Tracing tomatoes from field to fork _ a new system
WASHINGTON (AP) -- When there's an urgent need to trace fruits and vegetables in a crisis like the salmonella outbreak, a lot of the pieces for a rapid-response system already exist. But nobody has quite figured out how to put them together to operate seamlessly in the vast American marketplace....
Booming business helps patients navigate medicine
NORCROSS, Ga. (AP) -- After three surgeries, Judy Sherer still had chronic pain in her left shoulder. She'd lost faith in her doctors, and in despair tried a new health benefit offered by her employer....
US fentanyl deaths topped 1,000 over 2 years
ATLANTA (AP) -- More than 1,000 people died over two years from an illegal version of the painkiller fentanyl, the government reported Thursday in its first national tally of those deaths....
Officials: Search for HIV vaccine needs overhaul
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists will have to take "enormous intellectual leaps" to develop an AIDS vaccine in the coming years, say researchers clearly frustrated by the failure of a once-promising shot....
A hot (pepper) lead in hunt for salmonella source
WASHINGTON (AP) -- It was a hot lead for detectives on a cold case. People suddenly were getting salmonella at a Minnesota restaurant more than 1,000 miles from the center of the nation's outbreak....
Pittsburgh cancer center warns of cell phone risks
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The head of a prominent cancer research institute issued an unprecedented warning to his faculty and staff Wednesday: Limit cell phone use because of the possible risk of cancer....
Statin study could lead to test for gene variant
Scientists may have found a way to test for and possibly avoid the most serious side effect of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, one of the top-selling medicines in the world....
ADHD increasingly common in older kids, CDC says
ATLANTA (AP) -- More older children are being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder while the rate is holding steady for children under 12, according to a government report released Wednesday....
Foreign-born TB cases need better control, US says
CHICAGO (AP) -- Tuberculosis cases continue to fall in the United States, but some immigrants have disturbingly high rates of the disease, according to a study released Tuesday that called for more aggressive action....
Women on antidepressants may benefit from Viagra
CHICAGO (AP) -- Viagra's effect in women has been disappointing, but a new small study finds those on antidepressants may benefit from taking the little blue pills. The research involving 98 premenopausal women found Viagra helped with orgasm. But the benefits did not extend to other aspects of sex such as desire, researchers report in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association....
FDA finds salmonella strain in jalapeno pepper
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Government inspectors finally have a big clue in the nationwide salmonella outbreak: They found the same bacteria strain on a single Mexican-grown jalapeno pepper handled in Texas - and issued a stronger warning for consumers to avoid fresh jalapenos....
Quest: Repairing more hearts with implanted pumps
WASHINGTON (AP) -- When it comes to hearts, Taneal Wilson won the lottery. A small pump implanted to keep the 31-year-old alive long enough for a heart transplant somehow helped Wilson's ravaged heart completely recover instead....
Health officials tout computer prescribing
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Those hard-to-read scribbled prescriptions from doctors could soon become a rarity. Beginning Jan. 1, the federal government will boost Medicare's payments to doctors that send prescriptions electronically to a pharmacy rather than writing them out on paper and handing them to the patient....
Singapore says will study kidney donor payments
SINGAPORE (AP) -- Singapore will study the possibility of paying some kidney donors to help meet demand for kidney transplants, the city-state's health minister said Monday....
Tomato scare ending; fears linger for many people
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The tomato scare may be over, but it has taken a toll - it's cost the industry an estimated $100 million and left millions of people with a new wariness about the safety of everyday foods....
A 540-calorie Big Mac? NY chains post calorie info
NEW YORK (AP) -- Customers at big fast-food chains in New York City are finally facing the facts about their meal choices. And for some, the truth may be hard to swallow - like 1,130 calories for a Big Mac, medium fries and a medium soda....
Health officials: Don't eat lobster tomalley
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) -- Maine officials are advising consumers to avoid eating lobster tomalley after tests revealed high levels of toxins in some lobsters....
Record number of babies born last year
WASHINGTON (AP) -- More babies were born in the United States last year than ever before, according to preliminary data, but it's not another baby boom just yet....
Family sues co. for muscular dystrophy drug
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Minnesota family is trying to force a New Jersey drug company to give their son an experimental drug for a fatal form of muscular dystrophy, saying he'll die without it....
