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January 14, 2013 Two out of three Americans living with hepatitis C infection are baby boomers, and many will never know the source of their infection. Drugs to treat the disease have many side effects, but dozens of new ones are in the pipeline.

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January 12, 2013 It's hard, during flu season, to avoid inhaling a virus or two (or three, or 10,000), but that doesn't mean they're going to take you over. You have an army of defenders in you, ready to take them on.

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January 11, 2013 The flu season may be easing up in some parts of the country, but it's far too soon to let you guard down. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says influenza infections ebb and flow unpredictably.

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January 11, 2013 Tredaptive was never approved in the U.S., but it has been sold in many countries around the world. A large, international study found the drug did not reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, yet did trigger some serious side effects.

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January 10, 2013 The active ingredient in many sleep aid medications like Ambien stays in the body longer than had been thought, which could leave people drowsy the next day. So the Food and Drug Administration is ordering pharmaceutical companies to change the labeling on drugs containing the ingredient zolpidem.

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January 10, 2013 Warnings that this year's flu season was likely to be a bad one are already bearing out in Boston. But an infectious disease doctor says the flu season may have already peaked last week.

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January 9, 2013 Americans are sicker and die sooner than their counterparts in comparable nations. No single cause can account for the difference, but improving medical care will only help so much, as disparities can be traced to dietary choices, drugs and alcohol, guns, and even cars.

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January 9, 2013 A chemical analysis funded by the Defense Department finds that some dietary supplements contain far more caffeine than the amount listed on their labels. Other energy-boosting supplements contain less caffeine than the labels claim.

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January 8, 2013 About 13 percent of U.S. women go on drinking binges each month, say officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The damage from binge drinking runs the gamut from death to unintended pregnancy. Public health officials say binge drinking can be curbed with greater awareness and thoughtful interventions.

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January 8, 2013 KHNWithout rules that spell out which health plan takes the lead, a young person who lives out of state and is covered by his parents' plan and a college health plan might run into trouble trying to get in-network care when far from hometown.

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January 8, 2013 Vaccination is still the best way to avoid getting sick, but it's not 100 percent protective. Some people may get infected with a strain of flu that isn't covered by this year's vaccine. For others, the shots just don't work.

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