Understanding the pros and cons of health overhaul
3:22
Maybe you've been reading the health care bill in your spare time. Then perhaps you can answer this question: If Congress makes history and puts a bill on President Barack Obama's desk by Christmas, how long before the...
Food stamps estimate raises debate over 'poverty'
2:09
The estimate was startling, and made headlines around the country: Almost half of all U.S. kids will be on food stamps at some time during childhood. How could it be true in the land of plenty, in the midst of an...
Insuring young key to health care overhaul plans
10:59
The young invincibles. That's what the insurance industry calls them. They're the 13.7 million Americans under 30 who don't have health insurance because, they firmly believe, they just don't need it. Why waste money...
Car insurance scofflaws raise health mandate doubt
4:27
Thousands of drivers on the nation's roads don't carry auto insurance, despite laws in all but two states requiring it. Critics of President Barack Obama's health overhaul plan ask: What are the chances scofflaws will...
Saudi floods kill 77 while Muslims perform hajj
10:54
Muslim pilgrims holding white umbrellas against the blazing sun clambered up a rocky desert hill for prayers Thursday during the annual hajj, a day after torrential rains that killed at least 77 people. Flooding from...
Thailand looks to limit sex change surgery
9:56
Thailand has issued rules making sex change surgery more difficult _ including a requirement that potential candidates cross-dress for a year _ over fears that some patients are rushing into the operation, a medical...
WHO says Tamiflu still works against swine flu
8:48
The World Health Organization says isolated cases of drug-resistant swine flu in Britain and the United States have not changed the agency's assessment of the disease. It says Tamiflu remains highly effective against...
CDC: Swine flu vaccine safe; no big problems seen
4:32
There's no evidence that the swine flu vaccine is causing any serious side effects, U.S. health officials said Wednesday, in their first report on the safety of the new vaccine. Since vaccinations began in early...
CDC warns: Holiday could bring more swine flu
9:48
Let us give thanks _ and pass the Purell. Your family might be sharing more than turkey and pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving. Swine flu may also be on the table _ and at crowded airports and shopping malls. Just as the...
Comatose for 23 years, Belgian feels reborn
4:29
Helped by a therapist, Rom Houben's outstretched finger tapped with surprising speed on a computer touchscreen, spelling out how he felt "alone, lonely, frustrated" in the 23 years he was trapped inside a paralyzed...
UNAIDS: Sex main cause for HIV spreading in China
1:06
The virus that causes AIDS is now spreading fastest in China through heterosexual sex, a trend demanding new strategies to stave off a rebound in the epidemic after years of progress in containing it, a United Nations...
CDC warns: Holiday could bring more swine flu
9:14
Let us give thanks _ and pass the Purell. Your family might be sharing more than turkey and pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving. Swine flu may also be on the table _ and at crowded airports and shopping malls. Just as the...
Batch of swine flu vaccines studied in Canada
12:22
Canadian doctors have been advised not to use a batch of 170,000 doses of swine flu vaccine while authorities investigate reports of allergic reactions among recipients, drug maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC said Tuesday. ...
GlaxoSmithKline pulls swine flu vaccines in Canada
10:16
Canadian doctors have been advised not to use a batch of 170,000 swine flu vaccines after six reports of serious allergic reactions among recipients, but there are no similar reports from other countries,...
Trying last-ditch lung bypass for worst swine flu
8:57
A technology originally developed for premature babies may be helping to save some of the sickest swine flu patients by rerouting their blood so their lungs can rest. It's a risky approach using equipment that only...
Belgian says he was alert but mute for 23 years
9:31
For 23 torturous years, Rom Houben says he lay trapped in his paralyzed body, aware of what was going on around him but unable to tell anyone or even cry out. The car-crash victim had been diagnosed as being in a...
Health reform: Is tax on 'Cadillac' plans fair?
