Effectiveness of Laser Spine Surgery for Pain Relief Remains Unproven
H. Gordon Deen, M.D., Neurosurgery, Mayo Clinic

Spine surgery can be performed using several different tools, including a laser. Laser spine surgery has been around since the 1980s but it has never been studied in a controlled clinical trial to determine its effectiveness. Most neurosurgeons don't use lasers for spine surgery because there are no clear benefits to laser surgery over more well-established spine surgery techniques

Hybrid Hearts for Transplant: Could Stem Cells Solve Rejection Problems
Andy Coghlan, New Scientist Magazine

Human organs for transplant are scarce. One option is to engineer organs from scratch in the lab, using artificial scaffolds. While bladders and skin can be grown in the lab, growing more complex organs and their intricate blood-vessel networks, has proved tricky.

Surgery Not Only Option for Treating Spinal Stenosis
Mark Dekutoski, M.D., Orthopedic Surgery

Spinal stenosis is a common condition that results from changes to the spine as aging occurs. Symptoms vary in character and magnitude but can most often be effectively treated with nonsurgical therapies, such as medication and physical therapy. In severe cases, surgery may be necessary.

By the Way, Doctor: Can Ginkgo Biloba Slow Dementia
Anthony Komaroff, M.D. - Harvard Health Letters

Ginkgo is prescribed in many parts of the world as a memory remedy and is readily available in the United States as an over-the-counter herbal supplement. It does have some antioxidant properties

Tai Chi Health Benefits

This gentle form of exercise can prevent or ease many ills of aging and could be the perfect activity for the rest of your life.

Tai chi is often described as meditation in motion, but it might well be called medication in motion.

Food Chain: The Gift of Garlic

Garlic is prized as a culinary ingredient and herbal remedy by virtually every culture. The written and unwritten record of its virtues reaches back thousands of years.

Medical Memo - Hearty Humor

Mark Twain may have exaggerated a bit when he claimed that "Humor is mankind's greatest blessing." Still, a chuckle a day may help keep the doctor away and perhaps help stave off heart attacks and strokes.

Food Sources the Best Choices for Antioxidants
Medical Edge from Mayo Clinic

It is true that antioxidants -- such as vitamins C and E, carotene, lycopene, lutein and many other substances -- may play a role in helping to prevent diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease and macular degeneration. However, research indicates that simply taking antioxidant supplements is not the best way to go about getting what your body needs

Vegetarian Diets & Potential Health Benefits

Most people who choose vegetarian diets are motivated by their personal philosophies, ethical beliefs, or religious convictions. But health certainly is a factor, and if a vegetarian eating plan is constructed properly, it can be an asset to health.

Vitamins and Supplements: Do They Work?
Health & Wellness - Katherine Hobson

Some researchers maintain that the diets of many Americans still fall short on several essential nutrients -- not enough to cause debilitating deficiency diseases, but perhaps enough to miss out on their benefits without extra help from supplements. While experts say you should be skeptical of most claims about the disease-preventing power of vitamins, minerals and suuplments, some evidence does support taking a few as a hedge.

Make Food Your First Medicine
Naturally Savvy, John La Puma, M.D.

Food can be and should be your first choice of medicine. With the right recipes and the best quality food, you can actually look forward to filling your prescriptions. Why not spend your hard-earned dollars at the grocery rather than at the hospital?

The best research shows that when measured against prescription pharmaceuticals, some foods and recipes work pretty well. In fact, learning how to cook can save your life.

By the Way, Doctor: A Very Fishy Diet
Seafood Diet Benefits & Risks - Bruce Bistrain, M.D.

I read in an earlier issue of the Harvard Health Letter that one of your nutrition experts eats five servings of fish a week. Why so much? And isn't there a risk from the contaminants?

Childhood abuse 'quickens ageing'
Physical or emotional abuse during childhood could speed up the body's ageing process, US research suggests.

New skin 'may help burns victims'
Researchers say they have found how to use human embryonic stem cells to create skin which could help serious burns victims.

