Health & Medicine

  1. Health & Medicine

    Protein Pump: Experimental therapy fights Parkinson’s

    Bathing surviving dopamine-making neurons with a natural protein that induces nerve-fiber growth reverses some of the symptoms in Parkinson's disease patients.

    By Nathan Seppa
  2. Health & Medicine

    Body wraps caused rash of rashes

    A CDC investigator has linked an outbreak of skin infections to unsanitary practices at a body wrap salon.

    By Ben Harder
  3. Health & Medicine

    Transfusions and transplants spread West Nile virus

    Donated blood and organs should be screened to prevent transmission of West Nile virus, federal officials say.

    By Ben Harder
  4. Health & Medicine

    Africa faces new meningitis threat

    A vaccine-resistant and previously rare strain of deadly bacteria caused an epidemic of meningitis last year in western Africa and seems to have disseminated around the world.

    By Ben Harder
  5. Health & Medicine

    Vaccine didn’t cause heart deaths

    Fatal heart attacks that recently struck two people after they were vaccinated against smallpox were probably unfortunate coincidences, not adverse consequences of vaccination.

    By Ben Harder
  6. Health & Medicine

    Shots stop allergic reactions to venom

    An immune therapy prevents allergic reactions to the sting of the jack jumper ant, a pest common to Australia.

    By Nathan Seppa
  7. Health & Medicine

    Homing In on Ephedra’s Risks

    On Feb. 16, pitcher Steve Bechler of the Baltimore Orioles collapsed while running sprints at the team’s spring-training camp in Florida. He died a few hours later. Subsequent investigation linked the 23-year-old player’s apparent heatstroke with a popular diet aid containing both caffeine and ephedra, a botanical product rich in other natural stimulants. Ephedra plant. […]

    By Janet Raloff
  8. Health & Medicine

    Deadly Stowaways: Seeds of cancer in transplant recipients are traced back to donors

    Precancerous cells that grow into Kaposi's sarcoma are sometimes introduced into a person in an organ transplant.

    By Nathan Seppa
  9. Health & Medicine

    Weight-loss pill carries risks

    The drug ephedra and its presumed active ingredient, ephedrine, provide only modest weight-loss effects and pose health risks.

    By Nathan Seppa
  10. Health & Medicine

    Microbicide thwarts AIDS virus in monkey test

    A microbicidal gel applied vaginally prevents some transmission of the AIDS virus in monkeys.

    By Nathan Seppa
  11. Health & Medicine

    A Make-Time-For-Sex Diet?

    We’re slaves to our hormones. Teenagers and pregnant women are experts on that topic. Both ride an emotional roller coaster as their bodies produce vacillating amounts of sex hormones. In fact, behind the scenes of all human biology–from conception to death–a delicate interplay of hormones drives everything from the expression of our gender to regulation […]

    By Janet Raloff
  12. Health & Medicine

    Progress Against Dementia: Drug slows Alzheimer’s in severely ill patients

    The drug memantine slows the progression of late-stage Alzheimer's disease in patients previously considered untreatable.

    By Nathan Seppa