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Health, Medicine And Fitness

FDA advisory panel OKs over-the-counter HIV test

The Associated Press The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - American consumers may soon be able to test themselves in the privacy of their own homes for the virus that causes AIDS, after a panel of experts on Tuesday recommended approval of the first rapid, over-the-counter HIV test.

May 16, 2012 | 12:00 am | Comments

Law will require carmakers to make some vehicles noisier

Slate Slate

Forget gas mileage: The most striking aspect of the new Ford Focus Electric is what it doesn't have. "Battery-powered cars are intrinsically quiet, the motor sound falling between a whir and a whisper," marvels a New York Times review of the car. "But the Focus is deep-space silent, the q…

May 16, 2012 | 12:00 am | Comments

Laxative-free scans nearly as good as colonoscopies in cancer study

Bloomberg News Bloomberg News

NEW YORK - Colon cancer screenings that don't require laxatives are almost as effective as colonoscopies and may encourage more people to be tested, researchers said in a study published this week.

May 16, 2012 | 12:00 am | Comments

Healthy eating can cost less, study finds

By Sam Hananel The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Is it really more expensive to eat healthy?

Updated: 3:24 pm | Comments

Study: US clears drugs faster than Europe, Canada

By MATTHEW PERRONE

Researchers say the U.S. approved more new medicines in less time than Europe and Canada in the last decade, challenging long-standing criticisms that the Food and Drug Administration lags behind its peers in clearing important new drugs.

May 16, 2012 | 2:38 pm

Antibiotic linked with rare but deadly heart risk

By LINDSEY TANNER

An antibiotic widely used for bronchitis and other common infections seems to increase chances for sudden deadly heart problems, a rare but surprising risk found in a 14-year study.

May 16, 2012 | 2:36 pm

Scientists hunt ways to stall Alzheimer's earlier

By LAURAN NEERGAARD

Look for a fundamental shift in how scientists hunt ways to ward off the devastation of Alzheimer's disease _ by testing possible therapies in people who don't yet show many symptoms, before too much of the brain is destroyed.

May 16, 2012 | 4:23 am

State agency wants to review insurance hikes

Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services

PHOENIX - State insurance officials are moving to force health insurers who want big rate increases to justify them.

May 15, 2012 | 12:00 am | Comments

Binge drinkers cost British health care $4.4B each year

The Associated Press The Associated Press

LONDON - The girls slumped in wheelchairs look barely conscious, their blond heads lolling above the plastic vomit bags tied like bibs around their necks.

May 15, 2012 | 12:00 am | Comments

Strategy set to fight Alzheimer's

The Associated Press The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration adopts a landmark national strategy to fight Alzheimer's today, setting the clock ticking toward a deadline of 2025 to finally find effective ways to treat, or at least stall, the mind-destroying disease.

May 15, 2012 | 12:00 am | Comments

FDA panel backs first rapid, take home HIV test

By MATTHEW PERRONE

American consumers may soon be able to test themselves for the virus that causes AIDS in the privacy of their own homes, after a panel of experts on Tuesday recommended approval of the first rapid, over-the-counter HIV test.

May 15, 2012 | 4:32 pm

Iraq veteran uses rap to treat his PTSD

By CRISTINA SILVA

On one of the many days Leo Dunson wanted to die, the Iraq veteran put a gun to his temple and pulled the trigger. The loaded weapon misfired. For the troubled former soldier, it was another inexplicable failure, like his divorce or inability to make friends after returning from the war.

May 15, 2012 | 5:24 am

Of young adults with autism, 1 in 3 lack jobs, college

Lindsey Tanner The Associated Press

One in 3 young adults with autism have no paid job experience, college or technical school nearly seven years after high school graduation, a study finds. That's a poorer showing than those with other disabilities including those who are mentally disabled, the researchers said.

May 14, 2012 | 12:00 am | Comments

Memory-loss support group gives patients, kin a leg up

Stephanie Innes Arizona Daily Star

Bernie and Jack Lynch have been married for 12 years, together nearly twice that long, and are now preparing for the biggest test of their relationship: Alzheimer's disease.

May 14, 2012 | 12:00 am | Comments

Flesh-eating germ rare, especially for the healthy

By MIKE STOBBE

Aimee Copeland, a Georgia grad student, is fighting for her life because of the flesh-eating bacteria that infected her after she gashed her leg in a river two weeks ago. One of her legs was amputated and her fingers will be too, her father says, because of the spreading infection.

May 14, 2012 | 2:58 pm

Ind. diocese denies discrimination over IVF

By CHARLES WILSON

An Indiana diocese asked a federal court on Monday to reject a lawsuit by a former parochial school teacher who claims she was fired for violating Roman Catholic doctrine by using in vitro fertilization to try to get pregnant.

May 14, 2012 | 2:19 pm

French trial opens in diabetes-diet drug scandal

Lawyers for a French pharmaceutical group suspected in the deaths of at least 500 people argued Monday that a trial against their client should be halted as two separate cases should be rolled into one before the court can proceed.

May 14, 2012 | 2:04 pm

Britain bedeviled by binge drinking

By SYLVIA HUI

The girls slumped in wheelchairs look barely conscious, their blond heads lolling above the plastic vomit bags tied like bibs around their necks.

May 14, 2012 | 4:49 am

French trial opens in diabetes-diet drug scandal

The first French trial has begun over a diabetes drug that was also used to lose weight and is suspected in the deaths of at least 500 people.

May 14, 2012 | 4:37 am

1 in 3 autistic young adults lack jobs, education

By LINDSEY TANNER

One in 3 young adults with autism have no paid job experience, college or technical schooling nearly seven years after high school graduation, a study finds. That's a poorer showing than those with other disabilities including those who are mentally disabled, the researchers said.

May 13, 2012 | 9:52 pm

VIDEO: Why I breast-feed my toddler

By The Associated Press

How old is too old? Katie Hamilton says mothers should decide how long they want to breast-feed their children, not society.

May 13, 2012 | 8:02 am

Georgia graduate student battles flesh-eating disease

The Associated Press The Associated Press

Whether she was hiking in the woods, growing organic vegetables or working on her master's degree in psychology, Aimee Copeland embraced her passions with determination and a constant smile that made friends wonder if she ever had bad days.

May 12, 2012 | 12:00 am | Comments

FDA delays rules intended to clarify sunscreen info

The Associated Press The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Sunscreen confusion won't be over before summer after all. The government is bowing to industry requests for more time to make clear how much protection their lotions really offer.

May 12, 2012 | 12:00 am | Comments

FDA reviewing 20-minute, over-the-counter HIV test

The Associated Press The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug Administration is considering approval of the first over-the-counter HIV test that would allow consumers to quickly test themselves for the virus at home, without medical supervision.

May 12, 2012 | 12:00 am | Comments