Nathan Seppa
Biomedical Writer (retired September 2015)
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All Stories by Nathan Seppa
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Health & Medicine
Breast density signals tamoxifen’s effectiveness
Decreasing breast density signals the drug tamoxifen is working in women at risk of developing breast cancer.
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Health & Medicine
Stronger role for a breast cancer drug
Going beyond its original role as an add-on for chemotherapy, the breast cancer drug lapatinib, when taken with another kind of frontline drug, may find use for patients with the HER2-positive form of the cancer.
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Health & Medicine
Antioxidants fail to prevent prostate cancer
Selenium, vitamins C, E don’t lower incidence of prostate cancer in two large trials.
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Health & Medicine
Malaria vaccine closer to reality
The success of two trials sets the stage for a final, large-scale trial that could mean approval of what would be the first vaccine against Malaria.
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Health & Medicine
Men line up for circumcision in Africa
But demand for the operation, shown to guard against HIV and other infections, exceeds availability.
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Health & Medicine
Lifestyle may link depression and heart disease
The association between depression and heart problems could stem from a lack of physical activity and other lifestyle factors.
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Health & Medicine
Treat HIV-positive babies from the start
Babies who are born infected with HIV from their mothers should be treated for the virus as soon as possible, even before symptoms begin, a study finds.
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Health & Medicine
Ginkgo biloba fails drug test
The herbal supplement Ginkgo biloba fails to prevent Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia, a large trial finds.
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Health & Medicine
Gender matters in heart transplants
Heart transplant recipients who get a gender-matched organ fare better than those receiving mismatched organs.
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Health & Medicine
Treating viral heart infections
Viral heart infections respond to interferon treatment, easing cardiomyopathy in some patients.
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Health & Medicine
Mini heart attack best treated like the big one
Patients admitted to hospitals with mild symptoms of a heart attack may benefit from getting a heart catheterization performed promptly.
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Humans
Food allergy advice may be peanuts
Early exposure to peanuts in a baby’s diet seems to lessen the risk of developing a peanut allergy later.