Health - Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Breast cancer patients who get newer scans called magnetic resonance imaging are more likely to opt for mastectomies, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Children who survive cancer while they are young are five to 10 times more likely than their healthy siblings to develop heart disease, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

GENEVA (Reuters) - Obesity contributes to global warming, too.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A drug prescribed to prevent fractures in breast cancer patients whose tumors have spread may actually help slow the cancer itself, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.

TORONTO (Reuters) - The so-called "morning after" pill Plan B has received full over-the-counter status in Canada, drug maker Paladin Labs Inc said on Thursday.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - An international aid agency has confirmed some cases of cholera in Myanmar's cyclone-hit Irawaddy delta but the number was in line with normal levels in previous years, an aid official said on Friday.

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada said on Friday it was scrapping work on a trouble-plagued nuclear reactor designed to produce medical isotopes but vowed to maintain output by continuing to use an older reactor.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Obesity is a well known risk factor for certain physical health problems, but a new study suggests that heavy adults also have higher rates of psychiatric disorders.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health officials on Thursday recommended that people 60 and older get Merck & Co Inc's vaccine Zostavax to protect against shingles, a viral infection that causes a painful, blistering rash.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Results from a mid-stage trial showed treatment with Genentech Inc's Avastin improved survival for patients with recurring brain cancer, the company said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly two-thirds of kidney cancer patients taking Novartis AG's RAD001 had progression of their disease delayed by a year, a significantly better result than in those taking placebo, investigators said.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who snack on popcorn may consume more whole grains and less meat than their peers who don't, new research shows.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lung cancer patients who took Eli Lilly and Co's Alimta after finishing their normal course of chemotherapy lived 40 percent longer without any tumor progression than patients who took a placebo, researchers reported on Thursday.

ROCKVILLE, Maryland (Reuters) - Ads for prescription drugs need to be clear and direct and government needs to study the effects these ads have on consumer behavior, particularly among the elderly and minorities, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel of outside experts said on Thursday.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Contaminated dry dog food was the source of an outbreak of Salmonella infections affecting people in 19 states, public health officials report in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a publication of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - While many people who sprain an ankle get back on their feet quickly, some continue to have pain and other problems for months to years, a new study shows.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson said on Thursday it was voluntarily recalling specific lots of three of its medicines to protect patients from receiving potentially mishandled or damaged products after a truck carrying the drugs was stolen.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Blocking parts of the nervous system that regulate body temperature can reduce hot flashes and improve sleep in survivors of breast cancer, researchers reported on Thursday.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - High-doses of cholesterol-lowering statins that are "lipophilic" -- meaning they are soluble in fats -- may offer protection against cancer, according to a new study that found a significant reduction in the incidence of cancer in users of these statins.