WHO confirms three Ebola deaths in Congo

January 5, 2009 — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The World Health Organization on Friday confirmed the Ebola virus had killed three people in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo and said more deaths were being investigated.

Prenatal test may raise birthmark risk

January 5, 2009 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A test performed in early pregnancy to check for genetic defects such as Down's syndrome in the fetus appears to be linked to increased chances that the baby will be born with a birthmark, or "infantile hemangioma," researchers report.

Parent health sways views of asthmatic kids' health

January 2, 2009 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Parents' own chronic health problems may influence their perceptions of their asthmatic children's well-being, a new study suggests.

Chromosome disorder raises risk of death

January 2, 2009 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Turner syndrome, the most commonly diagnosed sex chromosome abnormality in women, not only leads to substantial illness but is also raises the risk of death, according to UK researchers.

Study finds favorable trends in stroke

January 2, 2009 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Fewer people are suffering stroke and fewer people are dying from stroke, new research from Sweden hints.

Home as good as hospital for cardiac rehab

January 1, 2009 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Home-based rehabilitation is no worse than hospital-based programs for helping patients get better after a heart attack or surgery to clear blocked heart arteries, and may be more accessible for patients, research from the UK shows.

Uncorrected heart defect ups risk of infant death

January 1, 2009 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Infants born with a congenital heart defect that goes uncorrected have a much greater risk of dying than their counterparts who have the heart defect corrected, suggest results of a new study.

Smoking ban lowers heart attacks in one US city

January 1, 2009 — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A smoking ban caused heart attacks to drop by more than 40 percent in one U.S. city and the decrease lasted three years, federal health experts reported on Wednesday.

Osteoporosis drugs linked to esophageal cancer

January 1, 2009 — BOSTON (Reuters) - Merck's popular osteoporosis drug Fosamax and other similar drugs may carry a risk for esophageal cancer, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration official said on Wednesday.

Teens are influenced by health risks of smoking

December 31, 2008 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Teenagers who underestimate the risks of smoking -- or overestimate the social value -- are substantially more likely than their peers to take up the habit, a new study suggests.

Headache before stroke more common in migraineurs

December 31, 2008 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study of stroke patients indicates that those with migraine are much more likely to experience a headache prior to the onset of stroke than are similar stroke patients with no history of migraine or serious headaches, Italian researchers report in the current issue of the journal Headache.

Many studies needed to tie genes to cancer: study

December 30, 2008 — LONDON (Reuters) - Many genes linked to various cancers do not appear to raise the risk of getting cancer after all, according to an analysis of hundreds of studies published on Tuesday.

No cancer risk reductions seen with antioxidants

December 30, 2008 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In the large Women's Antioxidant Cardiovascular Study, participants who took beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, or a combination of supplements had no significant reductions in their risk of cancer.

High vitamin C linked to lower BP in young women

December 30, 2008 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A study in young adult women links high blood levels of vitamin C with lower blood pressure.

WHO says no Ebola deaths confirmed in Congo

December 30, 2008 — GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday that no deaths from the Ebola virus had been confirmed in a reported outbreak of the disease in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo.