Doctors, hospitals expect some confusion as Obamacare plans start

Hospitals and medical practices across the United States are bracing for confusion and administrative hassles as new insurance plans under President Barack Obama's healthcare law take effect on Wednesday. More than 2 million people enrolled in private plans offered under the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, during the initial sign-up period for health benefits starting January 1. Over time, the law - which requires most Americans to buy insurance, offers subsidies to help low-income people get covered and sets minimum standards for coverage - aims to dramatically reduce the number of Americans who lack health insurance, which the U.S. government has estimated at more than 45 million. After a difficult October launch plagued by problems with the website used to enroll people in coverage, the focus now for the government and healthcare providers has turned to what will happen beginning Wednesday, when patients with the new coverage start to seek care.

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New Year's resolution: farm fitness (no gym required)

The Guardian (blog)New Year's resolution: farm fitness (no gym required)The Guardian (blog)In fitness terms, it involves bending over the the sheep queued in the race, hopefully holding your core muscles in to save your back, while grabbing the lamb around the snout and quickly shooting a dose down the side of its mouth. Depending on the ...

U.S. justice grants exemption in contraception mandate challenge

By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Roman Catholic Church-affiliated organizations on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to block implementation of a part of the Obamacare healthcare law that requires employers to provide insurance policies that cover contraception. Catholic University of America and nonprofits in Michigan and Tennessee were among those filing three separate applications asking the court to temporarily exempt them from the so-called contraception mandate while litigation continues. The mandate, which is due to take effect for the organizations on January 1, is already in place for many women who have private health insurance. The court did not immediately respond to the applications.

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Teens And Docs Abstain From Sex Talk

In annual physicals, teens and docs failed to talk sex a third of the time and usually too briefly when the subject was addressed. Dina Fine Maron reports.



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Gay couple to exchange vows on Rose Parade float

By Dana Feldman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A gay Los Angeles couple plans to exchange wedding vows on a flower-covered float trundling through Pasadena during the nationally televised Tournament of Roses Parade on Wednesday, capping a momentous year for same-sex marriage in the United States. The planned nuptials of Danny Leclair, 45, and Aubrey Loots, 42, who have been together for 12 years and own a chain of hair salons, will mark the first same-sex marriage on a Rose Parade float in the 125-year history of the annual event, organizers say. But it won't be the only wedding ever to have been performed on one of the Rose Parade's flower petal-bedecked floats on national television. Leclair and Loots plan to make it official aboard a float shaped like a wedding cake coated in white coconut chips, accented with red kidney beans and festooned with 12,000 roses and other floral decorations, said Ged Kenslea, a spokesman for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.



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Former first lady Barbara Bush hospitalized in Houston

(Reuters) - Former first lady Barbara Bush has been hospitalized in Houston for treatment of early signs of a "respiratory-related issue," her husband's office said on Tuesday. Bush, 88, one of only two women to be both the wife and mother of U.S. presidents, was admitted on Monday to Methodist Hospital in Houston's Texas Medical Center, the statement said. "She is in great spirits, has already received visits from her husband and family, and is receiving fantastic care," the office of former President George H.W. Bush said in a written statement. Bush is the wife of George H.W. Bush, the 41st president, and mother of George W. Bush, the 43.

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West Nile virus blamed for death of bald eagles in Utah

An unprecedented wintertime outbreak of West Nile virus has killed more than two dozen bald eagles in Utah and thousands of water birds around the Great Salt Lake, state wildlife officials said on Tuesday. At least 27 bald eagles have died this month in the northern and central parts of Utah from the blood-borne virus, and state biologists reported that five more ailing eagles were responding to treatment at rehabilitation centers. The eagles, whose symptoms included leg paralysis and tremors, are believed to have contracted the disease by preying on sick or dead water birds called eared grebes that were infected by the West Nile virus, said Leslie McFarlane, Utah wildlife disease coordinator. Some 20,000 of the water birds have died in and around the Great Salt Lake since November in an outbreak that may be a record in North America, McFarlane said.

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Schumacher slightly better but fragile: doctors

By Lucien Libert GRENOBLE, France (Reuters) - French doctors treating Michael Schumacher for brain injuries sustained in a ski fall said the seven-times Formula One world champion was in slightly better condition on Tuesday after an overnight operation, but that he remained fragile. Doctors treating him at a hospital in the eastern city of Grenoble said his condition had stabilized enough by late Monday to carry out a new operation to treat the effects of internal bleeding within Schumacher's skull. "We have won some time but we must continue an hour-by-hour surveillance... It is premature to speculate on his condition," he said, adding that Schumacher was still in a critical state and suffering from severe lesions and contusions. He said the operation was designed to reduce, within Schumacher's skull, the pressure on the brain.

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Catholic groups ask U.S. Supreme Court to block contraception coverage

By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Roman Catholic Church-affiliated organizations on Tuesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block implementation of a part of the Obamacare healthcare law that requires employers to provide insurance policies that cover contraception. Catholic University of America and non-profits in Michigan and Tennessee were among those filing three separate applications asking the court to exempt them temporarily from the so-called contraception mandate while litigation continues. The mandate, which is due to take effect for the organizations on January 1, is already in place for many women who have private health insurance. The court did not immediately respond to the applications.

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Wal-Mart offers 30 days of prescriptions to backlogged Obamacare enrollees

(Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Tuesday it will provide a month's supply of certain prescriptions at no upfront cost to participants of U.S. President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law who have not yet received a plan identification number. The move by Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, comes a day after Walgreen Co instituted a similar practice. Wal-Mart said it will fill up to a 30-day supply of prescriptions through the end of January for customers who have enrolled in Obamacare, but do not have an ID yet from an insurer. It was not immediately clear if Wal-Mart would seek reimbursement once customers obtain their Obamacare IDs, though Walgreen said it would do so.

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Catholic groups ask U.S. Supreme Court to block contraception coverage

By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Roman Catholic Church-affiliated organizations on Tuesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block implementation of a part of the Obamacare healthcare law that requires employers to provide insurance policies that cover contraception. Catholic University of America and nonprofits in Michigan and Tennessee were among those filing three separate applications asking the court to temporarily exempt them from the so-called contraception mandate while litigation continues. The mandate, which is due to take effect for the organizations on January 1, is already in place for many women who have private health insurance. The court did not immediately respond to the applications.

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Firm in Virginia governor's supplement scandal gets FDA warning

By Ian Simpson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The company at the heart of a scandal involving the Virginia governor's promotion of one of its dietary supplement products, has received a warning from the Food and Drug Administration, the agency said on Tuesday. The FDA sent a letter to Star Scientific Inc on December 20, saying it was making claims on its website about the supplement, Anatabloc, that would require its approval as a drug, the FDA said on its website. Star Scientific has been at the center of a scandal involving Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell, a Republican whose term ends next month. Federal authorities are investigating the relationship between McDonnell and Star Scientific founder and former Chief Executive Jonnie Williams Sr, who sought state help promoting Anatabloc.



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West Nile virus blamed for death of eagles in Utah

An unusual wintertime outbreak of West Nile virus has killed more than two dozen bald eagles in Utah and thousands of shore birds around the Great Salt Lake, state wildlife officials said on Tuesday. At least 27 bald eagles have died this month in the northern and central parts of Utah from the blood-borne virus, and state biologists reported that five more ailing eagles were responding to treatment at rehabilitation centers. The eagles are believed to have contracted the disease by preying on sick or dead shore birds called eared grebes that were infected by West Nile virus, said Leslie McFarlane, Utah wildlife disease coordinator. The water birds have died by the thousands in and around the Great Salt Lake since November.

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Teen eating disorders may impact weight later: study

By Kathleen Raven NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Young teens who binge eat and those who are fearful of weight gain may be more likely to become overweight later in adolescence, according to a new study from the United Kingdom. Researchers looked for early symptoms of eating disorders among more than 7,000 13-year-olds and found certain symptoms predicted which children would have weight problems at age 15. Both boys and girls who severely restricted their eating at 13 had lower BMIs when they were two years older. "The most important message is that even at this young age, a high percentage of boys and girls have worrying eating disorders symptoms," Dr. Nadia Micali told Reuters Health in an email.



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Judge strikes down Florida law mandating drug tests for welfare

(Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday struck down a Florida law requiring drug screening for welfare recipients, saying that it violated the constitutional protection against unreasonable searches. Florida Governor Rick Scott, a Republican who campaigned on a promise to expand drug testing, said he would appeal the ruling. The law took effect in July 2011 and required parents to undergo and pay for urine tests for illegal drugs when they applied for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a federal-state program that helps poor people with children pay for food, shelter and necessities. Enforcement of the law was temporarily halted in October 2011 after the American Civil Liberties Union sued, arguing that mandatory testing of people who were not suspected of using drugs violated the constitutional prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures.



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Vitamin E may slow Alzheimer's disease progression

Researchers say vitamin E might slow the progression of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease — the first time any treatment has been shown to alter the course of dementia at that stage.

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Vitamin E may slow early Alzheimer's decline: study

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking vitamin E during the early stages of Alzheimer's disease slowed declines in patients' ability to perform basic tasks by about six months in a new study. "It will be very interesting to see to what extent this will change practice," Dr. Maurice Dysken said. Researchers have studied vitamin E for possible benefits in slowing the progression of Alzheimer's, but those studies have yielded mixed results. For example, the researchers write in JAMA, past research has found the vitamin slowed disease progression in people with moderately severe Alzheimer's. But the vitamin was not effective at slowing the transition to Alzheimer's for people with so-called mild cognitive impairment, which typically precedes Alzheimer's. To see whether vitamin E - or a combination of the vitamin with memantine, a drug approved in the U.S. to treat Alzheimer's - would slow the rate of decline in people with mild to moderate forms of the disease, the researchers recruited 613 trial participants from 14 Veterans Affairs medical centers.



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Antioxidants in diet linked to cataract risk

By Kathryin Doyle NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who eat foods rich in antioxidants may have a lower risk of cataracts as they age, according to a new Swedish analysis. "Oxidative damage of the eye lens caused by free radicals has been suggested to be crucial in development of cataract," said Susanne Rautiainen of the Institute of Environmental Medicine at the Karolinska Institutet, who led the study. "Previous studies have focused on individual antioxidants obtained from the diet or supplements and they have reported inconsistent results," Rautiainen said. "However, in diet much wider ranges of antioxidants are present than those studied previously." Instead of looking at single antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, and plant flavonoids such as lycopene, the researchers used a measure of total antioxidant values in foods, which takes into account how the nutrients work together.



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Smell Delight Or Disgust Lies In Genes

A floral odor was described by people with one version of a gene as aromatic, but by those with a different variation as sour. Chris Crockett reports.



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Obama's tarnished health care law at a crossroads

WASHINGTON (AP) — The good, bad and unpredictable converge Jan. 1 for President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.



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Over two million have signed up on Obamacare, state websites: U.S. official

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Over two million people have enrolled in health insurance plans through the federally run HealthCare.gov and state healthcare enrollment websites, a U.S. administration official said on Tuesday. HealthCare.gov covers 36 states, and another 14 states have their own websites. While short of the 3.3 million enrollees the Obama administration was hoping for by now under what has become known as "Obamacare," the number is a dramatic improvement from a month ago - when barely 150,000 had signed up because of technical problems with HealthCare.gov. ...

