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 1:24 P.M.
Several doctors groups and advocacy groups set guidelines for cancer screening, and they update that advice periodically as new information emerges. Sometimes they agree, sometimes they don't. Last year, a number of groups got together and issued consensus guidelines for colon cancer....
Senate Dems moving ahead on crucial health vote
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 12:47 P.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- With no margin for rebellion, Senate Democrats pushed toward a crucial weekend test vote on their sweeping health care bill Friday, and wavering moderates appeared to be falling in line on President Barack Obama's signature issue....
Military experiment seeks to predict PTSD
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 11:50 A.M.
TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (AP) -- Two days before shipping off to war, Marine Pfc. Jesse Sheets sat inside a trailer in the Mojave Desert, his gaze fixed on a computer that flashed a rhythmic pulse of contrasting images....
Tamiflu-resistant swine flu cluster reported in NC
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 11:32 A.M.
ATLANTA (AP) -- Health officials say four people in North Carolina have tested positive for a type of swine flu that's resistant to the drug Tamiflu....
Tamiflu-resistant swine flu cluster reported in NC
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 11:28 A.M.
ATLANTA (AP) -- Health officials say four people in North Carolina have tested positive for a type of swine flu that's resistant to the drug Tamiflu....
Report: 20-somethings can go 2 years between Paps
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 10:27 A.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- First mammograms. Now - in an apparent coincidence - Pap smears....
Correction: Plavix story
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 7:32 A.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a Nov. 17 story about drug interactions between heartburn medications and the blood thinner Plavix, The Associated Press misidentified Johnson & Johnson's Mylanta as part of the H-2 blocker drug family. Mylanta is an antacid....
Cost of child vaccines fall, more kids saved
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 7:23 A.M.
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- Babies squirmed and wailed as needles plunged into their chubby thighs at a public health clinic on the outskirts of Hanoi on Friday. Like little ones everywhere, the reaction to the sting was never pretty....
AP IMPACT: Gripes about swine flu vaccine abound
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 6:51 A.M.
ATLANTA (AP) -- When the nation's swine flu vaccination program began in early October, health officials predicted it was going to be "messy." They were right....
China to punish those concealing swine flu info
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 9:44 P.M.
BEIJING (AP) -- China's health ministry said it will punish officials who underreport cases of swine flu after a doctor famous for exposing the extent of the 2003 SARS epidemic said he believes the true number of swine flu deaths is being covered up....
US survey shows southern counties most obese
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 6:31 P.M.
ATLANTA (AP) -- The first county-by-county survey of obesity reflects past studies that show the rate of obesity is highest in the Southeast and Appalachia. High rates of obesity and diabetes were reported in more than 80 percent of counties in the Appalachian region that includes Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia, according to the new research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention....
FDA panel backs safety, benefits of Spiriva
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 12:45 P.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal health experts on Thursday brushed off lingering safety questions about a popular inhaler drug and suggested it carry bolder benefit claims....
Experts say radical measures won't stop swine flu
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 8:25 A.M.
LONDON (AP) -- Health experts say extraordinary measures against swine flu - most notably quarantines imposed by China, where entire planeloads of passengers were isolated if one traveler had symptoms - have failed to contain the disease....
Task force doctor stands by mammogram advice
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 5:52 A.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A member of the independent panel whose new mammogram recommendations have led to confusion defended the task force's report, saying Thursday that it was based on the most up-to-date, accurate information available....
1.5M per day getting swine flu vaccine in China
AP - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2009 11:14 P.M.
HAVANA (AP) -- China's health minister said Wednesday his country is vaccinating 1.5 million people a day against swine flu, part of a mammoth effort to reach nearly 7 percent of inhabitants of the world's most populous country by year's end....
1 conjoined twin talking after separation surgery
AP - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2009 8:57 P.M.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- A Bangladeshi toddler separated this week from her conjoined twin sister was talking and behaving normally after being woken Thursday from a medically induced coma, the head of the surgery team said....
FDA panel backs Pfizer's enhanced vaccine for kids
AP - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2009 1:44 P.M.
BETHESDA, Md. (AP) -- Federal health experts said Wednesday an updated version of Pfizer's best-selling anti-infection vaccine is safe and effective for infants and toddlers, despite company studies that failed to meet certain goals....
