WHO: Smoking kills 5 million every year
4:20
Tobacco use kills at least 5 million people every year, a figure that could rise if countries don't take stronger measures to combat smoking, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. In a new report on tobacco use...
GAO: FDA yet to make safety changes post-Vioxx
12:23
The Food and Drug Administration still hasn't restructured its staff to better monitor drug safety, more than three years after experts recommended key changes in the wake of the Vioxx scandal. That's according to...
Swine flu toll includes a few pets
3:22
A handful of pets have been sickened with swine flu in recent weeks, but here are doctors' orders: Wash your hands and don't panic. The virus, also known as H1N1, has been diagnosed in only a few cats and ferrets since...
British researchers: little evidence Tamiflu works
2:54
British researchers say there is little evidence Tamiflu stops complications in healthy people who catch the flu, though public health officials contend the swine flu drug reduces flu hospitalizations and deaths. ...
US tops world in health care spending, results lag
10:57
The United States ranks near the bottom in life expectancy among wealthy nations despite spending more than double per person on health care than the industrialized world's average, an economic group said Tuesday. Life...
Experts: Colon cancer deaths could make big drop
8:16
Colon cancer deaths could drop dramatically in the next decade because of better screening and treatment, according to an optimistic new prediction by top researchers. The estimate was made in an annual report that...
Groups try simple steps to avoid hospital rebound
3:16
Talk about unnecessary misery: One in five Medicare patients winds up back in the hospital within a month _ even worse, one in four patients with heart failure. A major push is under way around the country to cut...
Experts: Colon cancer deaths could make big drop
9:40
Colon cancer deaths could drop dramatically in the next decade because of better screening and treatment, according to an optimistic new prediction by top researchers. The estimate was made in an annual report that...
CDC: Pet frogs source of salmonella outbreak
6:36
Pet frogs are being blamed for a national salmonella outbreak that sickened at least 48 people. The illnesses occurred from June through November, with reports coming in from 25 states. Health officials investigating...
FDA investigating more dangerous brain scans
4:18
Federal health regulators are investigating reports of dangerous radiation levels at two more California hospitals, following earlier unsafe medical scans at a Los Angeles facility. The Food and Drug Administration is...
South Africa to treat all HIV-positive babies
3:23
South Africa announced ambitious new plans Tuesday for earlier and expanded treatment for HIV-positive babies and pregnant women, a change that could save hundreds of thousands of lives in the nation hardest hit by the...
Groups try simple steps to avoid hospital rebound
3:01
Talk about unnecessary misery: One in five Medicare patients winds up back in the hospital within a month _ even worse, one in four patients with heart failure. A major push is under way around the country to cut...
CDC: Swine flu is widespread only in 25 states
11:46
Swine flu infections continue to wane, just as vaccine is becoming plentiful enough that some communities are allowing everyone to get it, not just those in priority groups. Swine flu was widespread in only 25 states...
FDA warns of problems with sterilization device
4:27
Doctors and hospitals should stop using a device from Steris Corp. to sterilize surgical tools after reports of malfunction, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The company's modified SS1 sterilizer device...
Brazil officials visiting Germany get swine flu
2:53
Two Brazilian officials accompanying President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on a trip to Germany have been diagnosed with swine flu. Brazil's official Agencia Brasil news agency says the presidential security guard and an...
Drugmakers, FDA move to curb painkiller abuse
2:04
Pharmaceutical executives laid out plans Friday to prevent the misuse of prescription painkillers, under pressure from regulators trying to stop hundreds of fatal overdoses each year. But Food and Drug Administration...
Embargo as genocide? US disputes Cuban claim
12:37
It was a story meant to captivate the United Nations: A dozen Cuban children with heart defects were forced to endure unnecessary surgery because the U.S. embargo blocked them from receiving American-made catheters. ...
Glaxo's swine flu shot may give kids fever
8:15
The European Medicines Agency warns that young children given GlaxoSmithKline's swine flu shot may get a fever after their second dose. In a statement issued Friday, the European drug regulator said data from...
CDC warns of fake swine flu e-mails
5:24
Health officials are warning the public about fake e-mails inviting people to sign up for swine flu vaccine registrations. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials this week put out an advisory about...
Surgeon general: More minority doctors needed
5:02
The new U.S. Surgeon General on Thursday called for stepped-up efforts in increasing the number of minority physicians. In what was one of her first speeches to a large crowd since she was sworn in Nov. 3, Dr. Regina...
Cambodian moms-to-be chew tobacco for nausea
3:14
When pregnant Cambodian women suffer morning sickness, they often reach for an unlikely source of relief: a wad of chewing tobacco. Many become hooked, and the World Health Organization warned Thursday it is a...
Study finds hospitals speeding heart attack care
9:26
Hospitals are giving faster care to lots more heart attack patients, a speed-up sure to be saving lives. More than three-quarters of people suffering major heart attacks are getting their blocked arteries reopened...
Experts: Man controlled robotic hand with thoughts
5:06
An Italian who lost his left forearm in a car crash was successfully linked to a robotic hand, allowing him to feel sensations in the artificial limb and control it with his thoughts, scientists said Wednesday. During...
Study finds hospitals speeding heart attack care
5:00
Hospitals are giving faster care to lots more heart attack patients, a speed-up sure to be saving lives. More than three-quarters of people suffering major heart attacks are getting their blocked arteries reopened...
South Africa to treat all HIV-positive babies
7:50
South Africa announced ambitious new plans Tuesday for earlier and expanded treatment for HIV-positive babies and pregnant women, a change that could save hundreds of thousands of lives in the nation hardest hit by the...