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Boy Who Fought 'Under12 Rule' Gets Lung Transplant

Bronx Boy Underwent Double Lung Transplant

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Cholesterol linked to Alzheimer's protein, unclear why

By Shereen Jegtvig NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patterns of "good" and "bad" cholesterol usually associated with heart risks also predicted the levels of Alzheimer's-related beta amyloid protein seen in the brains of study participants. "One of the important themes emerging from dementia research over the past 15 years is that there are intriguing connections between vascular disease and Alzheimer's disease," Bruce Reed, who led the research, told Reuters Health by email. "It has become increasingly clear that what have been traditionally thought of as vascular risk factors - things like hypertension, diabetes and elevated cholesterol - are also risk factors for Alzheimer's disease," Reed said. In previous work, Reed and his colleagues found a connection between overall vascular risk and levels of brain amyloid.

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Racer in 2009 crash recalls brain injury struggle

GRENOBLE, France (AP) — Daniel Albrecht counts himself among the lucky. The Swiss Alpine racer left spectators gasping in horror when he lost control during a training run in January 2009, landing on his back and sliding down the icy slope.

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Six new cases of MERS virus hit Saudi Arabia, UAE

Another five people in Saudi Arabia and one in the United Arab Emirates have become infected with the potentially deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday. The new infections, including one fatal case in a 73-year-old Saudi man and three in Saudi health workers who showed no adverse symptoms, bring the total confirmed cases of the respiratory disease to 176, of which 74 have died, the United Nations health agency said. MERS emerged in the Middle East in 2012 and is from the same family as the SARS virus. Although the worldwide number of MERS infections is fairly small, the more than 40 percent death rate among confirmed cases and the spread of the virus beyond the Middle East is keeping scientists and public health officials on alert.



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Going from Good to Great with Complex Tasks

Going from Good to Great with Complex Tasks



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Federal health care sign-ups pass 1 million mark

HONOLULU (AP) — The government's rehabilitated health insurance website has seen a December surge in customer sign-ups, pushing enrollment past the 1 million mark, the Obama administration says.

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TAKE A LOOK-Michael Schumacher accident

Dec 31 (Reuters) - Michael Schumacher remains in a Grenoble hospital after suffering brain injuries in a skiing accident. For stories, please double click on the brackets: - - - - LATEST STORIES > Schumacher slightly better but fragile - doctors > Skiing official sees Schumacher recovery chance > F1 racers never lose the need for speed PROFILE > Schumacher an F1 great, if not the greatest FACTBOX > Reactions to Schumacher's accident > Former Formula One world champion Schumacher (Compiled by Pritha Sarkar)



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Boston approves ban on smoking in city-run parks

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Parks and Recreation Commission has approved a ban on smoking in city-run parks.



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Cancer-linked Flame Retardants Eased Out of Furniture in 2014

Cancer-linked Flame Retardants Eased Out of Furniture in 2014



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Motor racing-Schumacher "slightly better" after 2nd op -doctors

(Adds further details from news conference) GRENOBLE, France, Dec 31 (Reuters) - The medical condition of seven-times Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher is slightly better on Tuesday following a second operation during the night to treat head injuries he sustained in a skiing accident, doctors said. "The situation is more under control than yesterday but we cannot say he is out of danger," Jean-Francois Payen, head anaesthetician told a news conference at the CHU hospital in the eastern French city of Grenoble. Emmanuel Gay, head of the hospital's neurosurgery service, said the operation carried out during the night involved removing a large hematoma - the medical term for a build-up of blood - from the left-hand side of Schumacher's brain. He said the operation was designed to reduce, within Schumacher's skull, the pressure on the brain, which suffered injuries including lesions and contusions from Sunday's fall.



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Motor racing-Schumacher "slightly better" after 2nd op - doctors

GRENOBLE, France, Dec 31 (Reuters) - The medical condition of seven-times Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher is slightly better on Tuesday following a second operation during the night to treat head injuries sustained in a skiing accident, doctors said. "The situation is more under control than yesterday but we cannot say that he is out of danger," Jean-Francois Payen, head anaesthetician told a news conference at the CHU hospital in the eastern French city of Grenoble where Schumacher is being treated. ...



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Special Report: Lost hooves, dead cattle before Merck halted Zilmax sales

By P.J. Huffstutter and Tom Polansek WALLA WALLA COUNTY, WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. beef industry's dependence on the muscle-building drug Zilmax began unraveling here, on a sweltering summer day, in the dusty cattle pens outside a Tyson Foods Inc slaughterhouse in southeastern Washington state. Tyson Foods spokesman Gary Mickelson said his company doesn't know exactly what happened to the small group of cattle that were destroyed at the plant near Pasco.

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Schumacher battles for life after ski fall

By Morade Azzouz GRENOBLE, France (Reuters) - Seven-times Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher was fighting for his life on Monday after suffering severe head injuries in a skiing accident in the French Alps resort of Meribel, doctors said. "We can say that his condition is life-threatening," Jean-Francois Payen, head anaesthetician at the CHU hospital in the eastern French city of Grenoble, told a news conference. "For the moment we cannot say what Michael Schumacher's future is," he added. Philippe Quincy, the Albertville public prosecutor, told Reuters an inquiry had been launched on Sunday to identify the causes of the accident.

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Lung cancer scans urged for some smokers, not all

WASHINGTON (AP) — Certain current or former heavy smokers should start getting yearly scans for lung cancer to cut their risk of death from the nation's top cancer killer, government advisers said Monday — even as they stressed that the tests aren't for everyone.



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Calif. girl to remain on ventilator until Jan. 7

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A California girl declared brain dead after tonsil surgery will remain on life support for at least another week after a state judge on Monday extended a deadline.

