Health News

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Obese people find it harder to fight infections, and a weakened immune response may be to blame, suggests a new study from Boston University researchers.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Obese children who watch a lot of television are more likely to have high blood pressure than heavy children who don't spend as much time in front of the tube, the results of a new study shows.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Obesity decreases the chances that a woman will get pregnant, and the more obese she is, the worse her prospects of conception, Dutch researchers said on Tuesday.

CHICAGO (AFP) - Obese mice are less able to fight off bacterial infection than lean mice, according to a study released Monday that supports emerging evidence of a link between obesity and a dysfunctional immune system.

FRIDAY, Dec. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Obesity and diabetes -- risk factors so often linked to heart disease -- can also affect the incidence and severity of cancer, a collection of four new studies suggests.

Latvians seeking free Christmas trees anger rangers

RIGA (Reuters) - Latvian authorities have given residents something to cheer about when they invited them to cut their own Christmas trees for free -- only to be chased away by forest rangers. A Riga forestry agency said on Wednesday a state body had invited residents to cut their trees from forests located 50 km (30 miles) or more outside the capital, but people had instead descended on protected areas around the city.

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese company that raked in billions of yuan raising ants to make an aphrodisiac tonic has filed for bankruptcy, an official Web site said.

ATLANTA - In a troubling reversal, the nation's teen birth rate rose for the first time in 15 years, surprising government health officials and reviving the bitter debate about abstinence-only sex education.

BEIJING (AFP) - China's first televised AIDS campaign featuring condoms was launched on Thursday with top music and film stars championing the values of safe sex, organisers said.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China rolled out its first major television campaign on Thursday to promote condom use to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS, now mostly being transmitted by sex in the world's most populous country.

(HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of Thomson CenterWatch:

(HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of Thomson CenterWatch:

(HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of Thomson CenterWatch:

(HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of Thomson CenterWatch:

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The findings of clinical trials have linked the use of thiazolidinediones, a class of diabetes drugs, with congestive heart failure and possibly heart attacks. Now, new research indicates that these associations, at least with Avandia, also apply to individuals in the community, and not just clinical trials.

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Bird flu hit two countries Saturday as it was confirmed that a man who died culling infected birds in Pakistan became the country's first human fatality, while a seven-year-old girl became Myanmar's first human case.

FRIDAY, Dec. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Children with asthma who are exposed to traffic pollution are at increased risk for respiratory problems and reduced lung volumes, says a study that looked at children in the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juarez, a crossing point into the United States.

(HealthDay News) - First-time parents may be overwhelmed with new responsibilities, and may forget to ask for help with simple tasks such as changing a diaper.

TRENTON, N.J. - The recall of a routine vaccine for babies due to contamination risks could trigger a shortage and likely will alarm parents, but officials said there is no known health threat.

(HealthDay News) - When your child has a fever, it means her body is fighting an infection. Nonetheless, there are things you can do to help her feel better.

SATURDAY, Dec. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Older relatives who are frail or ill have special emotional, mental and physical health needs that require extra attention to help them enjoy the holiday season, geriatric specialists say.

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey on Friday became the first state to require flu shots for preschoolers, saying their developing immune systems and likelihood of spreading germs make them as vulnerable to complications as the elderly.

TUESDAY, Dec. 11 (HealthDay News) -- An intensive, home-based program to improve medical care for low-income seniors produced mixed results, a geriatrics team reports.

MONDAY, Dec. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Even when Alzheimer's disease robs them of the life they once knew, some people can still find love among the ruins.

MONDAY, Dec. 10 (HealthDay News) -- The majority of Americans in Medicare aren't getting screened for colorectal cancer, a major killer, even though the screening is free, a new study finds.

SAN ANTONIO - Doctors are encouraging a new group of people to consider getting tested for genes that raise the risk of breast cancer: men. Male relatives of women with such genes often do not realize that they, too, may carry them, and face greater odds of developing male breast cancer, as well as prostate, pancreatic and skin cancer, new research suggests.

THURSDAY, Dec. 13 (HealthDay News) -- The new and powerful cancer drug sunitinib (Sutent), which fights stomach tumors, can also create heart problems for some patients, a new study finds.

WASHINGTON - James Peake's nomination as the next Veterans Affairs secretary was sent to the full Senate on Thursday, with confirmation all but assured for the former Army surgeon general who is pledging renewed efforts to fight soldiers' resistance to getting treatment for depression.

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court said Friday it will review whether a defendant who is judged competent to stand trial has the right to be his own lawyer, even if he has a history of serious mental illness.

THURSDAY, Dec. 13 (HealthDay News) -- In a discovery that perplexes HIV experts, an international team reports that tiny fibers commonly found in semen drastically enhance the ability of the virus to do its damage.

SAN ANTONIO - Doctors are encouraging a new group of people to consider getting tested for genes that raise the risk of breast cancer: men. Male relatives of women with such genes often do not realize that they, too, may carry them, and face greater odds of developing male breast cancer, as well as prostate, pancreatic and skin cancer, new research suggests.

SAN ANTONIO - For the first time, doctors have used stem cells from liposuctioned fat to fix breast defects in women who have had cancerous lumps removed.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - An ingredient in human semen may actually help the HIV virus infect cells, German researchers said on Thursday.

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The quest for thicker lashes and defined eyes should get safer in Minnesota on Jan. 1, when a state law banning mercury from mascara, eye liners and skin-lightening creams takes effect.

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli scientists claim that a wild mushroom, used in traditional Chinese medicine for a century, could treat prostate cancer, the University of Haifa said Friday.