Health & Safety

Hannah Rood, 3, receives an H1N1 vaccine at a clinic in San Pablo, California, during the 2009 swine flu epidemic.

Health & Safety

Stopping Microbes Not Missiles: U.S. Plans For Next Global Threat

7:58pm February 13, 2014

by Jason Beaubien

The world is at greater risk than ever from pandemics and biological weapons, health officials said Thursday. In response, the U.S. government is spearheading a global effort to build an early warning system for infectious diseases, drug-resistant microbes and possible bioterror agents.

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Still waiting for job-linked health insurance? Check the size of your company.

Health & Safety

Health Law's Employer Mandate Hits Another Speed Bump

3:55pm February 11, 2014

by Julie Rovner

The Obama administration is again delaying a part of the Affordable Care Act that requires most companies to provide employees with health insurance. This time, smallish firms — those with fewer than 100 workers but more than 49 — get a reprieve until 2016.

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Health & Safety

18 patients at Forsyth Medical Center Exposed to Rare, Deadly Brain Disease

1:15am February 11, 2014

Hospital officials are enacting a new sterilization procedure after 18 patients were exposed to a rare, deadly brain disease.

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Men walk along a railway line in Beijing on Jan. 12, as air pollution reached hazardous levels.

China's Air Pollution Linked To Millions Of Early Deaths

2:25pm February 10, 2014

by Rob Stein

About 1.2 million people die prematurely every year in China from exposure to outdoor air pollution. Smog has dogged the country as it grows at an explosive rate and burns huge quantities of fossil fuels. But there are signs that the government is beginning to take the issue more seriously.

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Wikipedia is a go-to source for medical information, but much of it is inaccurate.

Dr. Wikipedia: The 'Double-Edged Sword' Of Crowdsourced Medicine

1:17pm February 10, 2014

by NPR Staff

A report on health and social media finds that Wikipedia is the "single leading source of medical information" for patients and health care professionals. But not all of the articles are accurate. To address that issue, Dr. Amin Azzam requires his fourth-year medical students to revise and publish medical articles on the site.

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Health & Safety

Run for the Doughnuts: The Krispy Kreme Challenge

12:30pm February 07, 2014

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A five-mile run through downtown Raleigh is just the sort of thing a healthy person would do.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer for men in the West, while lung and liver cancers are the top problems in Asia.

Cancer Cases Rising At An Alarming Rate Worldwide

8:20am February 05, 2014

by Jason Beaubien

The long-held idea that cancer is a disease of the rich is slowly being undermined. The world now records about 14 million new cancer cases each year, a study found. The majority of these cases occur in developing countries, which aren't equipped to detect and treat the disease.

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Spike In Heroin Use Can Be Traced To Prescription Pads

8:02pm February 04, 2014

by Laura Sullivan

Heroin overdose deaths have increased significantly in the U.S. over the past five years. Experts point to aggressive prescribing of opioid drugs for pain about 15 years ago as a reason why. Heroin users often say their addiction began with exposure to painkillers like OxyContin.

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The Brutal Business Of Heroin Brings Wave Of Overdoses In Pa.

6:42pm February 02, 2014

According to state and local authorities, 22 people in Western Pennsylvania have died of heroin overdose in less than two weeks. The wave of deaths is due to the appearance of an especially potent batch of heroin, mixed with the painkiller Fentanyl. NPR's Arun Rath speaks with Dr. Neil Capretto, medical director of the Gateway Rehabilitation Center in Pittsburgh.

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Sean Morey, then with the Arizona Cardinals, celebrates after blocking a punt against the Seattle Seahawks in 2007. Morey, who suffers from post-concussion syndrome, retired from the NFL in 2010 on the advice of doctors.

Sidelined By Brain Injury, Ex-NFL Player Copes With 'Desperation'

7:51pm January 31, 2014

by Melissa Block

During his 10-year career, Sean Morey absorbed countless hits, more than a few of which resulted in concussions. "Every time I hit somebody it was like getting tasered," he says. Now, he suffers from lingering conditions, like debilitating headaches, and is an advocate for players' health.

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