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AP Health NewsBrief at 1:29 p.m. EST
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| Copyright: | The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | | Source: | Associated Press | | Wordcount: | |
Low cholesterol may prevent some prostate cancers
A new study suggests that men may be able to lower their risk of getting the most aggressive form of prostate cancer by keeping their cholesterol in a healthy range. Men whose cholesterol was under 200 had less than half the risk of developing high-grade prostate tumors compared to men with high cholesterol, researchers report. The information comes from about 6,000 men who were in a big federal cancer prevention study.
Premature births worsen US infant death rate
ATLANTA (AP) _ Premature births, often due to poor care of low-income pregnant women, are the main reason the U.S. infant mortality rate is higher than in most European countries, a government report said Tuesday. About 1 in 8 U.S. births are premature. Early births are much less common most of Europe; for example, only 1 in 18 babies are premature in Ireland and Finland.
New vaccine offers hope in Africa's malaria battle
SIAYA, Kenya (AP) _ A mother watched with dread as a nurse inserted a tube in her baby's head. Blood streamed into the anemic 4-month-old who already has malaria, the mosquito-borne disease that kills a million African children every year. "Malaria is one of the deadliest sicknesses for children," the nurse said _ words that sent the young mother into a crumpled heap on the bed beside her wide-eyed baby boy, wrapped in a blue-and-yellow floral blanket.
Half of US kids will get food stamps, study says
CHICAGO (AP) _ Nearly half of all U.S. children and 90 percent of black youngsters will be on food stamps at some point during childhood, and fallout from the current recession could push those numbers even higher, researchers say. The estimate comes from an analysis of 30 years of national data, and it bolsters other recent evidence on the pervasiveness of youngsters at economic risk. It suggests that almost everyone knows a family who has received food stamps, or will in the future, said lead author Mark Rank, a sociologist at Washington University in St. Louis.
Poor countries see troubling rise in breast cancer
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Nurses were training women in rural Mexico to examine their breasts for cancer when one raised her hand to object. If she lost her breast, Harvard public health specialist Felicia Knaul recalls the woman saying, "My man would leave me" _ and with him, the family's income. International cancer specialists meet this week to plan an assault on a troubling increase of breast cancer in developing countries, where nearly two-thirds of women aren't diagnosed until it has spread through their bodies.
UN: $39 billion needed for pneumonia
LONDON (AP) _ To fight pneumonia, the world's top killer of children, United Nations officials say they need $39 billion (€26.35 billion) over the next six years. On the first World Pneumonia Day on Monday, the World Health Organization and UNICEF are releasing a global plan aiming to save more than 5 million children from dying of pneumonia by 2015.
New group helps US monitor swine flu shot safety
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Independent health advisers begin monitoring safety of the swine flu vaccine on Monday, an extra step the government promised in this year's unprecedented program to watch for possible side effects. Decades of safe influenza inoculations mean specialists aren't expecting problems with the swine flu vaccine, because it's made the same way as the regular winter flu vaccine. But systems to track the health of millions of Americans are being tapped to make sure _ to spot any rare but real problems quickly, and to explain the inevitable false alarms when common disorders coincide with inoculation.
More insurers are paying for alternative remedies
EDITOR'S NOTE: Ten years and $2.5 billion in research have found no cures from alternative medicine. Yet these mostly unproven treatments are now mainstream and used by more than a third of all Americans. This is one in an occasional Associated Press series on their use and potential risks. ___
FDA won't accept Merck's application for new drug
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ U.S. regulators have refused to accept drugmaker Merck & Co.'s application for a new, combination cholesterol pill that includes rival Pfizer's Lipitor, the world's top-selling drug. Merck disclosed the rare move by the Food and Drug Administration in a regulatory filing Monday.
Humana 3Q profit jumps on government programs
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) _ Health insurer Humana Inc. rode its strong government business in posting a 65 percent jump in third-quarter profit Monday, as bulging membership and premiums from Medicare Advantage overcame a lackluster commercial segment hampered by the weak economy. Louisville-based Humana said its quarterly revenue rose 8 percent as enrollment in its Medicare Advantage offerings grew 11 percent from a year ago.
This is a news service of Thomson Business Intelligence Service ©2006. This content is for your personal use only, subject to Terms and Conditions. No redistribution allowed.
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