Although there was some concern that taking medications, such as Ritalin, for ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) might increase cardiovascular risks for adults, the results of a new study should help to allay these fears. Researchers from Kaiser Permanente Northern California found that there is no increased cardiovascular risk among adults who take these medications.

Less may be more in the case of treating early stage Hodgkin s lymphoma. While extensive radiation therapy, in conjunction with chemotherapy, was previously considered to be a major advance in disease treatment, new research suggests that adding radiation therapy may actually lower long-term survival for Hodgkin s patients.

Medical researchers in England and the U.S. have just reported their successful treatment of six hemophilia-B patients using gene therapy a major breakthrough in the treatment of the disease. Hemophilia-B, the second most common type of hemophilia, is a type of hereditary bleeding disorder that affects only males due to its linkage to the X-chromosome.

The executive arm of the European Union, the European Commission is, once again, considering an end to its ban on the export of Swedish snus to other EU countries. The Commission, which has considered lifting the ban several times before, has frequently been made aware of the comparatively low smoking and cancer rates in Sweden, the only EU country where snus (smokeless tobacco contained in small sachets) is legally available.

Twelve pills instead of 270. Once a week instead of once a day. Three months instead of nine. These are the promising new guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to treat tuberculosis.

The serendipitous result of a clinical trial shows that a drug given to breast cancer patients to maintain their bone density actually increased their survival rate. Seven years after the initial treatment, women who received an intravenous injection of the bone density drug Zometa had a significantly lower risk of death than those who received only the standard of care.

LigoCyte, a small biotech based in Montana has been working for years on a vaccine for norovirus (the so-called stomach flu, or cruise ship virus). And it looks like they may really have something.

New Vaccine May Give Norovirus the Heave Ho
By Josh Bloom, December 9, 2011

LigoCyte, a small biotech based in Montana has been working for years on a vaccine for norovirus (the so-called stomach flu, or cruise ship virus). And it looks like they may really have something.

As research in cardiovascular health evolves, experts have carved out a new category for patients who have a blood pressure reading that falls into the gray area between normal and hypertensive.

Though some women may use pregnancy as an excuse to indulge a little, some health experts caution that obese pregnant women should be more mindful of their eating habits and perhaps actually strive to lose some extra pounds.