HEALTH

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee on Friday wrapped up debate on a massive overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system and prepared to vote on the legislation next week.

High-risk patients who took a combination of three older heart drugs -- a generic statin, a generic blood pressure pill and a low-dose aspirin -- cut their risk of a heart attack or stroke by as much as 80 percent, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

An experimental diabetes drug from Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca met its main target in a late stage study, achieving significant reductions in glycosylated hemoglobin levels.

More than half of babies born in rich nations today will live to be 100 years old if current life expectancy trends continue, according to Danish researchers.

Women who are overweight or obese when they get pregnant are more likely to give birth to children with congenital heart defects, according to a U.S. government study released on Thursday.

A virtual reality tool, developed by Flinders University, is coming to the aid of older people with early onset dementia, improving their quality of life while giving their carers a little peace of mind.

Today Australia will embark on what is potentially the biggest vaccination program in its history, offering free pandemic (swine flu) vaccine to every person in the country.

Queensland will get an extra $36 million to support older people living independently in their own homes under the Commonwealth-State Home and Community Care (HACC) program.

Individuals, people in workplaces and community groups are encouraged to get active in October - beyondblue Anxiety and Depression Awareness Month - to raise awareness of anxiety and depression and help reduce the stigma associated with them.

A Curtin University of Technology study has found that regular moderate activity such as housework, gardening, or walking, can reduce the risk of ischemic stroke in the elderly. Ischemic stroke is caused by blockage of arteries leading to or in the brain.

President Barack Obama announced a plan on Wednesday to spend $5 billion on medical and scientific research, medical supplies and upgrading laboratory capacity, which he said would create tens of thousands of new jobs.

Children of women infected with influenza during pregnancy have a substantially higher risk of heart disease late in life, according to a study published on Wednesday.

Female Health Co's new version of its female condom is now available to state health agencies and nonprofit organizations, but the company is still trying to make it more widely available in stores.

A diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and low in sweets and processed meats, may help lower the risk of breast cancer in some African-American women.

The very first doses of swine flu vaccine will start arriving in states and cities that ordered it on Tuesday, and might be sprayed up the first patients' noses by the end of the week, U.S. health officials said on Thursday.

Experiments which mimicked a low-calorie diet by tinkering with genes in mice extended their lives and prevented disease, and a drug that has the same effect could give people longer, healthier lives, scientists said on Thursday.

Support for abortion rights has slipped in America this year and now barely edges opposition, while the issue's importance has fallen, according to a new survey released on Thursday.

Fifteen states could run out of hospital beds and 12 more could fill 75 percent of their beds with swine flu sufferers if 35 percent of Americans catch the virus in coming weeks, a report released Thursday said.

Many people who have died of H1N1 swine flu in the United States have also had bacterial infections, health officials reported on Wednesday.

Mothers who smoke during pregnancy put their children at greater risk of developing psychotic symptoms as teenagers, British scientists said on Thursday.

A United Nations progress report on AIDS on Wednesday showed that despite some progress, the goal of universal access to treatment for all those who need it is still a long way off.

Women who are obese in middle age may live to be at least 70 but they are nowhere near as healthy as women who kept in good shape, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

The Canadian province of Ontario said on Tuesday it has filed a lawsuit seeking C$50 billion ($45.9 billion) in damages from tobacco companies for healthcare costs incurred by taxpayers since 1955.

Fifty-nine percent of U.S. mental health drug prescriptions are written by family doctors, not psychiatrists, raising concerns about the quality of some treatments, according to a study released on Wednesday.

Most Americans would pay higher taxes to fund healthcare reforms that provide the best quality of care, but only a minority expects Washington to deliver it, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

Australia rolled out a nationwide vaccination drive for H1N1influenza on Wednesday in a bid to arm itself against a possible outbreak of the disease.

A Senate panel on Tuesday rejected a government-run public insurance option as part of a broad healthcare overhaul, handing insurers an early victory and setting the stage for a long fight over one of the bill's most contentious issues.

More than half of the 9.5 million people who need AIDS drugs cannot get them and 33 million people across the world are still infected with the virus that causes it, a United Nations report said on Wednesday.

Estrogen could help women diagnosed with advanced colon cancer to survive longer, a new study out in the journal Clinical Cancer Research suggests.