Cancer Deaths Down Since ‘War on Cancer’

Posted on Mar 11 2010

March 10, 2010 — The U.S. is making gains on at least one war front, the “War on Cancer,” according to a new analysis of cancer death statistics

Onion Cream Treats New Stretch Marks

Posted on Mar 11 2010

March 11, 2010 (Miami Beach, Fla.) — A moisturizing cream whose active ingredient is extract of onion can help take the redness out of new stretch marks. New stretch marks were also softer and smoother in 54 women who used the cream for three months, says Zoe Draelos, MD, a consulting professor of dermatology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.

Demetri Martin: Stutter

Posted on Mar 10 2010

One of my friends has a stutter, and a lot of people think that’s a bad thing, but to me that’s just like starting certain words with a drum roll. That’s not an impediment, that’s suspense.

NIH Panel: End Bans on Vaginal Birth after C-Section

Posted on Mar 10 2010

March 10, 2010 - Hospitals and professional societies should end bans that that keep many women who’ve had a C-section from opting for a natural birth in later pregnancies, an NIH advisory panel today urged. About 75% of women succeed in having a vaginal delivery after previous cesarean delivery, assuming that it’s not a multiple birth, that the baby is in the normal position, and that their previous C-section required only a single incision.

Pill Kills Hard-to-Treat Head Lice

Posted on Mar 10 2010

March 10, 2010 — Stromectal — a pill containing ivermectin, a drug used to prevent heartworms in dogs — kills head lice that are resistant to first-line treatment better than malathion-based lotion. The finding comes from a clinical trial sponsored by Merck, which makes the parasite-killing pill. When children bring home head lice, doctors usually recommend treatment with one of several brands of pyrethroid-based products, such as Elimite, Acticin, Nix,  A-200, Licide, Pronto, Pyrinyl Plus, Rid, and Tisit (although a recent study showed that a louse-smothering product called Ulesfia works well)

Salmonella Risk Prompts Wider Food Recall

Posted on Mar 10 2010

March 10, 2010 — Nearly 2 million pounds of ready-to-eat beef taquito and chicken quesadilla products that may be contaminated with salmonella have been recalled, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says.

Cardiac Catheterizations: Too Many Performed?

Posted on Mar 10 2010

March 10, 2010 — A large percentage of patients without known heart disease who undergo invasive cardiac catheterization to check for dangerous artery blockages do not have them, a new study suggests. Duke University Medical Center researchers found that almost two-thirds of patients with stable chest pain who had catheterization procedures did not have significant artery disease.

Julian McCullough: Male Cleaning Schedule

Posted on Mar 10 2010

I used to live with five straight guys and — ew, the cleaning schedule was ‘nope.’

Platelet-Rich Plasma Helps Tennis Elbow

Posted on Mar 10 2010

March 10, 2010 – Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) — the latest, still-controversial treatment for tendon injuries — heals tennis elbow better than corticosteroid shots, a new study suggests. Because they get very little blood, injured tendons heal notoriously slowly. Blood platelets attract healing growth factors, so the idea of PRP is to inject a patient’s own platelets at the site of a tendon injury.

New Diarrhea Danger for Children

Posted on Mar 10 2010

March 10, 2010 — A dangerous diarrhea-causing germ once thought to only affect the elderly and seriously ill is now affecting a growing number of healthy children in the U.S. A new report shows the rates of hospitalization for illness caused by the bacterium Clostridium difficile (C.