Are some people getting too much treatment for their cancers? The answer, from the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, is an emphatic yes.
It was a medical miracle: Surgery that made it possible for babies born with heart defects to live to adulthood. But for some, those mended hearts start to falter decades later.
A gravely ill man arrives at the hospital, alone and unconscious, with a tattoo across his chest: "Do Not Resuscitate." It sparks deep conversation about end-of-life care in America.
The electronic pill looks like the biggest multivitamin a human could possibly swallow. Tests have show that the experimental device can measure gases tied to microbes and digestion.
Treatment for alcohol problems isn't a one-size-fits-all approach. The NIH has launched a navigator site that can help figure out the scope of the problem and find evidence-based treatment options.
The goal is to customize treatments for cancer and other diseases to a patient's own biology. But something as simple as failing to take care of tissue samples en route to the lab can derail that.
Dr. Howard Bennett knows that humor can help his young patients be less worried when they're at the doctor's office. In his latest book, he uses gross-out jokes to explain how kids' bodies work.
Bit by bit, dystonia was stealing Carl Luepker's ability to use his hands and talk. But his biggest fear was that his children would inherit the disorder. Then he saw his son Liam's foot twitch.
Acetaminophen, the world's most popular painkiller, doesn't just dull physical aches, it also has subtle psychological effects, researchers say. But blunting emotions isn't always a good thing.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine get very specific in their recommendations of actions they think the federal government should take to lower prescription drug costs.
It seemed like such a good idea: Use cold therapy to reduce the need for opioid painkillers after shoulder surgery. But this woman's insurance company said no dice.
The country's top public health advocate says the cycle of opioid addiction won't be stopped without more money from Congress and cooperation among federal, state and local officials.
When a child suffers a concussion, it's very hard to tell if the brain injury will cause long-term problems. An experimental test that looks for bits of genetic material in spit might help.
New guidelines have lowered the threshold for high blood pressure to 130/80, which makes it even more important to get an accurate reading. Here's how to increase the odds of getting it right.
After the Food and Drug Administration told doctors to quit prescribing codeine to children after tonsillectomies because it could be deadly, some doctors kept on prescribing.
Tendons quietly do their jobs for decades, connecting muscle to bone. Then suddenly — it's done. Here's what happens when a biceps tendon calls it quits.
As a result of the opioid epidemic, doctors are being urged to turn to other medications to treat chronic pain. But that can be a challenge for people who have used opioid painkillers for years.
Doctors were surprised to find a patient using a powerful steroid cream bought without a prescription at an African store in Washington, D.C. It was also easy to buy online.
Children often swallow small magnets or stick them into noses or ears. They can cause serious internal damage, and doctors sometimes have to think outside the box to remove them safely.
Tobacco enemas? Mercury pills? Ice pick lobotomies? A new book explains how throughout history, miracle "cures" often didn't just fail to improve people's health, they maimed and killed.
The Centers for Disease Control has revised recommendations for treating ME/CFS and now says that vigorous exercise can make symptoms worse. Patient advocates say it's a huge victory.
Young adults with autism are more likely to have anxiety, depression or other diagnoses than people with other disabilities. And that can make transitioning to adulthood more challenging.
The nation's organ transplant network is considering changing how livers are distributed. The goal is to make the system fairer, but critics worry patients in poorer rural areas could lose out.
For decades the Pap test was the only option for cervical cancer screening. Now there's the HPV test, too. A federal task force says that for most women, either test will do just fine.
Opioid painkillers prescribed by dentists have helped fuel the nation's addiction epidemic. Dental schools are teaching the next generation of dentists that there are other ways to treat pain.
