Early day care may promote eczema development

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Kids who spend their earliest years in day care may be at higher risk of eczema than kids cared for at home, according to a new study from Germany. Eczema is a collective term for different skin conditions characterized by a scaly, itchy, reddish rash. From 10 percent to [...]

Protein test ups diabetes diagnoses in some races

By Rachael Myers Lowe NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Efforts to adopt a more accurate test for diagnosing diabetes may have hit a snag. Comparing the age-old oral glucose tolerance test to the newer hemoglobin A1c test confirms earlier evidence that race may influence test results, Danish researchers report. “The prevalence of diabetes differed [...]

Aqua Bounty biotech salmon OK to eat: FDA

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Aqua Bounty Technologies Inc’s genetically engineered salmon are as safe to eat as normal Atlantic salmon, U.S. regulators said in a preliminary analysis released on Friday. The fish, called AquAdvantage, are genetically altered to grow twice as fast as normal Atlantic salmon. The Food and Drug Administration is weighing whether to [...]

Special Report: Outgunned FDA tries to get tough with drug ads

By Susan Heavey and Lisa Richwine SILVER SPRING, Maryland (Reuters) – It wasn’t what you would call a casual get-together. In February 2009, a popular New York blogger attended a brunch with fellow “frazzled moms.” They took in tips from a style expert and listened to a nurse extol the virtues of Mirena, a [...]

U.S. medical programs missing millions of kids: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An estimated five million uninsured children in the United States were eligible for Medicaid or the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) but were not enrolled in either plan, according to a new report. The study published on Friday in the journal “Health Affairs” recommended policy reforms and broader efforts to get [...]

Common bone drugs linked to esophageal cancer risk

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) – People who take a commonly used class of osteoporosis drugs called bisphosphonates for more than five years may be doubling their risk of developing cancer of the gullet or esophagus, a British study found on Friday. Researchers who conducted the work said the results were worrying, but should [...]

Women, children most vulnerable in Pakistan crisis

By Rebecca Conway NOWSHERA, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistan’s displaced flood victims say a lack of clean water and high temperatures are causing illnesses sweeping through relief camps with children most at risk. Almost five million people are currently without shelter following devastating flooding sparked more than a month ago by heavy monsoon rains. “They [...]

Experimental Novartis drug shows malaria promise

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) – An experimental Novartis drug can clear malaria infection in mice with a single dose and scientists say it shows promise as a possible future treatment for one of the world’s major killer diseases. In a study published in the journal Science on Thursday, an international team of scientists [...]

Workers see higher health costs, less care

By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Companies are cutting healthcare costs further amid a continuing sour economy, scaling back benefits and shifting a greater share of the expense to employees. The findings, published on Thursday, come as the congressional campaign heats up over the nation’s stagnant economic growth and whether recently passed healthcare reforms [...]

U.S. workers see higher health costs, less care

By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. companies are cutting healthcare costs further amid a continuing sour economy, scaling back benefits and shifting a greater share of the expense to employees. The findings, published on Thursday, come as the U.S. congressional campaign heats up over the nation’s stagnant economic growth and whether recently passed [...]

Next Page »