A report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) presents some startling new statistics about the prevalence of various mental disorders among American youth. Overall, researchers from the CDC found that anywhere from 13 to 20 percent of children living in the US experience some type of mental disorder in a year. This new report [...]

Watching your waistline? A new report suggests that smoking weed might be for you. Despite munchie myths, it was found that the BMI of the pot smoking community reflects a reduced prevalence of obesity. The study reported in  the American Journal of Medicine sought to better understand the effects of marijuana on insulin levels in [...]

A new report from a branch of the CDC shows that the rate of hypertension (HT) in the U.S. rose slightly but significantly over the course of the years 2005 through 2009. The data were obtained from most states’ health departments as well as the federal health center. It has been estimated that hypertension affects one-third of [...]

Most adults will suffer from low back pain at some point in their lives. It is the fifth most common reason for primary care office visits and medical expenditures for low back pain have been increasing since 1997. Spinal injection therapy is one treatment option for low back pain, but recent studies indicate that there [...]

Scientists at Oregon Health and Science University have successfully created human embryonic cells using cloning technology. The goal of this development is to one day use these cells to produce replacement tissues or organs to treat disease due to the fact that embryonic stem cells can be developed into any type of cell in the [...]

Fans of cheap generic drugs might want to pay attention. Because if there’s a better example of “you get what you pay for,” it is not obvious. Indian generic drug giant Ranbaxy was just slapped with a $500 million penalty for selling four contaminated, sub-standard drugs, and also lying about it by falsifying records. And [...]

Local NYC news outlets are abuzz with the news that there has been an outbreak of measles among ultra-orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn this year. It’s thought that a family visiting from London that had not been vaccinated against the disease initiated the current outbreak.  The infants and toddlers who acquired the disease in Brooklyn [...]

Despite multiple problems associated with long-term use of narcotics for pain control—addiction, abuse, nausea, and constipation— they remain the best (and sometimes only) option for the millions of Americans that suffer from moderate-to-severe chronic pain. Now, a study adds another problem to the list of liabilities associated with the use of opiate narcotics—erectile dysfunction (ED). [...]

When dining out at a restaurant, you might be getting more than you’re paying for — in terms of calories, fat and cholesterol that is. According to two new studies published in JAMA, even though fast food often gets a bad reputation, smaller chain restaurants may actually be more harmful to your health. And it [...]

Seeing the handwriting on the wall —  historically unprecedented declines in cigarette sales matched with accelerated sales for electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) – old-line “Big Tobacco” companies are now selling, or getting ready to sell, their own versions of the new devices. First in line was Lorillard, which purchased Blu e-cigarettes last April 2012. Now, RJReynolds [...]

Angelina Jolie’s Op-Ed, which ran in The New York Times yesterday, is an important piece for women who are dealing with concerns about breast cancer — meaning just about all women, and their loved ones. Not only did she provide wide visibility for women facing breast cancer, she also touched on ideals of femininity and [...]

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that everyone consume no more than 2300 milligrams (mgm) of sodium per day (about a teaspoon of salt), and that some people at risk consume no more than 1500 mgm. Respected medical associations, especially the American Heart Association (AHA), have been vigorously promoting this rather drastic lifestyle intervention [...]

Before rotavirus vaccines were on the market, the disease caused more than 200,000 annual emergency room visits, 55,000 to 70,000 hospitalizations and 20 to 60 child deaths in the United States alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rotavirus causes severe diarrhea and is responsible for an estimated half a million deaths of [...]

The United States Supreme Court ruled — unanimously — that Monsanto Corp., the leading innovator and marketer of GM agricultural products, could enforce its contractual patent protections for its “Roundup Ready” soybeans. Roundup is glyphosate, Monsanto’s herbicide in use since the early 1970s. Crops with the Roundup-Ready gene are resistant to its effects, while the [...]

The American Council on Science and Health has been fighting chemophobia since its inception in 1978. Unfortunately the advent of the Internet, while providing much valid information, has also become a venue of inaccurate and fear-mongering sites. Thus, we were more than pleased to discover a blog  on the website of Scientific American by chemistry [...]

If you’re in Washington, D.C., you may have seen ads on the city buses accusing the dairy industry of trying to “pollute our milk,” and “dose our children on the sly with ‘deadly’ aspartame.” Well, this is not really the case and not just because aspartame is perfectly safe and diet beverages will not cause [...]

There’s good news for dog owners — having a pet may lower your risk of heart disease, according to a new assessment by the American Heart Association. “Pet ownership, particularly dog ownership, is probably associated with a decreased risk of heart disease,” Dr. Glenn N. Levine, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine and chairman [...]

ACSH has been in the forefront of countering specious fears about vaccines — that MMR shots cause autism, polio vaccines sterilize Muslim or Hindu girls, or that the HPV vaccine will lead to promiscuity, for example. Now some researchers have developed a surveillance system, reported in The Lancet, to track vaccine mentions, and used it [...]

Lung cancer kills nearly 160,000 people each year, more than breast, colon, prostate and pancreatic cancers combined. And by the time most lung cancers are diagnosed, they have metastasized and cannot be treated. Now the American College of Chest Physicians has issued new guidelines stating that doctors should consider low-dose CT screening for individuals at [...]

Girls in developing countries will have a chance to get vaccinated against cervical cancer, thanks to two pharmaceutical giants and top health groups. Merck & Co. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC have agreed to chop the price of their HPV vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix, to as little as U.S. $4.50 per dose.  The vaccines cost about $130 [...]