More Americans than ever are obese: CDC (Reuters)

Reuters - Americans are getting heavier than ever, with more than 26 percent of the population now fully obese, the U.S. government reported on Wednesday.

Vegetable Amino Acid Lowers Blood Pressure (HealthDay)

HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, July 8 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers say they have discovered that one of the most common amino acids in vegetable protein seems to lower blood pressure.

British scientists 'create sperm from stem cells' (AFP)

AFP - A team of British scientists claimed Wednesday to have created human sperm using embryonic stem cells, in a medical first that they say will lead to a better understanding of fertility.

Americans doubt insurance plans will cover cancer (Reuters)

Reuters - Fewer than half of all Americans trust that their health insurance plans would pay for the full costs of cancer treatment and nearly two-thirds falsely believe Medicare would not pay anything, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

Japan scientists unveil ultra-thin surgical patch (AFP)

AFP - Japanese scientists said they had developed a surgical 'nano-sheet' one thousand times thinner than Cellophane that can patch up internal wounds and later dissolves inside the body.

FDA Panel Urges Ban on Vicodin, Percocet (HealthDay)

FDA Panel Urges Ban on Vicodin, Percocet (HealthDay)

HealthDay - TUESDAY, June 30 (HealthDay News) -- The popular prescription painkillers Vicodin and Percocet, which combine acetaminophen with an opiate narcotic, should be banned, and the maximum dose of over-the-counter painkillers with acetaminophen, like Tylenol or Excedrin, should be lowered, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel urged Tuesday.
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IVF success rates surging in Europe (AFP)

IVF success rates surging in Europe (AFP)

AFP - Test-tube fertilisation in Europe has scaled a record high for success while also reducing the risk of multiple births, fertility experts reported on Wednesday.
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FDA reviewing safety of Sanofi's Lantus insulin (AP)

FDA reviewing safety of Sanofi's Lantus insulin (AP)

AP - The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it is reviewing data on the safety of Lantus, a synthetic insulin made by Sanofi-Aventis SA.
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FDA requires Chantix to have mental health warning (AP)

FDA requires Chantix to have mental health warning (AP)

AP - The Food and Drug Administration will require Pfizer Inc.'s smoking cessation drug Chantix to carry the agency's strongest safety warning over a series of mental health side effects, including depression and suicidal thoughts.
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Blood pressure drugs slow eye problems in diabetes (Reuters)

Blood pressure drugs slow eye problems in diabetes (Reuters)

Reuters - Two Merck blood pressure drugs given to diabetics to prevent worsening kidney problems do not work in that way but may prevent diabetes-related eye problems, researchers reported on Wednesday.
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CDC: Private health care coverage at 50-year-low (AP)

CDC: Private health care coverage at 50-year-low (AP)

AP - The percentage of Americans with private health insurance has hit its lowest mark in 50 years, according to two new government reports. About 65 percent of non-elderly Americans had private insurance in 2008, down from 67 percent the year before, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Jackson's hospital is known for 'raising the dead' (AP)

Jackson's hospital is known for 'raising the dead' (AP)

AP - 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.
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Mississippi's still fattest but Alabama closing in (AP)

Mississippi's still fattest but Alabama closing in (AP)

AP - Mississippi's still king of cellulite, but an ominous tide is rolling toward the Medicare doctors in neighboring Alabama: obese baby boomers. It's time for the nation's annual obesity rankings and, outside of fairly lean Colorado, there's little good news. In 31 states, more than one in four adults are obese, says a new report from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
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US lost battle of bulge last year, but not the war: report (AFP)

US lost battle of bulge last year, but not the war: report (AFP)

AFP - The United States lost the battle against bulging waistlines last year, when obesity rates rose in nearly half the 50 states and decreased in none, an annual report showed Wednesday.
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PET-CT scanners reduce futile lung cancer surgery (Reuters)

PET-CT scanners reduce futile lung cancer surgery (Reuters)

Reuters - Devices that simultaneously take a PET scan and a CT scan can eliminate unnecessary surgery for lung cancer, although they do little to save lives, researchers in Denmark reported on Wednesday.
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U.S. orders warning on Pfizer, Glaxo smoking drugs (Reuters)

U.S. orders warning on Pfizer, Glaxo smoking drugs (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. health officials on Wednesday ordered Pfizer Inc and GlaxoSmithKline PLC to add strong "black box" warnings on their anti-smoking drugs to highlight the risk of serious mental health problems, including suicidal thoughts.
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Policy makers head to Mexico for swine flu meet (AFP)

Policy makers head to Mexico for swine flu meet (AFP)

AFP - Policy makers from 50 countries are to gather in Mexico on Thursday to discuss their response to this year's swine flu outbreak, as South America continues to be hit by new cases.
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Device shows promise to treat cerebral palsy type (Reuters)

Device shows promise to treat cerebral palsy type (Reuters)

Reuters - Zapping the brain with a mild electrical current appears to help patients with a difficult-to-treat form of cerebral palsy, French researchers said on Wednesday.
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