Reuters: Health News

Obama prods Congress on healthcare, Senate panel acts

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:25:03 +0100

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama pushed on Wednesday for swift congressional action on healthcare reform as a Senate panel took that chamber's first step on a plan to overhaul the $2.5 trillion industry.

How bad is swine flu? Without numbers, who knows?

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:00:34 +0100

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Many people are confused about just how many patients have been infected with the new H1N1 flu, which in turn makes it hard to tell how bad the pandemic is, British researchers said on Tuesday.

Promising Alzheimer's drug boosts toxic protein

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:44:09 +0100

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Dimebon, Medivation Inc's promising experimental Alzheimer's drug, significantly raised levels of a toxic protein in the brains of mice, yet has been shown to delay thinking problems in human dementia patients, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

First Senate panel completes healthcare bill

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:04:39 +0100

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate health committee on Wednesday approved its version of legislation to overhaul the U.S. health industry, which is to be combined with a bill yet to be written in the Senate Finance Committee.

Danish study looks at link between HRT, cancer

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:21:09 +0100

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Menopausal women who took hormone replacement therapy increased their risk of ovarian cancer by 38 percent, Danish researchers reported on Tuesday.

Roche drug blocks common cancer pathway in mice

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:07:38 +0100

LONDON (Reuters) - A experimental drug being developed by Roche blocks a common biological pathway linked to the spread of many cancers and has proved highly effective in mice, scientists said on Wednesday.

Smoking may speed progress of multiple sclerosis

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:17:10 +0100

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who smoke have a speedier progression of the disease, a new study in the Archives of Neurology suggests.

U.S. agencies get mixed reviews on swine flu

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:18:37 +0100

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Many local health departments across the U.S. were slow to get information on the swine flu outbreak onto their Web sites, according to a new study.

Diabetes itself doesn't up risk of depression

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:22:21 +0100

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Although people with diabetes have a higher risk of being diagnosed with depression than other people, a large new study has found that much of that increase can be accounted for by their more frequent contacts with the medical system, rather than the diabetes itself.

Rubber bar exercises help relieve tennis elbow

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:21:00 +0100

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who suffer from tennis elbow may find relief by adding simple home-based exercises, using an inexpensive rubber bar, to standard physical therapy, according to a study presented at the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine meeting in Keystone, Colorado.