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China halts imports of Pfizer drug on paperwork glitch

China suspended imports of U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc's AIDS-related drug Diflucan on Tuesday, citing a problem with late paperwork, the country's food and drug watchdog said in a statement on its website. Pfizer, the largest drugmaker in the United States, contravened Chinese law when one of its France-based factories failed to submit a supplementary application on time, the China Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in the statement. With the country's healthcare spending forecast to nearly triple to $1 trillion by 2020 from $357 billion in 2011, according to consulting firm McKinsey, China is a magnet for makers of medicines and medical equipment. Pfizer has taken steps to resolve the issue and is working with China's FDA to ensure its products comply with Chinese law, it said in a statement on its Chinese-language website.

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Schumacher battles for life after ski fall

By Morade Azzouz GRENOBLE, France (Reuters) - Seven-times Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher was fighting for his life on Monday after suffering severe head injuries in a skiing accident in the French Alps resort of Meribel, doctors said. "We can say that his condition is life-threatening," Jean-Francois Payen, head anaesthetician at the CHU hospital in the eastern French city of Grenoble, told a news conference. "For the moment we cannot say what Michael Schumacher's future is," he added. Philippe Quincy, the Albertville public prosecutor, told Reuters an inquiry had been launched on Sunday to identify the causes of the accident.



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Schumacher fighting for his life after ski accident

Former Formula One champion Michael Schumacher was battling for his life in hospital on Monday after a ski injury, doctors said, adding it was too early to say whether he would pull through. "We can say that his condition is life-threatening," Jean-Francois Payen, head anesthetician at the CHU hospital in the eastern French city of Grenoble told a news conference. "For the moment we cannot say what Michael Schumacher's future is," he added. Seven-times Formula One world champion Schumacher was admitted to hospital on Sunday suffering head injuries in an off-piste skiing accident in the French Alps resort of Meribel.



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City cycling may save the planet, but not your lungs: study

Urban cycling, while good for the environment, may pose a risk your health, a new Dublin study has found. Cycling in congested cities could do more harm than good to your heart and lungs, due to the breathing in of dangerous pollutants in the air, the study found. The study, led by Marguerite Nyhan of Trinity College, recruited 32 fit, healthy cyclers who opted for mostly traffic-free routes.

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Avoiding health insurance gaps takes persistence

CHICAGO (AP) — The deadline has passed, and so too the surprise grace period, for signing up for health insurance as part of the nation's health care law.



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Life support extended for girl declared brain dead

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A California judge has ordered a 13-year-old girl declared brain dead to be kept on life support until Jan. 7.



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Oklahoma doctor held for nine deaths linked to prescription drugs

(Reuters) - Texas police have arrested a former Oklahoma doctor on nine counts of homicide and 43 counts of illegal drug distribution for prescribing large doses of addictive medicines to patients he hardly knew in return for bribes, officials said on Monday. William Valuck, 71, was arrested on Friday in Kilgore, Texas and authorities in neighboring states were exchanging information about the case. "At least nine of his patients died from overdoses of the very same drugs he was prescribing in massive doses," the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics said in the affidavit filed in Oklahoma County. The doctor had been working out of an office in Oklahoma City and surrendered his license to practise medicine this month as authorities were closing in on him after a year-long investigation, Oklahoma authorities said.



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Walgreen offers month of prescriptions to backlogged Obamacare enrollees

(Reuters) - Walgreen Co said on Monday it will provide a month's supply of certain prescriptions at no upfront cost to U.S. participants who have not yet received a plan identification number under President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law. The offering comes as U.S. government officials struggle to roll out the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Walgreen, the largest drug store chain in the United States, said customers who have enrolled in Obamacare, but don't have an ID yet from an insurer, can bring proof of their enrollment from now through the end of January to a Walgreen's pharmacy. As soon as the customer receives the ID number, Walgreen will process the insurance claim and the customer at that time may be responsible for any co-pay, Walgreen spokeswoman Markeisha Marshall said.

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Numbers offer complicated story of health care law

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government churns out tons of numbers, but here's one you won't see: 0.0002. That's the percentage of estimated online visitors to healthcare.gov who actually signed up for coverage the first day.



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Family of girl on life support plans to sue

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The family of a 13-year-old California girl who was declared brain dead after a tonsillectomy says they will sue to keep her on life support.



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California brain-dead girl nears deadline for ventilator

By Laila Kearney OAKLAND, Calif (Reuters) - Relatives of a 13-year-old California girl declared brain dead after complications from a tonsillectomy pressed an 11th-hour effort on Monday to get her moved to an extended-care facility as a deadline neared for taking her off a breathing machine. Doctors at Children's Hospital in Oakland have said they intend to disconnect Jahi McMath on Monday evening from a ventilator that has been keeping her heart and lungs going since she lost all brain function more than two weeks ago. An Alameda County Superior Court judge issued a restraining order last week barring the hospital from removing Jahi - without the consent of her family - from the ventilator before 5 p.m. local time on Monday, December 30. The judge then denied a petition from relatives to extend that deadline, after two pediatric neurologists who had examined Jahi affirmed the hospital's medical opinion that the girl was brain dead and beyond recovery.

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Some current, former smokers should get annual lung scans -US panel

Heavy smokers and former heavy smokers should get annual lung cancer screening tests, according to final guidelines issued on Monday by an influential U.S. panel. The final recommendations, issued by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, apply to people aged 55 to 80 whose smoking has put them at high risk of cancer. That includes former heavy smokers who have quit within the past 15 years. Heavy smokers are considered to be those who smoked a pack a day for 30 years, or two packs a day for 15 years.

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California brain-dead girl nears deadline for ventilator

Relatives of a 13-year-old California girl declared brain dead after complications from a tonsillectomy pressed an 11th-hour effort on Monday to get her moved to an extended-care facility as a deadline neared for taking her off a breathing machine. Doctors at Children's Hospital in Oakland have said they intend to disconnect Jahi McMath on Monday evening from a ventilator that has been keeping her heart and lungs going since she lost all brain function more than two weeks ago. An Alameda County Superior Court judge issued a restraining order last week barring the hospital from removing Jahi - without the consent of her family - from the ventilator before 5 p.m. local time on Monday, December 30. The judge then denied a petition from relatives to extend that deadline, after two pediatric neurologists who had examined Jahi affirmed the hospital's medical opinion that the girl was brain dead and beyond recovery.

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Family of girl on life support eyes options

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Without another court action, a California hospital on Monday could unhook a 13-year-old girl from a breathing machine after she was declared brain dead.



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Labia surgeries may be driven by unnatural images

By Shereen Jegtvig New York (Reuters Health) - Women who were initially exposed to images of surgically modified female genitalia were more likely to consider them 'normal' and 'ideal' when later comparing them to unaltered genitalia, Australian researchers report. Labiaplasty is an increasingly popular cosmetic surgery to reduce the size of a woman's labia minora and make them more symmetrical so they don't protrude beyond the labia majora. The number of labiaplasties performed by the UK National Health Service has risen five-fold since 2001, according to the new study's authors. "I think that the rise in genital cosmetic surgery for women is a very worrying trend.



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Decision aids reduce mammograms among older women

By Kathryn Doyle NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women over 75 who learned more about the risks and benefits of mammogram screenings were less likely to go through with the test in a new study. Women should have a mammogram - an X-ray of the breast tissue scanning for early signs of cancer - every two years between ages 50 and 74, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. According to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a government-backed expert panel, there isn't enough evidence to recommend for or against mammograms for older women. A woman's choice to have a mammogram past the age of 75 should be based on her life expectancy, risk of disease and personal preference, study author Dr. Mara A. Schonberg told Reuters Health.



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Most minority patients cared for by non-white docs

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More than half of U.S. minority patients are cared for by doctors who are also minorities, according to a new analysis. Using data from a 2010 U.S. survey, researchers found that about 54 percent of minority patients report their doctors are not white. That number was even greater - about 70 percent - among non-English speaking patients. These individuals were more likely than other patients to be served by a minority physician," Dr. Lyndonna Marrast said.



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NYC sues FedEx for illegally shipping cigarettes to homes

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City has sued FedEx Corp, accusing the package delivery company of illegally delivering millions of contraband cigarettes to people's homes, violating a 2006 settlement. Monday's lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan and seeks $52 million of civil fines and unpaid taxes from FedEx, which is based in Memphis, Tennessee. It marks one of the last acts by the administration of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose more than decade-old campaign to ban smoking in various public and private places has been credited with saving thousands of lives and become a blueprint for other cities. According to the city, FedEx created a "public nuisance" through its partnership with Shinnecock Smoke Shop, located on the Shinnecock Indian Nation reservation in Southampton, New York, to ship untaxed cigarettes to residential homes.

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Special Report: Lost hooves, dead cattle before Merck halted Zilmax sales

By P.J. Huffstutter and Tom Polansek WALLA WALLA COUNTY, WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. beef industry's dependence on the muscle-building drug Zilmax began unraveling here, on a sweltering summer day, in the dusty cattle pens outside a Tyson Foods Inc slaughterhouse in southeastern Washington state. Tyson Foods spokesman Gary Mickelson said his company doesn't know exactly what happened to the small group of cattle that were destroyed at the plant near Pasco.

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Thicker brain sections tied to spirituality: study

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For people at high risk of depression because of a family history, spirituality may offer some protection for the brain, a new study hints. Parts of the brain's outer layer, the cortex, were thicker in high-risk study participants who said religion or spirituality was "important" to them versus those who cared less about religion. "Our beliefs and our moods are reflected in our brain and with new imaging techniques we can begin to see this," Myrna Weissman told Reuters Health. "The brain is an extraordinary organ.



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Donors pitch in to pay for surgery for extremely obese Texas girl

Nearly 1,500 donors have pledged more than $62,000 to help pay for surgery for a 12-year-old Texas girl diagnosed as morbidly obese due to a brain disease that is causing her to gain about two pounds a week. Alexis Shapiro suffered damage to her pituitary gland, which helps regulate weight, as a result of the brain disease. Her extreme excess of body fat is clinically defined as morbid obesity. She cannot do the things she used to love," Jennifer Shapiro, her mother, said on the fundraising site GoFundMe.



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Arizona woman held in Christmas slaying of daughter

Police said Connie Villa, 35, phoned her ex-husband on Christmas and asked him to come to her apartment in Casa Grande, about 40 miles south of Phoenix. Adam Villa, 33, escaped and drove to a hospital while calling for help. When police arrived at the apartment, they found Villa's daughter Aniarael Macias dead in the bathroom, the Casa Grande Police Department said in a statement.



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U.S. health official who oversaw building Obamacare website to retire

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health official Michelle Snyder, who oversaw the building of the troubled Obamacare website HealthCare.gov, is retiring from her job as chief operating officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS chief Marilyn Tavenner announced Snyder's departure in a statement that said Snyder had originally planned to retire at the end of 2012 but had stayed on at Tavenner's request to "help me with the challenges facing CMS in 2013." (Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)



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Schumacher battles for life after ski fall

By Morade Azzouz GRENOBLE, France (Reuters) - Seven-times Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher was fighting for his life on Monday after suffering severe head injuries in a skiing accident in the French Alps resort of Meribel, doctors said. "We can say that his condition is life-threatening," Jean-Francois Payen, head anaesthetician at the CHU hospital in the eastern French city of Grenoble, told a news conference. "For the moment we cannot say what Michael Schumacher's future is," he added. Philippe Quincy, the Albertville public prosecutor, told Reuters an inquiry had been launched on Sunday to identify the causes of the accident.



