Diseases/Conditions News

THURSDAY, Aug. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Shelley Volz, now 59, got the news about her breast cancer diagnosis 10 years ago, right before she was headed from San Francisco to New York for the wedding of her younger brother.

THURSDAY, Aug. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists say they're gaining insight into how the brain rewires itself as it learns new things, potentially helping them move toward better treatments for mental illness and brain injuries.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In women who suffer from a severe form of PMS known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), taking the antidepressant Paxil only when symptoms are at a peak significantly curbs irritability and improves social functioning, according to a study of Canadian women.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Younger men who binge drink and abuse drugs are the gays and bisexuals most likely to transmit HIV to others, and prevention programs should be developed to target them, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

MEXICO CITY (AFP) - Dozens of US AIDS activists demonstrated at a world AIDS conference here Wednesday calling on White House candidates to commit to HIV prevention, as experts warned of emerging US public indifference towards the disease.

(HealthDay News) -- Allergy symptoms can be caused by many things, commonly pet dander, dust, mold, grasses and trees, and certain foods.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children with asthma face a number of barriers to participation in physical activity, from family beliefs to school disorganization to their own misperceptions about their symptoms, the authors of a new research review say.

FRIDAY, July 25 (HealthDay News) -- The first evidence linking gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and asthma has been discovered by Duke University Medical Center researchers.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - To desensitize young children to their allergy to eggs, physicians from Greece say "let them eat cake."

THURSDAY, Aug. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Two genes linked to breast, thyroid and kidney cancer have been identified by Cleveland Clinic researchers. The discovery of the genes SDHB and SDHD could help improve early detection of these cancers and boost patients' chances of survival.

MONDAY, Aug. 4 (HealthDay News) -- The estrogen estradiol, when combined with antipsychotic drugs, may help relieve psychotic symptoms in women with schizophrenia, an Australian study suggests.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. efforts to test nearly everyone for the AIDS virus have stalled and just 40 percent of adults in the country have ever been tested for the fatal and incurable virus, according to a government report on Thursday.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Following surgery for breast cancer, many women will experience arm swelling - a bothersome condition doctors refer to as lymphedema.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Adding estrogen to routine medication helped reduce the number of psychotic symptoms in women with schizophrenia, researchers said on Monday.

HARARE (AFP) - HIV-positive widow Lilian Butau sits on a rickety stool on the veranda of her home in Harare's Mbare township, chewing on a small piece of calcium-rich rock, the only thing she has had to eat all day.

WEDNESDAY, July 23 (HealthDay News) -- Gradually exposing children with egg allergies to cooked egg could help them overcome the allergy, a new study reports.

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Physical activity can reduce the risk of colon cancer, but few American adults are aware of this, a new study shows.

FRIDAY, Aug. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists have long observed a link between depression and heart disease. Now there's research to help pinpoint the symptoms of depression that may signal cardiovascular trouble.

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - The young HIV-positive mother takes a deep breath as her name is called, scurrying behind the doctor who will tell her, after a torturous wait, whether she has infected her six-week old baby.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Seventy-five percent of children with cow's milk allergy will be able to tolerate it if it is heated extensively, according to a report in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 6 (HealthDay News) -- A fifth of British adults who survived childhood cancers currently smoke, while almost a third were regular smokers at one time in their lives, a new study reports.

WEDNESDAY, July 30 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have uncovered a potential cause for postpartum depression, at least in mice.

KABUL (AFP) - Afghanistan has about 2,500 HIV positive cases, a relatively low rate, but a range of factors like growing drug use put the country at risk of the virus spreading, the health ministry said Thursday.

PARIS (AFP) - A nearly forgotten Russian-made drug, formulated to combat hay fever, helps improve cognitive abilities in patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to the results of a year-long trial published on Thursday.

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Vietnam veterans exposed to the defoliant Agent Orange have a significantly greater risk of prostate cancer, especially the most aggressive form of the disease, a new study contends.

WEDNESDAY, July 30 (HealthDay News) -- Moving closer to the causes and effective treatment of schizophrenia, researchers say they've found specific gene variations linked to the condition.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - HIV patients under the care and management of trained nurses fared just as well as patients treated by doctors, if not better, according to two studies that demonstrate ways to replace scarce doctors in Africa.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Asthma flare-ups early in pregnancy may raise the risk of birth defects, a new study suggests -- highlighting, researchers say, the importance of good asthma control in pregnant women.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The cancer drug rituximab can help heal the kidneys of patients with a common condition known as membranous nephropathy, Italian researchers reported on Wednesday.