Autism-MMR vaccine study was an 'elaborate fraud'
A 1998 study that linked childhood autism to a vaccine was branded an "elaborate fraud" by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on Thursday, but its lead author said he was the victim of a smear campaign by drug manufacturers.
US scientists sound alarm over animal research
Scientists who use monkeys, mice and dogs for research on human diseases fear that the US government is restructuring the massive National Institutes of Health in a way that could slash their funding.
UK turns to H1N1 shots to beat surge in winter flu
British health officials, battling a seasonal flu epidemic that has killed 50 people, told doctors Thursday they should use stockpiled H1N1 pandemic shots to protect patients if they had no seasonal vaccines available.
Response to Haiti cholera fund 'shameful': UN
A UN spokeswoman on Thursday blasted the response to an appeal to counter the deadly cholera epidemic in Haiti as "shameful" after the world body received only a quarter of the funding it needs.
Recession dents growth of healthcare spending
The worst economic slowdown since the Great Depression led to slowest growth in U.S. healthcare spending in 50 years, although it still outpaced other sectors, new government data for 2009 shows.
New blood test could detect Alzheimer's
US scientists may have found a new way to use a blood test to search for clues of Alzheimer's disease, a discovery that if proven could extend to other ailments, said a study released Thursday.
Light therapy shows promise for seniors' depression
The bright-light therapy often used to fight the "winter blues" may also ease major depression symptoms in older adults, a small clinical trial suggests.
China tobacco industry foils anti-smoking efforts
China's tobacco industry is foiling efforts to control smoking and Chinese leaders must give stronger support to measures to control tobacco use, an international panel of experts said in a report on Thursday.
REFILE: Drugs may level fertility playing field for obese
Heavy women often have a harder time getting pregnant than their slimmer peers, but new findings suggest weight may cease to matter when women take fertility drugs.
Can diet protect against asthma?
What you eat might affect your risk of developing allergies or asthma, and possibly that of your kids, hints a new review of the medical evidence.
Drugs may level fertility playing field for obese
Heavy women often have a harder time getting pregnant than their slimmer peers, but new findings suggest weight may cease to matter when women take fertility drugs.
Lyme disease a rare cause of death: study
While controversy still brews over the long-term effects of Lyme disease, a new government study concludes that the tick-borne illness is rarely a cause of death in the U.S.
Chilean scientists seek alcoholism vaccine
Chilean researchers said Thursday they are developing a vaccine against alcoholism that could be tested on humans starting next year and works by neutralizing an enzyme that metabolizes alcohol.
Asians at greater risk for tear during delivery
Asians are nine times as likely as other women to experience severe tearing of the skin around the vagina during childbirth, Israeli researchers report.
Meeting "donor dad" won't hurt kids: study
If you saw the 2010 drama "The Kids Are All Right," in which two teens raised by a lesbian couple decide to make contact with their biological father, you might be wondering: Might such an experience leave psychological scars?
Will autism fraud report be a vaccine booster?
This week more shame was heaped upon the discredited British researcher whose work gave rise to the childhood-vaccines-cause-autism movement, as a prominent medical journal published a report that the man had faked his data. But will it make a dif...
Circumcision helps stop wart virus, study finds
Researchers have documented yet another health benefit for circumcision, which can protect men against the AIDS virus, saying it can protect their wives and girlfriends from a virus that causes cervical cancer.
Guidelines Issued for Drug-Resistant Staph Infections
THURSDAY, Jan. 6 (HealthDay News) -- An infectious disease association
has released the first national guidelines for the treatment of
potentially deadly methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA)infections.
Early Steps Toward an Alzheimer's Blood Test
THURSDAY, Jan. 6 (HealthDay News) -- A blood test that screens
for antibodies, a protein produced by the immune system, may one day be
used to detect Alzheimer's and other diseases, new research suggests.
Infant Organ Donors Could Help Meet Transplant Needs: Study
THURSDAY, Jan. 6 (HealthDay News) -- The organs of about 8 percent of
infants who suffer cardiac death in newborn intensive care units (NICUs)
would be eligible for donation and could help save the lives of other
infants and young children, acc...