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Associated Press: National News

8 minutes ago

(AP) Don't say "mental retardation" _ the new term is "intellectual disability." No more diagnoses of Asperger's syndrome _ call it a mild version of autism instead. And while "behavioral addictions" will be new to doctors' dictionaries, "Internet addiction" didn't make the cut.The American Psychiatric Association is proposing major changes Wednesday ...

Ethics debate over blood from newborn safety tests

9 minutes ago

(AP) A critical safety net for babies _ that heelprick of blood taken from every newborn _ is facing an ethics attack.After those tiny blood spots are tested for a list of devastating diseases, some states are storing them for years. Scientists consider the leftover samples a treasure, both to improve ...

Debate in US over blood from newborn safety tests

9 minutes ago

(AP) A critical safety net for babies _ that heelprick of blood taken from every newborn in the U.S. _ is facing an ethics attack.After those tiny blood spots are tested for a list of devastating diseases, some states are storing them for years. Scientists consider the leftover samples a treasure, ...

Mass. mom convicted of murder in 4-year-old's OD

9 minutes ago

(AP) A Massachusetts woman has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the prescription drug overdose of her 4-year-old daughter.Carolyn Riley was accused of overmedicating her daughter, Rebecca, on powerful drugs prescribed by a psychiatrist who diagnosed her with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder by the time she was ...

Lawmaker's death a reminder of surgery risks

9 minutes ago

(AP) Gallbladder surgery is usually a very safe operation, but a powerful congressman's death is a reminder of the known risks.Well over half a million people have their gallbladders removed annually, most of them minimally invasively just as the late Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa.Complications are rare. But they include nicking the ...

300 people diagnosed with mumps in suburban NY

9 minutes ago

(AP) More than 300 people have been diagnosed with the mumps in suburban New York as the nation's largest outbreak of the disease in years spreads.A health official says 303 people in the Rockland County towns of Monsey and New Square have been diagnosed with the highly infectious disease. Almost all ...

Autism risks detailed in children of older mothers

9 minutes ago

(AP) A woman's chance of having a child with autism increase substantially as she ages, but the risk may be less for older dads than previously suggested, a new study analyzing more than 5 million births found."Although fathers' age can contribute risk, the risk is overwhelmed by maternal age," said University ...

Is the US swine flu epidemic over?

9 minutes ago

(AP) If the U.S. swine flu epidemic isn't over, it certainly looks as if it's on its last legs. While federal health officials are not ready to declare the threat has passed and the outbreak has run its course, they did report Friday that for the fourth week in a row, ...

Bad malaria pills in Africa raise resistance fears

9 minutes ago

(AP) High rates of the most effective type of malaria-fighting drugs sold in three African countries are poor quality _ including nearly half the pills sampled in Senegal _ raising fears of increased drug resistance that could wipe out the last weapon left to battle a disease that kills 1 million ...

US swine flu epidemic shows signs of being over

9 minutes ago

(AP) Is the U.S. swine flu epidemic over? Federal health officials won't go so far as to say that, but on Friday they reported for the fourth week in a row that no states had widespread flu activity.U.S. cases have been declining since October. An official with the Centers for Disease ...

Report: Feds to pay more than half of health costs

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(AP) For all the hue and cry over a government takeover of health care, it's happening anyway.Federal and state programs will pay slightly more than half the tab for health care purchased in the United States by 2012, says a report by Medicare number crunchers released Thursday.That's even if President Barack ...

Gov't moving into central role in health care

9 minutes ago

(AP) Government is poised to become king of the hill in America's vast health care system, with or without President Barack Obama's planned redo, according an economic report released Thursday.Federal and state programs will pay slightly more than half the tab for health care purchased in the United States by 2012, ...

Gov't to pay more than half of US health costs

9 minutes ago

Study: Vegetative brains show signs of awareness

9 minutes ago

(AP) Scientists have detected glimmers of awareness in some vegetative brain-injury patients and have even communicated with one of them _ findings that push the boundaries of how to assess and care for such people.The new research suggests that standard tests may overlook patients who have some consciousness, and that someday ...

Report: 40 percent of cancers are preventable

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(AP) About 40 percent of cancers could be prevented if people stopped smoking and overeating, limited their alcohol, exercised regularly and got vaccines targeting cancer-causing infections, experts say.To mark World Cancer day on Thursday, officials at the International Union Against Cancer released a report focused on steps that governments and the ...