NPR Health Blog

Mitt Romney's Shifting Stance On Health Care

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said Sunday that he might not want to repeal the entire Affordable Care Act after all. He said he supports the provision that assures people with pre-existing health conditions can get coverage. Read More.....

Published Mon, Sep 10 2012 2:34 PM by Shots - Health Blog

When Heat Kills: Global Warming As Public Health Threat

Emerging science shows that people respond more favorably to warnings about climate change when it's portrayed as a health issue, rather than an environmental problem. Should the symbol for danger be a child instead of a polar bear? Read More...

Published Mon, Sep 10 2012 12:08 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Let Sleepless Babies Cry (For A While), If They Want To

Researcher say parents don't need to worry about their babies being emotionally scarred by crying while they're learning to sleep. Techniques like controlled comforting and camping out for managing infant sleep are quite OK, they say. Read More...

Published Mon, Sep 10 2012 11:01 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Doctors Take Aim At Epidemic Kidney Stones With Lasers

A recent study found one in 10 American men and one in 14 women has had a kidney stone. Being obese or diabetic seems to raise the risk of getting them. Now lasers are becoming the treatment-of-choice for kidney stones in academic medical centers. Read...

Published Mon, Sep 10 2012 12:27 AM by Shots - Health Blog

How Broken Is The U.S. Health Care System? Let's Count The Ways

Nearly a third of spending on health care in the U.S. is wasted. There's lots of inefficiency, excess overhead and some outright fraud, too. But the biggest slice of the waste pie is unnecessary care. Read More...

Published Fri, Sep 07 2012 1:40 PM by Shots - Health Blog

X-Ray Tests May Heighten Cancer Risk In Susceptible Women

Researchers concluded that exposure to diagnostic radiation before age 30 is associated with an increased *** cancer risk in women with a certain genetic mutation. They recommend that if a girl or young woman needs diagnostic evaluation via X-ray or CT...

Published Fri, Sep 07 2012 6:57 AM by Shots - Health Blog

'Test And Treat' Strategy For Curbing HIV Draws Questions

Testing everyone for HIV and then giving them early treatment could theoretically eliminate the epidemic in South Africa. A mathematical model of this "test and treat" strategy suggest that it might be more expensive and take significantly longer...

Published Thu, Sep 06 2012 1:35 PM by Shots - Health Blog

How Americans Think About Screening

There are conflicting guidelines on when women should get mammograms and mounting questions on when the PSA blood test for prostate cancer is worthwhile. We asked how people are sorting things out. Read More...

Published Thu, Sep 06 2012 11:05 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Detergent Packs Lead To Injuries Overseas, Too

A Scottish cluster of injuries caused by kids swallowing liquid detergent packs highlights risks from the popular products. In August, there were 735 calls to U.S. poison control centers about children under 5 being exposed to laundry packs, up from 725...

Published Thu, Sep 06 2012 6:53 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Vaginal Ring Protects Monkeys From HIV-Like Infection

A vaginal ring that releases a drug against HIV shows promise in an animal study as a way to prevent infections. The results bolster hopes that an ongoing clinical trial of a similar ring in people will prove to be successful. Read More...

Published Wed, Sep 05 2012 1:13 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Scientists Unveil 'Google Maps' For Human Genome

For decades, scientists thought that most of our genetic code was essentially useless filler between our genes. But the results of a massive project to understand this so-called junk DNA reveal that it contains switches that control how genes function...

Published Wed, Sep 05 2012 10:21 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Insurer's Files Show Big Cost Differences For Same Illnesses

Some of the cost variations from a UnitedHealthcare database are startling. For treating a basic asthma episode, cases in the 10th percentile of distribution cost $98 each while those in the 90th percentile the cost was $1,535 per case. Read More...

Published Wed, Sep 05 2012 8:06 AM by Shots - Health Blog

High Blood Pressure: Often Recognized, But Still Poorly Controlled

Most adults with high blood pressure are being treated these days. But more than half of all Americans with hypertension still haven't got it under control. Read More...

Published Tue, Sep 04 2012 2:06 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Zanzibar Shows Cholera Vaccine Can Protect Even The Unvaccinated

The results comes from Zanzibar, an island state of Kenya, where half the people in six rural and urban areas received two doses of oral cholera vaccine. The vaccinations led to fewer bacteria circulating, lowering the infection risks even for those who...

Published Tue, Sep 04 2012 10:23 AM by Shots - Health Blog

More Employers' Health Plans Include Benefits For Transgender People

Medical groups, such as the American Medical Association recommend coverage of services for transgender people. Some companies have moved ahead with benefits, but others have held back. One of their big worries is cost. Read More...

Published Tue, Sep 04 2012 8:02 AM by Shots - Health Blog

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