Merck perplexed by Dosanjh's criticism, will co-operate with Health Canada

TORONTO (CP) - The makers of Vioxx, slammed by Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh for withholding safety data on the controversial drug, said Friday that they will co-operate with the department's regulatory arm....More

FDA panelists with ties to industry vital in getting Cox-2 drugs back on market

WASHINGTON (AP) - Ten members of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel who voted that a group of powerful pain killers should continue to be sold had ties to the drugs makers, a new analysis shows....More

HIV infection rate among U.S. blacks doubles, holds steady among whites

BOSTON (AP) - Blacks are contracting HIV at twice the rate they were in the late 1980s and early '90s, which researchers and AIDS prevention advocates attribute to drug addiction, poverty and poor access to health care, according to government statistics....More

Experts: Global anti-tobacco treaty that comes into force Sunday needs teeth

GENEVA (AP) - A global anti-tobacco treaty that comes into force Sunday needs strengthening fast if it is to curb a killer that claims five million lives a year, a leading expert said.

Dr....More

Study says evidence lacking for flu shot program for kids; agency disagrees

TORONTO (CP) - Both Canada and the United States have embraced a policy of vaccinating children against influenza, but are doing so without much solid science to show that the move will actually pay off in terms of fewer flu deaths, hospitalizations or complications, a new study suggests....More

Lost lesson in the Florida right-to-die case: the dangers of eating disorders

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Before she was the severely brain-damaged patient at the centre of a legal dispute over whether she should live or die, Terri Schiavo was a young woman who desperately wanted to be thin.

At 26, she was strikingly beautiful with delicate features....More

More foods containing cancer-linked additive added to British, Canadian lists

LONDON (CP) - Britain's Food Standards Agency on Thursday extended a list of foods that could be contaminated with a dye linked to cancer....More

International conference on avian flu ends with call for long-term strategy

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (AP) - A new case of avian flu in Vietnam on Friday heightened the sense of urgency for top health and animal experts gathered at a conference in the Southeast Asian country with the goal of mapping out a long-term strategy for fighting the deadly virus....More

Vietnam confirms new bird flu case as international conference ends

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (AP) - Vietnam confirmed a new bird flu case Friday, heightening the sense of urgency as an international conference on fighting the deadly virus ended with calls for concerted action to prevent a possible pandemic....More

Aspects of drug-resistant HIV strain make it especially deadly: doctors

BOSTON (AP) - Research on a recently discovered HIV strain shows it holds an array of disturbing traits that help it quickly progress to full-blown AIDS while resisting drug treatments, doctors said Thursday at a meeting on AIDS science....More

Stroke risk same for newer dementia drugs as forerunners, Canadian study says

TORONTO (CP) - Witnessing a once sweet-tempered loved one turn belligerent and physically aggressive is one of the most difficult aspects of dementia for family members to contend with....More

Vaccines to be tested as avian flu warnings spread, U.S. disease experts say

WASHINGTON (AP) - Amid dire warnings of an Asian pandemic, the U.S. government is preparing to test an experimental avian flu vaccine and is increasing disease surveillance in hopes of reducing the toll from any eventual American outbreak....More

Federal budget will fund H5N1 avian flu vaccine trials, sources reveal

TORONTO (CP) - The federal government will provide funding in Wednesday's budget to develop trial batches of a vaccine against the avian flu virus feared by many to be poised to spark a deadly influenza pandemic, The Canadian Press has learned. ...More

Kansas passes bill that would make selling imported Canadian drugs illegal

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Selling drugs imported from Canada would become a crime in Kansas under a bill endorsed Tuesday by a panel of the state House of Representatives. ...More

N.B. researchers see big potential in tiny, poisonous mouth of common shrew

FREDERICTON (CP) - The bad-tempered little shrew has had a well-deserved image problem for centuries, but that may be about to change thanks to its spit.

New research at Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.B....More

Decreasing closeness with dad linked to symptoms of depression, study finds

TORONTO (CP) - Both girls and boys experience symptoms of depression in their mid-teens if they feel their relationship with their dad is less affectionate than when they were younger, a new study suggests....More

Brothers meet with hospital staff after sister dies of meningitis infection

VICTORIA (CP) - Four brothers went back to the hospital where their little sister died, wanting to know why doctors sent Mary Louise Carlos home when she exhibited all the classic symptoms of meningitis.

The brothers - Dan Jr....More

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