Health News

FRIDAY, Dec. 21 (HealthDay News) --The morbidly obese may not be the only people who should be eligible for bariatric surgery to lose weight, U.S. researchers report.

BALTIMORE - Very obese people who need a kidney transplant are far less likely to get one than normal weight people, and when they do, their wait is an average of a year to 18 months longer, a new study found.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A man who gained national media attention by claiming he was not allowed to adopt a baby because of his weight was awarded temporary custody of the child, but the judge chided him and his wife, saying they knew the primary reason the boy had been removed from their home had nothing to do with obesity.

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.

THURSDAY, Dec. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Sex education programs do work to help discourage many teens from becoming sexually active before age 15, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

LONDON - Syphilis is back: The sexually transmitted disease long associated with 19th Century bohemian life is making an alarming resurgence in Europe.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Teenagers who have had formal sex education are far more likely to put off having sex, contradicting earlier studies on the effectiveness of such programs, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Sex education in school may encourage teenagers to put off having sexual intercourse, the results of a U.S. government study suggests.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Sex education in school may encourage teenagers to put off having sexual intercourse, the results of a U.S. government study suggests.

(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:

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 19 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that a newer medication approved for treating hepatitis B is more effective than the standard treatment, lamivudine.

SAN FRANCISCO - Troubling cases in which doctors were accused of botching operations while undergoing treatment for drugs or alcohol have led to criticism of rehab programs that allow thousands of U.S. physicians to keep their addictions hidden from their patients.

FRIDAY, Dec. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Black children living in disadvantaged neighborhoods fall behind the equivalent of one year or more of schooling simply because of where they live.

WASHINGTON - Toddlers rescued from orphanages and placed in good foster homes score dramatically higher on IQ tests years later than children who were left behind, concludes a one-of-a-kind project in Romania that has profound implications for child welfare around the globe.

LONDON (Reuters) - Working up a sweat playing video games on Nintendo's interactive Wii console is no replacement for real exercise but at least it gets overweight children off the couch, according to British researchers.

THURSDAY, Dec. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Exposure to secondhand smoke in early infancy can boost a child's risk of developing allergies, Swedish researchers say.

THURSDAY, Dec. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Women who've had a miscarriage or an abortion are much more likely than women who haven't to experience a low-birthweight or premature baby in the future, new research shows.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older adults who regularly walk for exercise may help lower their risk of vascular dementia, the second-most common form of this disorder after Alzheimer's disease, a study published Wednesday suggests.

TUESDAY, Dec. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Older adults don't drink enough water and become dehydrated during heat waves because their brains and bodies don't coordinate sensory signals about thirst, a new Australian study suggests.

WASHINGTON - Lawmakers have crafted a six-month reprieve for physicians facing a 10 percent rate cut when treating Medicare patients, congressional aides and advocacy groups said Tuesday.

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.

FRIDAY, Dec. 21 HealthDay News) -- Only a third of breast cancer patients get to discuss their breast reconstruction options with their general cancer surgeon before the tumor is removed, new research finds.

FRIDAY, Dec 21 (HealthDay News) -- A combination treatment with two drugs, Avastin (bevacizumab) plus interferon, extends the life of patients with kidney cancer, European researchers report.

FRIDAY, Dec. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Treating depression can help extend the lives of people with diabetes, concludes a University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine study in the December issue of the journal Diabetes Care.

FRIDAY, Dec. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Developmental problems involving a walnut-shaped part of the brain called the amygdala -- linked to fear, anxiety and other emotions -- may explain why mental illness and addiction often appear together, researchers say.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators on Tuesday finalized a rule requiring makers of certain contraceptive gels, foams, films and inserts to carry a warning that the products do not protect against sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS.

LONDON (Reuters) - Reading in dim light won't damage your eyes, you don't need eight glasses of water a day to stay healthy and shaving your legs won't make the hair grow back faster.

WASHINGTON - Improper use of patches that emit the painkiller fentanyl is still killing people, the government said Friday — its second warning in two years about the powerful narcotic.

LOS ANGELES - The family of a 17-year-old girl who died hours after her health insurer reversed a decision and said it would pay for a liver transplant plans to sue the company, their attorney said Friday.

YAKIMA, Wash. - It comes as no surprise to anyone that the number of organic farms is booming to meet consumer demand for healthy food. In Washington, a state known more for its apples than any other crop, there are 45 organic dairies. Five years ago, there were just two.

LONDON - Syphilis is back: The sexually transmitted disease long associated with 19th Century bohemian life is making an alarming resurgence in Europe.