MEDICINE

High-risk patients who took a combination of three older heart drugs -- a generic statin, a generic blood pressure pill and a low-dose aspirin -- cut their risk of a heart attack or stroke by as much as 80 percent, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

An experimental diabetes drug from Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca met its main target in a late stage study, achieving significant reductions in glycosylated hemoglobin levels.

Walgreen Co , the largest U.S. drugstore chain, said September sales at its stores open at least a year jumped 5.3 percent, aided by in-store flu vaccinations and shoppers filling more 90-day prescriptions.

Women who are overweight or obese when they get pregnant are more likely to give birth to children with congenital heart defects, according to a U.S. government study released on Thursday.

A virtual reality tool, developed by Flinders University, is coming to the aid of older people with early onset dementia, improving their quality of life while giving their carers a little peace of mind.

Today Australia will embark on what is potentially the biggest vaccination program in its history, offering free pandemic (swine flu) vaccine to every person in the country.

A Curtin University of Technology study has found that regular moderate activity such as housework, gardening, or walking, can reduce the risk of ischemic stroke in the elderly. Ischemic stroke is caused by blockage of arteries leading to or in the brain.

Michael Jackson was in reasonably good health at the time of his death opposing numerous media reports that portrayed him as terribly skinny and sick, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

President Barack Obama announced a plan on Wednesday to spend $5 billion on medical and scientific research, medical supplies and upgrading laboratory capacity, which he said would create tens of thousands of new jobs.

Children of women infected with influenza during pregnancy have a substantially higher risk of heart disease late in life, according to a study published on Wednesday.

Female Health Co's new version of its female condom is now available to state health agencies and nonprofit organizations, but the company is still trying to make it more widely available in stores.

A diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and low in sweets and processed meats, may help lower the risk of breast cancer in some African-American women.

The very first doses of swine flu vaccine will start arriving in states and cities that ordered it on Tuesday, and might be sprayed up the first patients' noses by the end of the week, U.S. health officials said on Thursday.

Experiments which mimicked a low-calorie diet by tinkering with genes in mice extended their lives and prevented disease, and a drug that has the same effect could give people longer, healthier lives, scientists said on Thursday.

Fifteen states could run out of hospital beds and 12 more could fill 75 percent of their beds with swine flu sufferers if 35 percent of Americans catch the virus in coming weeks, a report released Thursday said.

Former INXS and Noiseworks singer Jon Stevens is being held in hospital after suffering complications following emergency open-heart surgery, his management company said on Thursday.

A dearth of new products, new technologies and fresh commitments by governments scrambling to protect their populations from pandemic threats have lured U.S. drugmakers back into the flu vaccine business.

Many people who have died of H1N1 swine flu in the United States have also had bacterial infections, health officials reported on Wednesday.

Mothers who smoke during pregnancy put their children at greater risk of developing psychotic symptoms as teenagers, British scientists said on Thursday.

President Barack Obama announced a plan on Wednesday to spend $5 billion on medical and scientific research, medical supplies and upgrading laboratory capacity, which he said would create tens of thousands of new jobs.

U.S. antitrust regulators have approved Warner Chilcott Plc's purchase of Procter & Gamble Co's pharmaceuticals business, the Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday.