baltimoresun.com - Health & Wellness

Baltimore to be center of abortion debate

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

City council expected to approve rules for offices that don't provide abortion, birth control

City council expected to approve rules for offices that don't provide abortion, birth control

How to avoid, treat diverticulitis

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Expert advice

Diverticulitis occurs when small, bulging pockets - or diverticula - occur within the colon and become infected. In most cases a slight or micro-perforation occurs. The majority of the time, the healthy body confines the infection to a very small space, and with time and a course of antibiotics, the infection will resolve itself.

Calendar

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Events, screenings, support groups and more

•Symphony of Lights, a drive-through display of holiday lights benefitting Howard County General Hospital, begins today from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and runs daily through Jan. 3 in Symphony Woods, Columbia. Call 410-740-7570 or go to hchg.org, where a $5 discount coupon can be found. $20 per car; $5 per person for private group walks of 50 or more.

Is binge eating a psychiatric disorder?

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

As the American Psychiatrics Assn. considers including it in its diagnotic manual, skeptics object and possible treatments are debated.

Rina Silverman's refrigerator is almost always empty. She keeps it that way to avert episodes of frantic food consumption, often at night after a full meal, in which she tastes nothing and feels nothing but can polish off a party-sized bag of chips or a container of ice cream, maybe a whole box of cereal. The food she's eating at these moments hardly matters.

Congress targets senior abuse

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Support is broad for the Elder Justice Act, which is linked to healthcare reform measures.

When it comes to political, social or health causes, elder abuse has not had the star power of some other movements focusing on the rights of vulnerable people.

Calling Dr. Google: Many go online for health research

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

E-patients can end up being better informed — or more confused — by what they find

The Internet's power to make something "go viral" has surpassed the phrase's original meaning.

Blockbuster vaccines on horizon for AIDS, Alzheimer's, herpes

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Malaria. Tuberculosis. Alzheimer's disease. AIDS. Pandemic flu. Genital herpes. Urinary tract infections. Grass allergies. Traveler's diarrhea. You name it, the pharmaceutical industry is working on a vaccine to prevent it.

In battle over mammograms, Md. leaders race to front lines

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Politicians, activists quickly oppose relaxed guidelines

When a government advisory panel put out new recommendations last week that said women under age 50 need not be screened for breast cancer , the calls began flowing to Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski's office. Within days, the Maryland senator had responded with an amendment to the Senate's pending health care reform bill that would guarantee access to mammograms at age 40 through public insurance exchanges.

Senator sees more ties between Hasan, cleric

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Levin says panel will probe how U.S. handled e-mails

The government intercepted at least 18 e-mails between the man accused in the Fort Hood shootings and a radical Muslim cleric, and a key senator says there could be more communications that might have tipped off law enforcement or military officials.

Guidelines against self-exams for breast cancer ignite firestorm

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Mary Ivey didn't have a family history of breast cancer or a genetic mutation putting her at high risk for the disease. At 37, she was too young for an annual mammogram. But one day in March, she did a routine self-exam, as her doctor had instructed her, just in case.