TimesLeader.com

Study suggests good cheer may spread itself - 12/04/2008

When you're smiling, the whole world really does smile with you. A paper being published Friday in a British medical journal concludes that happiness is contagious _ and that people pass on their good cheer even to total strangers. American researchers who tracked more than 4,700 people in Framingham, Mass., as part of a 20-year heart study also

Brain-injured troops face unclear long-term risks - 12/04/2008

Many of the thousands of troops who suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan are at risk of long-term health problems including depression and Alzheimer's-like dementia, but it's impossible to predict how high those risks are, researchers say. About 22 percent of wounded troops have a brain injury, concluded the prest

Measles deaths drop worldwide, report estimates - 12/04/2008

Measles deaths worldwide declined dramatically to about 200,000 a year, continuing a successful trend, global health authorities reported Thursday. From 2000 to 2007, annual measles deaths dropped 74 percent, largely because of vaccination campaigns, according to a report from the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Diseas

Study raps Web sites touting stem cell therapies - 12/03/2008

Consumers should be wary of Web sites from clinics that offer stem cell treatments, says a study that found a lack of firm medical evidence to back up their claims. The Web sites in the study generally portrayed their therapies as safe, effective and ready for routine use, but published research doesn't support that "overoptimistic" pi

• Cleveland Clinic disclosing doctors' business ties

• British conjoined twin dies after surgery

• Report: Young doctors still too tired for safety

• Brain waves are window into autism language woes

• 1 in 5 young adults has personality disorder

• Patient photos aid docs reading faceless CT scans

• Depression leads to internal fat in 70-somethings

• Deadlines for other inhalers to go eco-friendly

• Asthma inhalers to go 'green' on Dec. 31

• Study shows families' financial strain from autism

• Some doctors may give up vaccines because of cost

• Global AIDS crisis overblown? Some dare to say so

• FDA sets melamine standard for baby formula

• Obama to broaden role of genetics in medical care

• Patients treat serious illness as laughing matter

• Patient-led drug trials defy medical establishment