WRAL.com - AP Health News

Calif. regulators warn of pot's cancer capability

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 05:19:17 -0400

It might take Californians a puff or two to get their heads around an apparent contradiction recently enshrined in state law. The same marijuana smoke that doctors can recommend to ease cancer patients' suffering must soon come with a warning saying it causes the disease.

Jackson kids face hurdles to coping with his death

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 06:14:01 -0400

No matter how unusual their lives may have been so far, Michael Jackson's children now face a universal trauma felt by all kids who suddenly lose a parent.

Mexico wins praise for swine flu response

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:38:24 -0400

As swine flu runs rampant in the Southern Hemisphere winter, world health experts are concerned that some hard-hit countries have been reluctant to take forceful measures to protect public health.

Study: New flu inefficient in attacking people

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:06:06 -0400

With swine flu continuing to spread around the world, researchers say they have found the reason it is - so far - more a series of local blazes than a wide-raging wildfire. The new virus, H1N1, has a protein on its surface that is not very efficient at binding with receptors in people's respiratory tracts, researchers at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology report in Friday's edition of the journal Science.

Advocates are back with real health care stories

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:13:20 -0400

When carpenter Greg Douglas crashed his pickup truck, his toolbox hit him and smashed his ribs and collarbone. After a month in the hospital, the medical bills hit him even harder, totaling $165,000.

Federal probe finds problems with chelation study

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:34:13 -0400

A federal investigation has found that heart attack survivors enrolled in a study of a controversial alternative medicine treatment were not told enough about potential dangers from the drug being tested, including death.

Scrub tech may have exposed thousands to hepatitis

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:59:05 -0400

A former surgery technician may have exposed thousands of Colorado patients to hepatitis C when she swapped her own dirty syringes for ones filled with a powerful narcotic, federal authorities said Thursday.

World health officials tackle swine flu challenges

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:46:06 -0400

Swine flu is running wild in the Southern Hemisphere and is spreading rapidly through Europe, with Britain projected to reach 100,000 daily cases by the end of August. The virus is even showing signs of rebounding in Mexico.

Fawcett's death spotlights a rare cancer

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:08:15 -0400

In a perverse twist of medical fate, Farrah Fawcett has become the poster girl for anal cancer, a rare disease often linked to a sexually transmitted virus.

Jackson's hospital is known for 'raising the dead'

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:29:06 -0400

When Michael Jackson went into cardiac arrest, rescuers took him to a place known for bringing the dead back to life. A world-renowned surgeon at the UCLA Medical Center has pioneered a way to revive people that most doctors would have long written off, including a woman whose heart had stopped for 2 1/2 hours.