March 22 - Four flu-related deaths were confirmed in Minnesota last week, bringing the season's death toll to 180, the Minnesota Department of Health said Thursday. Statewide, the number of flu cases continued to taper off, with four schools and one nursing home reporting outbreaks. Seven people were reported hospitalized with flu complications. Since October, 2,956 people have been hospitalized in...

TORONTO - The Ontario Medical Association wants the federal and provincial governments to crack down on antibiotic use in farming. The organization is issuing a call to arms on the problem of antibiotic resistance, warning the world is in danger of losing these drugs because of misuse.

March 20 - Much of the care for Alzheimer's patients, particularly in its early stages, is undertaken by family members. The rising numbers of those with the disease - one in three seniors die with Alzheimer's or another dementia - is putting a steadily increasing financial and emotional burden on families. The annual report of the Alzheimer's Association, released Tuesday, estimated the overall cost...

March 20 - LAS CRUCES - Smoking tobacco is one of the deadliest habits you can have. It causes cancer, heart disease, stroke and many kinds of lung disease. Cigarette smoking causes 443,000 deaths every year - that's one out of every five deaths. Yet, almost 44 million Americans smoke - and every day, 3,800 children smoke their first cigarette. Around 70 percent of adults want to quit smoking, but...

March 20 - As spring finally arrives, Hurricane Sandy may have yet one more punch in store for New Jersey: extreme seasonal allergies. Moisture from Sandy and other winter storms could have a major effect on when and how trees and other plants start to produce pollen, according to a Rutgers professor - meaning that those with even minor allergies could be hit hard. Leonard Bielory, a visiting professor...

TORONTO - The use of high potency versions of cholesterol lowering drugs called statins may increase a person's risk of developing kidney failure, a new study suggests. The research found that when compared to low dose statin regimens, high potency versions of the pills were linked to slightly elevated rates of acute kidney injury.

March 19 - A hands-on approach to diabetes prevention enabled local overweight or obese residents do a better job with losing and keeping off extra weight, according to a Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center study. Researchers examined 301 Forsyth County participants over 24 months who had been diagnosed with elevated fasting blood glucose, a common indicator of pre-diabetes. The study was conducted...

March 18 - Craig Turner never fully recovered from surgery he had in 1975 to remove a tumor from his brain. His mother, Bette Turner, said the tumor was in an important part of his brain near his pituitary gland, and between the operation and follow-up radiation therapy, Craig lost some of his ability to speak. He's had several surgeries since the original operation in 1975, and today, at 47, he still...

March 18 - More adolescents are getting vaccinated for human papillomavirus, the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer, but use of the HPV vaccine continues to lag behind expectations, and doctors are growing worried about a building public backlash. Dr. Robert Jacobson of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester reported Monday that more parents have become worried about potential side effects...

March 18 - Local health officials hope to reach first-graders with a new nutrition and exercise program that could start them on the path to better eating, according to Beth Cecil, one of the program's co-authors. The program is a product of the obesity task force that originated with the Community Health Needs Assessment, a push to improve the health and well-being of Owensboro and Daviess County....

March 18 - The Pennsylvania attorney general's office for several years has been able to track prescription drug abuse by consulting a database of narcotics dispensed by pharmacies. Now, a Bucks County lawmaker wants to give physicians and pharmacists a similar role in tracking and fighting drug abuse. State Rep. Gene DiGirolamo, R-18th District, is sponsoring the bill to create a database that would...

March 18 - In one week, parents Kristi Montgomery and Shane Emerson went from the elation of welcoming a new grandchild to their family to overnight hospital stays caring for their teen son who was injured in a serious car crash. Their son Hunter Emerson was 15 years old in July when he was ejected from a sport utility vehicle driven by a friend's mother, Heidi Annette Fain of Broken Arrow. He suffered...

March 15 - Doctors in Oregon received more than $21 million from pharmaceutical companies since 2009 to market drugs, consult and do research. Is your doctor one of them? A new database posted by the nonprofit investigative journalism shop ProPublica makes it easy to check. Payments to doctors are under a microscope because of revelations over skewed drug studies in which researchers took manufacturer...

