Health News Headlines

Millions of people get steroid shots in their backs to relieve pain. Now they are probably wondering if it's safe.

Patsy Bivins tossed and turned all night after finding out the steroid shot she received to ease her chronic back pain could instead threaten her life.

Some of the world's top scholars will be thrust into the global spotlight this week as award committees in Stockholm and Oslo announce the 2012 Nobel Prizes, starting with the medicine award Monday.

PARIS (Reuters) - French drugmaker Sanofi said on Monday that the results of a late-stage study of its Zaltrap drug showed a "statistically significant improvement in overall survival" in patients with colon cancer. The detailed results of the Phase III study of the drug used in conjunction with chemotherapy were published …

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Emergency rooms across the U.S. have seen a steep increase in CT scans of kids presenting with belly ache, while the appendicitis rate hasn't budged, new research shows. The x-ray-based scans offer doctors a high-resolution peek into the body, but their growing popularity has been trailed by …

Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Almost half of children with autism in a new study had run away at least once - and many of them were missing long enough to cause concern. Researchers found that kids most often wandered off from their home, school or a store, and some tried to run away multiple times a day. …

CARACAS (Reuters) - Supporters of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez began setting off fireworks and partying in the street on Sunday night in anticipation of victory in the presidential election. Various aides to Chavez published celebratory messages on Twitter, while some supporters of opposition leader Henrique Capriles began crying …

A rare form of fungal meningitis has killed seven people and sickened 91 across nine states.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - U.S. health officials on Sunday reported an additional 27 cases in a fungal meningitis outbreak linked to steroid injections that has killed seven people and now infected 91 in nine states. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the new total of 91 cases in an update …

The pharmacy that distributed a steroid linked to an outbreak of fungal meningitis has issued a voluntary recall of all of its products, calling the move a precautionary measure.

"Hi. I have cancer. Just found out today. I'm going to die soon.” So began the opening line of comedienne Tig Notaro’s now legendary stand-up set last month. Except she wasn’t kidding.

SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean pastor who runs a "baby box" where mothers can leave unwanted infants has seen a sharp increase in the number of newborns being left there because, the pastor says, of a new law aimed at protecting the rights of children. South Korea is trying to shed a reputation of being a source of babies …

Health officials say they have now confirmed more than 90 cases of a rare fungal meningitis that has been linked to a steroid commonly used to ease back pain.

(Reuters) - U.S. government officials reported on Sunday an additional 27 cases in a fungal meningitis outbreak linked to steroid injections that has killed seven people and now affected 91 in nine states. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a total of 91 cases in an update on its website, up from …

(Reuters) - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez faces opposition challenger Henrique Capriles on Sunday in what looks like the former soldier's toughest election in 14 years of socialist rule. The following are key facts about Chavez and Capriles, and their policy plans: FACTS ABOUT CHAVEZ * Born to a poor family in the Venezuelan …

ZURICH (Reuters) - Novartis is keen to maintain its dividend and is looking to boost growth via mid-sized acquisitions, though big deals are unlikely, the Swiss drugmaker's chief executive said in a newspaper interview on Sunday. Like many of its rivals, Novartis is struggling to grow in the face of patent expiries on key …

Beijing authorities have completed a network of monitors that will more accurately measure air quality in the smog-ridden city after being pushed into it by public pressure and pollution reports from the U.S. embassy.

Beijing authorities have completed a network of monitors that will more accurately measure air quality in the smog-ridden city after being pushed into it by public pressure and pollution reports from the U.S. embassy.