Measles at Super Bowl festivities threatens public health

The Indiana State Department of Health sent out a statement Feb. 3, two days before the New England Patriots and the New York Giants squared off for Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis.  The bulletin, which advised "Hoosiers and out-of-town guests" to "Practice Good Health Defense for a Safe Super Bowl Sunday," offered tips about healthful eating, drinking in moderation, keeping warm and storing party foods properly to avoid food-borne illnesses.

4.5 million people in the U.S. have knee replacements

More than 4.5 million people in the U.S. are walking around with knee replacements, a study finds, and replacement surgeries have more than doubled in the last 10 years.

Karen Handel calls Planned Parenthood a 'gigantic bully'

For those who haven't reached the saturation point regarding the fracas surrounding Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s decision — and then reversal — to cease awarding grants to Planned Parenthood for breast-health services, here’s one more snippet of news.

About one-third of patients told by doctors to exercise

If there is a magic "pill" in medicine, it is exercise. Working out regularly is associated with a broad spectrum of health improvements, including cardiac, bone, brain and lungs. But a new study shows that only one in three U.S. adults is asked about his or her exercise habits by a physician.

Smoking pot a few hours before driving may almost double crash risk

Drinking and driving is never a good idea, and neither is smoking pot and driving, a study finds. People who smoke marijuana within a few hours of getting behind the wheel may be almost twice as likely to cause an accident compared with those who are sober.

Generic insulin, cancer therapies? They're coming

Even as Republican presidential candidates vow to dismantle what they call "Obamacare" -- the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 -- some of the law's key provisions are making their way onto the medical landscape. The latest step toward implementing the law came Thursday, as the Food and Drug Administration issued draft rules that will open the U.S. marketplace to "biosimilars" -- essentially generic versions of medications made with living, often bioengineered, organisms.

Amid the politics of contraception, fewer unintended pregnancies

The debate over insurance coverage of contraception in Washington, D.C., and on the campaign trail comes at a time when public-health officials can boast of some positive developments in reproductive healthcare over the past decade. On Wednesday, researchers announced that teen birthrates have hit the lowest mark in 40 years.

A former Komen board member calls for organization to clean house

The fur continues to fly in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure/Planned Parenthood flap as a former board member calls for the resignation of Komen founder and chief executive Nancy Brinker and a full replacement of the current board.

Promising obesity-drug candidate destroys bone, studies say

A compound that looked to be a possible wonder drug for obesity and metabolic disease, such as diabetes, may not make it to store shelves. Research published this week shows the hormone, called fibroblast growth factor 21, causes bone loss while it burns fat.

Cancer drug reverses Alzheimer's symptoms in mice, study says

A drug that has been approved for the treatment of a type of skin cancer since 1999 appears to reverse Alzheimer's symptoms -- in mice. 

Cesarean section, induced labor not always best choice, studies say

Cesarean sections are often performed when a baby is going to be born early. Likewise, sometimes labor is induced when a woman's water breaks too early in the pregnancy. However, two new studies suggest that these common practices may, in fact, not benefit babies.