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Brain-dead girl has Monday deadline to go off life support

(Reuters) - A 13-year-old California girl declared brain dead after complications from a tonsillectomy may be removed from life support on Monday. Jahi McMath has been without brain function and on a ventilator for more than two weeks at Children's Hospital in Oakland, California. Family attorney Christopher Dolan said last week a long-term care facility would not take her unless she had ports for breathing and feeding tubes implanted before the transfer. Children's Hospital said in a statement on Sunday that Dolan had told it on Friday that an extended care facility might take the girl, but the hospital had received no calls from the center under consideration.



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Carmat artificial heart patient in good condition-hospital

PARIS (Reuters) - Carmat's first artificial heart patient is in a "very satisfactory condition" 12 days after being fitted with the device, the French hospital treating him said on Monday. "The artificial heart is functioning normally, automatically catering to the body's needs without any manual adjustment necessary," Professors Alain Carpentier and Christian Latremouille said in a statement issued by the hospital. The hospital will give another update in one week, it added. (Reporting by Natalie Huet; Editing by James Regan)



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7 Gadgets to Watch for in 2014 [Slide Show]

7 Gadgets to Watch for in 2014 [Slide Show]



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Doctors say Schumacher condition remains critical, uncertain

GRENOBLE, France (Reuters) - Former Formula One champion Michael Schumacher's condition remains critical and it is not clear how it will progress, doctors treating him after a skiing injury said on Monday. They told a news conference at a hospital in the eastern French city of Grenoble that Schumacher remained in an artificial coma.

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Schumacher battles for life after ski fall

By Morade Azzouz GRENOBLE, France (Reuters) - Seven-times Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher was fighting for his life on Monday after suffering severe head injuries in a skiing accident in the French Alps resort of Meribel, doctors said. "We can say that his condition is life-threatening," Jean-Francois Payen, head anesthetician at the CHU hospital in the eastern French city of Grenoble, told a news conference. "For the moment we cannot say what Michael Schumacher's future is," he added. Schumacher was initially conscious as he was transported to a local hospital in Moutiers and then to Grenoble.

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Motor racing-Schumacher battles for life after ski fall

* Seven-times F1 world champion condition "life-threatening" * German suffered head injury while skiing * Doctors say he suffered internal bleeding and lesions (Releads with news conference, switches dateline, adds Merkel spokesman) By Morade Azzouz GRENOBLE, France, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Seven-times Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher was fighting for his life on Monday after suffering severe head injuries in a skiing accident in the French Alps resort of Meribel, doctors said. "We can say that his condition is life-threatening," Jean-Francois Payen, head anaesthetician at the CHU hospital in the eastern French city of Grenoble, told a news conference. "For the moment we cannot say what Michael Schumacher's future is," he added. Schumacher was initially conscious as he was transported to a local hospital in Moutiers and then to Grenoble.



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UK plans to charge migrants, tourists for care

LONDON (AP) — Britain's government has announced plans to require migrants and international tourists to pay for emergency medical treatments.



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Doctors say Schumacher condition remains critical, uncertain

GRENOBLE, France (Reuters) - Former Formula One champion Michael Schumacher's condition remains critical and it is not clear how it will progress, doctors treating him after a skiing injury said on Monday. They told a news conference at a hospital in the eastern French city of Grenoble that Schumacher remained in an artificial coma. (Reporting by Morade Azzouz; writing by Muriel Boselli; editing by Mark John)



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Federal health care sign-ups pass 1 million mark

HONOLULU (AP) — The Obama administration says its rehabilitated health insurance website has seen a December surge in customer sign-ups, pushing enrollment past the 1 million mark.

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Time running out for Jahi McMath's family

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Without further court order, a California hospital could unhook a 13-year-old girl declared brain dead from a breathing machine.



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Sanofi says U.S. regulators reject MS treatment Lemtrada

Sanofi said its Lemtrada multiple sclerosis treatment failed to win approval from U.S. regulators to launch in the world's biggest drug market. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) "has taken the position that (Sanofi unit) Genzyme has not submitted evidence from adequate and well-controlled studies that demonstrate the benefits of Lemtrada outweigh its serious adverse effects," Sanofi said in a statement on Monday. "FDA has also taken the position that one or more additional active comparator clinical trials of different design and execution are needed prior to the approval of Lemtrada." (Reporting by James Regan;

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China says Communist Party leaders must not smoke in public, help colleagues quit

Communist Party officials must not smoke in public places or buy cigarettes using public funds, and should encourage their colleagues to quit smoking, a top Chinese government body said in a circular on Sunday evening. "The phenomenon of smoking in public places remains prevalent, especially for a small number of leading cadres, who not only endanger the public health and environment, but also harm the image of the Communist Party and the government," says the circular issued by the State Council, China's cabinet. Party cadres must not buy tobacco using public funds, and those who break rules on cigarettes should be "criticized and educated about their evil influence," the circular says. Communist Party cadres should to "take the lead" in kicking their smoking habits to set an example for the public and party bosses should encourage colleagues to quit smoking, it said.

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Slain Phoenix bank robber was alleged cop killer who threatened Obama

A man killed by police after robbing an Arizona bank is believed to be the same suspect who killed a police officer in Mississippi just five days earlier, authorities said on Sunday. According to federal court records, the man had also served a brief prison term for threatening to kill President Barack Obama in 2010 and had been ordered by a judge to receive mental health treatment. The suspect was identified on Sunday by police as 40-year-old Mario Edward Garnett. He got into a gun battle with a Phoenix police detective outside the bank and was shot and killed, the statement added, saying he was believed to be the same suspect who robbed a bank in the northeastern Mississippi town of Tupelo on Monday.



