'Biggest Loser' results: Better than weight-loss surgery?

Contestants on the reality TV program "The Biggest Loser"not only lost weight fast, they "rapidly and substantially" lowered their blood pressure and improved their metabolic function, the physician who is the show's medical consultant reported Friday to the American Assn. of Clinical Endocrinologists.

Magnesium infusions provide no benefit after bleeding stroke

The common practice of infusing magnesium sulfate into patients who have suffered a hemorrhagic (bleeding) stroke provides no discernible benefit, Dutch researchers reported Friday. The study could lead to a change in treatment for victims of such strokes, which account for about 13% of the estimated 795,000 strokes that afflict Americans each year -- and about 30% of the 133,000 stroke deaths. The rest of the strokes are caused by blood clots that impede circulation in the brain. Many survivors of hemorrhagic strokes, which occur when a blood vessel in the brain leaks blood into the organ, causing acute pressure, are left permanently impaired.

Smoking prevention efforts get short shrift from states, CDC says

Every day, about 3,800 American kids try a cigarette for the first time. A thousand of them will grow up to to have a daily smoking habit, and nearly 300 will wind up dead due to a smoking-related disease. 

Will doctors follow new PSA test advice? Signs aren't great

Is the routine PSA test to screen for prostate cancer going to fade away now that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended against it for men of all ages?

Consumer Reports rates sunscreens; drugstore brand a best buy

With the unofficial start of summer just days away, it’s time to stock up on sunscreen. Does it matter which one you buy? Consumer Reports tested some popular brands, and found that it does, but the best choices are not necessarily the most expensive.

Fevers during pregnancy linked to autism, but medication helps

Women who reported having had a fever during pregnancy were more likely to give birth to a baby who would later be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or a development delay, says a major new study. But the babies of women who treated their fevers with medication fared no worse than babies whose mothers recalled having suffered no fevers at all.

PSA test: The real problem is the rush to treatment, doctor says

The PSA test should not be a routine screen for men of any age, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force declared earlier this week. The assessment wasn’t about saving money but was based on a review of the science on PSA screening -- what were the benefits and what were the harms?

Calcium supplements increase risk of heart attacks, study finds

Taking calcium supplements increases the risk of having a heart attack, Swiss and German researchers reported Wednesday. The finding adds to the growing body of evidence that such supplements increase the risk to those who take them while providing only minimal benefits. The study is considered important because large numbers of people, especially elderly women, continue to take the supplements in hopes of minimizing loss of bone density. The body of evidence now seems to suggest that calcium consumed as part of a normal diet can, indeed, increase bone density and perhaps help lower blood pressure, but that supplements may be too risky for most people to take.

Long-acting contraceptives are best at preventing pregnancy

Health experts estimate that half of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended. That adds up to about 3 million accidental pregnancies every year – and, as a result, about 1.2 million abortions. About half of these unintended pregnancies can be traced to failures of condoms, birth control pills and other forms of contraception. (In the other half of cases, couples fail to use contraception entirely.)

Stem cell treatment for heart failure takes small step forward

Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel, reported Tuesday that they had removed skin cells from two patents with heart failure, returned those cells to an embryonic state, and then transformed them into beating heart cells that could communicate with the patients’ existing heart tissue.

For consumers, taste counts more than healthfulness, poll finds

Half of Americans say it’s easier to do their taxes than it is to figure out how to eat healthfully – and 23% described their diets as extremely or very unhealthful, according to an annual survey conducted by an industry-supported nonprofit group and released on Wednesday.

Which American cities are fittest?

Minneapolis-St. Paul is the nation's fittest metropolitan area, with Washington, Boston, San Francisco and Hartford right behind it, according to a comprehensive "Fitness Index" drawn up annually by the American College of Sports Medicine.

Sleepy surgical residents impaired, study says

Surgical residents were more fatigued than expected, especially on night rotations, according to a new study. A quarter of their waking time, they were the equivalent of being legally drunk, the study said.

