HEALTH

Children turn to inhaling to get high Posted 1 hour, 16 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More 12-year-olds in the United States admit to using potentially deadly inhalants to get high than have used marijuana, cocaine and hallucinogens combined, U.S. health officials said on Thursday. Among this age group, alcohol was the only intoxicating substance used more than inhalants, according to data from ...More

Scientists find "mother" of all skin cells Posted 1 hour, 43 minutes ago

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have found the "mother," or origin, of all skin cells and say their discovery could dramatically improve skin treatments for victims of serious wounds and burns. Hans Clevers and a team of Dutch and Swedish researchers conducted a study in mice and found that the stem cell ...More

Do needle-exchange programs really work? Posted 2 hours, 22 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Needle-exchange programs designed to cut injection drug users' risk of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and other infections do seem to reduce needle sharing, but there is only limited evidence that they lower disease transmission, a new research review concludes. Reporting in the journal Addiction ...More

Long-used, little-studied laxative safe, effective Posted 2 hours, 24 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Until now, a scant number of top notch clinical trials have evaluated whether sodium picosulfate -- the active ingredient in numerous over-the-counter laxatives -- is safe and effective. Dr. Stefan Mueller-Lissner, at Charite-Universitatsmedizin Berlin, in Germany, and colleagues conducted such a trial and found sodium picosulfate both safe ...More

U.S., Canadian health officials OK Polish isotopes Posted 2 hours, 52 minutes ago

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. and Canadian health officials have approved the use of the medical isotopes created at a Polish nuclear reactor, a move that will help ease a shortage of the materials used in millions of diagnostic tests, health products provider Covidien said Thursday. The company said material from ...More

Peanut allergy linked to worse asthma in kids Posted 3 hours, 34 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Among children and teenagers with asthma, those who also have peanut allergies may have more or more-severe asthma attacks, a new study suggests. Researchers found that among 160 5- to 18-year-olds with asthma seen at their center, the 46 with peanut allergies generally had more hospitalizations ...More

FDA rules out bisphosphonate, thigh fracture link Posted 19 hours, 15 minutes ago

BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators said on Wednesday they have found no link between oral bisphosphonate osteoporosis medications such as Merck & Co Inc's Fosamax and certain thigh bone fractures. The Food and Drug Administration issued its statement following the publication of case reports of atypical subtrochanteric femur fractures -- or ...More

Doctors fail to cut cholesterol enough Posted 20 hours, 35 minutes ago

A medical technician draws a blood sample to screen for glucose and cholesterol at the National Urba

LONDON (Reuters) - Only half of patients at high risk of heart disease are given the right targets for cutting their cholesterol and millions may suffer heart attack or stroke due to doctors' poor advice, scientists said on Thursday. German researchers said that over 10 years, around 50 to 80 heart ...More

U.S. says "drugged driving" growing threat Posted 20 hours, 58 minutes ago

VIENNA (Reuters) - Motorists under the influence of drugs are a growing threat on U.S. roads, while the number who drink and drive has fallen thanks to education and law enforcement, a top U.S. drug control official said on Tuesday. The United States is calling for discussions at United ...More

FDA rules out bisphosphonate, thigh fracture link Posted 21 hours, 1 minute ago

BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators said on Wednesday they have found no link between oral bisphosphonate osteoporosis medications such as Merck & Co Inc's Fosamax and certain thigh bone fractures. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued its statement following the publication of case reports of atypical subtrochanteric femur ...More

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