Michelle Obama visits Va. school, tours garden
AP - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2009 10:58 A.M.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- First Lady Michelle Obama received a few gardening tips from students Wednesday as she toured a Virginia elementary school's vegetable garden....
Study: CT scans rule out heart attacks faster
AP - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2009 10:51 A.M.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- A CT scan - a kind of super X-ray - provides a faster, cheaper way to diagnose a heart attack when someone goes to the emergency room with chest pains, a new study suggests....
Ex-Kiss drummer: Breast cancer not just for women
AP - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2009 7:32 A.M.
SPRING LAKE, N.J. (AP) -- Lying in bed one night in 2007, Peter Criss felt something strange: a small lump on his left breast....
Ex-Kiss drummer: Breast cancer not just for women
AP - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2009 2:30 A.M.
SPRING LAKE, N.J. (AP) -- Former Kiss drummer Peter Criss is speaking out about his recent bout with breast cancer....
Study: New device boosts heart failure survival
AP - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2009 6:55 P.M.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- For the first time, a miniature heart pump shows the potential to become a widely used, permanent treatment for many older people with severe heart failure. But can we afford it?...
Don't blame fast food: Mummies had heart disease
AP - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2009 6:32 P.M.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- You can't blame this one on McDonald's: Researchers have found signs of heart disease in 3,500-year-old mummies....
FDA says heartburn drugs can interfere with Plavix
AP - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2009 2:23 P.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal health officials said Tuesday a popular variety of heartburn medications can interfere with the blood thinner Plavix, a drug taken by millions of Americans to reduce risks of heart attack and stroke....
Going high-tech to track Alzheimer's patients
AP - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2009 12:06 A.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Tom Dougherty jokes that he takes "get-lost walks." To his wife, Cleo, it's a constant fear: When will his Alzheimer's get bad enough that she has to end his 4-mile daily strolls?...
Study: Injured uninsured more likely to die in ER
AP - MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009 1 P.M.
CHICAGO (AP) -- Uninsured patients with traumatic injuries, such as car crashes, falls and gunshot wounds, were almost twice as likely to die in the hospital as similarly injured patients with health insurance, according to a troubling new study....
Sexually spread diseases up, better testing cited
AP - MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009 7:24 A.M.
ATLANTA (AP) -- Sexually spread diseases continue to rise, with reported chlamydia cases setting yet another record in 2008, government health officials said Monday....
Study raises new questions about Merck pill Zetia
AP - MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009 5:20 A.M.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- A new study raises fresh concerns about Zetia and its cousin, Vytorin - drugs still taken by millions of Americans to lower cholesterol, despite questions raised last year about how well they work....
China investigates 2 deaths after flu vaccinations
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009 10:47 P.M.
BEIJING (AP) -- Two people in China who received swine flu vaccinations died in the past week but at least one death appears unrelated to the vaccine and the other was being investigated....
FDA finds bits of steel, rubber in Genzyme drugs
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009 2:54 P.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal health regulators have found tiny particles of trash in drugs made by Genzyme, the second time this year the biotechnology company has been cited for contamination issues....
FDA approves new drug for heavy menstrual bleeding
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009 12:53 P.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal health officials have approved a new drug as the first non-hormonal treatment for heavy menstrual bleeding....
Pfizer move vexes those who lost Conn. land fight
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009 12:50 P.M.
NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) -- Now that drug giant Pfizer Inc. has announced plans to pull out of a Connecticut city that was embroiled in an epic eminent domain fight, residents are questioning why the battle was ever waged....
FDA questions safety of alcoholic energy drinks
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009 12:16 P.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration is challenging makers of alcohol-infused energy drinks to prove their beverages are safe, citing complaints that the products can cause risky behavior and injury....
WHO: Keep flu in mind when holding mass gatherings
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2009 10:35 A.M.
GENEVA (AP) -- Organizers of big sporting and cultural events should take steps to prevent the spread of swine flu, especially if local health systems aren't prepared to handle mass gatherings, the World Health Organization said Friday....
US adult smoking rate rises slightly
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009 3:41 P.M.
ATLANTA (AP) -- Cigarette smoking rose slightly for the first time in almost 15 years, dashing health officials' hopes that the U.S. smoking rate had moved permanently below 20 percent....
