Diseases/Conditions News

MONDAY, Nov. 23 (HealthDay News) -- A new combination drug therapy shows promise in treating patients with advanced biliary-tract cancers, researchers say.

MONDAY, Nov. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Being depressed might take as many years off your life as smoking does, a new study suggests.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new analysis of studies including nearly 80,000 people aged 60 and older confirms that certain types of widely prescribed drugs, such as antidepressants and sedatives, can increase their risk of falling.

GENEVA (AFP) - Almost 60 million people have been infected by HIV and 25 million people killed by causes related to the virus since the epidemic started, according to new data published by UNAIDS on Tuesday.

GENEVA (AFP) - New HIV infections have fallen by 17 percent over the past eight years, UNAIDS said Tuesday, noting that prevention programmes were having an impact.

MONDAY, Nov. 23 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. researchers say they've identified a protein that causes nasal and sinus polyps in 15 percent to 30 percent of people with chronic sinusitis.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Some Canadian provinces have stopped using a particular batch of the H1N1 flu vaccine after six people experienced severe allergic reactions, the country's health agency said on Monday.

THURSDAY, Nov. 19 (HealthDay News) -- People's genetic makeup has been shown to affect how they respond to asthma medications, but a new study finds that many people respond well to a particular combination treatment regardless of their genes.

MARIETTA, Pa. - Malaria. Tuberculosis. Alzheimer's disease. AIDS. Pandemic flu. Genital herpes. Urinary tract infections. Grass allergies. Traveler's diarrhea. You name it, the pharmaceutical industry is working on a vaccine to prevent it.

MONDAY, Nov. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Insomnia and sleep disorders affect more than three-quarters of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, a rate nearly three times higher than that of the general population, a new study finds.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who suffer from depression are much more likely to be prescribed powerful opioid painkillers like morphine and codeine and to stay on the drugs long-term, new research shows.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - An estimated 33.4 million people worldwide are infected with the AIDS virus, according to a report issued on Tuesday in Shanghai by the World Health Organization and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

THURSDAY, Nov. 19 (HealthDay News) -- The less you smoke, the more birthdays you'll have, says the American Cancer Society as it encourages smokers to quit on Thursday, the day of the 34th Great American Smokeout.

TUESDAY, Nov. 17 (HealthDay News) -- A motivational women-only cardiac rehabilitation program helped reduce symptoms of depression in women with coronary heart disease, a U.S. study has found.

GENEVA - The number of people worldwide infected with the virus that causes AIDS — about 33 million — has remained virtually unchanged for the last two years, United Nations experts said Tuesday.

MONDAY, Nov. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Pediatric food allergies, which can sometimes be life-threatening, are increasing at a dramatic rate in the United States, new research shows.

FRIDAY, Nov. 20 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests it may become possible for pre-pubescent boys stricken by cancer to prepare for the future when they may be infertile but still want to become natural fathers.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders are more likely to die of heart disease than mentally healthy individuals, a study in US veterans indicates.

MONDAY, Nov. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists report that a genetic variation appears to play a major role in slowing disease progression in HIV-infected patients.

FRIDAY, Nov. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Women with asthma may notice that their asthma symptoms get worse at certain times of the month. Now, a new study confirms that fluctuating female hormone levels appear to affect airway inflammation, but oral contraceptives might help ease those changes.

WASHINGTON - The former director of the National Institutes of Health is advising women to ignore new guidelines that delay the start of routine mammogram testing for breast cancer.

ORLANDO (Reuters Health) - A simple telephone intervention improved mood, physical functioning, and overall quality of life in patients who were depressed after heart bypass surgery, researchers reported in a late breaking clinical trial here at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2009.

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 19 (IRIN PlusNews) - In less than seven months South Africa will host the world's biggest single sporting event - the FIFA World Cup. The chance to reach millions of local and visiting football fans presents a golden opportunity, not only for the country's business and tourism sectors, but also for its efforts to combat HIV/AIDS.

FRIDAY, Nov. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Children born to women who take folic acid in late pregnancy are at increased risk for asthma, Australian researchers say.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is now recommending women begin cervical cancer screening at age 21, instead of 3 years after the onset of sexual activity, as was previously recommended by the group. ACOG has also modified its recommendations for how often women should be screened for cervical cancer, a disease that affected 11,270 US women in 2009, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).

MONDAY, Nov. 16 (HealthDay News) -- New industry-funded research suggests that the antidepressant flibanserin, which has been touted as a female version of Viagra, can enhance libido in women with low sex drives.

KAMPALA (AFP) - Pairing family planning services with HIV/AIDS treatment can help curb Africa's population growth rate which records a yearly increase of 2.5 percent, health experts said Monday.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Improved home ventilation that dehumidifies the air may make it easier for people with asthma to breathe at night, hint findings of a small study from the United Kingdom.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Morticians who use formaldehyde to embalm bodies have a higher risk of leukemia, researchers reported on Friday.