Limit on cold remedies for kids was FDAs idea
1 in 4 US teen girls got cervical cancer shot
Stem cells from testicles an option to embryos
Get moving Guidelines set healthy activity levels
Drug companies No cold medicines for kids under 4
Task force Colon cancer screenings can stop at 75
Fan use linked to lower risk of sudden baby death
Unclear how much pounding new hips, knees can take
Jump seen in staph-linked flu deaths in kids
Recent winners of the Nobel Prize in medicine

By Uwe Lein (AP)

A German farmer who received the world's first complete double arm transplant is recovering well and able to perform some basic tasks, though doctors said Wednesday it still could take up to two years before he relearns how to use his hands.

Doctors spent 15 hours on July 25-26 grafting the donor arms onto the body of 54-year-old Karl Merk, who lost his own just below the shoulder in a farm accident involving a combine six years ago.

"These are my arms, and I'm not giving them away again," Merk said at a news conference at the Munich University Clinic where the operation was...

By STR (AP)

Three European scientists shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for separate discoveries of viruses that cause AIDS and cervical cancer, breakthroughs that helped doctors fight the deadly diseases.

French researchers Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier were cited for their discovery of human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, in 1983.

They shared the award with Germany's Harald zur Hausen, who was honored for finding human papilloma viruses that cause cervical cancer, the second most common cancer among women.

U.S. researcher Dr. Robert Gallo was locked...

By Al Grillo (AP)

Warning: young children should not keep hedgehogs as pets _ or hamsters, baby chicks, lizards and turtles, for that matter _ because of risks for disease.

That's according to the nation's leading pediatricians' group in a new report about dangers from exotic animals.

Besides evidence that they can carry dangerous and sometimes potentially deadly germs, exotic pets may be more prone than cats and dogs to bite, scratch or claw _ putting children younger than 5 particularly at risk, the report says.

Young children are vulnerable because of developing immune systems plus th...

By (AP)

When drug makers made a surprise announcement this week that they no longer recommend cough and cold remedies for youngsters under 4, they didn't let on that it was the government's idea.

And why age 4 rather than the age 6 that pediatricians' wanted?

Because the Food and Drug Administration suggested that, too.

FDA officials proposed the cutoff earlier this year in private discussions with the industry, government and industry officials confirmed Friday. The companies agreed, and this week announced they were "voluntarily" changing their advice to parents.

The ...

By (AP)

About one in four teen girls last year got the groundbreaking vaccine that prevents cervical cancer, federal health officials reported Thursday.

The figures represent the government's first full year of vaccination rate data for the Gardasil vaccine, which came on the market in mid-2006. Merck & Co.'s heavily advertised, three-shot series targets the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus.

Health officials recommend that girls get the shots when they are 11 or 12, if possible, before they become sexually active. Also, age 11 is when kids are generally due for another round...

By (AP)

Cells taken from men's testicles seem as versatile as the stem cells derived from embryos, researchers reported Wednesday in what may be yet another new approach in a burgeoning scientific field.

The new type of stem cells could be useful for growing personalized replacement tissues, according to a study in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature. But because of their source, their highest promise would apply to only half the world's population: men.

Embryonic stem cells can give rise to virtually any tissue in the body and scientists believe they may offer treatments for dise...

By (AP)

Get moving: The nation's new exercise guidelines set a minimum sweat allotment for good health. For most adults, that's 2 1/2 hours a week.

How much physical activity you need depends largely on age and level of fitness.

Moderate exercise adds up for sluggish adults. Rake leaves, take a quick walk around the block or suit up for the neighborhood softball game. More fit adults could pack in their week's requirement in 75 minutes with vigorous exercise, such as jogging, hiking uphill, a bike race or speedy laps in the pool.

Children and teens need more _ pretty brisk acti...

By (AP)

Drug companies say children under 4 should not be given cough and cold medicines.

The industry has been criticized by pediatricians for marketing over-the-counter cough and cold remedies for children under 6 despite a lack of evidence that they work, and reports of safety problems.

A spokeswoman for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association said Tuesday the decision was voluntary and was being made "out of an abundance of caution."

The companies will also add a warning to their product labels saying parents should not give young children antihistamines to make them...

By (AP)

Most people over 75 should stop getting routine colon cancer tests, according to a government health task force that also rejected the latest X-ray screening technology.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force _ in a break with other medical and cancer organizations _ opted not to give its stamp of approval to the newest tests: CT colonography, an X-ray test known as virtual colonoscopy, and a stool DNA test. The panel said more research is needed.

The task force for the first time did endorse three tests and said everyone age 50 to 75 should get screened with one of...

By (AP)

Using a fan to circulate air seemed to lower the risk of sudden infant death syndrome in a study of nearly 500 babies, researchers reported Monday.

Placing babies on their backs to sleep is the best advice for preventing SIDS, a still mysterious cause of death. Experts also recommend a firm mattress, removing toys and pillows from cribs, and keeping infants from getting too warm.

Such practices helped slash U.S. SIDS deaths by more than half over a decade to about 2,100 in 2003. But SIDS remains the leading cause of death in infants ages 1 month to 1 year.

"The baby's...

By (AP)

One in 75 patients who gets a knee or hip replaced must get it replaced again within three years, new research finds, although the studies underscore a question: Just how much pounding can a new joint take if you want it to last?

First-time hip and knee replacements are skyrocketing, for good reason. They can be highly successful at relieving debilitating pain and helping people to walk normally again.

Also on the rise are more complex "revisions" where doctors remove the initial joint implant and put in another. That repeat operation isn't always avoidable even with high-qua...

By (AP)

More children have died from flu because they also had staph infections, according to a new government report that urges parents to have their kids get the flu shot.

The number of deaths wasn't high _ 73 during the 2006-07 flu season _ but there was more than a fivefold increase in hard-to-treat complications. And preliminary figures indicate deaths rose again during this past winter's flu season.

Public health officials say the numbers underscore the importance of a brand new recommendation that all children, from 6 months through 18 years, get routine flu shots. Before this...

By (AP)

Recent winners of the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, and their research, according to the Nobel Foundation:

_ 2007: Mario R. Capecchi and Oliver Smithies of the United States and Martin J. Evans of the United Kingdom, for their discoveries leading to a powerful technique for manipulating mouse genes.

_ 2006: Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello, of the United States, for their work in controlling the flow of genetic information.

_ 2005: Barry J. Marshall and Robin Warren, of Australia, for their work in how the bacterium Helicobacter pylori plays a role in...

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