After determining that the drug Provenge is actually effective for treating prostate cancer, Medicare will pay for the drug as part of the therapy for prostate cancer treatment, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The study confirmed that the use of Provenge did improve the health outcome for patients with no symptoms or only a few symptoms of metastatic regarding castrate-resistant prostate cancer, and so the need to pay for it was decided to be a necessary action. In addition,... 

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals that though two-thirds of the American population have sufficient levels of vitamin D, about a third either had insufficient levels or were deficient in the sunshine vitamin. Anne Looker, a research scientist with the CDC, analyzed data obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, conducted from 2001 to 2006, to arrive at the conclusion. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, collects ... 

According to a recently released study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine this week, there is little to no health risk in using the full body scanners at the airports. The article was based on a study that was geared towards determining what the risk may be from the backscatter X-ray type of scanners now in use at some airports in the security lanes. Over the past year or so, the Transportation Security Administration installed about 500 of the full-body scanners in U.S. airports and... 

  Persistently elevated blood sugar levels are the cause for several serious complications like strokes, heart attacks, renal failure, and nerve damage in diabetic smokers and a new study has pinpointed nicotine as the culprit responsible for this, out of over 4,000 chemicals that cigarette smoke contains. “If you have diabetes and if you are a smoker, you should be concerned about this,” says Xiao-Chuan Liu, PhD, lead author of the study and researcher at California State Polytechnic... 

  Cancer of the colon and the rectum, called colorectal cancer is the second deadliest cancer afflicting Americans according to the American Cancer Society. However, one test- the invasive, screening colonoscopy can help early detection, prevent the spread of the disease  and save lives. National Colorectal Cancer Awareness is observed during the month of March, to make people aware of the importance of screenings; once in every 10 years for people above age 50 and more often and at a younger... 

Hospitals and nursing homes in Los Angeles are closely watching the appearance of a drug resistant germ that has caused 350 infections of Klebsiella pneumonia, or CRKP. The outbreaks were counted during the past seven months by the Los Angeles Country Department of Health. More than half of the CRKP cases came out of acute care hospitals, with 41 percent in long term hospitals and six percent in area nursing homes. The germs usually hit older patients who must remain in medical or nursing facilities... 

A recent test study showed that there could be an increased risk for breast cancer among women who took the drug diogoxin, which is used for treating heart disease. More than two million Danish women who took the drug were involved in the study, which was done by Dr. Robert Biggar of Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark. The women, ages 30 and older, were tracked through the country’s prescription and cancer databases and were watched for about 12 years. The study showed that it didn’t... 

A recent study done in California suggests that melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, is more likely to occur in white women living in wealthy neighborhoods. The study was published in the Archives of Dermatology journal. The study found that surprisingly, the income levels of the women seemed to affect the rate women got the disease more than if they lived in an area with a high ultraviolet radiation level. It was thought this was due to some women in higher incomes frequenting tanning salons,... 

The Neurological Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee to the FDA has given its backing to a new device that may help to kill cancer cells and break up brain umors. Patients want the FDA to give complete approval to the new device, called a NovoTTF(tumor treating fields)-100A, which they say seems to give them a better quality of life. The machine is non-invasive and produces alternating electrical fields produced by unique insulated electrodes which are put on the scalp of the... 

  A research team at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), led by Dr Thomas Wang, M.D., of the MGH Cardiovascular Research Center and Division of Cardiology, has developed a simple blood test that could predict for healthy individuals, their susceptibility to diabetes, at least ten years before the symptoms make their appearance. Though earlier studies found elevated levels of certain amino acids in obese people and in those who were insulin resistant, the researchers had not analyzed...