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Quit smoking on Mondays, not New Year's, experts say

If you're like millions of people around the globe, quitting smoking tops your New Year's resolution list. Earlier this year, US researchers monitored Google search queries about quitting smoking over the past five years in English, French, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish, finding that search volumes peaked on Monday, almost every week, in all languages. Researchers from San Diego State University, the Santa Fe Institute, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Monday Campaigns -- a nonprofit public health initiative that dedicates the first day of every week to health -- published their findings in October the Journal of the American Medical Association. "On New Year's Day, interest in smoking cessation doubles," said the study's lead author, John Ayers of San Diego State University in a statement released Friday.

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Study Provides Clues to Inconsistency in Toxoplasmosis Symptoms

Researchers have found clues that suggest why the parasite that causes toxoplasmosis creates inconsistent symptoms in humans. The team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) published its findings on toxoplasma gondii, the malaria-linked parasite that causes toxoplasmosis, in the journal PLOS Pathogens, Medical News Today reports. Humans and many species of animals contract toxoplasmosis. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, cats are the definitive host of this single-cell parasite.



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'Good Morning America' host Robin Roberts reveals same-sex relationship

By Andrea Burzynski NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts publicly acknowledged a same-sex relationship for the first time on Sunday afternoon in a Facebook post reflecting on her recovery from a blood disorder. Roberts, 53, included the information alongside a picture of her and her dog in a post marking a milestone in her recovery from the bone marrow transplant she underwent in 2012. This is the first time Roberts has publicly mentioned a relationship with a woman. In 2012 Roberts was diagnosed with the blood disorder myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and took a medical leave of absence from "Good Morning America." She returned to the show in February 2013 and won a Peabody Award the same year for "Robin's Journey," a series of TV reports that chronicled her battle against MDS.

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Japan mid-tier camera makers face shakeout as smartphones shatter mirrorless hopes

By Sophie Knight and Reiji Murai TOKYO (Reuters) - Panasonic Corp and Japan's other mid-tier camera makers have a battle on their hands to win over a smartphone "selfie" generation to mirrorless cameras that held such promise when they were launched around five years ago. Panasonic, like peers Fujifilm Holdings and Olympus Corp, has been losing money on its cameras since mobile phones that take high-quality photos ate into the compact camera business.

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The Biggest Stories on Earth

David Biello looks back at the big environmental stories of the year covered on 60-Second Earth.



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Beddit opens up online store for Bluetooth sleep tracker

After raising more than five times its original goal on Indiegogo, surpassing $503,000 in October, Beddit says it plans to build out cloud-based data services for its sensor, which users slip under a bed sheet. The company started shipping the sensor to early backers in October. While early backers paid a discounted $99 for the sensor, preorders now, available internationally, are listed at the full price of $149, with shipping slated for January 2014. The thin tape-like sensor tracks your sleep quality, heart rate, breathing rhythm, movement, sleep stages, snoring, and sleeping environment, such as noise level and light.

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Federal health market surpasses 1 million signups

HONOLULU (AP) — A December surge propelled health care sign-ups through the government's rehabilitated website past the 1 million mark, the Obama administration said Sunday, reflecting new vigor for the problem-plagued federal insurance exchange.

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Time short to find new facility for Jahi McMath

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The family of a California girl declared brain dead after complications from tonsil surgery is running out of time to find a new facility to take her in and keep her on a ventilator.



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Bristol close to bottom of the fitness table

Bristol PostBristol close to bottom of the fitness tableBristol PostWHEN it comes to exercising Bristolians are surprisingly close to the bottom of the fitness league table. Researchers have found that Bristol is one of the worst places in the country when it comes to eating healthily and exercise. According to the ...

Straumann to cut prices of some dental implants

The world's largest dental implant maker, Straumann, will cut the price of its standard titanium implants by around 15 percent next year in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the firm's chief executive told a Swiss newspaper on Sunday. The Swiss company said its price gap with rivals must be reduced, and that it may adjust prices in other parts of Europe at a later date. Premium implant makers like Straumann and local rival Nobel Biocare have been hit by weak consumer confidence in Europe, as cash-strapped consumers cut back on non-essential dental treatment or trade down to cheaper brands. "If we don't adapt prices to the market situation, then in a few years we'll be selling a third less in price-sensitive markets such as Germany than we do today," Chief Executive Marco Gadola told the NZZ am Sonntag.



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Patient doing well with French company's artificial heart: report

A 75-year-old Frenchman was feeding himself and chatting to his family, more than a week after becoming the first person to be fitted with an artificial heart made by French biomedical company Carmat, one of his surgeons said. We are thinking of getting him up on his feet soon, probably as early as this weekend," Professor Daniel Duveau, who saw the patient on Thursday, told Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper. Heart-assistance devices have been used for decades as a temporary solution for patients awaiting transplants, but Carmat's bioprosthetic product is designed to replace the real heart over the long run, mimicking nature using biological materials and sensors. It aims to extend life for patients suffering from terminal heart failure who cannot hope for a heart transplant, often because they are too old and donors too scarce.



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Italian woman defies animal rights militants after online abuse

An Italian woman who declared in an internet posting that she owed her life to medicines developed from testing on laboratory mice has gone on national television to answer abuse from animal rights militants. Caterina Simonsen, 25, received insults and abuse, which politicians rushed to condemn, after posting a defense of animal testing on Facebook. "Without it, I would have died when I was nine," wrote Simonsen, whose story has dominated Italian newspapers and television reports.



