Marijuana may ease multiple sclerosis symptoms
By Amy Norton NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with multiple sclerosis have long said that smoking marijuana helps ease their painful muscle cramping. And a new clinical trial suggests they are not just blowing smoke. The study, published Monday, found that for 30 MS patients with muscle 'spasticity,' a few days of marijuana smoking
Washington state on track for major pertussis epidemic
Public health officials in Washington state have confirmed more than 1,100 cases of whooping cough so far this year in what is on track to become the worst epidemic of the disease to hit the state in seven decades. No deaths have been reported from this year's outbreak but 20 infants have been hospitalized with the bacterial infection,
Caffeine not tied to worsening urinary incontinence
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women with urinary incontinence who also enjoy their regular cup of coffee or tea don't have to worry about the extra caffeine making their condition worse, suggests a new study. The new research stands in contrast to the common recommendation that women with leaky bladders stay away from caffeinated foods and
Is the obesity tide turning among preschoolers?
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In eastern Massachusetts, the number of kids under age six who are obese declined significantly in recent years -- a trend that might be happening nationwide as well, according to a new study. On the down side, obesity rates among lower-income children remain more stubbornly stable, researchers report in the
Hugo Chávez dismisses health rumours on Venezuelan TV
The Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, has reappeared on television after an eight-day silence, scoffing at rumours that his health had taken a turn for the worse. In a live phone call on state television on Monday, he also said he planned to be back home on Thursday after his latest round of cancer treatment in Cuba. 'We'll have to
Evidence behind autism drugs may be biased: study
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors' belief that certain antidepressants can help to treat repetitive behaviors in kids with autism may be based on incomplete information, according to a new review of published and unpublished research. The drugs, which include popular selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), are sometimes used to
Dental x-rays linked to common brain tumor
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study suggests people who had certain kinds of dental X-rays in the past may be at an increased risk for meningioma, the most commonly diagnosed brain tumor in the U.S. The findings cannot prove that radiation from the imaging caused the tumors, and the results are based on people who were likely exposed
Obama healthcare law could sharply worsen U.S. deficits: study
President Barack Obama's healthcare law could sharply exceed its cost-savings targets and add up to $530 billion to the federal budget deficit, a leading authority on U.S. government benefit programs said on Tuesday. A study by Charles Blahous, a George Mason University research fellow and the Republican trustee for the Medicare and
Is high spending on cancer care worth it?
With the United States spending more on healthcare than any other country — $2.5 trillion, or just over $8,000 per capita, in 2009 — the question has long been, is it worth it? At least for spending on cancer, a controversial new study answers with an emphatic 'yes.'Cancer patients in the United States who were diagnosed from 1995 to
Colon screening more likely when patients pick test
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study finds that people are more likely to get screened for colorectal cancer when their doctors recommend they get a stool test instead of a colonoscopy, or when doctors leave it up to patients to choose which test to have. The results suggest doctors should take their patients' preferences into
Computer monitor uses sensor to promote better posture
High-tech sensors are everywhere. They alert us to spoiled food. They monitor our stress levels. And they're blowing up in the health and fitness space, too, helping us track our key sleep and activity metrics. And now we have the Philips ErgoSensor Monitor, a desktop display that keeps an eye on
Moms obesity tied to kids autism, development
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study of mothers and children in California finds that kids born to obese women are more likely to be diagnosed with autism or related developmental delays than the children of slimmer moms. The research, which was looking for effects on kids' cognitive development from a variety of 'metabolic conditions'
Female skiers likelier to injure non-dominant knee
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women skiers are more likely than men to injure a knee while skiing, and a new study shows they are about twice as likely to have that injury occur to their non-dominant leg, often the left one. The study did not go so far as to explain these inequalities, but Dr. Robert Johnson, a sports medicine physician at
Obama seeks to defuse healthcare row with court
U.S. courts have authority to decide whether President Barack Obama's healthcare law is valid under the Constitution, his attorney general told a court on Thursday in a further bid to defuse a controversy Obama ignited earlier this week. After Obama appeared to question the role of the courts in reviewing the two-year-old law expanding
Stinky urine may signal bladder infection in kids
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Your child's stinky urine may be more than just unpleasant: A new study suggests kids with terrible smelling urine should be checked for a urinary tract infection. According to researchers, only a handful of studies have looked at stinky urine and whether it was a symptom of a urinary tract infection (UTI), but
No link seen between painkillers, enlarged prostate
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In contrast to some recent research, a new study finds no evidence that men who use aspirin or ibuprofen are at any lower risk of an enlarged prostate. The findings, reported in the British Journal of Urology International, conflict with an earlier study finding that benign prostatic hyperplasia -- the medical
European hackers suspected in Utah Medicaid files breach
A data security breach at the Utah Health Department, believed to be the work of Eastern European hackers, has exposed 24,000 U.S. Medicaid files bearing names, Social Security numbers and other private information, state officials said on Wednesday. The intrusion initially appeared to have affected claims representing at least 9 percent
Device to fight anaemia in India about to go on sale
Healthcare in rural India is often basic, meaning people die unnecessarily. Take anaemia for instance, more than half the cases can easily be cured with a course of free iron pills, but if left untreated it is potentially fatal, especially for pregnant women. Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate Myshkin Ingawale first heard
