Reuters: Health News

Gauging hype during Heart Month: 5 tests you might not need

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:28:10 -0500

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - February is American Heart Month and consumers will be bombarded with advice to keep their ticker healthy -- whether it's from the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women or the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's The Heart Truth.

FDA issues plan to avoid heparin contamination

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:41:59 -0500

(Reuters) - U.S. health regulators issued recommendations to manufacturers to ensure the safe production of the blood-clot prevention drug heparin, four years after a contamination involving the widely used product set off concerns about the global pharmaceutical supply chain.

China probes "bouncing" boiled eggs

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:30:28 -0500

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese authorities are investigating eggs which bounce after being boiled and may make men sterile, state media reported Friday, in the latest food safety scare to hit the country.

FDA sets draft rules for biotech drug copies

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:46:47 -0500

(Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration's long-awaited guidelines for the sale of lower-cost versions of biotechnology drugs leave open the possibility that some products might not need to be tested in humans.

New mental health manual is "dangerous" say experts

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:24:02 -0500

LONDON (Reuters) - Millions of healthy people - including shy or defiant children, grieving relatives and people with fetishes - may be wrongly labeled mentally ill by a new international diagnostic manual, specialists said on Thursday.

Obama to try to placate Catholics on contraceptives: sources

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:08:56 -0500

(Reuters) - The White House will announce a move to accommodate religious organizations on its rule for health insurance coverage of contraceptives, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

More evidence big football players face heart risks

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:12:57 -0500

(Reuters) - The biggest professional football players in America may be more likely than their fellow players to die of heart disease, even though they appear to generally enjoy a longer-than-average lifespan, according to a U.S. study.

Pentagon attacks obesity with new food choices

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:52:43 -0500

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - Obese Americans in the military are a national security hazard and U.S. first lady Michelle Obama wants to see that change.

Does sex ed keep girls from becoming teen moms?

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:37:43 -0500

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a new study, states with more comprehensive sex education programs had lower teen birth rates -- but the effect seemed to be due more to political, religious and social differences between those states than the sex ed itself.

Most women with cancer want a role in decisions

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:36:48 -0500

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - About two-thirds of women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer want to take part in making decisions about their treatment, according to a new survey of patients from five different countries.