Sugary foods linked to pancreatic cancer risk

People with diets high in sweets and other foods that cause rapid blood-sugar spikes may have a higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer than those who eat less of those foods, a new study suggests. In a study of nearly 1,000 Italian adults with and without pancreatic cancer, researchers found that those whose diets were high in so-called "glycemic index" showed a greater risk of the cancer than participants whose diets were relatively low-glycemic index. More...

IVF Babies and Major Birth Defects

Slightly more than 4% of babies born via assisted reproductive technology such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) may have major birth defects, such as heart and urogenital tract malformations, according to a new study. But U.S. experts are quick to point out that these risks are not much different from what would be expected in the general population. And the risks are much lower than what has been found in some other studies of babies born as a result of fertility treatments. More...

Vitamin B6 may play anti-cancer role

A new study suggests vitamin B6 may play a role in preventing cancer. A study in the latest edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association found adults with higher levels of vitamin B6 in their blood were half as likely to develop lung cancer as those with low B6 levels. The study included almost 400,000 adults from 10 European countries who were either current smokers, former smokers or had never smoked. Researchers looked at the differences in vitamin B6 levels between those who developed lung cancer after five years and those who did not. More...

Obese have worse sexual health despite less sex

Obese women have four times as many unplanned pregnancies as healthy-weight women despite having less sex, and obese men are more likely to have sexual diseases despite fewer partners, scientists said on Wednesday. More...

Why Patients Aren’t Getting the Shingles Vaccine

Shingles and its painful complication, called postherpetic neuralgia, result from reactivation of the chicken pox virus, which remains in the body after a childhood bout and is usually dormant in the adult. Up to a third of all adults who have had chicken pox will eventually develop one or both of these conditions, becoming debilitated for anywhere from a week to several years. More...

Secondhand Smoke and Mental Health

Smokers are known to suffer from high rates of depression and other mental health problems, and now a study reports that even people exposed to secondhand smoke are at significantly increased risk — and more likely to be hospitalized for mental illness. More...

Amgen Drug Approved to Fight Osteoporosis

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved the sale of Amgen’s osteoporosis drug Prolia to help prevent fractures in postmenopausal women. Last week, the medicine received European approval. More...