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Exclusive: U.S. government urged to name CEO to run Obamacare market

By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House is coming under pressure from some of its closest allies on healthcare reform to name a chief executive to run its federal health insurance marketplace and allay the concerns of insurers after the rocky rollout of Obamacare. Advocates have been quietly pushing the idea of a CEO who would set marketplace rules, coordinate with insurers and state regulators on the health plans offered for sale, supervise enrollment campaigns and oversee technology, according to several sources familiar with discussions between advocates and the Obama administration. Supporters of the idea say it could help regain the trust of insurers and others whose confidence in the healthcare overhaul has been shaken by the technological woes that crippled the federal HealthCare.gov insurance shopping website and the flurry of sometimes-confusing administration rule changes that followed. The advocates include former White House adviser Ezekiel Emanuel, the brother of President Barack Obama's former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, and the Center for American Progress, the Washington think tank founded by John Podesta, the president's newly appointed senior counselor.

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After troubled rollout, Obamacare's new test starts on New Year's Day

New Year's Day will bring a fresh test for President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul, as hundreds of thousands of Americans will begin to use the program's new medical coverage for the first time. For the nation's healthcare system as well as its politics, the stakes are huge in Wednesday's launch of the program known as Obamacare. For anxious Democrats with an eye on the 2014 congressional elections, it is a chance for the Obama administration to rebound from the disastrous rollout of the website that enrolls people in private coverage through the program - and show that the White House's effort to help millions of uninsured and under-insured Americans is finally gaining its footing. Or, as Republican Congressman Fred Upton and other critics of Obamacare warned in recent days, Wednesday could represent the beginning of another debacle that fuels Republicans' push to make dissatisfaction with Obamacare the chief issue in the November elections.

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Croatia charges doctors, pharmacists in huge drugs bribery case

Some 300 doctors and pharmacists are among 364 suspects who have been charged in Croatia with offering and taking bribes in exchange for prescribing certain drugs. The main indictees in the case are the managers of a local pharmaceutical company who are accused of planning the scheme, state prosecutors said on their website on Saturday. They did not name the company, in line with standard legal practice in Croatia, which joined the European Union in July, after stepping up its fight against widespread corruption. The managers are accused of creating a network of doctors and pharmacists and offering them money, valuable gifts and paid trips with the aim of boosting the sales of their drugs, the state prosecutors said.



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Get outdoors for fitness

The HinduGet outdoors for fitnessThe HinduColorado was voted the “slimmest state” for the fourth time in 2013. The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index-2012 marks it as the only state in the U.S. where less than 20 per cent of the people are obese. After studying the behaviours of trim ...

Avoiding health insurance gaps takes persistence

CHICAGO (AP) — The deadline has passed, and so too the surprise grace period, for signing up for health insurance as part of the nation's health care law.



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Insight: Small-town squabbles blamed for stalling Philippine storm aid

By Nathan Layne and Manuel Mogato PALO, Philippines (Reuters) - Nena Obrero and her family survived without government aid for three weeks after Super Typhoon Haiyan churned across the central Philippines and reduced much of her hometown to rubble. Obrero lives in Guindapunan, a barangay, or district, of the city of Palo, on the east of Leyte island, where more than 1,000 people were killed on November 8. But they missed out on the initial shipments of rice from the municipal office, the main channel for redistributing aid in the disaster-prone Southeast Asian archipelago, due to political squabbling, Obrero said. Even in a tiny barangay, residents say the biggest loyalties are at play - in this case to the clan of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos's widow, whose supporters belong to a collection of opposition parties, and to rival assassinated politician Benigno Aquino, whose son is now president.

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Facility in New York 'last hope' for Jahi McMath

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The family of a California girl who has been declared brain dead says a facility in New York may be able to accept her and keep her on life support.



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An easy new years fitness plan for those with little to lose

ChicagoNow (blog)An easy new years fitness plan for those with little to loseChicagoNow (blog)An easy new years fitness plan for those with little to lose. Tweet. By Mahjabeen Syed, today at 12:23 pm. An easy new years fitness plan for those with little to lose. New years fitness plan. It's that time of the year again and you're considering ...

Numbers offer complicated story of health care law

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government churns out tons of numbers, but here's one you won't see: 0.0002. That's the percentage of estimated online visitors to healthcare.gov who actually signed up for coverage the first day.



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New Year: why not turn gardening into a fitness routine?

Telegraph.co.ukNew Year: why not turn gardening into a fitness routine?Telegraph.co.ukThey will also certainly improve your endurance fitness (and your garden), but you do need to work them in with some shorter bursts of resistance exercise such as turning the compost heap, fast raking, or shovelling to get your heart beating faster ...

LG G3 smartphone, G Arch smartwatch, and G Health fitness band rumored for ...

Digital TrendsLG G3 smartphone, G Arch smartwatch, and G Health fitness band rumored for ...Digital TrendsApparently, the LG G3 – an unofficial name for the G2's successor – will feature a fingerprint scanner, and the firm will introduce both a smartwatch and a fitness tracker alongside it. The fingerprint scanner won't be the only headline feature on the ...

First state-licensed marijuana retailers to open Jan. 1 in Colorado

By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - The world's first state-licensed marijuana retailers, catering to Colorado's newly legal recreational market for pot, are stocking their shelves ahead of a New Year's grand opening that supporters and detractors alike see as a turning point in America's drug culture. Possession, cultivation and private personal consumption of marijuana by adults for the sake of just getting high has already been legal in Colorado for more than year under a state constitutional amendment approved by voters. But starting January 1, cannabis will be legally sold and taxed at specially regulated retailers in a system modeled after a regime many states have in place for alcohol sales - but which exists for marijuana nowhere outside of Colorado. For the novelty factor alone, operators of the first eight marijuana retailers slated to open on Wednesday morning in Denver and a handful of establishments in other locations are anticipating a surge in demand for store-bought weed.

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