Most Emailed Health News

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who stay active after being diagnosed with breast cancer -- and even those who take up exercise for the first time after diagnosis -- have a better chance of surviving the disease, a new study shows.

PARIS (AFP) - In a ground-breaking advance, French neurosurgeons on Friday said they had successfully treated brain tumours through ultra-keyhole surgery, using a tiny fibre-optic laser to destroy cancerous cells.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A high intake of trans fats could increase colon cancer risk, according to new research published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - High child mortality rates in conservative Afghanistan are linked not just to war but to mothers being uneducated and having little or no say when their children need medical help, a study has found.

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Fat cells in obese people are "sick" compared to those in lean people, a new study shows.

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - A condom lubricant designed for sex workers and gay men has become a popular acne cure among female Cambodians, women in the capital and local media said Thursday.

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Alcoholism among women in Sweden rose by 50 percent between 2003 and 2007 as beer, wine and spirits have become more accessible in the country long known for its restrictive alcohol policy, a report on Saturday said.

NEW YORK - Talk about an extreme makeover: Scientists have transformed one type of cell into another in living mice, a big step toward the goal of growing replacement tissues to treat a variety of diseases.

SINGAPORE (AFP) - Long-term daily use of incense, an important feature of Asian religious practices, increases the risk of some cancers, an international study has found.

CHICAGO - In an Aug. 26 story about a new TV ad linking hot dogs with cancer, The Associated Press, relying on figures provided by a nutrition adviser to the American Institute for Cancer Research, erroneously reported average risks for colon cancer and how eating hot dogs affects those risks. Karen Collins said she misstated the average adult's lifetime risk for getting colorectal cancer, which is about 5 percent, not 5.8 percent.

WASHINGTON - Scientists for the first time have peered into people's brains to directly measure the ebb and flow of a substance notorious for its role in Alzheimer's disease.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Contrary to popular belief and common medical advice, eating seeds, nuts, corn and popcorn does not cause the bowel disease diverticulosis or its painful complications, researchers said on Tuesday.

TUESDAY, Aug. 26 (HealthDay News) -- The makers of the type 2 diabetes drug Byetta reported Tuesday the deaths of four more people who'd been taking the medication.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Dysfunction in a portion of the brain may explain some of the symptoms of fibromyalgia syndrome, researchers suggest in a paper published in the Journal of Rheumatology

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers studying people with a rare genetic disorder have identified a brain chemical that may play a role in appetite and obesity, a finding they say could lead to new drugs to help some obese people.

FRIDAY, Aug. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Some Japanese survivors of the World War II atomic bomb blasts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki experienced key genetic changes that may have sparked the onset of a form of thyroid cancer, new research indicates.

FRIDAY, Aug. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Just a few glasses of wine over a short period in early pregnancy may cause fetal problems, suggest researchers from the Medical College of Georgia.

FRIDAY, Aug. 29 (HealthDay News) -- End-of-life and other critical medical decisions that arise when patients can't make their own choices are often complex affairs, new research shows.