Alzheimer's vaccine stopped plaque, not dementia
LONDON (AP) -- Some doctors have long suspected that if the plaque that builds up in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease could be removed, they could be saved. But a new vaccine that did just that suggests the theory is wrong....
Bill Clinton aims to stabilize malaria drug prices
NEW YORK (AP) -- Former President Clinton's foundation has signed pricing agreements with several suppliers involved in making a malaria-fighting drug in an effort to stabilize the medication's fluctuating costs and ensure more dependable availability....
Plans for large-scale AIDS vaccine trial dropped
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Plans for a large-scale trial of a potential AIDS vaccine are being dropped in favor of a smaller, more focused study, the National Institutes of Health said Thursday....
Polio resurfaces in region of Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- An eight-month-old Pakistani girl has tested positive for polio in an area where militants campaigned against vaccination, a World Health Organization official said Thursday....
Study: Low-carb diet best for weight, cholesterol
ATLANTA (AP) -- The Atkins diet may have proved itself after all: A low-carb diet and a Mediterranean-style regimen helped people lose more weight than a traditional low-fat diet in one of the longest and largest studies to compare the dueling weight-loss techniques....
Researchers: Menthol used to attract young smokers
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Tobacco companies deliberately changed the menthol levels in cigarettes depending upon whom they were marketing them to - lower levels for young smokers who preferred the milder brands and higher levels to "lock in lifelong adult smokers," researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health concluded....
Study: When kids become teens, they get sluggish
CHICAGO (AP) -- One of the largest studies of its kind shows just how sluggish American children become once they hit the teen years: While 90 percent of 9-year-olds get a couple of hours of exercise most days, fewer than 3 percent of 15-year-olds do....
E. coli linked to beef now reported in 5 states
ATLANTA (AP) -- An E. coli outbreak traced to recalled beef in Michigan and Ohio has spawned cases in three other states, U.S. health officials said Tuesday....
Teachers become nurses as schools get squeezed
During the past two school years, teacher Julia Keyse had to enforce an unusual rule in her kindergarten and first-grade classroom: No interrupting while she pricked Caylee's finger to check her blood sugar and adjusted her insulin pump....
Physical fitness may slow Alzheimer brain atrophy
NEW YORK (AP) -- Getting a lot of exercise may help slow brain shrinkage in people with early Alzheimer's disease, a preliminary study suggests. Analysis found that participants who were more physically fit had less brain shrinkage than less-fit participants. However, they didn't do significantly better on tests for mental performance....
Doctors hopeful easier blood thinners are nearing
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A trio of experimental drugs has doctors hopeful that for the first time in decades, millions of people at risk of lethal blood clots may soon get easier treatment....
Group to demand US clear Mexican tomatoes
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Mexico's health secretary says a team of health and agriculture officials has traveled to the United States to demand that Mexican tomatoes be cleared of any suspicion in a recent salmonella outbreak....
Pioneering heart doctor Michael DeBakey dead at 99
HOUSTON (AP) -- When Dr. Michael E. DeBakey pushed forward with his groundbreaking research and maverick approach to medicine a half century ago, heart surgery was a medical marvel....
Study: As gas prices go up, auto deaths drop
WASHINGTON (AP) -- High gas prices could turn out to be a lifesaver for some drivers. The authors of a new study say gas prices are causing driving declines that could result in a third fewer auto deaths annually, with the most dramatic drop likely to be among teen drivers....
AMA apologizes to black doctors for past racism
CHICAGO (AP) -- Transplant surgeon Clive Callender has hurtful memories of being the only black doctor at medical meetings in the 1970s, met with stark silence when he pleaded for better access to transplant organs for blacks....
Genes from Middle East families yield autism clues
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Harvard researchers have discovered half a dozen new genes involved in autism that suggest the disorder strikes in a brain that can't properly form new connections....
Fewer nonsmokers breathe cigarette fumes, CDC says
ATLANTA (AP) -- Nearly half of nonsmoking Americans are still breathing in cigarette fumes, but the percentage has declined dramatically since the early 1990s, according to a government study released Thursday....
Study finds addictive drugs easily ordered online
WASHINGTON (AP) -- More than three-quarters of Web sites that offer highly addictive medications do not require a prescription, according to a study released Wednesday....
Group calls for zero tolerance of doctor bullies
CHICAGO (AP) -- Bullying doctors can make nurses afraid to question their performance, resulting in medical errors, according to a hospital group that announced new requirements for cracking down on intimidating behavior....