'Enzyme clue' to breast tumours
Scientists identify an enzyme crucial for turning breast tissue into tumours, according to a study.

Drug-resistant swine flu hits UK
Health officials in Cardiff say a Tamiflu-resistant strain of swine flu has spread between hospital patients.

Hope over Down's learning problem
US researchers find key to reverse the memory problems of Down's children.

Scientists make mad cow discovery
Researchers at the University of Leeds discover a type of protein which may play a part in causing "mad cow disease".

Alcohol 'protects men's hearts'
Drinking alcohol every day cuts the risk of coronary heart disease in men sharply, a study suggests, but experts remain critical.

Tribes resistance could help CJD
Darwinian natural selection could help halt human "mad cow disease", experts say after finding a tribe impervious to a related fatal brain disorder.

Thyroid 'risk from pre-eclampsia'
Pregnant women with the potentially dangerous condition pre-eclampsia may be more at risk of thyroid problems, research suggests.

Accidental discovery of 'female Viagra'
A drug that failed tests as an antidepressant is being hailed as women's Viagra after surprising, but not unpleasant side effects.

Prolonging life
'I'm dying from lung disease, but I keep fighting'

Fergus On Flu
Would you have the swine flu vaccine?

Miracle cure?
Footballer turns to the healing power of the placenta

'Black clinics'
Beijing's poor rely on illegal medical centres for care

Medical notes
A comprehensive guide to clinical conditions

From BBC Health
Are vices affecting your heart health?

Ancients 'had heart disease too'
Hardening of the arteries is found in Egyptian mummies - suggesting heart disease risk factors may be ancient, experts say.

Tiny chip could diagnose disease
A simple and cheap approach to diagnosing a wide array of medical conditions has been demonstrated by researchers.

Meditation 'eases heart disease'
Transcendental Meditation may protect cardiac patients from heart attacks, stroke and death, study suggests.

Mother death hospital prosecuted
A hospital in Swindon is to be prosecuted on health and safety charges over the death of a nurse after she gave birth.

Ceramic implant inserted in skull
A Southampton police officer is thought to be the first person in the UK to have part of her skull replaced with a ceramic implant.

BBC hospital dramas under attack
A top NHS manager has hit out at the portrayal of NHS workers in Holby City and Casualty.

Older addicts 'lose will to live'
Research published in Glasgow suggests rates of suicide among addicts aged over 35 may be higher than previously thought.

Conjoined twins op 'successful'
Twin girls who were joined at the head are both "very well" after a 25-hour operation to separate them, say doctors in Australia.

Pregnancy timeline
From fertilisation to birth, an outline guide to a typical pregnancy and how the baby develops inside the womb.

Heart disease and stroke

Cancer: The facts
Information and statistics on common types of cancer

Patient Money: How to Find Mental Health Care When Money Is Tight
Hot lines, online groups and organizations that charge fees on a sliding scale are options for finding help.

Signs That Swine Flu Wave Has Peaked in U.S.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said flu activity was declining in all regions of the country.

Guidelines Push Back Age for Cervical Cancer Tests
New guidelines for cervical cancer screening say women should delay their first Pap test until age 21, and go for screening less often than had been previously recommended.

Senate Health Care Bill Faces Crucial First Vote
Senator Harry Reid scheduled the first crucial procedural vote on the major health care legislation for Saturday, after what is expected to be two marathon days of debate.

Reid, as Legislative Tactician, Takes Ownership of Health Care Overhaul
The Senate majority leader’s deep personal involvement in assembling the overhaul of the health care system has led the measure to the brink of a historic Senate debate.

Mammogram Debate Took Group by Surprise
The Preventive Services Task Force, which urged women to get less-frequent screening for breast cancer, was created to be apolitical.

News Analysis: Screening Debate Reveals Culture Clash in Medicine
Backers of science-driven medicine cheered the new recommendations on cancer screening, while many patients still believe that more is always better.

University Weighs Tighter Limits on Stem Cell Research
The University of Nebraska would be the first such institution to set stricter limits than what national or state law allows.

