MEDICINE

Many U.S. primary care doctors are out of step with guidelines on Pap testing for cervical cancer -- largely because they overuse the test, according to a study published Monday.

Pregnant women and other people at high risk should be vaccinated against the H1N1 swine fluvirus as the cold weather begins to bite in the northern hemisphere, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

Getting a patient's family history is widely regarded as a standard element of good medical care. But a report published today concludes that there isn't much good evidence that obtaining such

The hepatitis B vaccine - given to protect against infection by a virus that can cause severe liver damage and cancer - may protect for more than two decades, according to a new study.

Worried about what to do with fat you've had liposuctioned from pudgy areas? Researchers have turned it into stem cells in the lab, but here's a more immediate use: Fat liposuctioned from other parts of the body can safely be used to increase a woman's breast size, according to study findings presented this week at the Plastic Surgery 2009 meeting in Seattle.

An international team of researchers said Monday it had mapped the DNA of a domestic pig, work they say could help lead to better breeding techniques as well as improve vaccines against diseases such as swine flu.

A person's long-term risk of heart disease is better assessed by a pair of studies, as performing only one may miss a dangerous buildup of calcium in arteries, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

Some of the antibiotics used to treat urinary tract infections during pregnancy may increase the risk of several birth defects if a woman uses them early in pregnancy, a new study in the Archives of

Nearly a million people die from malaria each year because they cannot afford the most effective treatment and instead often buy old drugs to which the malaria parasite has become resistant, researchers said on Monday.

Up to 30 million doses of vaccine against the pandemic H1N1 flu have been delivered to the U.S. government and production is now picking up, officials said on Monday.

Human Genome Sciences Inc said its experimental lupus drug Benlysta eased symptoms in more than 43 percent of patients who took it in a clinical trial, paving the way for approval of the first new treatment for the disease in 50 years.

Human Genome Sciences Inc said its experimental lupus drug Benlysta was successful in a late-stage clinical trial, paving the way for approval of the first new treatment for the disease in 50 years.

Health insurer Humana Inc forecast profit to fall next year due in part to pressure on margins as it sees lower government reimbursement for its Medicare plans for the elderly.

Human Genome Sciences Inc said its experimental lupus drug Benlysta was successful in a second large clinical trial, paving the way for approval of the first new treatment for the disease in 50 years.

Eating just a little bit more fiber could have a big impact in trimming the waistlines of America's young people, new research shows.

Six pigs shown at the Minnesota State Fair last month have been confirmed as having had the pandemic H1N1 flu virus, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Thursday.

Patients taking statin drugs were almost 50 percent less likely to die from flu, researchers reported on Thursday in a study providing more evidence the cholesterol-lowering drugs help the body cope with infection.

A vaccine aid group said on Friday it was seeking $4 billion to protect as many as 130 million of the world's poorest children against diarrhea and pneumonia.

Only one dose of vaccine is needed for protection against pandemic H1N1 flu and the jabs have so far proved to be safe, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

Sanofi-Aventis raised its outlook for 2009 thanks to sales of swine flu vaccine and posted earnings per share growth that beat forecasts as competition from generics was offset by revenue growth for other drugs.

More than 5,500 children across Africa have been given an experimental new malaria vaccine and the British drugmaker behind it, GlaxoSmithKline, promised on Wednesday that price would be no hurdle if it works.