Fringe autism treatment could get federal study
CHICAGO (AP) -- Pressured by desperate parents, government researchers are pushing to test an unproven treatment on autistic children, a move some scientists see as an unethical experiment in voodoo medicine....
FDA calls for urgent warning on tendon risks
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Drug safety officials Tuesday imposed the government's most urgent safety warning on Cipro and similar antibiotics, citing evidence that they may lead to tendon ruptures, a serious injury that can leave patients incapacitated and needing extensive surgery....
Summary Box: US plans controversial autism study
QUACK RESEARCH? The government wants to test chelation, a treatment for lead poisoning, on children with autism - even though there's no evidence it leads to improvements....
Elderly may fare worse on prostate cancer drugs
CHICAGO (AP) -- A prostate cancer study that could change how doctors treat some patients found that widely used hormone-blocking drugs did not improve survival chances for older men whose disease hadn't spread....
FDA issues warning on Cipro, similar antibiotics
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal drug safety officials have imposed the government's most urgent warning on Cipro and similar antibiotics, citing risks that they can cause tendon ruptures, a serious injury that leaves some patients incapacitated....
Torn ACLs, other big injuries hit little athletes
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A 14-year-old gymnast with a stress fracture in her lower back. A 12-year-old who tore his ACL in a soccer game. A 16-year-old runner with a leg stress fracture. A 15-year-old who tore his meniscus playing basketball....
Aging swimmer shows there's hope for rest of us
CHICAGO (AP) -- Dara Torres jokes that she had trouble reading the scoreboard after winning the first of two events at the Olympic swimming trials....
Cholesterol drugs recommended for some 8-year-olds
CHICAGO (AP) -- For the first time, an influential doctors group is recommending that some children as young as 8 be given cholesterol-fighting drugs to ward off future heart problems....
Magic Johnson's wife in public eye on HIV campaign
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Magic Johnson's normally publicity-shy wife Cookie is emerging as a spokeswoman in a campaign urging black women to get tested for HIV....
Scientists: Watermelon yields Viagra-like effects
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- A slice of cool, fresh watermelon is a juicy way to top off a Fourth of July cookout and one that researchers say has effects similar to Viagra - but don't necessarily expect it to keep the fireworks going all night long....
Haywire brain chemical linked to sudden baby death
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists have new evidence that the brain chemical best known for regulating mood also plays a role in the mystifying killer of seemingly healthy babies - sudden infant death syndrome....
Filipina with upside-down feet walks for 1st time
NEW YORK (AP) -- A Filipino teenager who came to New York so doctors could perform surgery to untwist her severely clubbed feet took her first unaided steps Wednesday in pink-and-white sneakers - the first shoes she's ever worn....
NJ officials warn of lamp oil poisonings
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey officials have issued a health alert saying six people have been sickened by mistaking lamp oil for apple juice, including one person who died....
First floods, now pesky mosquitoes for Midwest
CHICAGO (AP) -- First came the floods - now the mosquitoes. An explosion of pesky insects are pestering clean-up crews and just about anyone venturing outside in the waterlogged Midwest....
FDA panel urges more testing for diabetes drugs
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Diabetes drugs should face tougher safety standards that could cost manufacturers millions but protect patients from unforeseen heart risks, a government panel has recommended....
Skeeter advice: Wear repellent, avoid perfumes
Flooding, heavy rains and summer heat have produced a bumper crop of pesky mosquitoes, particularly in the waterlogged Midwest. Here's how experts recommend avoiding the bugs and treating their bites:...
More than 4,000 Danes may have salmonella
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) -- Danish health officials fear more than 4,000 people may be infected with salmonella and are checking everything from refrigerators to credit card receipts to find the source of what may be the worst outbreak in 15 years....
3-D mammograms, cameras may improve breast exams
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Remember peeking through a View-Master? Scientists are using the same concept behind the classic kids' toy to try to see mammograms in 3-D....
WHO: New quick TB test rolled out in Africa
GENEVA (AP) -- A new test to quickly diagnose drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis will be rolled out in four African countries this year, the World Health Organization said Monday....
Cleveland Clinic hooks up with Weight Watchers
CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Cleveland Clinic, highly regarded for its cardiac care, doesn't hire smokers or allow trans-fats on its menus, and now it's joining with a nationally known weight control program to help its employees shape up and slim down....