US reports largest mumps outbreak in 3 years
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009 3:39 P.M.
ATLANTA (AP) -- U.S. health officials say the largest U.S. outbreak of mumps in three years is occurring in New York and New Jersey....
WHO: Give at-risk groups anti-flu drugs early
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009 8:20 A.M.
GENEVA (AP) -- Doctors should give anti-viral drugs to pregnant women, young children and other at-risk groups as soon as they show clinical symptoms of swine flu to prevent them developing serious complications, the World Health Organization said Thursday....
Few Americans make end-of-life wishes known
AP - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2009 4:30 P.M.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- Lillian Landry always said she wasn't afraid to die. So when death came last week, the 99-year-old was lying peacefully in a hospice with no needles or tubes. Her final days saw her closest friend at her side and included occasional shots of her favorite whiskey, Canadian Mist....
Review: Reports on Pfizer drug studies misleading
AP - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2009 3:54 P.M.
Analysis of a dozen published studies testing possible new uses for a Pfizer Inc. epilepsy drug found that reporting of the results was often misleading, indicating the medicine worked better than internal company documents showed....
UN says hunger stunts some 200 million children
AP - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2009 2:29 P.M.
ROME (AP) -- Nearly 200 million children in poor countries have stunted growth because of insufficient nutrition, according to a new report published by UNICEF Wednesday before a three-day international summit on the problem of world hunger....
Study: Kidney angioplasty brings risks, no benefit
AP - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2009 2 P.M.
If you're among the hundreds of thousands of Americans with clogged kidney arteries, you might want to consider trying medicines before rushing into angioplasty to open them up. The pricey procedure is no more effective and carries surprisingly big risks, a study found....
Chemical BPA in workers linked to sex problems
AP - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2009 6:36 A.M.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Male factory workers in China who got very high doses of a chemical that's been widely used in hard plastic bottles had high rates of sexual problems, researchers reported Wednesday....
US health care sector is a fairly green giant
AP - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2009 1:08 P.M.
CHICAGO (AP) -- Health care, a giant in the U.S. economy, may be a gentle giant when it comes to greenhouse gases....
AMA votes to seek repeal of 'don't ask,don't tell'
AP - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2009 12:20 P.M.
CHICAGO (AP) -- The American Medical Association on Tuesday voted to oppose the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, and declared that gay marriage bans contribute to health disparities....
Experts: Placebo power behind many natural cures
AP - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2009 12:16 P.M.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Ten years and $2.5 billion in research have found no cures from alternative medicine. Yet these mostly unproven treatments are now mainstream and used by more than a third of all Americans. This is one in an occasional Associated Press series on their use and potential risks....
UK starts study on using human DNA in animals
AP - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2009 4:29 A.M.
LONDON (AP) -- British scientists begin a new study on Tuesday to consider how human DNA is used in animal experiments and to determine what the boundaries of such controversial science might be....
Scanning invisible damage of PTSD, brain blasts
AP - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2009 12:02 A.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Powerful scans are letting doctors watch just how the brain changes in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and concussion-like brain injuries - signature damage of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars....
Medical association backs health system reform
AP - MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2009 7:02 P.M.
HOUSTON (AP) -- The American Medical Association on Monday rebuffed dissident members and voted to stick with support for ongoing health reform efforts, while reiterating wariness over proposals that threaten doctors' pocketbooks and independence....
WHO: AIDS leading cause of death, disease in women
AP - MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2009 12:39 P.M.
GENEVA (AP) -- In its first study of women's health around the globe, the World Health Organization said Monday that the AIDS virus is the leading cause of death and disease among women between the ages of 15 and 44....
Lawmaker wants probe of E. coli and school lunches
AP - MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2009 8:46 A.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee wants an investigation into the risk of deadly E. coli getting into school lunches....
In Europe, most swine flu shots by invitation only
AP - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2009 2:50 P.M.
LONDON (AP) -- In Britain, there are no long lines of people seeking swine flu vaccine. Doctor's offices aren't swamped with desperate calls. And there are no cries of injustice that the vaccine is going to wealthy corporations or healthy people who don't really need it....
