Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies

Shari Roan

Cesarean section, induced labor not always best choice

Last updated Thursday, February 9, 2012 - 2:37pm

Cesarean sections are often performed when a baby is going to be born early. Likewise, sometimes labor is induced when a woman's water breaks too early in the pregnancy. However, two new studies suggest that these common practices may, in fact, not benefit babies.

Features, Babies, Births, Cesarean sections, Induced labor, Medical research, Studies Read more Comments

Baby's gaze may be first sign of autism

Shari Roan Los Angeles Times

Last updated Sunday, January 29, 2012 - 7:33am

An early symptom of autism might be found in a baby's gaze, researchers reported Thursday.

Diagnosing autism as early as possible is of critical importance. Studies show the earlier therapy begins, the more likely the child can overcome the deficits linked to the brain disorder.

Features, Autism, Current Biology Read more Comments

Home birth is making a marked resurgence in the United States, according to data released Thursday by the federal government.

Home births making a comeback

Shari Roan Los Angeles Times

Last updated Thursday, January 26, 2012 - 5:29pm

Home birth is making a marked resurgence in the United States, according to data released Thursday by the federal government.

Features, Babies, Births, Federal Government, Home birth Read more Comments

Doctors call for domestic violence screening

Shari Roan Los Angeles Times

Last updated Thursday, January 26, 2012 - 2:18pm

The confirmed high rates of domestic abuse -- or interpersonal violence -- led two major physicians' groups this week to call for routine screening of patients for signs of abuse.

Features, Abortion doctors, Doctors, Domestic violence Read more Comments

Teen pregnancy rates in the United States have fallen in recent years, but the country still has a higher rate than any other developed country.

U.S. teen pregnancy rate remains highest in developed world

Shari Roan Los Angeles Times

Last updated Thursday, January 19, 2012 - 3:58pm

Teen pregnancy rates in the United States have fallen in recent years, but the country still has a higher rate than any other developed country, according to data released Thursday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CDC, Teen pregnancy, Teen sex, Teens, National Read more Comments

New colorectal cancer drug shows promise in study

Shari Roan Los Angeles Times

Last updated Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - 1:27pm

LOS ANGELES -- A medication for people with advanced colorectal cancer who have exhausted all other treatment options appears to slow tumor growth and extend life, according to new data.

Features, Cancer, Colon cancer, FDA, Medical research, Medicine Read more Comments

Homicide no longer a leading cause of death

Shari Roan Los Angeles Times

Last updated Wednesday, January 11, 2012 - 4:17pm

Homicide was not one of the nation's top 15 causes of death in 2010, according to new government statistics. That's the first time since 1965 that homicide has not ranked as a major killer of American citizens.

The top 15 list, released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, analyzes data from death certificates. The report is preliminary; a more detailed analysis will be released later.

Crime, CDC, Death rate, Homicide, Deaths, National Read more Comments

Occasional pot use doesn't harm lungs, study finds

Shari Roan Los Angeles Times

Last updated Tuesday, January 10, 2012 - 5:33pm

Smoking marijuana on an occasional basis does not appear to significantly damage the lungs, according to a new study.

The paper, published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, adds to some previous research that has also failed to find a link between low or moderate exposure to marijuana smoke and lung damage. The issue has gained some importance in recent years, however, as marijuana usage rates rise and as states considered legalization of marijuana for medical or even recreational purposes.

Features, American Medical Association, Health, Lungs, Marijuana, Research Read more Comments

Teen heart attacks blamed on smoking spice

Shari Roan Los Angeles Times

Last updated Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - 3:29pm

Three teenagers in Texas appear to have had heart attacks caused by smoking synthetic marijuana, doctors reported this week.

While smoking marijuana is known to affect the heart, such as by increasing the heart rate, synthetic pot -- known as K2 or Spice -- may represent an additional risk. These drugs contain synthetic cannabinoids and have become popular among illicit drug users because they do not show up on toxicology screens.

Heart attack, Spice, Synthetic marijuana, Teens, National Read more Comments

Two days off may be too long for some dialysis patients, study says

Shari Roan Los Angeles Times

Last updated Wednesday, September 21, 2011 - 10:07pm

LOS ANGELES — People undergoing kidney dialysis often have three treatments a week — which means they have a two-day-off break each week. But a new study suggests this regimen may be too risky for people with end-stage kidney disease.

Diabetes, Health, Kidney treatments, Medical, Medical research Read more Comments

More children accidentally poisoned by prescription drugs

Shari Roan Los Angeles Times

Last updated Sunday, September 18, 2011 - 6:58am

Child-safety caps were a great invention. Their use in recent decades significantly reduced the number of kids accidentally poisoned by medicines. The caps worked so well that adults complained the bottles were hard to open.

But prescription dispensing has changed, and there are indications that children are finding ways to ingest drugs that are not meant for them. According to a study published Friday, the rate of accidental child poisonings with prescription drugs rose dramatically in the United States in the last decade.

Children, Medical, Prescription drug use, Safety, National Read more Comments

Workplace meth use highest in West

Shari Roan Los Angeles Times

Last updated Friday, September 2, 2011 - 2:35pm

Workplace drug testing data show methamphetamine continues to be a significant problem in the Western states.

In data released Friday of U.S. workplace drug-screening tests in 2010, Hawaii ranked first in the highest rates of positive screens for methamphetamine -- 410 percent greater than the national average.

Business, Drug abuse, Meth, Workplace Read more Comments

Breast-cancer screening guidelines should reflect risk factors, study says

Shari Roan Los Angeles Times

Last updated Tuesday, July 5, 2011 - 11:17am

LOS ANGELES -- Some women need mammograms more frequently than others, and guidelines should reflect those individual risk profiles, according to authors of a new study on the always-controversial issue of screening for breast cancer.

The standard approach, which is based on age alone, has been challenged in recent years by a number of health experts who contend that some women get more mammograms than they need and others get too few. The new paper, published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, argues for a more complex approach to mammography based on personal risk factors such as age, breast density, family history of breast cancer and even a woman's personal preference.

Features, Breast Cancer, Cancer, Medical research Read more Comments

Researchers detail top risk factors for weight-loss surgery

Los Angeles Times, Shari Roan

Last updated Wednesday, June 15, 2011 - 4:11pm

Weight-loss surgery is safe and effective for most people, but complications do occur. Researchers reported Wednesday that they had devised a list of the top six risk factors. They are:

Features, Risks, Surgery, Weight loss Read more Comments

Cellphones may increase risk of 2 types of cancers

Ellen Gabler, Los Angeles Times, Shari Roan

Last updated Tuesday, May 31, 2011 - 5:02pm

Cellphone users may be at increased risk for two types of rare cancers and should try to reduce their exposure to the energy emitted by the phones, according to a panel of 31 international scientists convened by an agency within the World Health Organization.

Studies so far do not show definitively that cellphone use increases cancer risk, said the authors of the consensus statement issued Tuesday by the WHO. However, "limited" scientific evidence exists, they said, to suggest that the radiofrequency energy released by cellphones may increase the risk of two types of cancers: glioma, a type of brain cancer, and acoustic neuroma, a tumor of the nerve that runs from the ear to the brain.

Cancer, Cell phones, Health, National Read more Comments