A recent study researched and reported by a major Federal advisory panel, The Institute of Medicine, should give both comfort and concern to women and their families about breast cancer.
For years, cranberry products have been touted as a folk remedy to prevent urinary tract infections (UTI), but now a new study seems to arrive at the same conclusion, but this time uses science to support it.
Yes, they are a man s best friend, but dogs may have an added benefit when it comes to kids, too. Published in the journal Pediatrics, new research found that children who have contact with dogs during their first year of life are generally healthier, reporting less frequent ear infections, fewer fevers, and fewer courses of antibiotics for otitis, as compared to children without dog contact.
Children are often encouraged to take vitamins in order to supplement their diets, yet a recent study found that, even among the nearly 40 percent of kids who take supplements, more than a third failed to get sufficient levels of some nutrients, especially calcium and vitamin D.
Non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) are a potentially useful option for losing weight, with some caveats, announced the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association in a joint statement yesterday. Excess consumption of sugar can result in adverse health effects, including obesity and type 2 diabetes, yet NNS can provide foods with the same sweet taste without the worry of extra calories.
An overwhelming majority of the European Parliament surprisingly to us voted against the ratification of the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement (ACTA). This international copyright agreement, which was negotiated by the E.U., its member states, as well as other countries including the U.S. and Canada, aimed to standardize laws that would protect manufacturers including drug makers from intellectual property disputes, while also preventing product pirating.
A researcher whose work was supported by the Federal government, among others, has agreed to retract two of her papers published in 2009 in the pages of Environmental Health Perspectives and the Journal of Biological Chemistry, respectively.
In a new op-ed for MedCity News, ACSH s Dr. Josh Bloom tackles another important medical issue: the signing of the new Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA). The law, originally passed in 1992, allows the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to collect fees from pharmaceutical companies in order to fund (and help expedite) the drug approval process. PDUFA must be renewed every five years. Congress just passed the new bill (almost unanimously), and it must now be signed by the President.
Methadone is probably best known as method of treating heroin addiction, but it s also a prescription painkiller used to treat chronic cancer pain and extreme bone pain. Unfortunately, the drug now accounts for more than 30 percent of U.S. overdose deaths, according to the CDC. Compared to the 1999 rate, there were six times as many methadone-related deaths in 2009.
The first at-home HIV test has now officially been given the green light by the FDA. The test was recommended for approval by an FDA advisory panel in May.