Death rate for diabetics drops sharply, CDC study finds

Better management of blood sugar levels and improved tools for managing heart disease have led to a sharp drop in the death rate for diabetics, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday. Between 1997 and 2006, deaths of diabetics from all causes declined 23% while deaths from heart disease fell 40%, the team reported in the journal Diabetes Care. The finding represents a two-edged sword, however: While improved survival is good for individual patients, it puts an increasing burden on the U.S. healthcare system because of the growing number of people with diabetes. Already, the estimated U.S. cost of diabetes is $174 billion annually, including $116 billion in direct medical costs.

Beginning statins in the hospital after a stroke increases odds of going home

Giving stroke victims cholesterol-lowering statins while they are still in the hospital increases the likelihood that they will survive the stroke and be able to go home, researchers reported Tuesday. It has been known that giving the drugs to a stroke victim lowers the odds of having a second stroke, said Dr. Alexander C. Flint, a neurologist at Kaiser Permanente in Redwood City, Calif. But it has not been clear how soon to begin the drugs after the initial stroke. The new report in the journal Neurology suggests that the drugs should be given immediately.

Future heart-health alarm rises with new statistics on kids

American adolescents already carry a heavy burden of future heart disease risk, and while obesity has contributed mightily to their poorer health prospects, normal-weight kids are by no means off the hook, a study produced by the Centers for Disease Control says.

Prostate cancer and the PSA test: It's hard to understand risk

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has released new guidelines for prostate cancer screening — urging doctors not to use the popular PSA test to detect the disease.

Want to lower breast cancer risk? Lose a little weight

For postmenopausal women who are obese, breast cancer is more likely. That's because fat tissue seems to behave essentially as an organ of the endocrine system, pumping out the hormone estrogen. And estrogen is a driver of many common breast cancers. But losing as little as 5% of one's body weight — 10 pounds for a 200-pound woman — drives down levels of estrogen and other hormones that raise breast cancer risk, a new study finds.

Listening to loud music linked with pot use, unsafe sex, study says

Warning: Music may be hazardous to your health.

Inexpensive arthritis drug may treat dysentery, giardiasis

An inexpensive arthritis drug called auranofin has been shown in lab and animal tests to kill the parasites that cause amoebic dysentery and giardiasis, and human trials are expected to start soon. The gold-containing drug, marketed under the trade name Ridaura, has already been demonstrated to be safe in humans, is much more powerful than existing treatments, and could be provided in developing countries for as little as $2.50 per dose, researchers said. If the results hold up in clinical trials, the drug could provide a new way to reduce suffering in both children and adults.

HDL, the good cholesterol, may not be so good after all

A new genetic study suggests that high-density lipoprotein, the so-called good cholesterol commonly known as HDL, may not actually be as good for us as physicians previously thought. A study of more than 100,000 people found that those with genes that promote production of higher-than-normal levels of HDL do not have a lower risk of having a heart attack, a finding that has surprised researchers immensely. The results could have major implications for pharmaceutical manufacturers, who have been attempting to develop drugs that will raise HDL in the hopes of preventing heart attacks in people at higher risk.

Fructose makes rats dumber. What sugars should we avoid?

Rats fed fructose-laced drinking water for six weeks performed more slowly in a maze-navigating task, UCLA researchers have found. (Read this L.A. Times opinion article.) They think the effect is due to changes in the way the brain responds to insulin as a result of exposure to fructose.

Donna Summer: Lung cancer leading cause of cancer death

Disco legend Donna Summer, 63, died Wednesday night, reportedly of lung cancer. As of press time, her family hadn’t released details about her illness, so it was unknown what type of lung cancer she had, and how long she may have been ailing.

Supermarket intervention prompted shoppers to buy more produce

We’re fat, in case you hadn’t heard. And as we learned last week, 42% of American adults will be obese by 2030, according to researchers at the Weight of the Nation conference sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Chain restaurants don't meet U.S. nutrition guidelines, study says

Plenty of restaurants have been advertising their efforts to offer healthful choices, and it’s possible to eat carefully just about anywhere. But researchers say nearly all the entrees they reviewed at 245 U.S. chains fail to meet federal guidelines.

Healthy food doesn't have to be expensive, USDA insists

Healthy food, we’ve often heard, is pricey food. Fruits and vegetables -- they’re expensive! We can’t afford to eat that way! That’s why we don’t do it!