4:17
Schoolteacher Kinzi Blair makes only $46,000 a year, but she has what many would consider a "Cadillac" health plan, now targeted for a big tax increase by health reformers. She has $10 copays and no deductible. She...
Study: kids watching hours of TV at home daycare
6:35
Parents who thought their preschoolers were spending time in home-based day cares, taking naps, eating healthy snacks and learning to play nicely with others may be surprised to discover they are sitting as many as two...
Former NIH chief: Ignore new mammogram guideline
9:43
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. Dr. Bernadine Healy says the directive would save...
Tamiflu-resistant swine flu cluster reported in NC
5:18
Four North Carolina patients at a single hospital tested positive for a type of swine flu that is resistant to Tamiflu, health officials said Friday. The cases reported at Duke University Medical Center over six weeks...
Guidelines for cancer screening differ by group
4:24
Several doctors groups and advocacy groups set guidelines for cancer screening, and they update that advice periodically as new information emerges. Sometimes they agree, sometimes they don't. Last year, a number of...
Military experiment seeks to predict PTSD
2:50
Two days before shipping off to war, Marine Pfc. Jesse Sheets sat inside a trailer in the Mojave Desert, his gaze fixed on a computer that flashed a rhythmic pulse of contrasting images. Smiling kids embracing a...
Tamiflu-resistant swine flu cluster reported in NC
2:32
Health officials say four people in North Carolina have tested positive for a type of swine flu that's resistant to the drug Tamiflu. It's the first cluster of that many cases seen in the U.S. Health officials said...
Report: 20-somethings can go 2 years between Paps
1:27
First mammograms. Now _ in an apparent coincidence _ Pap smears. New guidelines by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists say most women in their 20s can have a Pap smear every two years instead of...
Correction: Plavix story
10:32
In a Nov. 17 story about drug interactions between heartburn medications and the blood thinner Plavix, The Associated Press misidentified Johnson & Johnson's Mylanta as part of the H-2 blocker drug family. Mylanta...
Cost of child vaccines fall, more kids saved
10:23
Babies squirmed and wailed as needles plunged into their chubby thighs at a public health clinic on the outskirts of Hanoi on Friday. Like little ones everywhere, the reaction to the sting was never pretty. Starting...
AP IMPACT: Gripes about swine flu vaccine abound
9:51
When the nation's swine flu vaccination program began in early October, health officials predicted it was going to be "messy." They were right. The program has been plagued with problems and information gaps: _Health...
China to punish those concealing swine flu info
12:44
China's health ministry said it will punish officials who underreport cases of swine flu after a doctor famous for exposing the extent of the 2003 SARS epidemic said he believes the true number of swine flu deaths is...
AP IMPACT: Gripes about swine flu vaccine abound
11:31
When the nation's swine flu vaccination program began in early October, health officials predicted it was going to be "messy." They were right. The program has been plagued with problems and information gaps: _Health...
US survey shows southern counties most obese
9:31
The first county-by-county survey of obesity reflects past studies that show the rate of obesity is highest in the Southeast and Appalachia. High rates of obesity and diabetes were reported in more than 80 percent of...
Experts say radical measures won't stop swine flu
11:25
Health experts say extraordinary measures against swine flu _ most notably quarantines imposed by China, where entire planeloads of passengers were isolated if one traveler had symptoms _ have failed to contain the...
1.5M per day getting swine flu vaccine in China
9:24
China's health minister said Wednesday his country is vaccinating 1.5 million people a day against swine flu, part of a mammoth effort to reach nearly 7 percent of inhabitants of the world's most populous country by...
Task force doctor stands by mammogram advice
8:52
A member of the independent panel whose new mammogram recommendations have led to confusion defended the task force's report, saying Thursday that it was based on the most up-to-date, accurate information available. ...
FDA panel backs Pfizer's enhanced vaccine for kids
7:43
Federal health experts said Wednesday an updated version of Pfizer's best-selling anti-infection vaccine is safe and effective for infants and toddlers, despite company studies that failed to meet certain goals. The...
