Stories related to: health

Docs Tell Younger Women: Avoid Mammograms

Washington Post  |  Apr 3, 07 8:16 AM CDT

(Newser) - Forty-something women should consider skipping their annual mammograms, the American College of Physicians is suggesting after a new review of research. Docs point to danger from radiation and unnecessary biopsies, surgery and chemotherapy, thanks in part to a high rate of false positives.  "We don't think the evidence supports a blanket recommendation," one of the authors told the Washington Post. More »

Docs Too Quick to Cry Depression

Washington Post  |  Apr 3, 07 6:58 AM CDT

(Newser) - Shrinks are too quick to term patients clinically depressed, says a new study reported in the Washington Post . Researchers argue that a quarter of "acute grief reactions," the standard symptom of depression, may in fact constitute normal responses to stress; they blame the bloated psychopharmaceutical industry, in part, for the inaccurate triage. More »

How We Fight: In Public and In Private

MSNBC  |  Apr 2, 07 4:15 PM CDT

(Newser) - Fit and under fifty when diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma, Newsweek reporter Jonathan Alter talks about his own battle with cancer in the wake of a week of high-profile recurrences. Now in remission, as Elizabeth Edwards and Tony Snow were until last week, Alter  describes managing the fear survivors live with. More »

Hospitals Dial 911

New York Times  |  Apr 2, 07 2:57 PM CDT

(Newser) - Believe it or not, some small, physician-owned hospitals are calling in paramedics to revive their patients in emergencies. Already accused of cherry picking patients and focusing on profit-maximizing procedures, the facilities are now drawing fire for literally relying on other hospitals to rescue patients when complications arise, reports Reed Abelson of the New York Times. More »

UK Women Limited To One Embryo

Guardian (UK)  |  Apr 2, 07 8:42 AM CDT

(Newser) - British women trying to get pregnant via In Vitro Fertilization will be limited to having one embryo implanted at a time, in a move by the government to stem the surge of problematic multiple births, the Guardian reports. Only women with particularly low chances of conception will still be allowed to have multiple embryos implanted via IVF. More »

'Roid Rage May Be Misplaced

New York Times  |  Apr 2, 07 7:33 AM CDT

(Newser) - As opening day dawns, expect another season of home-run antics in lieu of your dad's short-ball game. But J.C. Bradbury argues in the New York Times that it's talent dilution, not steroids, that's changed the game: When the league expanded in the 90s, so did the number of hittable pitchers. "It allowed elite players, especially hitters, to excel." More »

Heart Valve Grown From Stem Cells

Guardian (UK)  |  Apr 2, 07 7:11 AM CDT

FDA Panel Passes First Cancer Vaccine

New York Times  |  Mar 30, 07 11:20 AM CDT

(Newser) - A cancer drug that's the first to harness the body's immune system to destroy tumors got a thumbs-up from  the FDA's advisory panel, the New York Times reports. If approved, Provenge, a prostate cancer treatment, would be the first of the "cancer vaccines"—experimental therapies that commandeer a patient's own white blood cells to fight tumors—to hit the market. More »

Alzheimer's Patients Dying In Prescription Scandal

Guardian (UK)  |  Mar 30, 07 10:13 AM CDT

(Newser) - Sedatives commonly prescribed to Alzheimer's and dementia patients are leading to their premature death, new research reported in the Guardian concludes.  The drugs, called neuroleptics, combat the diseases' more alarming symptoms, including agitation and hallucinations. Their widespread off-label use in the U.K.—where they're licensed only for schitzophrenia—is being called a scandal. More »

Condom-Hating Health Official Steps Down

Boston Globe  |  Mar 30, 07 10:00 AM CDT

Twins Found to Be "Semi-identical"

Time  |  Mar 30, 07 6:21 AM CDT

(Newser) - A new kind of twin has been discovered, neither strictly identical nor fraternal. Now toddlers, the babies look identical but one is anatomically male while the other has ambiguous genitalia. Genetic tests show the children are identical on their mother's side but share only half their father's DNA. More »

Red Meat May Harm Sons' Sperm

BBC  |  Mar 28, 07 8:23 AM CDT

(Newser) - Men whose mothers ate a lot of beef during pregnancy have lower sperm counts, finds a study attempting to track the effect of growth hormones fed to cattle. While the specific chemicals weren't identified, sons of pregnant women who ate beef more than seven times a week were three times as likely to have sperm counts below the fertility threshold. More »

Tony Snow's Cancer Recurs