The Food and Drug Administration ordered St. Jude Medical on Thursday to conduct additional studies on patients implanted with heart-device components that were recalled last year and that have been linked to as many as 20 deaths. It also recommended that patients receive X-rays or other imaging to

Spouses of heart attack victims have an increased risk of depression and anxiety, even if their partner survives, Danish research suggests.The study found that in the year after losing a spouse to a heart attack, partners were three times more likely to start taking anti-depressants.Even if their pa

Venomous reptiles may provide a good source for new drugs for human diseases, researchers in Liverpool say.Venom has already been used to create drugs, but the chemicals in it are often too deadly for human consumption.However, a study, published in the journal Nature Communications, has shown snake

A drug already on the market that treats immune disorders may help stabilize patients with Alzheimer’s disease for up to three years, according to the results of a tiny study presented at a conference on Tuesday.All four patients who received the optimal dose of the drug, Gammagard from Baxter Inter

An observational study has found evidence that people who sleep less may be less likely to benefit from a vaccine.Scientists gave 125 generally healthy men and women the hepatitis B vaccination — two doses one month apart and then a booster six months later. For the seven days surrounding each of th

(Reuters) – India’s highest court will hear final arguments starting this week in a landmark case over drug patents that could change the rules for the country’s healthcare sector and potentially curb its global role as a supplier of cut-price generic medicines.The Supreme Court hearing pits Swiss d

Setting priorities for health interventions in developing countries: a review of empirical studies. Sitaporn Youngkong 1,2 Lydia Kapiriri 3 Rob Baltussen 1 1 Nijmegen International Center for Health Systems Research and Education (NICHE), Department of Primary and Community Care, Radboud Universit

A federal health official’s ruling has cleared the way for 50 different types of cancer to be added to the list of sicknesses covered by a $4.3 billion fund set up to compensate and treat people exposed to the toxic smoke, dust and fumes in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.The

(Reuters) – Sanofi’s experimental pill to treat Gaucher disease, a rare inherited condition, has met its main goal in a late-stage trial, the French drugmaker said on Tuesday.Patients treated with the drug, eliglustat tartrate, showed a statistically significant improvement in the size of their sple

After decades of controversy, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new H.I.V. test on Tuesday that for the first time makes it possible for Americans to learn in the privacy of their homes whether they are infected.The availability of an H.I.V. test as easy to use as a home-pregnancy kit is y