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Improved infant care before, during and just after birth appears to decrease the incidence of the neurodevelopmental condition cerebral palsy (CP).

Researchers have known for some time that a pregnant woman taking anti-convulsive medications faced a greater risk of bearing a child with a cleft palate. On Friday, the FDA went further, specifically warning women who are pregnant or who may become pregnant about Topamax (topiramate).

Following our coverage last week of glorified paralegal and environmental activist Erin Brockovich’s attempts to revive the hexavalent chromium/cancer link in Hinkley, California — despite strong evidence to the contrary, ACSH ally Marjorie Peters sent us a letter of praise:

In a new study on smoking cessation published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers sought to assess the safety and efficacy of bupropion, the active ingredient in the antidepressant Wellbutrin and the smoking cessation aid Zyban.

Heartland Science Director and ACSH friend Dr. Jay Lehr provides an objective review of our latest book Scared to Death: How Chemophobia Threatens Public Health on a blog for The Heartland Institute:

The Los Angeles Times mistakenly believes that a “sin tax” on sugary beverages recently proposed by California State Assembly Health Committee Chairman William Monning (D-Carmel) will somehow reduce obesity.

While we still don’t know the true extent of the radiation threat from the Japanese nuclear reactors damaged during the historically unprecedented earthquake and tsunami, there is one thing we do know — U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin needs a refresher course in medicine. When asked by a reporter about the sudden increase in purchases of potassium iodide (KI) pills in the U.S. due to fears of radiation spreading to the California coast, Dr.

ACSH Trustee Dr. Thomas Stossel offered yesterday morning's readers of the Denver Post a timely editorial on the controversy over professional relationships and contacts among drug researchers. Dr. Stossel, an American Cancer Society Professor of Medicine and a director at Harvard University Medical School, is concerned about proposed changes in the rules governing relationships with industry of University of Colorado faculty.He writes:

Yesterday also brought word that the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the non-profit group charged with co-ordinating organ allocation, was considering a new policy which would give explicit preference to younger patients in need of kidney transplants. This would reverse existing policy which gives preference to those within a region of the country who have been waiting longest for a donation.

Blue Mountain School, an alternative education school in Floyd County, Virginia, is learning about public health the hard way as at least 30 people, including 23 of its 45 students, have been diagnosed with pertussis, better known as whooping cough. After the devastating outbreak in California last year that claimed the lives of ten infants, you would think parents in Virginia would know better, but according to Dr.

A new study would have you believe that hospital errors are ten times the rate that was once reported. Researchers from the University of Utah tested a new hospital error detection protocol developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Massachusetts against an already-established method developed by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHR) and a voluntary reporting system.

Cutting-edge gene therapy may be one step closer to reaching Parkinson’s patients.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is fuming over the latest animation flick Rango, featuring the voice of Johnny Depp as a desert town chameleon, stating that the depiction of smoking in the PG-rated movie will encourage younger audiences to think the habit is appealing.

Chinese residents must have heard U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin s statement earlier this week supporting the precautionary use of potassium iodide (KI) pills by Californians. Many are afraid of developing thyroid cancer from the radioactive iodine that may have been released from Japan s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

While certain newer approaches to prostate cancer treatment, such as less invasive surgery and advanced radiation therapy, may be “doctor recommended and patient preferred,” are they worth the additional price tag? That’s what Dr. Paul Nguyen of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital set out to discover in his study comparing the type and cost of prostate cancer treatments administered between 2002 and 2005.

After growing weary of reading headlines announcing vaccine-preventable outbreaks, we decided to research which states permit parents to forgo vaccinating their kids due to so-called “philosophical exemptions” — which allow opting out of required immunizations for no reason whatsoever. One of these states — Minnesota — allows these exemptions, and is now experiencing a measles outbreak.

For those over the age of 50 taking prescription proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), the FDA warns that using these medications for over a year increases the risk of bone fractures. New labels will be issued for drugs like Nexium, Prilosec and Prevacid that include new safety information about the increased risk of bone fractures of the hip, wrist and spine associated with the long-term use of PPIs. Short-term, low-dose use of the drugs, used to treat ulcers, acid reflux or other conditions, is not likely to pose a risk for fracture.

Patients with locally advanced prostate cancer may benefit from a six month hormone treatment, according to a new Lancet Oncology study.

In a classic example of mixing up cause and effect, Harvard University researchers exonerated diet sodas and other artificially-sweetened beverages from previous studies linking their consumption to diabetes.

In a unanimous vote Tuesday, an FDA advisory panel recommended the approval of Optimer Pharmaceuticals’ fidaxomycin (Difficid) as a safe and effective treatment for diarrhea caused by the bacterium C. dificile. However, the panel is divided as to whether the oral antibiotic is safe for pregnant women and children and whether it can prevent the recurrence of the bacterial infection.

Known to invoke feelings of ecstasy, the eponymous illicit party drug, also known as MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), is the cause of an increasing number of medical emergencies, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). In 2008, 17,865 patients were treated for problems related to Ecstasy, a figure that spiked by 75 percent compared to 10,220 cases treated in 2004.

According to a new study published in the journal Cancer, patients with early stage, low-risk thyroid cancers should think twice before allowing their doctors to prescribe standard radioactive iodine-131 (RAI) treatment.

Diplomats from the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Saturday that the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) has officially committed to providing sufficient and affordable supplies of flu vaccine to developing countries in exchange for the global sharing of virus samples with WHO’s laboratories in order to make the most effective, targeted vaccine possible. The deal is an effort to improve future flu pandemic preparedness.

In a comprehensive review of bisphenol A (BPA) published in the journal Critical Reviews in Toxicology, the German Society of Toxicology (GST) analyzed about 5,000 studies and concluded that, “[BPA] exposure represents no noteworthy risk to the health of the human population, including newborns and babies.” But this report may come as some surprise to the (unfortunately) very few readers who will learn of it, consider

A new Swedish study confirms the efficacy of current medical interventions for the emergency treatment of symptoms and signs of acute coronary occlusion (i.e. heart attack).