Health Top Stories
New study backs angioplasty through the wrist (AP)
AP - The best path to a clogged heart may be through the wrist. About a million artery-clearing angioplasties are performed in the United States each year, and the usual route is to thread a tube to the heart through an artery in the groin. More »
Mexican peppers posed problem long before outbreak (AP)
AP - Federal inspectors at U.S. border crossings repeatedly turned back filthy, disease-ridden shipments of peppers from Mexico in the months before a salmonella outbreak that sickened 1,400 people was finally traced to Mexican chilies. More »
Angioplasty through the wrist backed by new study (AP)
AP - The best path to a clogged heart may be through the wrist. More »
Researchers say numbers aren't needed to count (AP)
AP - Answer this without counting: Are there more X's here XXXXXX, or here XXXXX? That's a problem facing people whose languages don't include words for more than one or two. Yet researchers say children who speak those languages are still able to compare quantities. More »
Many think God's intervention can revive the dying (AP)
AP - When it comes to saving lives, God trumps doctors for many Americans. An eye-opening survey reveals widespread belief that divine intervention can revive dying patients. And, researchers said, doctors "need to be prepared to deal with families who are waiting for a miracle." More »
Study: You can chew gum and get well at same time (AP)
AP - Can you chew gum and recover from surgery at the same time? British researchers say it's a great idea for some patients. Chewing gum may speed the return of normal bowel function after colon surgery, a new analysis of five studies suggests. Some patients have trouble moving their bowels after colon surgery but chewing gum may fool the body into good digestion. More »
Vitamin D's wild days: Who to test, what to take? (AP)
AP - Don't be surprised if your doctor orders a vitamin D test during your next physical. Blood tests to check levels of the so-called sunshine vitamin are on the rise as doctors and patients react to headline-grabbing research that suggests having too little may not only hurt your bones — it might increase your risk of certain cancers or heart disease. More »
FDA reports new deaths with diabetes drug Byetta (AP)
AP - Federal regulators are working on a stronger label for a widely used diabetes drug marketed by Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Eli Lilly & Co. as deaths continue to be reported despite earlier government warnings. More »
Austrian health researcher may face fraud, criminal charges (AFP)
AFP - An Austrian government report charges that clinical trials conducted by researchers at a major medical school in Austria were riddled with procedural and ethical problems, the Nature Publishing Group said Monday. More »
Blood protects against long-gone killer 1918 flu (AP)
AP - Nearly a century after history's most lethal flu faded away, survivors' bloodstreams still carry super-potent protection against the 1918 virus, demonstrating the remarkable durability of the human immune system. More »