Health News Headlines

WASHINGTON (AP) — Doctors tell people with a heart-zapping device in their chests to give up intense sports like basketball and soccer in favor of golf or bowling. But lots of patients ignore that advice — and now new research is challenging it.

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older men with other illnesses may not live long enough to benefit from aggressive prostate cancer treatments, such as prostate removal or radiation, and they'd have to live with their side effects, says a new study. "If you're going to die of a heart attack in five years, …

Sleep. It occupies about one-third of our lives. We need it for our mental        

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men who get an older and less costly form of radiation after their cancerous prostates are removed fare just as well as men who get a new and expensive type of radiation, according to a new study. "What we demonstrate is that both (therapies) are very safe and effective after …

By Ivan Oransky NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The importance of health literacy hit home for Lisa Gualtieri when a Cambodian refugee diagnosed with cancer asked her to act as a patient advocate. She played the role of a "salty tongue," a Cambodian expression that paints outspokenness in a positive light. But even though the …

By Nate Raymond and Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. authorities brought criminal charges against three New York University researchers on Monday, alleging they conspired to take bribes from Chinese medical and research outfits for details about NYU research into magnetic resonance imaging technology. A criminal …

By Katie Schubert OMAHA (Reuters) - Investigators in Omaha are looking at whether the murders discovered last week of a doctor and his wife are connected to the unsolved 2008 murders of a young boy and his family's housekeeper, police said on Monday. Dr. Roger Brumback and his wife, Mary, both 65, were found murdered last …

By Padraic Halpin and Jessica Toonkel DUBLIN/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Royalty Pharma raised its hostile bid for Elan to $12.50 per share and threatened to withdraw the bid if Elan shareholders approve a series of defensive transactions announced by the Irish drug firm. Royalty Pharma, which buys royalty streams of patented …

By Jason McLure (Reuters) - Vermont on Monday became the fourth U.S. state to end legal penalties for doctors who prescribe medication to terminally ill patients seeking to end their own lives. The law, which includes a number of safeguards over the next three years as the state adapts, marked the first time a U.S. state …

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bayer said extended use of its experimental riociguat pill to treat a life-threatening form of high blood pressure in the lungs was shown to be safe and effective in a prolonged trial. In the extension of a late-stage trial, the drug was shown to help people suffering from pulmonary arterial hypertension …

By Caroline Humer and Ransdell Pierson (Reuters) - Generic drugmaker Actavis Inc, itself a recent takeover target, said on Monday it would buy specialty pharmaceutical company Warner Chilcott Plc for $5 billion in stock to expand its branded drug portfolio, lower taxes and increase profits. The Warner Chilcott acquisition …

Discredited Study Tied Measles Vaccine to Autism        

First and foremost, spring and summer mean sun. We all know we need some of it (sunshine enables our body to absorb vitamin D, which is essential for bone density and a strong immune system), but there’s also the sun’s not-so-healthy aspect: skin cancer. Since 1975, rates of melanoma—the deadliest kind of skin cancer—have …

Allana Maiden and her mother, Debbie Barrett, of Virginia. Allana Maiden wanted her mother to feel beautiful again after she’d undergone  a radical mastectomy. But Victoria’s Secret, the company she hoped would design sexy lingerie for women who’ve  had breast cancer surgery, has rejected her...        

Allana Maiden and her mother, Debbie Barrett, of Virginia. Allana Maiden wanted her mother to feel beautiful again after she’d undergone  a radical mastectomy. But Victoria’s Secret, the company she hoped would design sexy lingerie for women who’ve  had breast cancer surgery, has rejected her...        

By Vrinda Manocha (Reuters) - XenoPort Inc said it would stop development of an experimental multiple sclerosis treatment it planned to launch in 2015 after a late-stage trial failed to show significant improvement over a placebo. Shares of the company fell 26 percent to $5.03 in morning trade on the Nasdaq. "This is disappointing, …

By Toni Clarke WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Merck & Co's experimental insomnia drug suvorexant appears generally effective, according to reviewers at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but they questioned the company's proposed dosing levels. The reviewers posted their comments on the FDA's website on Monday, two days ahead …

Biohackers are gulping down Dave Asprey's Bulletproof Coffee Breakfast. What the heck is it -- and more importantly, does it work?