Medical Treatments

A Monopoly-style card illustrates the voucher that can be redeemed with the Food and Drug Administration for priority review.

Health & Safety

Gilead Buys Shortcut For FDA Drug Review For $125 Million

10:38am December 05, 2014

by Scott Hensley

The Food and Drug Administration priority review voucher comes from a Canadian company that got it by developing a drug for leishmaniasis, a disease long neglected by pharmaceutical companies.

CDC Considers Counseling Males Of All Ages On Circumcision

8:18am December 04, 2014

by Nancy Shute

Citing reduced risk of HIV and other sexually acquired diseases, the federal agency says health care providers should discuss circumcision with men as well as parents of infants and teen boys.

Queue Listen Now

Several countries, including Australia, Japan and Great Britain, already encourage blood donations from some gay men.

FDA Considers Allowing Blood Donations From Some Gay Men

11:50am December 03, 2014

by Rob Stein

The lifetime ban on blood from any man who has had sex with men dates to the 1980s, before there was a good test to screen for HIV. Critics say the policy is outmoded and needlessly discriminatory.

Queue Listen Now

Health & Safety

Why The ER Doctor Asks Patients What's Happening At Home

3:15pm December 02, 2014

by Leana Wen

Some people would argue that the emergency room isn't the right place to deal with patients' personal problems. But the ills that lead people to seek care are often tied to their challenging lives.

A pharmacist pours Truvada pills, an HIV treatment, back into the bottle at Jack's Pharmacy in San Anselmo, Calif.

Treatment For HIV Runs Low In U.S., Despite Diagnosis

12:35pm November 26, 2014

by Rob Stein

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says only a third of Americans infected with HIV have the virus under control. Most have been diagnosed, though that's less common among the young.

Health & Safety

Patient Safety Journal Finds Violations, Tightens Standards After Scandal

11:09am November 26, 2014

by Marshall Allen

Kickback allegations against its former editor prompted the Journal of Patient Safety to review his writings and adopt new rules for disclosing commercial conflicts of interest.

People can make vitamin D when exposed to sunshine. But many people in North America never get enough sun to do that.

Vitamin D Tests Aren't Needed For Everyone, Federal Panel Says

2:55pm November 25, 2014

by Nancy Shute

There's not enough evidence that screening the general public for vitamin D deficiency helps reduce the risk of disease, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says.

A 26-year-old man receives an injection in September of an experimental Ebola vaccine being tested by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and GlaxoSmithKline.

Health & Safety

Merck Partners With NewLink To Speed Up Work On Ebola Vaccine

12:01pm November 24, 2014

by Richard Harris

The experimental NewLink vaccine is based on a harmless virus that has been genetically engineered to incorporate bits of the Ebola virus. Testing of the vaccine has begun in healthy volunteers.

The 2 Things That Rarely Happen After A Medical Mistake

7:50am November 24, 2014

When patients are harmed by a medical error, they rarely are told about it or given an apology, according to a study based on ProPublica's Patient Harm Questionnaire.

The costs of diabetes aren't all as obvious as an insulin pump.

What Diabetes Costs You, Even If You Don't Have The Disease

2:04pm November 21, 2014

by Nancy Shute

Diabetes costs the United States $322 billion a year, or $1,000 for each American. That's 48 percent more than it was just five years ago.