HPV infections fell by half in teen girls after vaccine, study shows

Infections with the human papillomavirus tied to cervical cancer fell by more than half in U.S. teen girls after the HPV vaccine was introduced in 2006, despite high-profile controversy -- and low rates of uptake, a new study shows. Government health officials said Wednesday that the new data should encourage wider acceptance of the vaccine, which became a lighting rod for political controversy al

Obesity is a disease, doctors’ group says

The American Medical Association officially designated obesity as a disease on Tuesday – a disease that requires medical treatment and prevention.The organization doesn’t have any kind of official say in the matter, but it’s influential nonetheless, and the vote of the AMA’s policy-making House of Delegates is one more step in the evolution of social attitudes towards obesity.“Recognizing obesity

FDA backs away from new fecal transplant rules

The Food and Drug Administration has backed away from new rules requiring doctors to treat human stool as an unapproved drug, meaning fecal transplants used to treat life-threatening gut infections can continue as planned in the U.S.FDA officials said this week that the agency will not enforce new requirements to obtain investigational new drug applications, or INDs, before doctors can perform the

Zzzz! 3 tips for getting your kids to sleep

Butter coffee: Will it give you extra energy -- or just make you fat?

Still sleepy after your third cup of coffee this morning? A new fad promises to give your daily cup of joe an extra kick of energy – while helping you lose weight – with the addition of a surprising ingredient: butter.That’s the idea behind “Bulletproof coffee, ” a trend that’s gaining popularity among those who follow the “paleo” diet, a caveman-type eating style that means consuming mostly anima

How to be a grown-up: ‘Adulting’ tips

To wave or not to wave? Riders, runners debate

Melissa Etheridge: Jolie’s surgery was ‘fearful’

Pharmacists pick top health products

Obesity now classified as a disease

New study tracks emotional health of 'surrogate kids'

Over the past decade the number of births involving surrogacy with donor eggs and sperm has surged. What, experts wondered, does this mean for the mental and emotional health of the growing number of kids who may or may not know the truth about their distinctive origins? A team of British researchers, led by Susan Golombok, a professor of family research and director of the Centre for Family R...

Welcoming pets in the hospital

AMA recognizes obesity as a disease

It's OK, Miss Utah. Brain freezes happen to all of us

When asked a question about fair pay for women during the Miss USA competition last night, Miss Utah, 21-year-old Marissa Powell, did what happens to so many of us in less glamorous situations. She totally blanked. And then said: “I think we can relate this back to education and how we are continuing to try to strive to figure out how to create jobs right now. That’s the biggest problem and I thin

Diet products contain dangerous drugs, FDA warns

Fat Zero sounds like a safe, natural product, containing bee pollen and other ingredients like green tea and lotus seed. But it also contains sibutramine, a prescription diet drug that was so dangerous it’s been pulled off the U.S. market, the Food and Drug Administration says.The FDA issued warnings about a batch of similar slimming products – all claiming to be natural, and all containing not on

Toll reaches 118 in hepatitis A outbreak tied to frozen berry mix

At least 118 people in eight states are now sick with acute hepatitis A in an outbreak tied to a frozen berry mix widely sold at Costco stores. Fifty-one people have been hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Illnesses have been reported between March 18 and June 8, in the ongoing outbreak linked to Townsend Farms Antioxidant Blend sold by the Fairview, Ore., f

Which spice can help reduce arthritis risk?

Modern medical woes: Handling tech aches and pains

Yuck! Dirt soup sold at Japanese restaurant

Toddler takes first steps after mower mishap

Facebook boosts organ donor signups, study shows

The plight of a 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl who got a high-profile lung transplant last week underscored the scarcity of U.S. organ donations, but a new study of a “Facebook bump” in registrations shows that social media may be key to solving the problem. More than 100,000 people in the U.S. took advantage of a Facebook change last year to allow certain members to identify themselves as organ do

Vaccine advocate takes on the alternative medicine industry

Dr. Paul Offit doesn’t like getting threats. But the 62-year-old pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia says it goes with the territory when taking on powerful industries and interest groups whose beliefs are deeply rooted in emotion. He’s ready for a tsunami of criticism with his latest foray into debunking popular wisdom – “Do You Believe in Magic?: The Sense and Nonsense of Altern.

Researchers: Sleep deficit can shorten your life

‘I was very happy with the results’

‘I don’t have any second doubts about it’

Improving health for Mandela, Prince Phillip

Unique treatment for early stage breast cancer

Parents: Don't ignore sibling bullying, study warns

The young sisters played outside together every day that summer in a Vallejo, Calif., suburb, and during one long, boring summer day, the older girl thought of a new way to pass the time. She led her little sister to the backyard, tethered the 9-year-old to one of the poles on the back porch, then taped her eyelashes to her eyebrows and left her there to stare into the bright California sun.That's

It's OK, Miss Utah. Brain farts happen to all of us

When asked a question about fair pay for women during the Miss USA competition last night, Miss Utah, 21-year-old Marissa Powell, did what happens to so many of us in less glamorous situations. She totally blanked. And then said: “I think we can relate this back to education and how we are continuing to try to strive to figure out how to create jobs right now. That’s the biggest problem and I thin

Meningitis warning given ahead of NYC's Gay Pride weekend

People traveling to New York City for Gay Pride events over the June 28-30 weekend are being told to seek advice about vaccination for invasive meningococcal disease, in a report released Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.Doctors from Weill Cornell Medical College and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene are raising the alarm in the article due to a deadly bacterial me