The latest NPR-Truven Health Analytics poll finds that one-third of people say they're stopped taking a prescription drug without telling their doctor. And that could be putting their health at risk.
During Harvey, doctors, nurses, technicians and facilities staff tended to inpatients at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Now the hospital is working to get outpatients back for care as well.
After five years, just 12 percent of people diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer saw their tumors grow by 3 millimeters or more, a study found. And in some people, the tumors shrank.
People who live in the Aloha State are less likely to use opioid painkillers or be prescribed antibiotics than are mainland dwellers. Healthy lifestyles have a lot to do with that.
The process modifies patients' immune cells to attack their own cancer cells. It was approved to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children and young adults — the most common childhood cancer.
The blood thinner warfarin, which prevents blood clots, owes its existence to some cows who got very sick after eating spoiled hay — and to a chemist who spent years trying to figure out why.
The companies are "unscrupulous actors" marketing stem-cell treatments that have not been proved effective and may be dangerous, the FDA says. It took action against clinics in Florida and California.
This device shoots new genetic code into cells to make them change their purpose. Researchers say the chip could someday be used to treat injuries in humans. But they've got a long, long way to go.
The words "strong" and "inspiring" are not usually assigned to garden slugs. But slug slime inspired materials scientists to invent a new kind of adhesive that could one day help heal human wounds.
Neurosurgeon Peter Nakaji says that the operation performed on Sen. John McCain to remove a blood clot from his brain gets people home within days, but they still need time to recover.
Surgery that severs the link between brain hemispheres reveals that those halves have way different views of the world. We ask a pioneering scientist what that tells us about human consciousness.
In 2003, researchers declared a moratorium on the use of transplanted brain cells to treat Parkinson's disease. Now, armed with better cells, they're giving the approach another try.
Some states dictate how doctors must treat this life-threatening reaction to infection, and early intervention is helping. But scientific evidence may be changing too rapidly for the rules to keep up.
The vaccine against Zika vaccine was developed by the Army, with the government paying for clinical trials, too. Health officials want to be sure drugmaker Sanofi Pasteur doesn't make it unaffordable.
Nearly 130 years since its inception, a modest knob of rubber with a metal handle is still invaluable in diagnosing disease and avoiding expensive testing. But its history is anything but simple.
This is the latest study to find that arthroscopic surgery doesn't reduce pain for people with knee arthritis, and can cause other problems. The procedure remains popular in the U.S.
More than 70 drugs approved by the FDA from 2001 to 2010 ran into safety concerns that prompted withdrawals from the market, "black box" warnings or other actions.
When medication wasn't relieving her 3-year-old son's juvenile arthritis, Susannah Meadows started investigating non-medical treatments like diet and supplements.
Doctors were more likely to choose generic drugs over pricier brand names when teaching hospitals limited access by pharmaceutical sales representatives, a study finds.
Physically manipulating the spine appears to offer a modestly effective alternative to medication for lower back pain, according to a new evaluation of scientific studies.
A baby who was conceived through an experimental procedure designed to prevent a deadly disease appears to be healthy. But some potentially defective DNA remains. Will it affect his health long term?
The company 23andMe is now allowed to market tests that assess genetic risks for 10 health conditions, including Parkinson's and late-onset Alzheimer's diseases.
Researchers use intermediate endpoints like how a drug lowers cholesterol to get a quick sense of whether the drug might improve health. But those shortcuts often don't show true benefits and harms.
The Orphan Drug Act was created to help patients with rare diseases get life-saving medications. But soaring prices suggest the law is being manipulated to increase profits.