Breast cancer study reveals 'substantial genetic diversity'

A new study of the protein-coding genes in 100 breast cancer tumors revealed vast differences among the cancers and highlights how complicated the disease really is, researchers said Wednesday. 

Two paralyzed people successfully use robot arm

After years of work with primates and able-bodied humans, researchers have successfully demonstrated in paralyzed humans that an implanted electrode in the brain can successfully control the movement of a robot arm, allowing the patients to drink and perform other functions for the first time since they were disabled.

National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025

Asserting "we are at an exceptional moment" in the hunt for an Alzheimer'sdiseasetreatment, National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins on Tuesday promised a raft of new research aimed at stopping and reversing the memory-robbing disorder by the year 2025. In unveiling a first-ever "national strategy" on Alzheimer's disease, Collins launched several new projects and clinical trials--including a whole-genome sequencing effort to identify genes that confer vulnerability to--or protection against-- Alzheimer's, and a trial to explore whether an inhaled form of insulin will slow progression of the disease.

Parkinson's disease may be diagnosed by studying colon, reports say

Parkinson's disease is a disorder of the brain, but it may be possible to diagnose it at an early stage by examining the bowel, researchers said Tuesday. As new drugs to treatParkinson's are developed, they noted, earlier diagnosis should make it possible to intervene at an earlier stage when the disorder is more susceptible to drugs, thereby prolonging quality of life and lifespan.

U.S. asthma rates at all-time high, CDC says

The proportion of Americans with asthma increased from 7.3% in 2001 to 8.4% in 2010, marking the highest level ever, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. In 2010, an estimated 18.7 million adults and 7 million children had the disease -- one in every 12 Americans. Overall, about 29.1 million adults have been diagnosed with asthma at some point in their lives, but many of those were misdiagnosed or have apparently recovered, leading to the current figure of 18.7 million.

Smoking pot for multiple sclerosis? Study finds it helps

Smoking marijuana to relieve the symptoms of multiple sclerosis is a practice with a fair number of adherents, though it has not been subject to rigorous testing. A new study finds that puffing weed does have a rapid and measurable effect on MS patients' muscle spasticity and on their perception of pain. But subjects who smoked pot were not able to walk any faster and -- surprise! -- they felt higher than members of the control group who smoked marijuana stripped of THC.

Could patients with COPD breathe easier with acupuncture?

A new study offers some promising evidence that acupuncture may improve quality of life for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Laxative-free colonoscopy may soon be possible

This post has been corrected. See note at the bottom for details.

Sleepwalking: More common than you might think

Ever sleep-walked? I have. At the age of 12, I woke up to find myself in a bedroom where a visiting kid was staying over, my head gently resting on the foot of the bed. I got up, snuck back to my bedroom and kept it to myself. It was weird and a little embarrassing.

Kids' ER visits resulting from battery exposure have doubled in two decades

Emergency room visits resulting from children swallowing batteries or sticking them into other orifices doubled between 1990 and 2009, researchers said Monday. There were an estimated 5,525 ER visits caused by batteries in 2009, with the bulk of them occurring in children under the age of 5, according to a team from Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Most of them were caused by button batteries, the small, disc-like batteries found in many games and other electronic devices.

My kid's pacifier could hurt him. It's worrying -- to a point.

Some of the longest-lasting relics of my kids’ infancies and toddlerhoods have been their pacifiers and their sippy cups.  Even now, with the boys 3 and 5 years old, we devote two drawers in our kitchen to a collection of jumbled lids, valves and cups (many featuring slowly fading portraits of Lightning McQueen.)  The binkies, which my younger son uses at bedtime and on long airplane trips, live in a banged-up plastic container perched on a high cabinet shelf. 

Egg producers fund study confirming the health benefits of eggs

News flash: Eggs are really good for you. This message was brought to you by the American Egg Board.

For defibrillators to save lives, people have to use them

Chances are, if you’re out and about, you’ll pass by an automated external defibrillator, or AED. 

