Here's a look back at the top health stories of 2007. Persistent questions about the safety of both prescription and over-the-counter drugs, a menacing microbe spreading throughout the U.S. and a globe-trotting TB patient garnered headlines this past year.
The Japanese Prime Minister said his ruling bloc will submit legislation to provide aid to about 1,000 people exposed to hepatitis C through defective blood-clotting products sold by pharmaceutical companies. About 200 patients have filed lawsuits across Japan, demanding compensation from the government and drug makers Nihon Pharmaceutical Co., Mitsubishi Pharma Corp. and the latter's subsidiary Benesis Corp. Japanese media say about 800 others are expected to file suit.
Mid-South Cardiology, a Lebanon-based practice of two cardiologists, is now part of Saint Thomas Heart in the latest affiliation of an independent cardiology practice with a major Nashville area hospital. The two cardiologists have become employees of Saint Thomas Heart, which has assumed assets and liabilities of Mid-South and will run its operations.
Currently, the diagnosis of Alzheimer's is not made until symptoms develop. By then it may already be too late to rescue the brain. Drugs now in use temporarily ease symptoms for some, but cannot halt the underlying disease. Many scientists believe the best hope of progress lies in detecting the disease early and devising treatments to stop it before brain damage becomes extensive.
The 19-year-old campaign to eradicate polio is celebrating recent progress and an unexpected infusion of cash. But experts are realizing that they will not be able to end the expensive and laborious efforts to control the virus anytime soon. It is now clear that the virus that causes polio could reemerge years, and possibly even decades, after the last case is found.
In the British Medical Journal, researchers looked into several common misconceptions, from the belief that a person should drink eight glasses of water per day to the notion that reading in low light ruins your eyesight. Popular culture is loaded with myths and half-truths. Most are harmless, but when doctors start believing medical myths, perhaps it's time to worry.