Health regulators from the United States approved Roche’s drug to treat the most common form of skin cancer, called basal cell carcinoma. Erivedge is the drug that’s co-developed by Curis Inc. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration a month ahead of its expected decision date. The FDA approved the drug for use by adults whose cancer could not be treated with surgery or radiation or whose condition has spread to other parts of the body or returned after surgery. Erivedge, also known... 

According to a survey of 3,000 adults in Massachusetts in late 2010, the state has shown substantial progress on its health reform measures between 2006 and 2010. About nine million Americans lost health insurance coverage during the downturn in 2010 but none of them lived in Massachusetts. In 2010, 6 percent of nonelderly adults in Massachusetts spent 10 percent or more of family income on out-of-pocket health care costs. This was lower than in 2006. Between 2006 and 2010, the number of adults with... 

According to the researchers from the National Institute of Health, Asian women have higher estrogen levels when drinking 200 milligrams or more of caffeine each day. This is equivalent to two cups of coffee. The study was posted online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. White women who drank the same amount tend to have lower estrogen levels than those who didn’t have the same amount of caffeine. African American women who drank the same amount as Asian and white women were also observed... 

Diabetes drug Bydureon is approved by the FDA, which made it the first once-weekly treatment for type 2 disease. The announcement was made by drug manufacturers Alkermes and Amylin. It came after years of negotiations with the agency with regards to the formulation of the injectable glucagon-like peptide receptor agonist. The once-weekly treatment was first submitted for approval to the FDA in 2009 but there were questions about its manufacturing process and the possible cardiovascular side effect.... 

A new study showed that at least 7 percent of American teens and adults have the human papillomavirus in their mouths. This could explain why the rates of throat and mouth cancer have increased in the past 25 years. Researchers said that oral sex practices play an important role in the transmission of the disease. The new report was published by the Journal of the American Medical Association Thursday. The organization was the first to study the prevalence of oral HPV infection in the United States... 

Device manufacturers want the government and health insurers to cover weight-loss surgery. This would give millions of obese Americans access to such treatments. Advocates said that obese people need weight-loss surgery as an option to fight their condition that can be the cause of dangerous illnesses. This could also result to billions of dollars saved in healthcare costs for the government and employers. Those who oppose it said that bariatric surgery has high rates of complications and it doesn’t... 

Cases of flu have been down in the United States this year but experts still warn people about the unpredictable state of the virus. Tom Skinner of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that they observed low activity around the United States. He maintained that the flu season peaks in the first few months of the year. They expect cases of flu to increases as February nears. Health-care providers concurred with the observations. Both the East and West Coasts show low activity of... 

Stem cell therapy was found to be safe in treating macular degeneration. This is the first application of human embryonic stem cells. Researchers found evidence of improvement in vision of the two patients involved in the study. The patients have severe vision loss and show two different forms of macular degeneration. The use of stem cells has been controversial because they come from human embryos. The researchers said that stem cells could pose technical challenges, such as risks of rejection,... 

The US Food and Drug Administration is said to be approving prescription drugs from marijuana soon. 25 years ago, the FDA first approved drugs based on pot. Now other drugs may be approved by the agency and this is due to the efforts made by GW Pharma. GW Pharma, a UK based company, is now doing advanced research on the first drug that is made from raw marijuana. It is designed to be used as a mouth spray that can aid people suffering from cancer. It helps them relieve the pain associated with the... 

According to a study from the Guttmacher Institute and World Health Organization, the decline of abortion rates across the globe has stopped. The study, called Induced Abortion: Incidence and Trends Worldwide from 1995 to 2008 by Glida Sedgh et al., stated that the total number of terminations per 1,000 women from the age of 15 to 44 years has decreased from 35 per 1,000 to 29 per 1,000 between 1995 and 2003, and 28 per 1,000 in 2008. The United Nations said that the stall in abortion rates happened...