Weight-loss drug Lorcaserin: Definite maybe in 2nd run at FDA's OK

The proposed weight-loss drug Lorcaserin, rebuffed in its bid for Food and Drug Administration approval last October, on Thursday won a recommendation of approval from the agency's advisory committee, a major step toward winning the FDA's go-ahead to enter the U.S. market. If the agency follows the advice of the panel of independent experts--which is common but not routine-- Lorcaserin would become the first new prescription weight-loss drug to go on the U.S. market since Orlistat (now marketed over-the-counter as Alli) was approved in 1999.

Legalizing gay marriage is good for public health, studies show

President Obama said Wednesday that he now supports gay marriage. In an interview with Robin Roberts of ABC News, he explained that for him, it’s an issue of fairness: “It's also the Golden Rule, you know, treat others the way you would want to be treated.”

Drug delays progression in myeloma, but is it worth the cost?

Lenalidomide, sold under the tradename Revlimid, significantly improves progression-free survival in patients with myeloma, according to three clinical trials published Wednesday. All three trials were so successful that the results were unblinded early and, in two of the three trials, patients receiving the placebo were switched to the active drug. But researchers also found that the drug doubled the risk of a second, independent cancer occurring, and it is not yet clear whether the drug produces an increase in overall survival. Moreover, the drug is quite expensive, more than $163,000 for a year of treatment, and there was no data indicating whether quality of life improved enough to justify the cost.

1 of 6 cancer deaths worldwide caused by preventable infections

One in every six cancer deaths worldwide is caused by preventable infections, a total of 1.5 million deaths yearly that could be halted by widespread vaccination programs, researchers reported Wednesday. Since 1990, that number has grown by about half a million, suggesting that vaccination programs are losing ground in the battle rather than gaining it.  The vast majority of the cases are caused by three viruses and a bacterium, which are the leading causes of gastric, liver and cervical cancers. Cervical cancers account for about half of the infection-related cancers in women, while liver and gastric cancers account for about 80% of those in men.

Contaminated reusable grocery bag causes gastric illness outbreak

A reusable grocery bag left in a hotel bathroom caused an outbreak of norovirus-induced diarrhea and nausea that struck nine of 13 members of a girls' soccer team in October, Oregon researchers reported Wednesday. The outbreak also affected many family members after the team returned home.

HBO's 'The Weight of the Nation' is a wake-up call for America

Next week, the combined efforts of an entertainment giant, a health insurance titan, a group of academic heavyweights, a technology philanthropist and two federal agencies bring forth “The Weight of the Nation,” a four-hour, four-part HBO documentary that gives the nation’s obesity crisis a face.

Nation's obesity problem demands sweeping changes, panel says

They sifted through about 800 programs to prevent and fight obesity--to find the ones most likely to counter the nation's growing girth. In the end, a panel of independent experts asserted that only by implementing many of those initiatives at once can the nation make real progress.

Teens in California, which patrols school food, eat less fat, sugar

Anyone who’s gone on a diet knows: It’s easier to avoid potato chips if you don’t have any.

Should Obama ban photo ops with foods like burgers and fries?

What could be more American than hot dogs and apple pie? Perhaps it’s no wonder that politicians spend much of their time on the campaign trail hamming it up with voters at diners, burger shacks and other eating establishments that aren’t exactly paragons of healthful fare.

Probiotics can blunt diarrhea caused by antibiotics, report says

Nearly a third of the people who take antibiotics to cure an infection develop diarrhea when good bacteria in the intestines are killed off along with the bad. Some stop taking the drugs as a result, leading to problems such as failure to cure the infection or the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. But data from a large number of clinical trials compiled in a survey by researchers at the Rand Corp. show that consuming probiotics (beneficial bacteria) reduces the incidence of diarrhea by 42%. Probiotics are found at varying levels in yogurt and are also available as dietary supplements in most stores.

U.S. ranks 25th of best places for mothers; Norway 1st, Niger last

The aid organization Save the Children released its annual State of the World’s Mothers report Tuesday. Once again, conditions for moms in the U.S. trailed that of many other developed nations. The country’s position climbed six places to 25th, sandwiched between Belarus and the Czech Republic. 

Commuting farther raises blood pressure, boosts obesity, study says

Those long commutes so typical of Southern California may be doing more than boring you and raising your fatigue level: They also raise your blood pressure and make you fatter, researchers reported Tuesday. For higher blood pressure, the effects kick in at about 10 miles, while for obesity they show up at about 15. Those who traveled the farthest to work every day were also those who were least likely to get adequate exercise. They probably also were more likely to eat fast food and to snack in the car, and were more highly stressed.