Sir John Crofton, Pioneer in TB Cure, Dies at 97
The clinician showed that three antibiotics could be safely combined to provide a cure, providing the template for later combination therapies for cancer and AIDS.

Ouster of N.F.L.’s Voice on Concussions Sought
The players union says that Dr. Ira Casson is too biased to be the co-chairman of the league’s committee on concussions.

Vital Signs: Childhood: U.S. Draws Low Marks on Premature Births
The nation, where one out of eight babies are born prematurely each year, earned a D from the March of Dimes.

On College Football Game Days, Efforts to Deter Binge Drinking
Students ejected from Minnesota home games for alcohol-related disturbances must meet with a counselor and submit to game-day breath analysis.

Insurers Unlikely to Alter Policies in the Debate Over Mammograms
Medicare and private health insurers said they were unlikely to change coverage of breast cancer screenings after new guidelines recommended that women wait longer to have mammograms and have fewer of them.

Senate Bill Would Require E. Coli Testing
Citing public concern about the safety of ground beef, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand introduced legislation that would require companies to test for a deadly E. coli strain.

Vital Signs: Smoking in U.S. Declines but Not by Much
Some 20.6 percent of Americans were current smokers in 2008, a drop from 20.9 percent in 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Academic Researchers’ Conflicts of Interest Go Unreported
A report found that universities often do not disclose faculty members’ conflicts of interest in government-financed studies.

Study Ties Restrooms to Illnesses on Cruises
A study found dirtier restrooms on ships with outbreaks of gastrointestinal sickness.

Panel Urges Mammograms at 50, Not 40
The new recommendations, released Monday by an influential group, reverse longstanding guidelines.

Food Agency Delays Ban on Oysters After Outcry
The Food and Drug Administration said it would instead conduct a study of whether the oysters should be processed to kill deadly bacteria rather then be sold raw.

Personal Best: Train the Mind to Run Right Through Winter
Those who exercise in all sorts of weather will attest that there is a certain thrill that can come from terrible conditions.

Rising Prices of Drugs Lead to Call for Inquiry
Responding to news reports of unusually high wholesale price increases in brand-name prescription drugs, four House leaders and one senator asked for government reviews of the pricing practices.

Senate Says Health Plan Will Cover Another 31 Million
Senator Harry Reid put forward his version of the health care overhaul, promising it would reduce the deficit while covering most of the uninsured.

3 Democrats Could Block Health Bill in Senate
Three Senate Democrats are resisting a commitment to allow the Democratic health care bill to be debated on the floor.

New Mammogram Advice Finds a Skeptical Audience
Much of the response to the new guidelines on mammograms has less to do with medicine than with a general approach to health care and to life itself.

Personal Health: A Dental Shift: Implants Instead of Bridges
Implants are the best solution to replace lost teeth in most cases, and they are more economical than bridges over time.

Really?: The Claim: A Person Can Contract Two Colds at One Time
Can a person be sick with two colds at once?

Patient Money: Path to Alternative Therapies Is Littered With Obstacles
Trying unconventional remedies is a bold move, let alone trying to get an insurer to cover the expense and knowing what pills to buy.

Cases: Checking the Right Boxes, but Failing the Patient
As doctors bustle from one well-documented chart to the next, no one is counting whether they are still paying attention to people.

Doctor and Patient: Primary Care’s Image Problem
As few as 2 percent of medical students are pursuing general internal medicine, a trend that could doom efforts at universal health care.

Cases: Stuck by a Needle, Not by a Decision
A health care worker faced an immediate decision on her treatment after sustaining an injury while taking blood from a patient.

Through 1 Woman, 20 Views of Life’s End
The stories in an Off Broadway play, “Let Me Down Easy,” include Lance Armstrong’s victory over testicular cancer and the tales of some who lost their battles.

Cases: A Life Apart, Without a Home, Friends or Regrets
A man at a homeless shelter was described as filled with thought but empty of feeling.