Health

On Jan. 14, Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp. reported eagerly anticipated, but disappointing, results from a cholesterol-lowering drug study that was completed in 2006.

According to a researcher at Cambridge University, it is possible to slow down the aging process to allow humans to add years—possibly hundreds—to their lifespan. Not all his colleagues agree.

Turkey is pushing through one of the world’s strictest bans on public smoking. A nation famed for strong tobacco is the latest of several European countries to stop people lighting up in public spaces.

Researchers in Los Angeles experimenting with spinal injections of a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis say that it can reverse the cognitive problems of Alzheimer’s.

Clinical studies raise questions about the reliability of testing methods used in determining the best course of treatment for breast cancer. Are patients receiving the wrong sort of therapy?

A recent study has found that high temperatures can improve an autistic child’s ability to interact, apparently by re-establishing nerve cell communication in the brain.

A recent study finds that the flu virus flourishes in cold temperatures, a conclusion that emphasizes the need for effective seasonal precautions.

Mounting evidence links the emergence of drug-resistant ‘super-bugs,’ and climbing rates of child allergies, to the hyper-cleanliness of modern environments.

New techniques and research promise ever greater longevity; but there are dangers, not the least of which is that a protracted life becomes what one scientist calls “a living death.”

Though celebrated in song as “the most wonderful time of the year,” the holiday season is also a time of depression and high mortality rates—yet it is not as bad as some seem to believe.

With unsafe Chinese-made toys being recalled in massive numbers, parents are left unsure what is safe, where to buy American-made products and what to do if their child has been exposed to lead from an imported toy.

A humble citrus offers a way to boost the blood levels of a raft of medications—a possible boon for some patients, while a risk factor for the unwary.

Public health advocates are calling on the nation’s top food regulatory agency to limit how much sodium goes into foods in restaurants and on grocery shelves.

With the public uneasy about news coverage of dangerous lead levels in toys this holiday season, many are taking a closer look at other household items, such as dishware.

The decision will please advocates who say that the heavy punishments applied in connection with crack cocaine, in comparison with its powdered form, unfairly targeted racial minorities; opponents protest that drug dealers will be let off too lightly.

Studies suggest that Britain’s decision to lessen the legal punishments for cannabis possession has backfired; crime rates are up and research points to serious psychological side effects—America may take note.

The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS reports that internationally fewer people are contracting the HIV virus than previously thought; but there are suspicions that U.S. infection rates are on the rise.

Britain’s top health adviser rails against the U.K. health service for providing homeopathic treatments of doubtful effectiveness—many U.S. insurers also support this alternative medicine.

European researchers have tracked an antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria to large, intensive livestock operations; modern farming techniques present a new human health hazard.

The federal government body ensuring fair judicial sentencing pushes to have new, more lenient sentences related to crack cocaine applied retroactively. Supporters of the move say that the past laws were racist; opponents protest that drug dealers are being let off too lightly.

Over two days, the Big apple played host to the Olympic Trials and the New York City Marathon; the death of noted marathoner Ryan Shay, who collapsed in his bid to compete at Beijing, highlights the demands placed on each competitors’ endurance.

An antibiotic-resistant variant of staph bacterium responsible for the deaths of children in three U.S. states appears in schools in Connecticut, Maryland and New York.

Responding to a donor shortage, doctors at several hospitals are coordinating kidney-swapping, in which healthy people exchange kidneys with strangers to help an ailing loved one.

New research indicates that traditional verum acupuncture is more effective than mainstream medicine in controlling pain, but no more so than “sham” acupuncture.

The FDA has detained shipments of five species of seafood from China after finding that they contained two antibiotics and two antifungals illegal in the United States, joining the ranks of other dangerous Chinese products that include toothpaste, tires, and toy trains.

New findings promise better outcomes for patients through the early diagnosis of a cancer previously thought to strike without warning.

An American citizen infected with a rare form of tuberculosis puts passengers at risk on two transatlantic flights. Health officials advise tests for passengers and crew.

In an attempt to curb childhood obesity, many schools have outlawed bake sales, outlawed soda, sweet snacks and in Wyoming, have instituted get fit programs aimed at obese students.

Executives from The Purdue Frederick Co., maker of the painkiller OxyContin, have admitted that the company’s sales staff told doctors, despite knowledge to the contrary, that the drug was hard to abuse and less addictive than other pain medications.

The majority of babies born with Down syndrome are born to women under 35, but that may change as doctors are now offering screening tests to pregnant women in this age group, igniting a debate over ethical obligations.