March 15 - Curtis Fournier said receiving news from a doctor that you have cancer can send you into a whirlwind of emotions - he ought to know, he heard the news twice on the same day. "I asked that question basically every cancer patient asks when they hear 'stage four,' " the 50-year-old said. "Am I going to die?" Fournier said a Relay for Life program, Man to Man, gave him solace and played a role...

Doctors should not give in to pressure to prescribe medications that might boost mental performance in healthy kids and teens, leading neurologists say in a new position paper. The report focuses mostly on inappropriate use of Ritalin, Adderall and other stimulant medications commonly used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The medications are sought out by some parents, teens...

Women treated with radiation for breast cancer face an increased risk of heart attacks and premature death, even 20 years after the end of treatment, a study shows. The study is the latest to document the serious long-term health problems faced by cancer survivors. Although improved treatments allow more people today to survive their disease, these toxic therapies also lead many to suffer chronic health...

Home-schooled students may be better equipped to learn because they're getting a lot more sleep, a new study suggests. The first-of-its-kind national study of more than 2,600 adolescents, including about 500 home-taught kids, found that home-schooled students slept an average of 90 minutes more per night than students attending public or private schools. By the end of the week, that's almost an entire...

Whole Foods, the natural foods kingpin, is planning an upscale health resort where guests could stay and learn about a healthier lifestyle. "We have the perfect vehicle for this," says Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey, who has not discussed the plan with other media. "Think of it as a center where people would go for a day, a weekend or a week for healthy lifestyle education." The resort - which...

March 14 - HUDSON - Expanding Medicaid would be pragmatic, save the state millions in the long haul and would immediately provide health care coverage to 38,000 people now without it, according to the head of a state hospital association and an official with a state health care advocacy group. New Hampshire is considering expanding Medicaid. Legislation that would bar the expansion is pending before...

Dr. Wayne Taylor never had time or inclination to talk with patients about their insurance coverage. His office staff dealt with the money. He just tried to get patients healthy. But after battling an aggressive form of leukemia, Taylor shifted his focus beyond his identity as a doctor. Which is why Wednesday, three years after that diagnosis, he attended a legislative committee in Tallahassee for...

March 13 - A Marylander has died of rabies for the first time since 1976, state health officials said Tuesday. It is not yet known how the person contracted the virus, which is found in animals across the state. Officials are exploring how and where the person was exposed to the virus and assessing the risk of rabies exposure to those who had direct contact with the individual. That risk is thought...

March 13 - TAMPA - Jason Dominic is used to the congestion and coughing that come with allergies. He's never seen a year like this, though. Dominic, 42, said this is the worst allergy season he's wheezed through in his 22 years in Florida. "The trees are kind of screwed up," the Tampa resident said. "The plants don't know what to do, so the pollen is coming and going." The atypical season has people...

March 13 - In honor of National Nutrition Month, I asked a few local nutritionists to tell me some of their favorite dishes and what they liked about them. Here's what they had to say: Nutritionist: Rebecca Subbiah Recipe: Sauteed Okra with Coconut What's to Like: Subbiah, a native of England, learned this dish from her husband, a native of India. She liked it so much that it prompted her to grow okra...

March 13 - GETTYSBURG, Pa. Today's human diet reflects our modern world. Human development, however, does not. Bill Schindler, an anthropology professor at Washington College in Chestertown, spoke at Gettysburg College recently on how a look at prehistoric eating habits can improve our modern-day diets. Following his talk, he and students prepared a meal using many of the techniques he advocates. Schindler...

March 13 - A direct result of the booming food culture is that the average diner has become more discerning. We're exposed to everything from the gastronomic gems in our own communities to global cuisines, via everything from food trucks to blogs and television. So it was only a matter of time before the ground began shifting around kids' menus, that ubiquitous lineup of chicken strips, corn dogs,...