Dr. Avastin: Napoleone Ferrare is the man behind Genentech's Avastin, a drug that has extended survival times for patients with advanced colon cancer, and is now the talk of the oncology community. Furthermore, his work has also bolstered a long-disputed theory of cancer research.
As ephedra fades, consumers seek diet alternatives
As ephedra steadily disappears from store shelves, a slew of new substances are angling to take its place as a top-selling weight-loss supplement. Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn't ban...AP
Children left behind
Deepak Bhargava
Some children are worth more than others. That's the disturbing proposition in the tax bill signed by President Bush, who once pledged to "leave no child behind." Poor children of working families are the favored targets federally a...Chronicle Opinion
Surgeon general backs ban on tobacco
Surgeon General Richard Carmona said Tuesday that he supports the banning of tobacco products -- the first time that the government's top doctor and public health advocate has made such a strong statement about the historically conten...Washington Post
WHO concerned over SARS cases in Beijing apartment complex
More than 100 people have been quarantined at a Beijing apartment complex where at least four SARS cases have been reported. A World Health Organization spokesman warned it could be the kind of conce...AP
FDA uncovers more fake Lipitor
Federal health officials warned users of the top-selling cholesterol medicine Lipitor to check if they have a fake version, as investigators uncovered more than 30,000 additional bottles containin...AP
Honduras to declare alert against SARS
President Ricardo Maduro said Tuesday he will declare a state of alert against the possible arrival of SARS in this Central American country. "That means that all the hospitals will...AP
Centrist offers prescription drug plan as senators debate options
Democrat John Breaux of Louisiana says a majority of senators will support a Medicare prescription drug bill that gives seniors equal benefits, whether they stay in the traditional program or opt ...AP
WHO watching Toronto situtation as SARS cases increase
Canada's largest city avoided a new World Health Organization travel advisory over SARS, and health officials said Tuesday the latest outbreak of the pneumonia-like virus appeared to be tailing off. ...AP
Surprise byproduct of statin drugs Study suggests they may cut cancer risks
Ulysses Torassa
Chicago -- Millions of Americans taking statin drugs to lower cholesterol and heart disease risk may be getting an unanticipated side benefit: less chance of developing cancer. It's premature to say for sure, but that's the suggestion of a new...Chronicle
MRIs are a better bet to detect breast cancer More effective than mammograms, studies say
Ulysses Torassa
Chicago -- Magnetic resonance imaging is better than mammograms at detecting breast cancers in high-risk women and could be used to help screen those who carry a genetic predisposition to the disease, a handful of new studies suggest. Breast...Chronicle
High court strikes down health care billing law
Bob Egelko
With misgivings, the California Supreme Court struck down a state law Monday that allows hospitals to dip into settlements awarded to indigent patients who have successfully sued those who've injured them. One patient's lawyer said ...Chronicle
How an autopsy could save your life
After her 29-year-old son dropped dead, Jeanann Ward refused to have him autopsied. She couldn't bear the thought. Four years later, that decision haunts her. Whatever struck down the seemingly healthy ...AP
Big break in hunt for malaria drug UC team finds way to manufacture it
Carl T. Hall
UC Berkeley researchers revealed Sunday a pioneering -- and potentially cheap -- laboratory method of manufacturing an antimalarial drug traditionally extracted from the leaves of a medicinal plant. The drug is called artemisinin, p...Chronicle
Supreme Court: No help for World War II, Korean vets
The Supreme Court on Monday dodged a case that sought billions of dollars for the free lifetime health care promised to some World War II and Korean War veterans. Young recruits were told the ...AP
Sanofi to seek wider use for cancer drug
Sanofi-Synthelabo said Monday it will apply for its drug Eloxatin to be marketed in the United States and Europe as a wider cancer treatment, following some "very promising" studies....AP
Mentally ill face cuts to service S.F. budget trims could push some back to streets, experts say
Katherine Seligman, Kevin Fagan, Ilene Lelchuk
In her most public plea for help, Elaine Jones went to San Francisco City Hall last fall and jumped off a balcony. Jones, who has spent the past 30 years in and out of hospitals, ended up in the familiar confines of a psychiatric wa...Chronicle
Chiropractic care linked to strokes
Chiropractic neck adjustments may increase the risk of stroke, medical researchers say in a new report. The findings are unlikely to end the controversy about whether chiropractic manipulations cause tears in neck arteries, a leading ...Chronicle
WHO's stronger role
THE WORLD Health Organization is adopting a more assertive method of tracking diseases that threaten the international community. Instead of waiting to be invited officially by countries harboring dangerous contagions, the United Nati...Chronicle
The jury never rests
Vicki Haddock
This is the extraordinary saga of one jury that, after the judge said, "Case closed," simply refused to be excused -- or to excuse the judicial system. To the contrary, many of the federal jurors who in February convicted Oakland ...Chronicle
Study on breast cancer Marin County rate blamed on lifestyle, demographics
Ulysses Torassa
About half of the breast cancer cases in Marin County appear to be the result of lifestyle or demographic factors, such as late or no childbearing and a family history of the disease, according to an unpublished study unveiled Thursda...Chronicle
U.S. cigarettes found to have higher level of carcinogen
Marlboro cigarettes, the nation's and the world's most popular brand, have considerably higher levels of a potent cancer-causing compound than almost all other cigarettes produced by local tobacco companies around the world. In a ...Chronicle
Rite Aid ordered to pay $250,000 for incorrect medication advice
A Baltimore County jury ordered the Rite Aid Corp. to pay $250,000 to a woman who said she became permanently disabled after following incorrect advice on an information pamphlet enclosed with he...AP
Southeast Asia is reeling from combo of meth, AIDS
Kevin Fagan
Bangkok, Thailand -- Mention drug problems in Southeast Asia, and the prevalent image -- for centuries -- has been of opium dens with sleepy junkies lying beneath curling streams of smoke. No more. In the past five years, methamphetamine -- called y...Chronicle
Santa Clara confirms woman had SARS Traveler to Hong Kong now fully recovered
A 37-year-old Santa Clara County woman who was hospitalized in March with a probable case of SARS has tested positive for exposure to the virus, becoming the seventh American with a confirmed case since the global outbreak began. ...Chronicle
Smoking linked to memory problems
Another study suggests smoking is bad for your brain: Researchers tracking the health of almost 2,000 British adults found heavy smokers had poorer memories in middle age. People in the Britis...AP