Goldman Sachs, Citigroup got swine flu vaccine
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009 3:53 P.M.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Some of New York's biggest companies, including Wall Street giants Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, received doses of swine flu vaccine for at-risk employees, drawing criticism that the hard-to-find vaccine is going first to the privileged....
New gene therapy halts 2 boys' rare brain disease
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009 2:12 P.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- French scientists mixed gene therapy and bone marrow transplants in two boys to seemingly halt a brain disease that can kill by adolescence. The surprise ingredient: They disabled the HIV virus so it couldn't cause AIDS, and then used it to carry in the healthy new gene....
WHO: Swine flu virus is top strain worldwide
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009 7:50 A.M.
LONDON (AP) -- The World Health Organization's flu chief said the swine flu virus has now become the predominant flu strain worldwide....
Genetic tests for UK asylum seekers draw criticism
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009 6:13 A.M.
LONDON (AP) -- Britain is using genetic tests on some African asylum seekers in an effort to catch those who are lying about their nationality, drawing criticism from scientists and provoking outrage from rights groups....
Old method of heart bypass better than 'off-pump'
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009 5:58 A.M.
NEW YORK (AP) -- It seemed like a great idea - doing bypass surgery while the heart is still beating, sparing patients the complications that can come from going on a heart-lung machine. Now the first big test of this method has produced a surprise: Bypass has fewer problems and is more successful done the old way....
Family doctors group loses members over Coke deal
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009 5:57 A.M.
CHICAGO (AP) -- Advice about soft drinks and health from one of the nation's largest doctors groups will soon be brought to you by Coke....
Medical aid group raises alarm about AIDS funding
AP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009 3:32 A.M.
JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- A medical aid group says funding for AIDS is threatened, and that could set back "dramatic" progress in decreasing HIV illness and death....
Officials: Swine flu confirmed in Iowa cat
AP - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2009 3:02 P.M.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- A 13-year-old Iowa cat has been infected with swine flu, veterinary and federal officials said Wednesday, and it is believed to be the first case of the H1N1 virus in a feline....
Commercial pigs in Ind. test positive for H1N1
AP - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2009 11:10 A.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday that pigs in a commercial herd in Indiana have tested positive for swine flu, making it the first time the virus has been found in such hogs....
Health care dispute: Costs of defensive medicine
AP - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2009 10:21 A.M.
BOSTON (AP) -- Dr. James Wang says he tries to tell his patients when extra medical procedures aren't necessary. If they insist, though, he will do it - not so much to protect their health as his own practice....
Smart Rx: Drugs that work and won't break the bank
AP - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2009 10:01 A.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Last year pharmaceutical companies spent more than $4 billion urging patients like you to "ask your doctor" about their drugs. But if you want a prescription that won't empty your wallet, while still keeping you well, you might start asking your doctor about drugs you don't see on TV....
Low cholesterol may prevent some prostate cancers
AP - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009 11:23 A.M.
Men may protect more than their hearts if they keep cholesterol in line: Their chances of getting aggressive prostate cancer may be lower, new research suggests....
Premature births worsen US infant death rate
AP - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009 9:39 A.M.
ATLANTA (AP) -- Premature births, often due to poor care of low-income pregnant women, are the main reason the U.S. infant mortality rate is higher than in most European countries, a government report said Tuesday....
Swine flu scare tightens borders around Ukraine
AP - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009 8:44 A.M.
LVIV, Ukraine (AP) -- Russia and Slovakia tightened their borders with Ukraine on Tuesday as the World Health Organization began investigating a suspected swine flu outbreak....
Chinese official: Syphilis boom driven by economy
AP - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009 8:43 A.M.
GENEVA (AP) -- China has seen a tenfold increase in syphilis cases over the past decade, as migrant workers made enough money in the country's economic boom to hire more prostitutes, a senior Chinese health official was quoted as saying Tuesday....
New vaccine offers hope in Africa's malaria battle
AP - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009 7:19 A.M.
SIAYA, Kenya (AP) -- A mother watched with dread as a nurse inserted a tube in her baby's head. Blood streamed into the anemic 4-month-old who already has malaria, the mosquito-borne disease that kills a million African children every year....
