TUESDAY, Nov. 25 (HealthDay News) — For the first time since such statistics were released in 1998, the number of men and women in the United States getting and dying from cancer has dropped. The drop in cancer rates is mostly due to fewer cases of lung, prostate and colorectal cancer among men, and fewer cases [...]

MONDAY, Nov. 24 (HealthDay News) — Round-the-clock blood pressure measurements, especially those during the night, are better predictors of major cardiovascular problems than readings taken in a doctor’s office for people whose high blood pressure is hardest to treat, a Brazilian study shows. “Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring should be performed during the whole 24 hours, with [...]

Istockphoto/Health

By Patrick Sauer
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 26, 2008 (Health.com) — Ronald McDonald first appeared in a television ad in 1963—played by none other than the Today show’s Willard Scott—and 45 years later the burger-slinging clown has reached near-universal recognition. The book Fast Food Nation notes that 96% of American schoolchildren surveyed recognized Ronald McDonald, second only to [...]

TUESDAY, Nov. 25 (HealthDay News) — People with diabetes spend thousands of dollars more on medical costs each year than those without the disease, and that disparity increases substantially each year after the initial diabetes diagnosis. That’s the finding of a new study by researchers at RTI International, a nonprofit research institute in North Carolina.

Istockphoto

By Anne Harding
TUESDAY, Nov. 25, 2008 (Health.com) — It’s long been known that heart patients who are depressed are at greater risk of heart attack, stroke, and death than their happier peers, and now a new study sheds light on the reasons why. The risk seems to be due to a patient’s behavior, rather than some [...]

TUESDAY, Nov. 25 (HealthDay News) — Burdened by an overbearing boss? Your heart may pay the price, according to new research. The Swedish study found that workers’ risks for angina, heart attack and death rose along with the reported incompetence of their bosses. “This study is the first to provide evidence of a prospective, dose-response relationship between [...]

MONDAY, Nov. 24 (HealthDay News) — A drug called telcagepant proved safe and effective in treating migraines and caused fewer side effects than the widely-used migraine drug zolmitriptan (Zomig), according to a study conducted by drug maker Merck & Co. Zolmitriptan and other triptans are effective but can cause a number of side effects, including dizziness, [...]

MONDAY, Nov. 24 (HealthDay News) — Blocking a neuropeptide receptor in the brain may be one way to quickly lessen the desire for a cigarette, a new study suggests. Hypocretin-1, or Orexin A, a short chain of amino acids found in nerve tissue, appears to initiate a series of closely linked biochemical reactions that makes lab [...]

MONDAY, Nov. 24 (HealthDay News) — It’s called “off-label” prescribing, and it’s the common practice of doctors prescribing a drug to treat a disease or condition that’s different from the one studied by federal regulators that led to the drug’s approval in the first place.

MONDAY, Nov. 24 (HealthDay News) — The widely used diabetes drug Avandia — already controversial because of cardiovascular side effects — may be riskier than Actos, another drug in the same class, researchers reported Monday. The risk of heart failure and death for older diabetics appears greater with Avandia (rosiglitazone) than with Actos (pioglitazone), both of [...]