Reuters: Health News

WHO probing drug resistant swine flu

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:22:55 GMT

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization is looking into reports in Britain and the United States that the H1N1 flu may have developed resistance to Tamiflu in people with severely suppressed immune systems, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Fertility drugs may pose some uterine cancer risk

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:19:30 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Though the use of fertility drugs does not seem to generally increase uterine cancer risk, a Danish study identified small increases in risk from certain fertility drugs used for longer duration.

Antioxidants could help preserve muscle strength

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:16:16 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a study in older adults, dietary intake of vitamins C and E was linked with muscle strength, leading the researchers to suggest at a meeting in Atlanta this past weekend that a diet high in antioxidants could play an important role in preserving muscle function in older adults

Co-ed dorms linked to more drinking, sex

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:37:23 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In findings that may confirm parents' worries, a new study suggests that co-ed college dorms are encouraging kids to drink heavily and have more sex.

Zimbabwe child mortality up 20 percent, U.N. says

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:49:44 GMT

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's infant mortality rate has risen by 20 percent over the past two decades as children under five succumb to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and pneumonia, a joint government and United Nations survey showed on Tuesday.

Consumer ads pump up prescription drug costs

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:22:47 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Medicaid pharmacy costs for the blood-thinning drug Plavix jumped at around the same time the drug's maker started advertising it to consumers -- even though the number of people prescribed the drug didn't change, new research shows.

Venezuelans borrow for plastic surgery in hard times

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:04:52 GMT

CARACAS (Reuters) - Unfazed by a recession and rampant inflation, image-conscious Venezuelans show no signs of cutting back on the facelifts, liposuction, and breast augmentation that have become de rigueur beauty treatments.

'Covert' coping with job conflict ups heart risk

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:13:55 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Walking away or letting things pass may be an unhealthy way to deal with unfair treatment on the job, research from Sweden shows.

Meet flu's rival in kids: respiratory syncytial virus

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:09:22 GMT

By Megan Brooks NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - With all the public's attention focused on flu, particularly H1N1 swine flu, doctors in Boston are warning that another highly contagious seasonal virus takes a substantially greater toll in some ways than does seasonal flu, particularly in young children. It's respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and it has been "underappreciated," Dr. Florence T. Bourgeois, of Children's Hospital Boston, told Reuters Health by email. RSV is a common virus that most c

Exposure to smoke, lead ups risk of ADHD

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:55:20 GMT

By Megan Brooks NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - If you need another reason to stop smoking while pregnant, or to rid your home of lead, a new study suggests that children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy and who are exposed to the metal have more than twice the usual risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Study co-author Dr. Tanya E. Froehlich, of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Ohio, told Reuters Health that the lead finding is particularly "surprising," give

Over 33 million infected with AIDS virus: U.N.

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:40:51 GMT

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - An estimated 33.4 million people worldwide are infected with the AIDS virus, up from 33 million in 2007, but more people are living longer due to the availability of drugs, according to a United Nations report.

Italy finds proposal to skip lunch hard to digest

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:54:39 GMT

ROME (Reuters) - Food-loving Italy responded with indignation on Tuesday to a minister's comments that lunchbreaks -- still a sit-down ritual for many Italian workers -- are bad for waistlines and the economy, and should be skipped.

Drug-resistant bacteria on increase in U.S.: study

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:41:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cases of a drug-resistant bacterial infection known as MRSA have risen by 90 percent since 1999, and they are increasingly being acquired outside hospitals, researchers reported on Tuesday.

Vioxx risks could have been detected earlier: study

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:33:19 GMT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Heart risks from taking Merck & Co Inc's painkiller Vioxx could have been detected more than three years before the company withdrew the drug from the market in September 2004, had the data been openly available, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

Psychotropic drugs boost fall risk in the elderly

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:21:02 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new analysis of studies including nearly 80,000 people aged 60 and older confirms that certain types of widely prescribed drugs, such as antidepressants and sedatives, can increase their risk of falling.

Texas court tosses state Vioxx suit against Merck

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:03:29 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Texas court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the state against drugmaker Merck & Co that sought a refund for money spent on the withdrawn Vioxx pain treatment, the company said on Monday.

Don't kiss Santa, he may have the flu: Hungary government

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:22:51 GMT

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Santa Claus should avoid kissing children and shaking their hands to prevent spreading the flu and should get vaccinated against the illness, Hungary's state health authority said.

Health care reform may hurt hospital credit

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:45:53 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - High-cost urban U.S. hospitals may face debt rating downgrades if large cuts to Medicare funding are implemented as part of U.S. health care reform, Moody's Investors Service said on Monday.

Canada stops use of one batch of flu vaccine

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:55:48 GMT

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Some Canadian provinces have stopped using a particular batch of the H1N1 flu vaccine after six people experienced severe allergic reactions, the country's health agency said on Monday.

Swine flu may have hit one peak; more to come

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:00:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pandemic of swine flu may be hitting a peak in the Northern Hemisphere, global health officials said on Friday, but they cautioned it was far from over.

Healthcare reform faces challenges in Senate

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:47:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's U.S. healthcare overhaul plan has cleared an important Senate hurdle but lawmakers warned on Sunday of challenges ahead in winning support for passage, even among Obama's own Democrats.

Healthcare reform faces challenges in Senate

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:36:02 GMT

Swine flu may have hit one peak; more to come

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:51:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pandemic of swine flu may be hitting a peak in the Northern Hemisphere, global health officials said on Friday, but they cautioned it was far from over.

Healthcare bill poised to pass Senate test

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:25:55 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A broad healthcare overhaul was poised to clear its first Senate hurdle on Saturday as the last wavering senators said they would vote to begin debate on the legislation, giving Democrats the 60 votes they need.

Los Angeles gets tough on medical marijuana shops

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:29:36 GMT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Past the security man and his pit bull and through a haze of eye-watering smoke, two youths load up a pipe next to a row of shiny glass jars with two dozen varieties of marijuana bud displayed like candy.