Information that could refine the uses of approved drugs may lie deep inside patients' medical records. Ariel Skelley/Getty Images hide caption
Treatments : Shots - Health News Here you can find out how the practice of medicine is changing. We pull together the latest research on medical tests, drugs and other therapies.
A new study finds certain drugs that can boost the immune system show promise for developing anti-aging treatments in the future. David Pereiras / EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEm hide caption
Experimental Drugs Boost Elderly Immune Systems, Raising Hopes For Anti-Aging Effects
"Our health care systems need to adjust a little to try to get knowledge about cancer prevention to everybody," says Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical and scientific officer of the American Cancer Society. American Cancer Society hide caption
Lipitor, a best-seller as a cholesterol treatment, is being tested as a remedy for the flu. Mel Evans/AP hide caption
"If my life were to end next week ... I want to feel like I have made a contribution," said Carol Martin, seen here holding her 2018 Boston Marathon medal. Jesse Costa/WBUR hide caption
Poliovirus, long a scourge, has been modified by Duke University researchers for experimental use as a brain cancer treatment. Juan Gaertner/Science Source hide caption
A drug made from a derivative of marijuana has been approved for patients with certain forms of epilepsy. Blaine Harrington III/Getty Images hide caption
Dr. Vinay Prasad is 35 and an assistant professor of medicine at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, where he researches health policy, the high cost of drugs and evidence-based medicine. He has more than 21,000 followers on Twitter. Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images hide caption
Several circular herpes virus particles are seen near a cell membrane. Roseola herpes virus causes a childhood illness marked by skin rashes and now has been found in brains with Alzheimer's disease. NCI/Science Source hide caption
Researchers Find Herpes Viruses In Brains Marked By Alzheimer's Disease
In these two two-cell mouse embryos, the surface of the embryos is outlined in orange, the DNA in the nucleus is indicated in blue and the activity of the LINE-1 gene is indicated via bright red spots. Ramalho-Santos lab/UCSF hide caption
Karin Bruwelheide handles an amputates limb that dates back to the Civil War. The bones were discovered by scientists at Manassas National Battlefield Park in Virginia. Scientists at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History have been analyzing the bones to learn more about them and who they may have belonged to. Meredith Rizzo/NPR hide caption
Kelly Zimmerman holds her son Jaxton Wright at a parenting session at the Children's Health Center in Reading, Pa. The free program provides resources and social support to new parents in recovery from addiction, or who are otherwise vulnerable. Natalie Piserchio for NPR hide caption
Americans are increasingly taking multiple drugs. And depression is a potential side effect of many of them. Glasshouse Images/Getty Images hide caption
If you're at low risk for heart disease, an electrocardiogram shouldn't be a routine test for you, a panel of medical experts says. Bruno Boissonnet/Science Source hide caption
A scientist from the Nadiya Clinic in Kiev, Ukraine inserts a needle into a fertilized egg to extract the DNA of a man and woman trying to have a baby. The clinic is combining the DNA from three different people to create babies for women who are infertile. Rob Stein/NPR hide caption
A genetic test could spare many women with a common form of breast cancer from receiving chemotherapy. SPL/Science Source hide caption
"I'm one of the lucky ones," says Judy Perkins, of the immunotherapy treatment she got. The experimental approach seems to have eradicated her metastatic breast cancer." Courtesy of Judy Perkins hide caption
Therapy Made From Patient's Immune System Shows Promise For Advanced Breast Cancer
Women with a common form of breast cancer may be able to safely forgo chemotherapy, depending on the results of a genetic test. Lester Lefkowitz/Getty Images hide caption
When Scientists Develop Products From Personal Medical Data, Who Gets To Profit?
A team at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore is developing a tumor-detecting algorithm for detecting pancreatic cancer. But first, they have to train computers to distinguish between organs. Courtesy of The Felix Project hide caption
For Some Hard-To-Find Tumors, Doctors See Promise In Artificial Intelligence
Concussions from domestic violence are sometimes overlooked in patient care. MarkCoffeyPhoto/Getty Images hide caption
Domestic Violence's Overlooked Damage: Concussion And Brain Injury
While Baby Duke Brothers stayed in the NICU, his parents could watch over him via web cam. Blake Farmer/WPLN hide caption
Food and Drug Commissioner Scott Gottlieb tweeted Tuesday that he is ready to implement a right-to-try law "in a way that achieves Congress' intent to promote access and protect patients." Drew Angerer/Getty Images hide caption
Patients in the study had "significantly lower out-of-pocket costs — on the average, $500 — when they visited a physical therapist first," says Bianca Frogner, a health economist at the University of Washington. PeopleImages/Getty Images hide caption