health topics

Scientists in San Diego are developing new vaccines that will potentially cure addictions, allowing cigarette and drug abusers to kick their habits with a simple injection. Dr. Kim D. Janda, a Scripps Research Institute professor, is one of the leading experts, having made addiction vaccines his main priority for the past 25 years. “We view this as an alternative or better way for some people,” he

National nonprofits and physicians’ organizations dedicate every October to the cause of breast cancer awareness — raising funds for research and helping ensure that all women are able to receive regular screenings.

Emmy-winning TV doctor Dr. Mehmet Oz — better known as simply Dr. Oz. — is under fire for airing a segment on his show Wednesday in which he said lab testing found “troubling levels” of arsenic in many brands of juice, even while tests done by the Food and Drug Administration on the same batches of juice contradicted his findings.

Deeply conservative Pat Robertson shocked some viewers of his ’700 Club’ program on Tuesday when he told one of them that it’s okay to divorce a spouse with Alzheimer’s disease. The man said he was conflicted because a friend whose wife has Alzheimer’s has been cheating on her. Robinson responded, “I know it sounds cruel, but if he’s going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over

In the first study of its kind, researchers compared the testosterone level of men when they were single and childless to their testosterone level after they had had a child. While testosterone always decreases when men age, the decline was much more pronounced among the men who had become fathers.

Claudia Rendon of Pennsylvania has had a tough year. First, her mother and uncle died, then her father was diagnosed with leukemia. As if that wasn’t enough, she later discovered her son, Alex, was in need of a kidney transplant. Doctors found she was a suitable donor match, so Rendon took time off work to give Alex the kidney he needed. But when she tried to return to her job several weeks later,

During a European meeting of the International Diabetes Federation, it was announced that 366 million people now suffer from the disease — and that number is only going up. Since diabetes is most often diagnosed in middle age, experts believe the increase in cases is at least partially due to an aging population, as well as overall population growth and rising obesity rates.

In June, the Food and Drug Administration released nine new warning labels that depict in graphic detail the negative health effects of tobacco use. Now, four of the five largest US tobacco companies want a judge to stop the government from using them.

New research suggests most people could easily lose up to two pounds a month simply by eating off smaller plates and focusing more on their food during mealtimes. In one study, people ate 45 percent more popcorn when they were given a larger size of the snack food, and diners given a “bottomless bowl” of soup that automatically refilled ate 73 percent more without even realizing it.

While researchers are reluctant to call idebenone a cure for blindness, the drug has restored the vision of some people who suffer from hereditary blindness in a recent clinical study.