Poor countries see troubling rise in breast cancer
AP - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009 12:15 A.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nurses were training women in rural Mexico to examine their breasts for cancer when one raised her hand to object. If she lost her breast, Harvard public health specialist Felicia Knaul recalls the woman saying, "My man would leave me" - and with him, the family's income....
More insurers are paying for alternative remedies
AP - MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2009 9 P.M.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Ten years and $2.5 billion in research have found no cures from alternative medicine. Yet these mostly unproven treatments are now mainstream and used by more than a third of all Americans. This is one in an occasional Associated Press series on their use and potential risks....
Half of US kids will get food stamps, study says
AP - MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2009 6:32 P.M.
CHICAGO (AP) -- Nearly half of all U.S. children and 90 percent of black youngsters will be on food stamps at some point during childhood, and fallout from the current recession could push those numbers even higher, researchers say....
Study ties common antibiotics with birth defects
AP - MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2009 1:13 P.M.
CHICAGO (AP) -- Researchers studying antibiotics in pregnancy have found a surprising link between common drugs used to treat urinary infections and birth defects. Reassuringly, the most-used antibiotics in early pregnancy - penicillins - appear to be the safest....
1 dose of flu vaccine working in pregnant women
AP - MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2009 11:05 A.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A single dose of the swine flu vaccine works well for almost all pregnant women, but young children will still need two doses for best results, federal health officials said Monday....
New group helps US monitor swine flu shot safety
AP - MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2009 1:02 A.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Independent health advisers begin monitoring safety of the swine flu vaccine on Monday, an extra step the government promised in this year's unprecedented program to watch for possible side effects....
Med, nursing schools teaching alternative remedies
AP - SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2009 9 P.M.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Ten years and $2.5 billion in research have found no cures from alternative medicine. Yet these mostly unproven treatments are now mainstream and used by more than a third of all Americans. This is one in an occasional Associated Press series on their use and potential risks....
UN: $39 billion needed for pneumonia
AP - SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2009 4:01 P.M.
LONDON (AP) -- To fight pneumonia, the world's top killer of children, United Nations officials say they need $39 billion (euro26.35 billion) over the next six years....
Govt says swine flu vaccine catching up to demand
AP - SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2009 8:33 A.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A senior adviser to President Barack Obama says the government will catch up to the demand for swine flu vaccine within a week....
Castro: more US visitors mean more Cuban swine flu
AP - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2009 7:08 A.M.
HAVANA (AP) -- Fidel Castro has found something to sneeze at in Washington's decision to ease visits by Cuban-Americans to his island: He says more Americans mean more swine flu....
Study finds stroke risk from anemia drug Aranesp
AP - FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009 5:40 P.M.
A new study raises fresh safety concerns about widely used anemia medicines, finding that the drug Aranesp nearly doubled the risk of stroke in people with diabetes and chronic kidney problems who are not yet sick enough to need dialysis....
Side effects not always due to swine flu shot
AP - FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009 5:01 P.M.
LONDON (AP) -- Hundreds of people on any given day will die, develop the paralyzing Guillain-Barre syndrome or have spontaneous abortions, and that doesn't necessarily mean that their swine flu vaccination shot was to blame, a new study says....
WHO experts: Single dose swine flu vaccine enough
AP - FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009 7:36 A.M.
GENEVA (AP) -- A single dose of swine flu vaccine is enough to immunize adults and children over 10 against the pandemic strain, the World Health Organization said Friday....
Some who get vaccine not in high-risk groups
AP - FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009 7:18 A.M.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- It was bound to happen: Some people who aren't at high risk for swine flu complications got the much-in-demand vaccine....
Getting enough sleep? They aren't in West Virginia
AP - THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2009 9:36 P.M.
ATLANTA (AP) -- Sleepless in Seattle? Hardly. West Virginia is where people are really staying awake, according to the first government study to monitor state-by-state differences in sleeplessness. West Virginians' lack of sleep was about double the national rate, perhaps a side effect of health problems such as obesity, experts said....
Health experts: Kids should get seasonal flu shot
AP - THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2009 5:02 P.M.
LONDON (AP) -- Dutch scientists made a controversial suggestion Friday that children might be better off skipping the seasonal flu vaccine this year - a proposal flatly rejected by other health experts....
Fight erupts in line at Nevada swine flu clinic
AP - THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2009 4:33 P.M.
