Health News

Kaiser Permanente was ranked No. 4 on the 2010 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity(R) list, up three spots from the previous year, for its demonstrated use of diversity best practices and results. This is the first time Kaiser Permanente has been ranked in the top 5 of this list.

Scientists studying the Anopheles gambiae mosquito — the main vector of malaria — have found that when the mosquito takes a blood meal, that act triggers two enzymes to form a network of crisscrossing proteins around the ingested blood. The formation of this protein barrier, the researchers found, is part of the normal digestive process that allows so-called "healthy" or commensal gut bacteria to grow without activating mosquito immune responses. But there is a downside: The barrier also prevents the mosquito's immune defense system from clearing any disease-causing agents that may have slipped into the blood meal, such as the Plasmodium malaria parasite, which in turn can be passed on to humans.

A gene that causes a fatal childhood brain disorder can also cause adults to develop peripheral neuropathy, a condition resulting in weakness and decreased sensation in the hands and limbs, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions. The study is the first to show that different mutations in the same gene cause the two seemingly unrelated disorders.

When a friend is depressed, it's hard to know what to say. But by simply reaching out, you may help avert a tragedy like the one Marie Osmond's family experienced. Here's how to gently help.

Dr. Drew Pinsky addresses the issue of sexual anorexia, or avoidance of sex and intimacy.

Sure, you could always be more organized, more cheerful, more on top of every little detail. But you're not a Mombot, thank goodness, and no one (except, perhaps, you!) expects you to be.

The state legislature approved a measure that bucks any effort by President Obama and Congress to carry out a national health care overhaul in individual states.

The medical experts told an National Institutes of Health conference that the trend of “once a Caesarean, always a Caesarean” may be safely reversed.

Geneticists said the new research shows it is now possible to sequence the genome of a patient at reasonable cost and with sufficient accuracy to be of practical use to researchers.

The president said he would unleash auditors in a crackdown on Medicare and Medicaid waste and fraud, a move to please both liberals and conservatives.

Travis Blackley, a relief pitcher from Australia who is trying to earn a spot on the Mets’ roster, has attention deficit disorder.

NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. has been named a recipient of the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research for his leading role in mapping the human genome. While accepting the honor, Dr. Collins declined his portion of the $500,000 prize in order to comply with government ethics rules.

An independent panel convened this week by the National Institutes of Health confronted a troubling fact that pregnant women currently have limited access to clinicians and facilities able and willing to offer a trial of labor after previous cesarean delivery because of so-called VBAC bans. Many, even those at low risk for complications in a trial of labor, are not offered this option. The panel affirmed that a trial of labor is a reasonable option for many women with a prior cesarean delivery. They also urged that current VBAC guidelines be revisited, malpractice concerns be addressed, and additional research undertaken to better understand the medical and non-medical factors that influence decision making for women with previous cesarean deliveries.

If you are young and healthy but have a family history of cardiovascular disease, are you at high risk of having a heart attack?

Hula-hooping converts are hoping it is the next big trend in fitness, but some exercise professionals are doubtful.

Through a controversial practice called vision therapy, some optometrists say they can treat learning disabilities.

Government agencies have long warned of the hazards of bed rails, but they are still used in many nursing homes.

As much as 16 percent of the U.S. population between the ages of 14 and 49 has genital herpes, according to a government study released Tuesday.

I have been diagnosed with chronic sinusitis. It would seem like every six months or so, I have an episode where I am unable to go to work for about three days because I develop a temperature, swollen lymph nodes, (recently, swollen, inflammed tonsils) headaches and skin flora on my scalp. How is skin flora associated with sinusitis? Will this ever stop?

DePuy Orthopaedics alerted doctors to a high early failure rate of its artificial hip after announcing it would phase out the device citing slow sales.