FDA cites unsafe conditions at Tyson Foods plant
3:37
U.S. health regulators have warned Tyson Foods about unsanitary conditions at a Texas plant that makes seafood soups. In a warning letter posted online Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration said its inspectors...
Weak economy puts new spotlight on medical pricing
12:38
Consumers are increasingly turning to the Web to compare medical fees as the economy and less generous health benefits squeeze household budgets. Shopping around for lower-priced medical care has never been easier....
WHO approves Glaxo's swine flu shot
6:19
Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline says one of its swine flu vaccines has been certified by the World Health Organization, making it available for donors to buy for developing countries. In a statement issued Tuesday,...
CDC: Swine flu less widespread, down to 32 states
4:39
Swine flu infections seem to be dropping, but the number of children who died with the illness rose by about 30, according to a government report released Monday. Widespread infections of swine flu were reported in 32...
Anatomy training facts, how to donate
1:15
Learning anatomy with cadavers is a centuries-old rite of passage that once again is getting a face-lift as medical schools struggle to mix this core knowledge with an explosion of new information from the genetics...
Doctors in training still learn from cadavers
1:14
Color-coded denim cloths cover the row upon row of black body bags atop cold metal tables. Blue means a body that eventually will go into a common grave. Tan, the family wants those remains back for burial, eventually. ...
Doctors in training still learn from cadavers
4:31
Color-coded denim cloths cover the row upon row of black body bags atop cold metal tables. Blue means a body that eventually will go into a common grave. Tan, the family wants those remains back for burial, eventually. ...
Autism treatment works in kids as young as 18 mos.
3:12
The first rigorous study of behavior treatment in autistic children as young as 18 months found two years of therapy can vastly improve symptoms, often resulting in a milder diagnosis. The study was small _ just 48...
Anatomy training facts, how to donate
12:02
Learning anatomy with cadavers is a centuries-old rite of passage that once again is getting a face-lift as medical schools struggle to mix this core knowledge with an explosion of new information from the genetics...
WHO: Treat HIV patients sooner
7:45
People infected with the virus that causes AIDS should start treatment earlier than currently recommended, the World Health Organization said Monday. The U.N. agency issued new guidance advising doctors to start giving...
Employers play Dr. Mom to limit swine flu impact
5:02
Big businesses are spending serious time and money trying to limit the swine flu pandemic's impact on operations, from bankrolling video on good hygiene to training employees to cover for co-workers with critical jobs. ...
China tries to fix crumbling health care system
2:56
Unable to rely on China's broken health care system, the Ji family was desperate. Doctors had taken 15-year-old Ji Xiaoyan off a ventilator and discharged her because her family could no longer pay her hospital bills....
Ways businesses seek to blunt swine flu's impact
1:44
Some common strategies employers are using or planning to limit the spread of swine flu among their work force and keep operations going normally: _ Posting information about the swine flu, including tips on hygiene...
Understanding the pros and cons of health overhaul
3:22
Maybe you've been reading the health care bill in your spare time. Then perhaps you can answer this question: If Congress makes history and puts a bill on President Barack Obama's desk by Christmas, how long before the...
Food stamps estimate raises debate over 'poverty'
2:09
The estimate was startling, and made headlines around the country: Almost half of all U.S. kids will be on food stamps at some time during childhood. How could it be true in the land of plenty, in the midst of an...
Insuring young key to health care overhaul plans
10:59
The young invincibles. That's what the insurance industry calls them. They're the 13.7 million Americans under 30 who don't have health insurance because, they firmly believe, they just don't need it. Why waste money...
Car insurance scofflaws raise health mandate doubt
4:27
Thousands of drivers on the nation's roads don't carry auto insurance, despite laws in all but two states requiring it. Critics of President Barack Obama's health overhaul plan ask: What are the chances scofflaws will...
Saudi floods kill 77 while Muslims perform hajj
10:54
Muslim pilgrims holding white umbrellas against the blazing sun clambered up a rocky desert hill for prayers Thursday during the annual hajj, a day after torrential rains that killed at least 77 people. Flooding from...
Thailand looks to limit sex change surgery
9:56
Thailand has issued rules making sex change surgery more difficult _ including a requirement that potential candidates cross-dress for a year _ over fears that some patients are rushing into the operation, a medical...
WHO says Tamiflu still works against swine flu
8:48
The World Health Organization says isolated cases of drug-resistant swine flu in Britain and the United States have not changed the agency's assessment of the disease. It says Tamiflu remains highly effective against...
CDC: Swine flu vaccine safe; no big problems seen
4:32
There's no evidence that the swine flu vaccine is causing any serious side effects, U.S. health officials said Wednesday, in their first report on the safety of the new vaccine. Since vaccinations began in early...
CDC warns: Holiday could bring more swine flu
9:48
Let us give thanks _ and pass the Purell. Your family might be sharing more than turkey and pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving. Swine flu may also be on the table _ and at crowded airports and shopping malls. Just as the...
Comatose for 23 years, Belgian feels reborn
4:29
Helped by a therapist, Rom Houben's outstretched finger tapped with surprising speed on a computer touchscreen, spelling out how he felt "alone, lonely, frustrated" in the 23 years he was trapped inside a paralyzed...
UNAIDS: Sex main cause for HIV spreading in China
1:06
The virus that causes AIDS is now spreading fastest in China through heterosexual sex, a trend demanding new strategies to stave off a rebound in the epidemic after years of progress in containing it, a United Nations...
CDC warns: Holiday could bring more swine flu
9:14
Let us give thanks _ and pass the Purell. Your family might be sharing more than turkey and pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving. Swine flu may also be on the table _ and at crowded airports and shopping malls. Just as the...