Obesity: Moms may need reminder that too much baby fat isn't healthy

A new study of low-income mothers of toddlers has found that two-thirds did not correctly perceive their children’s size. And most — including all of the misperceiving moms with kids who were overweight — thought their kids were too small, not too big.   

Can supplement containing resveratrol help wet macular degeneration?

It sounds too good to be true, but a Chicago doctor is reporting that a drug-like dietary supplement, or nutriceutical, called Longevinex -- which contains the purported anti-aging chemical resveratrol -- may control or even reverse the symptoms of wet macular degeneration, a severe form of visual impairment. If the results prove to hold up, the treatment would have a great advantage over existing ones, which require injection of chemicals directly into the eye. Longevinex, in contrast, can be taken orally.

Obesity in U.S. projected to grow, though pace slows: CDC study

Obesity in the United States is projected to continue its rise over the next 18 years, extending to 42% of Americans by 2030, according to a study released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Vaccination rates higher in states requiring them in middle school

States that require vaccination for pertussis, meningitis and tetanus for admission to middle school have a higher vaccination rate than states that do not, but the rate is not nearly as high as one might expect from such a requirement, researchers reported Monday. States that required only that educational materials be sent home for those vaccines and the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine showed no improvement in vaccination rates.

Some fertility treatments linked to higher risk of birth defects

For couples seeking to overcome infertility by turning to assisted reproductive technology – which can be invasive and expensive – an increased risk of birth defects probably won’t stand in their way. Still, a study released Saturday by the New England Journal of Medicine may give some prospective parents a little something to think about as they mull their options for fertility treatment.

Teen girls waiting longer to have sex, according to CDC report

Teenage girls in the United States are waiting longer to begin having sex — and using more dependable forms of birth control once they do become sexually active, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.

Blond hair evolved separately in Europe and the South Pacific

Though the indigenous people of the Solomon Islands all have dark skin, about 5% to 10% also have naturally blond hair – and a new study finds that the genetic quirk responsible for this is different from the one that produces blond hair in people of European ancestry.

Junior Seau: Apparent suicide follows deaths of athletes with brain trauma

Former NFL star Junior Seau’s death by apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound follows a pattern of suicides by other high-profile football players who suffered from long-term effects of repeated brain injury.

200 years of surgical history, as told by Dr. Atul Gawande

Paging all Atul Gawande fans! Your favorite doctor-journalist is out with a new history on his own field: surgery.

Resveratrol's anti-aging potential gets a boost in study

Resveratrol, the plant compound found in red wine and reputed to have anti-aging effects, including protection against cancer and diabetes, has just had a "told-you-so" moment.

The case against funding studies on alternative medical therapies

As if Dr. Paul Offit hasn’t made enough enemies already by insisting (correctly) that parents put their kids’ health at risk when they refuse to get them vaccinated, now the infectious disease expert appears to be picking a fight with those who believe in alternative therapies like prayer healing and acupuncture.

Popular breast cancer treatment increases risk of mastectomy

Brachytherapy is an increasingly popular option for women with early-stage breast cancer. After a lumpectomy to remove abnormal tissue, doctors insert either a series of tubes or a catheter attached to a small balloon into the breast. A radioactive source is then delivered to the surgical site, where it can kill off any remaining cancer cells within about 1 centimeter. After five days of treatment, the tubes or catheter can be removed.

A baby is born addicted to drugs about once an hour, study says

Here’s some depressing news to kick off your week: The proportion of pregnant women who are addicted to opiates increased nearly fivefold between 2000 and 2009. Accordingly, the proportion of babies born addicted to the drugs who experience withdrawal after birth nearly tripled during the same period.

American workforce is seriously sleep-deprived, CDC reports

Feeling a little sleepy? You’re not alone. According to a report this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30% of American workers are sleep-deprived – and that has big consequences for public health.

Woman in Delta flight scare says she had bedbug bites, not monkeypox

Bedbugs can drive people out of house and home. Turns out they have the power to stop a plane too.