Sebelius: Women should get mammograms by age 40
7:03
Women should continue getting regular mammograms starting at age 40, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Wednesday, moving to douse confusion caused by a task-force recommendation two days...
Michelle Obama visits Va. school, tours garden
1:58
First Lady Michelle Obama received a few gardening tips from students Wednesday as she toured a Virginia elementary school's vegetable garden. Mrs. Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited Hollin Meadows...
Study: CT scans rule out heart attacks faster
1:51
A CT scan _ a kind of super X-ray _ provides a faster, cheaper way to diagnose a heart attack when someone goes to the emergency room with chest pains, a new study suggests. About 6 million people each year go to...
Ex-Kiss drummer: Breast cancer not just for women
10:32
Lying in bed one night in 2007, Peter Criss felt something strange: a small lump on his left breast. "I thought, `It's a nodule, I'm a guy, I don't think it's anything more than that,'" he said. "The more I messed with...
Ex-Kiss drummer: Breast cancer not just for women
5:30
Former Kiss drummer Peter Criss is speaking out about his recent bout with breast cancer. The rocker known as "Catman" is encouraging other men to get tested as soon as they suspect something might be wrong. He says...
Study: New device boosts heart failure survival
9:55
For the first time, a miniature heart pump shows the potential to become a widely used, permanent treatment for many older people with severe heart failure. But can we afford it? In a study of 200 patients, the new...
Don't blame fast food: Mummies had heart disease
9:32
You can't blame this one on McDonald's: Researchers have found signs of heart disease in 3,500-year-old mummies. "We think of it as being caused by modern risk factors," such as fast food, smoking and a lack of...
FDA says heartburn drugs can interfere with Plavix
5:23
Federal health officials said Tuesday a popular variety of heartburn medications can interfere with the blood thinner Plavix, a drug taken by millions of Americans to reduce risks of heart attack and stroke. The Food...
New mammogram advice raises questions, concerns
9:24
For many women, getting a mammogram is already one of life's more stressful experiences. Now, women in their 40s have the added anxiety of trying to figure out if they should even be getting one at all. A government...
Going high-tech to track Alzheimer's patients
3:06
Tom Dougherty jokes that he takes "get-lost walks." To his wife, Cleo, it's a constant fear: When will his Alzheimer's get bad enough that she has to end his 4-mile daily strolls? The Irvine, Calif., woman is about to...
Study: Injured uninsured more likely to die in ER
4:00
Uninsured patients with traumatic injuries, such as car crashes, falls and gunshot wounds, were almost twice as likely to die in the hospital as similarly injured patients with health insurance, according to a troubling...
Going high-tech to track Alzheimer's patients
3:16
Tom Dougherty jokes that he takes "get-lost walks." To his wife, Cleo, it's a constant fear: When will his Alzheimer's get bad enough that she has to end his 4-mile daily strolls? The Irvine, Calif., woman is about to...
FDA reviews update to Pfizer vaccine for kids
3:03
Federal health officials on Monday questioned whether to approve an updated version of Pfizer's best-selling anti-infection vaccine for children, despite company studies that failed to meet certain goals. The Prevnar...
Sexually spread diseases up, better testing cited
10:23
Sexually spread diseases continue to rise, with reported chlamydia cases setting yet another record in 2008, government health officials said Monday. Last year there were 1.2 million new cases of chlamydia, a sometimes...
Study raises new questions about Merck pill Zetia
8:20
A new study raises fresh concerns about Zetia and its cousin, Vytorin _ drugs still taken by millions of Americans to lower cholesterol, despite questions raised last year about how well they work. In the study, Zetia...
China investigates 2 deaths after flu vaccinations
1:47
Two people in China who received swine flu vaccinations died in the past week but at least one death appears unrelated to the vaccine and the other was being investigated. The country's health ministry reported the...