Health News

• Swine flu toll includes a few pets

  AP – Tue Dec 8, 3:22 pm ET
  AP

  LOS ANGELES - A handful of pets have been sickened with swine flu in recent weeks, but here are doctors' orders: Wash your hands and don't panic. Full Story »

• EPA says greenhouse gases endanger human health

  AP – Mon Dec 7, 4:41 pm ET
  AP

  WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency took a major step Monday toward regulating greenhouses gases, concluding that climate changing pollution threatens the public health and the environment. Full Story »

  • Slideshow: Climate Change Issues

• Study: Missing DNA can promote childhood obesity

  AP – Sun Dec 6, 2:24 pm ET

  NEW YORK - Some children get severely obese because they lack particular chunks of DNA, which kicks their hunger into overdrive, researchers report. Full Story »

• Pa. school drops required fitness class for obese

  AP – Sat Dec 5, 4:37 pm ET

  OXFORD, Pa. - Obese students at a historically black college near Philadelphia won't have to take a fitness class to graduate after all. Full Story »

• Study: Parents' Sex Talks with Kids Happening Too Late

  Time.com – Tue Dec 8, 4:20 pm ET

  Teens who talk to their parents about sex are more likely to delay sex and to practice safe sex when they do become sexually active, but parents are waiting too long to have the talk Full Story »

• Los Angeles restricts medical marijuana outlets

  AFP – 32 mins ago

  LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Los Angeles city authorities passed an ordinance restricting the number of medical marijuana dispensaries, which have grown to almost 1,000 since the drug was authorized for sale for medicinal purposes in 1996. Full Story »

• Child cancer survivors have higher heart risk-study

  Reuters – Tue Dec 8, 7:37 pm ET

  LONDON (Reuters) - Children and young people who survive cancer have a significantly higher risk of developing heart disease as young adults because of the cancer treatment they received, researchers said Wednesday. Full Story »

• Groups try simple steps to avoid hospital rebound

  AP – Tue Dec 8, 3:16 am ET

  WASHINGTON - Talk about unnecessary misery: One in five Medicare patients winds up back in the hospital within a month — even worse, one in four patients with heart failure. Full Story »

• Antidepressants May Change Your Personality

  HealthDay – Mon Dec 7, 11:49 pm ET

  MONDAY, Dec. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Taking antidepressants may not only help alleviate depression, but could make you more extraverted and less neurotic, new research suggests. Full Story »

• Breast Cancer Decline Only Partly Due to HRT

  HealthDay – Tue Dec 8, 7:05 pm ET

  TUESDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- The incidence of breast cancer in the United States declined 7 percent between 2002 and 2003, but only part of that decrease can be attributed to reduced use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by menopausal women, researchers say. Full Story »

• Breastfeeding may curb heart, diabetes risk factors

  Reuters – Tue Dec 8, 1:40 pm ET

  NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Mothers who breastfeed seem to have a lower long-term risk of developing a collection of risk factors for diabetes and heart disease than women who bottle-feed, a new study suggests. Full Story »

• U.S. moves to curb emissions, aids U.N. climate talks

  Reuters – Mon Dec 7, 2:05 pm ET
  Reuters

  WASHINGTON/COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Washington took a step on Monday toward curbing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, aiding the first day of the biggest climate talks in history where 190 nations are seeking a deal to curb global warming. Full Story »

• Prostate Hormone Therapy May Up Heart Risks

  HealthDay – Mon Dec 7, 11:49 pm ET

  MONDAY, Dec. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Diabetes, heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems appear to be more common in men with prostate cancer who are treated with androgen deprivation therapy, which reduces or eliminates the male sex hormones that can promote cancer growth, a new study has found. Full Story »

• Keep Asthma, Allergies at Bay for the Holidays

  HealthDay – Sat Dec 5, 11:48 pm ET

  SATURDAY, Dec. 5 (HealthDay News) -- They're not Scrooges, but people with allergies and asthma can have bad reactions to certain holiday traditions and need to take special steps to prevent sneezing and wheezing, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). Full Story »

• Kids should get moving to avoid obesity

  Reuters – Fri Nov 27, 2:04 pm ET
  Reuters

  NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Vigorous exercise may be an especially good way to keep kids lean, but sitting around, in and of itself, doesn't appear to have a major role in making them fat, new research shows. Full Story »