AP
Health - AP

Healthcare workers at a hospital. A Belgian man thought to have been in a coma for 23 years has told of his "second birth" after doctors realised he was in fact conscious, a German weekly reported Monday.(AFP/File/Simon Maina)

Belgian expert looks at other questionable comas

23 minutes ago

BRUSSELS - A doctor who discovered that a Belgian man had been wrongly diagnosed as vegetative says he is reexamining dozens of other cases.

  • University students carry large red ribbons on a street during an HIV/AIDS awareness rally ahead of World AIDS day in Shenyang, Liaoning province November 29, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer
    UN: HIV outbreak peaked in 1996 1 hour, 6 minutes ago

    GENEVA - The number of people worldwide infected with the virus that causes AIDS — about 33 million — has remained virtually unchanged for the last two years, United Nations experts said Tuesday.

  • An ampulla containing the flu vaccine Pandemrix at a chemist in Berlin. A leading association of clinicians has accused an "anti-vaccination movement" of breeding suspicion about the (A)H1N1 swine flu vaccine in Europe and declared public health and lives were at risk.(DDP/AFP/Philipp Guelland)
    Trying last-ditch lung bypass for worst swine flu 2 hours, 23 minutes ago

    WASHINGTON - A technology originally developed for premature babies may be helping to save some of the sickest swine flu patients by rerouting their blood so their lungs can rest.

  • In this photo provided by CBS, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., appears on CBS's 'Face the Nation' in Washington, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009. (AP Photo/CBS Face the Nation, Karin Cooper) MANDATORY CREDIT, NO SALES,  NO ARCHIVE
    Schumer says failure not an option on health care Mon Nov 23, 9:30 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - Failure is not an option on health care, a leading Democratic senator said Monday, even as Republicans turned up the heat on moderates who hold the fate of the legislation in their hands.

  • Teacher Kinzi Blair poses in her classroom at an elementary school in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
    Health reform: Is tax on 'Cadillac' plans fair? Mon Nov 23, 4:17 PM ET

    Schoolteacher Kinzi Blair makes only $46,000 a year, but she has what many would consider a "Cadillac" health plan, now targeted for a big tax increase by health reformers.

  • Study: kids watching hours of TV at home daycare Mon Nov 23, 6:35 AM ET

    SEATTLE - Parents who thought their preschoolers were spending time in home-based day cares, taking naps, eating healthy snacks and learning to play nicely with others may be surprised to discover they are sitting as many as two hours a day in front of a TV, according to a study published Monday.

  • Former NIH chief: Ignore new mammogram guideline Sun Nov 22, 9:43 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - The former director of the National Institutes of Health is advising women to ignore new guidelines that delay the start of routine mammogram testing for breast cancer.

  • Graphic shows percentage of women 40 years and older having a mammogram by race and cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates per 100,000 population
    Mammogram guidelines spark debate over health bill Sun Nov 22, 3:41 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - Lawmakers broke along party lines on a new aspect of the health care debate Sunday as a former National Institutes of Health chief urged women to ignore guidelines that delay the start of breast cancer screenings.

  • Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Ky., center, shows copy of the Democratic health care reform bill during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009. From left are, Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., McConnell, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Ariz., Sen. Lisa  Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
    GOP: Health test recommendations could affect care Sat Nov 21, 9:24 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - Republicans are seizing on this week's recommendations for fewer Pap smears and mammograms to fuel concern about government-rationed medical care — and to try to chip away support by women for President Barack Obama's proposed health care overhaul.

  • Canada woman to fight insurance co. over Facebook Mon Nov 23, 4:29 PM ET

    MONTREAL - A Canadian woman on sick leave for depression said Monday she would fight an insurance company's decision to cut her benefits after her agent found photos on Facebook of her vacationing, at a bar and at a party.

  • Small batch of swine flu vaccines pulled in Canada 1 hour, 5 minutes ago

    LONDON - Canadian doctors have been advised not to use a batch of 170,000 swine flu vaccines after six reports of serious allergic reactions among recipients, but there are no similar reports from other countries, pharmaceuticals company GlaxoSmithKline PLC said Tuesday.

  • GlaxoSmithKline pulls swine flu vaccines in Canada 1 hour, 4 minutes ago

    LONDON - Canadian doctors have been advised not to use a batch of 170,000 swine flu vaccines after six reports of serious allergic reactions among recipients, but there are no similar reports from other countries, pharmaceuticals company GlaxoSmithKline PLC said Tuesday.

  • Dr. Kernan Manion poses for a photograph in his officer in Hampstead, N.C., Friday, Nov. 20, 2008.  Dr. Manion a psychiatrist was fired after he complained about conditions for his patients at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., In e-mails shown to The Associated Press, Manion had questioned why the clinic, a series of bug-infested trailers with paper-thin walls, was located near a firing range on the 240-square-mile base.  (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)
    Fired therapist: Stressed Marines get shoddy care Fri Nov 20, 5:59 PM ET

    CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Marines treated at Camp Lejeune for post-traumatic stress had to undergo therapy for months in temporary trailers where they could hear bomb blasts, machine-gun fire and war cries through the thin walls, according to servicemen and their former psychiatrist.

  • Report: Homosexuality no factor in abusive priests Tue Nov 17, 5:55 PM ET

    BALTIMORE - A preliminary report commissioned by the nation's Roman Catholic bishops on the roots of the clergy sex abuse scandal found no evidence that gay priests are more likely than heterosexual clergy to molest children, the lead authors of the study said Tuesday.

  • National Councillor Doris Fiala receives a vaccination during a H1N1 swine flu virus vaccination session for members of the national parliament, during the winter parliament session in Bern, November 24, 2009. REUTERS/Michael Buholzer
    Tamiflu-resistant swine flu cluster reported in NC Fri Nov 20, 5:18 PM ET

    ATLANTA - Four North Carolina patients at a single hospital tested positive for a type of swine flu that is resistant to Tamiflu, health officials said Friday.

  • Guidelines for cancer screening differ by group Fri Nov 20, 4:24 PM ET

    Several doctors groups and advocacy groups set guidelines for cancer screening, and they update that advice periodically as new information emerges. Sometimes they agree, sometimes they don't. Last year, a number of groups got together and issued consensus guidelines for colon cancer.

  • Report: 20-somethings can go 2 years between Paps Fri Nov 20, 1:27 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - First mammograms. Now — in an apparent coincidence — Pap smears.

  • Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin speaks to a reporter in Riverside, R.I., Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009. Tobin said Sunday that he asked U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy in a 2007 letter to stop receiving Communion, the central sacrament of the church, because of the congressman's public stance on moral issues. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)
    Kennedy dispute reveals divide among Catholics Mon Nov 23, 5:54 PM ET

    EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A bitter dispute over abortion that prompted Rhode Island's Roman Catholic bishop to ask Rep. Patrick Kennedy not to receive Holy Communion has revealed the depth of the divide among Catholics over how politicians should reconcile their faith with their public duties.

  • Pa. university students upset about fitness class Fri Nov 20, 4:52 PM ET

    PHILADELPHIA - A Pennsylvania university's requirement that overweight undergraduates take a fitness course to receive their degrees has raised the hackles of students and the eyebrows of health and legal experts.