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Heart Test Could Predict Future Attacks in Elderly

A test to measure the heart's electrical activity could help predict future heart attacks in otherwise healthy adults over 70, said a U.S. study on Tuesday.

Researchers followed 2,192 healthy adults aged 70-79 for a period of eight years, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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India to Drop 'John Terry' Pic from Cigarette Warnings

An Indian health warning on cigarette packets that uses an apparent picture of England footballer John Terry with a set of blackened lungs is to be withdrawn, officials said Wednesday.

Terry's London-based lawyers had threatened to sue over the blurry photograph featuring the head and shoulders of a man closely resembling the former England captain and current skipper of Premier League side Chelsea.

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Study: Herbal Remedy Blamed for Urinary Tract Cancer in Taiwan

A toxic ingredient in a popular herbal remedy is linked to more than half of all cases of urinary tract cancer in Taiwan where use of traditional medicine is widespread, said a U.S. study Monday.

Aristolochic acid (AA) is a potent human carcinogen that is found naturally in Aristolochia plants, an ingredient common in botanical Asian remedies for aiding weight loss, easing joint pain and improving stomach ailments.

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U.S. Study: Dental X-Rays Linked to Brain Tumors

People who get regular dental X-rays are more likely to suffer a common type of brain tumor, U.S. researchers said Tuesday, suggesting that yearly exams may not be best for most patients.

The study in the U.S. journal Cancer showed people diagnosed with meningioma who reported having a yearly bitewing exam were 1.4 times to 1.9 times as likely as a healthy control group to have developed such tumors.

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U.S. Teen Pregnancy Rates Lowest in 70 Years

The number of new teenage mothers in the United States is at its lowest level in nearly 70 years but remains the highest of any major developed country, according to official figures released Tuesday.

The current rate of 34.3 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19 is down 44 percent from a peak in 1991, and is 64 percent lower than the record set during the 1957 "baby boom" of 96.3 births per 1,000.

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Autism May Be Linked To Obesity During Pregnancy

Obesity during pregnancy may increase chances for having a child with autism, provocative new research suggests.

It's among the first studies linking the two, and though it doesn't prove obesity causes autism, the authors say their results raise public health concerns because of the high level of obesity in this country.

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German Gynecologist Took Nude Pictures of Patients

A German gynecologist is being investigated for allegedly having a stash of 35,000 photographs and several videos of naked patients, a report said on Saturday.

Medical assistants alerted the authorities to the collection of photographs kept by the doctor from Schifferstadt near Frankfurt in western Germany, the report by the DPA agency said.

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Tobacco Display Ban Comes Into Force in England

A ban on tobacco displays in large shops and supermarkets came into force in England on Friday, meaning such stores must hide cigarettes from public view.

Under the new rules, all tobacco products must be kept out of sight except when staff are serving customers or restocking.

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Antibody Clues to AIDS Vaccine Success

The success of an AIDS vaccine trial that in 2009 was shown to protect 31 percent of people studied may have been due to varying levels of antibody responses in the patients, researchers said Thursday.

Different types of antibody responses were associated with who became infected and who did not, according to an analysis of the results published in the April 5 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Promising Results for New Cancer Drug Delivery System

A new method of delivering cancer drugs that could cut down on chemotherapy's side effects and boost the strength of the tumor-fighting medicine showed promise, US researchers said Wednesday.

Early phase 1 studies on a small group of humans showed that the therapy, which delivers a potent cancer drug directly to the tumor through a process known as nanomedicine, is safe and shows some effectiveness in shrinking cancers.

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