Most Emailed Health News

ATLANTA - Sleepless in Seattle? Hardly. West Virginia is where people are really staying awake, according to the first government study to monitor state-by-state differences in sleeplessness. West Virginians' lack of sleep was about double the national rate, perhaps a side effect of health problems such as obesity, experts said.

A new treatment for swine flu may already be on pharmacy shelves — cholesterol-lowering statin drugs like Lipitor and Zocor.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Letting children sleep late on weekends and holidays might help them avoid becoming overweight or obese, a new study suggests.

TUESDAY, Oct. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Women who get migraine headaches with aura should stop smoking and using birth control pills because they may increase their risk of stroke, researchers say.

LOS ANGELES - It was bound to happen: Some people who aren't at high risk for swine flu complications got the much-in-demand vaccine.

FRIDAY, Oct. 30 (HealthDay News) -- That extra hour of sleep you'll get in most parts of the country on Sunday might be restful, but the end of Daylight Saving Time could spell trouble for your body clock, a sleep expert says.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When pregnant women get vaccinated against flu, their babies are bigger, healthier and less likely to be premature, researchers reported on Thursday.

WASHINGTON - Vaccinating more children might help slow the evolution of the constantly changing flu virus, government scientists reported Thursday.

ATLANTA - Swine flu has caused at least 19 more children's deaths — the largest one-week increase since the pandemic started in April, health officials said Friday.

BASEL, Switzerland - Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG said Thursday it is on track to meet its U.S. government order for swine flu vaccine, seeking to calm fears in recent weeks that shipments and vaccination programs may be delayed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Patients taking statin drugs were almost 50 percent less likely to die from flu, researchers reported on Thursday in a study providing more evidence the cholesterol-lowering drugs help the body cope with infection.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who have a compulsive urge to collect and clutter their homes with junk can partly attribute their problem to genes, a new study confirms.

With Dad a world leader and Nobel Prize winner, Malia and Sasha Obama surely could have been first in line when vaccinations began for swine flu. They weren't, the White House says. But that hasn't stopped complaints that President Barack Obama's daughters got preferential treatment.

FRIDAY, Oct. 30 (HealthDay News) -- The ball flies out of the pitcher's hand. In less than a second, it curves and then drops, baffling the batter.

THURSDAY, Oct. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Want to improve that osteoarthritis in your knee? New research suggests that regular Tai Chi exercise can reduce pain and help your knee function better.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Low vitamin D levels in the body may be deadly, according to a new study hinting that adults with lower, versus higher, blood levels of vitamin D may be more likely to die from heart disease or stroke.

THURSDAY, Oct. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Feeling stressed at work? If you're younger than 50, it might get worse -- at least for a while.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Lack of adequate health care may have contributed to the deaths of some 17,000 US children over the past two decades, according to a study released by the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

GENEVA (Reuters) - Only one dose of vaccine is needed for protection against pandemic H1N1 flu and the jabs have so far proved to be safe, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama announced on Friday that a 22-year-old ban on allowing people infected with the AIDS virus into the United States will be lifted on Monday.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Diet and exercise can keep diabetes at bay for a decade, cutting the risk for the disease by more than a third in the most susceptible people, a new study finds.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Men with larger foreskins are more likely to become infected with the AIDS virus, researchers said Wednesday in a finding that helps explain why circumcision can protect men.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Transcendental meditation reduces stress and improves the emotional and mental well-being of breast cancer patients, new study findings suggest.

FRIDAY, Oct. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Pregnant women head the list of people who should get H1N1 swine flu and seasonal flu shots, and four new studies highlight the benefits of vaccination for moms-to-be and their babies.

THURSDAY, Oct. 29 (HealthDay News) -- As daylight hours dwindle, people with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can often feel the onset of wintertime depression, but a new study suggests one type of remedy may work better than another at banishing the SAD blues.

TUESDAY, Oct. 27 (HealthDay News) -- More than 65 percent of U.S. mothers with depression don't receive adequate treatment, a new study has found.

TUESDAY, Oct. 27 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that alcohol may boost the progression of cancer by stimulating a pathway inside cells.

HELSINKI - It's five times larger than the Titanic, has seven neighborhoods, an ice rink, a golf course and a 750-seat outdoor amphitheater. The world's largest cruise ship is finally finished and Friday it began gliding toward its home port in Florida.

THURSDAY, Oct. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Treatment with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers doesn't increase rheumatoid arthritis patients' risk of cancer, new research has found.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Eating just a little bit more fiber could have a big impact in trimming the waistlines of America's young people, new research shows.