May 2012 - NPR Health Blog - The Network of Care

CDC Cuts Lead-Poisoning Limit For Kids

The public health honchos agreed with an expert panel that recommended in January that anything greater than 5 micrograms per deciliter of blood for kids 5 and younger should be considered dangerous. That's half the current standard and represents...

Published Wed, May 16 2012 2:22 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Buyers Of Hyped Skechers 'Toning Shoes' Can Get Refunds

Skechers has agreed to pay $40 million to settle claims that it deceived its customers by saying its Shape-ups shoes would be help people who wore them shed pounds and tone their abs, buttocks and legs, the Federal Trade Commission said. Read More...

Published Wed, May 16 2012 9:33 AM by Shots - Health Blog

FDA Delays Sunscreen Label Redo

Almost a year ago, the Food and Drug Administration proposed a slew of new rules to make the labels of sunscreens more helpful and realistic. To avert summer shortages, the agency has delayed implementation until December for most companies. Read More...

Published Wed, May 16 2012 8:35 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Poll: Americans Show Support For Compensation Of Organ Donors

Federal law bans payments for organs. But about 60 percent of Americans support health care credits as compensation for organ donors, the NPR-Thomson Reuters Health Poll finds. Read More...

Published Wed, May 16 2012 12:00 AM by Shots - Health Blog

U.S. Funding Of HIV/AIDS Fight Overseas Carries Other Benefits

Has the massive amount the United States has to treat people with HIV in poor countries crowded out prevention and treatment of other diseases? An analysis of health data from nine countries in Africa suggests that's not the case. Read More...

Published Tue, May 15 2012 3:10 PM by Shots - Health Blog

You May Be Among The Things That Go Bump In The Night

Some 3.6 percent of adults engaged in "nocturnal wandering," as the researchers put it, in the year before they answered questions during an interview for a study. One percent reported having two or more episodes of sleepwalking a month. Read...

Published Tue, May 15 2012 12:49 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Cost Of Cancer Pills Can Be Hard For Medicare Patients To Swallow

How some insurers pay for treatments means that cancer pills can wind up costing a patient more than an IV. Some states have passed laws to make sure that patients don't have to pay more to take pills. But those laws don't apply to Medicare. Read...

Published Tue, May 15 2012 6:43 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Should Parents Be Able To Sue For 'Wrongful Birth'?

Several states are debating "wrongful birth" laws that would prevent parents from suing a doctor who fails to warn them about fetal problems. Critics say the laws give doctors the right to withhold information so women don't have abortions...

Published Tue, May 15 2012 12:01 AM by Shots - Health Blog

To Fight HIV, Indian Health Workers Say Homosexuality Must Be Legal

Public health workers are advocating to keep homosexuality legal to fight against HIV/AIDS. India's Supreme Court began a six-week-long recess today without ruling on homosexuality, which has captivated many in the country. Read More...

Published Mon, May 14 2012 4:33 PM by Shots - Health Blog

In Talent Hunt, Some Businesses Offer Health Benefits For Same-Sex Couples

Last year, a little more than half of employers offered health benefits for domestic partner according to a nationally representative sample of about 3,000 employers surveyed by benefit consultant Mercer. That's up from a little less than one-third...

Published Mon, May 14 2012 1:53 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Jobs And College Pose New Challenges For Young People With Autism

Within the first six years of getting out of high school, a little more than one-third of young people previously diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder had gone to college and only a slim majority — 55 percent — had held paying jobs. Read More.....

Published Mon, May 14 2012 11:15 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Doctors' Due Diligence: Measuring Kids' Blood Pressure

With the rising incidence of obesity, comes the rising incidence of the health-related problems it causes. Pediatricians report seeing high blood pressure, heart disease and even certain cancers — diseases previously considered problems among adults only...

Published Mon, May 14 2012 12:27 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Alzheimer's Patients Turn To Stories Instead Of Memories

Storytelling can be a way of giving people with dementia a low-stress way to communicate, one that does not rely on their memories. And it can give caregivers a chance to reconnect with their loved ones. Read More...

Published Mon, May 14 2012 12:26 AM by Shots - Health Blog

FDA Gets Advice To Approve First Pill To Cut HIV Infections

A panel of experts said that Truvada, a daily pill, could help protect healthy people at high risk for HIV infection. The benefits, in their view, outweigh possible side effects, including kidney damage and a dangerous increase in acid in the blood. Read...

Published Fri, May 11 2012 7:14 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Use Of Tanning Beds Common, Despite Cancer Risks

But the most likely adult users, as you might have guessed, are women between 18 and 25. Around 30 percent of white women in that age group had used an indoor tanning machine of some sort in 2010. Read More...

Published Thu, May 10 2012 12:41 PM by Shots - Health Blog

May 2012 - NPR Health Blog

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