RENO, Nev. (AP) -- A fight broke out Thursday at a Reno, Nev., clinic giving shots for swine flu when someone reportedly tried to cut in line....
Obama girls' vaccine: Favoritism or good example?
AP - THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2009 4:11 P.M.
With Dad a world leader and Nobel Prize winner, Malia and Sasha Obama surely could have been first in line when vaccinations began for swine flu. They weren't, the White House says. But that hasn't stopped complaints that President Barack Obama's daughters got preferential treatment....
Study: Cholesterol drugs may improve flu survival
AP - THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2009 2:11 P.M.
A new treatment for swine flu may already be on pharmacy shelves - cholesterol-lowering statin drugs like Lipitor and Zocor....
Obama girls' shots: favoritism or public service?
AP - THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2009 12:31 P.M.
CHICAGO (AP) -- With dad a world leader, Malia and Sasha Obama surely could've been first in line when swine flu vaccinations began....
Mecca-bound pilgrims prompt swine flu precautions
AP - THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2009 11 A.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Some of the millions who travel to Saudi Arabia next month for the annual hajj will be greeted with face masks, hand sanitizer and fever checks as health officials strive to stem the spread of swine flu during the world's largest pilgrimage....
Tracking how flu evolves _ it has sticky tricks
AP - THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2009 11 A.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Vaccinating more children might help slow the evolution of the constantly changing flu virus, government scientists reported Thursday....
Novartis says on track to deliver US vaccine order
AP - THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2009 6:55 A.M.
BASEL, Switzerland (AP) -- Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG said Thursday it is on track to meet its U.S. government order for swine flu vaccine, seeking to calm fears in recent weeks that shipments and vaccination programs may be delayed....
Children learn their part in swine flu prevention
AP - WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2009 8:06 P.M.
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Mention swine flu to a young child, and odds are pretty good you'll get a blank stare....
Swine flu prompts hundreds of schools to close
AP - WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2009 4:09 P.M.
CHICAGO (AP) -- The number of students staying home sick with the flu is multiplying nationwide and normally quiet school nurses' offices suddenly look like big city emergency rooms, packed with students too ill to finish the day....
Scientists patch damaged lungs for transplanting
AP - WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2009 4 P.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Call it a genetic patch job for worn lungs: Canadian researchers took donated lungs deemed too damaged to transplant and repaired them with outside-the-body gene therapy....
As flu shots arrive, government hopes delays fixed
AP - WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2009 12:58 P.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- With more than 23 million doses of swine flu vaccine now available, health officials are visiting vaccine plants to check for any more pending interruptions to what appears to be a slowly but steadily growing supply....
Medicare reverses billing change on Genentech drug
AP - WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2009 11:52 A.M.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Medicare officials are backing off a policy that pushed many doctors to use a $2,000 injectable drug for a potentially blinding eye disorder, over a similar treatment that costs about $50....
Swiss gov't wants restrictions on assisted suicide
AP - WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2009 11:17 A.M.
GENEVA (AP) -- The Swiss government proposed Wednesday to restrict or even ban assisted suicide groups such as Dignitas in a bid to cut down on 'suicide tourism.'...
AIDS experts say Russia needs new HIV strategy
AP - WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2009 10:58 A.M.
MOSCOW (AP) -- AIDS experts urged Russian officials on Wednesday to scrap their abstinence-based strategy for curbing the spread of HIV, saying the country's fast-growing epidemic could be entering a dangerous new phase....
Alarming weight gain seen in kids on psych drugs
AP - TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009 1:05 P.M.
CHICAGO (AP) -- Children on widely used psychiatric drugs can quickly gain an alarming amount of weight; many pack on nearly 20 pounds and become obese within just 11 weeks, a study found....
Correction: FDA drug label story
AP - TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009 10:01 A.M.
WASHINGTON AP) (AP) -- In an Oct. 21 story about drug labels, The Associated Press erroneously described the Novartis drug Zometa. Zometa was approved in 2001 to treat excessive calcium levels, not to treat a form of osteoporosis in cancer patients. Also, the drug was approved only in a 4 milligram dose, not in both 4 milligram and 8 milligram doses. A corrected version of the story appears below....
