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A recent JAMA paper examines whether there are more side effects when prescription drugs are used off-label, as compared to what they were approved for. Not only does this make no sense, but the authors state there's no difference. This is like studying whether obese people weigh more than non-obese people.

Early conversations about sex gives teenagers a better chance of making smart choices about intimacy and relationships throughout their lives. And according to a recent article in JAMA Pediatrics, teens talking about sex with their mothers is particularly effective in encouraging safer sexual behavior.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently updated its recommendations for screening for abnormal blood glucose, to include 40-to-70 year olds who are overweight or obese. But the main message is that while screenings are helpful, making better health decisions is the best overall approach.

In a recent Wall St. Journal Op-Ed, former FDA associate commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb explains how the several-year-duration shortages of common generic drugs came about. That would be through excessive regulation, and not because of Big Pharma greed, which Hillary Clinton wants you to believe.

The cardio-protective effects of HDL, or "good" cholesterol, may become diminished as women transition through menopause. There is a possibility that it's proatherogenic, meaning it has a tendency to form plaques.

Some researchers believe sugar, not fat, is the most dangerous dietary ingredient, causing obesity and ills ranging from diabetes to hypertension. They also suggest that the focus on decreasing dietary fat has resulted in a concomitant switch to additional added sugars. But a new study of obese children isn't convincing.

Some researchers studying autism spectrum disorder seek to understand the relationship between perception and behavior in the brain. This is partly the impetus behind a recent study, which sought to learn how the world is interpreted by an ASD sufferer.

Puerto Rico has a proposal on the table to, in effect, use the fallout from violent crime to boost its country's standard of living, and to, in turn, reduce crime. Lemons, meet lemonade. But is this smart or simply macabre?

CRE, a particularly potent superbug, is an emerging as a potent health threat across America. One out of two patients who develop sepsis caused by CRE will eventually die. Now, new data shows that this deadly intruder is afflicting children at an alarming rate.

The makers of DecisionDx, a new test for melanoma that's commercially available, say the potential exists for patients to receive life-saving, preventative therapies. As promising as this sounds, the data is based on a small sample size, so considerable caution is advised.

One policy that has elicited much sturm und drang is the requirement that chain restaurants post calorie content of their foods on their menus. Some cities have had to comply with the law since 2009. So how effective has it been in stemming obesity? Not very, according to some new research.

The marathon, a true test of endurance 26.2-miles long, can truly wreak havoc on even the most experienced runner. The human body undergoes three major changes, all of which require smart steps and remedies to speed recovery.

Worried about meat and cancer? You don't need to fret International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a part of the World Health Organization, is in the health scare business, as its analysis of coffee shows.

In "The Walking Dead", how do all of the zombies have such perfect teeth? It can't be fluoride, according to the scare media outlets.

A review of 100 news media articles on new cancer drugs found that about one-half described the subject drug in a superlative tone that was generally uncalled for and likely to generate false hope.

There's a link between vampirism and the Plague that occurred during the 14th century. It's not a coincidence.

Vampires are living longer, which makes it necessary for them to undergo the same preventive screening measures that apply to the population as a whole.

"Tis the season to be wary, what with vampires and ghouls roaming around the neighborhood. But what may be more scary is coffee.

The benefits of garlic are two-fold, for your health and for warding off those pesky vampires.

Researchers brought a virus back from the dead...a zombie virus if you will, in order to improve gene therapy.

An unusual deer with fangs,would make Bambi from Disney sprint for his life, was spotted last year in a remote forest in Afghanistan. This mysterious and peculiar animal has survived decades of poaching and hunting.

Drug pricing advocates say they have almost 550,000 signatures and will qualify for the November, 2016 Presidential ballot.

In this space we've covered numerous research articles about dieting and weight loss especially those that evaluate the effects of low fat or low carbohydrate diets (most recently here and here). Although it might seem that the topic has been thoroughly covered, there are apparently still unanswered questions.

The World Health Organization (WHO) published its first global estimates of the occurrence of oral herpes and much to everyone's dismay, most people have herpes.

A convicted war criminal, appealing his conviction in a courtroom in The Hague, stood up, proclaimed his innocence and swallowed some unknown liquid which killed him soon after. There's no information about what the poison was, or even what his symptoms were. Here's our guess about what went down.