Hoped-for drop in childbirth deaths not happening
WASHINGTON (AP) - Eleven days after her son Benjamin's birth by C-section, Linda Coale awoke in the middle of the night in pain, one leg badly swollen. Just as her doctor returned her phone call asking what to do, she dropped dead from a blood clot. Pregnancy-related deaths like Coale's appear to have risen nationwide over the past decade, nearly tripling in the state with the most careful count - California. And while they're very rare - about 550 a year out of 4 million births nationally - they're nowhere near as rare as they should be. The maternal mortality rate is four times higher than a goal the federal government set for this year.
Court will hear case about vaccine side effects
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court will decide whether drug makers can be sued by parents who claim their children suffered serious health problems from vaccines. The justices on Monday agreed to hear an appeal from parents in Pittsburgh who want to sue Wyeth over the serious side effects their daughter, six months old at the time, allegedly suffered as a result of the company's diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine.
Researchers: AIDS virus can hide in bone marrow
WASHINGTON (AP) - The virus that causes AIDS can hide in the bone marrow, avoiding drugs and later awakening to cause illness, according to new research that could point the way toward better treatments for the disease. Finding that hide-out is a first step, but years of research lie ahead.
Brazil's Silva quits smoking after 50 years
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) - Brazil's president said Tuesday that he kicked the smoking habit he had for 50 years after a recent health scare sent his blood pressure soaring. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in an interview with The Associated Press that he stopped with sheer willpower. No nicotine patches or gum, and no medication, the 64-year-old leader said.
WHO: over 85M African kids get polio vaccination
GENEVA (AP) - The World Health Organization says more than 85 million children under 5 in west and central Africa will be vaccinated against polio. The agency says the massive vaccination campaign in 19 countries by U.N. agencies and the Red Cross will start March 6. It will involve more than 400,000 volunteers and health workers. It is largely funded by Rotary International.
Gene test claims to show what diet works best
Diet not working? Blame your genes. That's the pitch behind a new test that claims to show whether people will do better on a low-fat or a low-carb weight loss plan. We're all hard-wired with DNA that controls how we burn and store calories from various foods, and the test claims to sort out this machinery. A study this week found that women on diets well-matched to their genes, as defined by the test, lost roughly five times more weight than those on mismatched diets.
Appetite may be partly linked to germs in the gut
WASHINGTON (AP) - Germs in the gut may help drive appetite, says new research into the link between obesity and bacteria. Previous studies have shown that overweight people and normal-weight people harbor different types and amounts of microbes that naturally live in the intestine. To determine why, scientists are peering into mice.
Senators: Lift ban on gays donating blood
WASHINGTON (AP) - The time has come to change a policy that imposes a lifetime ban on donating blood for any man who has had gay sex since 1977, 18 senators said Thursday. "Not a single piece of scientific evidence supports the ban," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who joined 16 other Democrats and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont in writing Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg.
Cancer society casts more doubt on prostate tests
ATLANTA (AP) - Months after experts discounted the importance of routine mammograms and Pap smears for many women, the American Cancer Society is warning more explicitly than ever that regular testing for prostate cancer is of questionable value too, and can do men more harm than good. The cancer society has not recommended routine screening for most men since the mid-1990s, and that is not changing. But the organization is urging doctors to talk frankly with their patients about the risks and limitations of the PSA blood test when offering it.
FDA warning for hand sanitizer in Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Puerto Rico's government sent inspectors across the island Thursday to stop stores from selling locally produced hand sanitizers tainted with a dangerous bacteria. The products were made by Puerto Rico Beverage Inc. of Maunabo. A recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspection of the plant found serious problems with manufacturing practices.
