Splint may be as good as cast for kids' wrist fractures
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A splint may work just as well as a cast in helping children with non-severe wrist fractures heal, a study published Tuesday suggests.

Heart procedure misunderstood, overused: doctors
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients who sign up for common procedures to clean out blocked arteries in the heart often believe they are cutting their risk of heart attack and death, when in fact they aren't.

Bigger low-birth-weight babies need extra iron too
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Babies at the larger end of the low-birth-weight spectrum are at risk of iron deficiency, and should get iron supplements, according to a Swedish study published Monday in Pediatrics.

BPA-laden dental materials prompt caution: doctors
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Just had a dental filling? You might be chewing on bisphenol A (BPA), a common plastics ingredient that could have harmful effects on your health.

Malpractice liability costs U.S. $55.6 billion: study
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Medical malpractice liability costs the U.S. healthcare system more than $55 billion a year, most of it in "defensive" medical practices such as extra tests and scans, according to a report released on Tuesday.

Long-term weight loss may be harmful to health
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Long-term weight loss may release into the blood industrial pollutants linked to illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis, researchers said on Tuesday.

Magic mushrooms may ease anxiety of cancer: study
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The hallucinogen psilocybin - known by the street name magic mushrooms - may help ease the anxiety that often accompanies late-stage cancer, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

Climate change may add to disaster death tolls
OSLO, Norway (Reuters) - Natural disasters are tending to kill fewer people but climate change may add to the toll by unleashing more extreme weather and causing after-effects such as disease and malnutrition, experts say.

Detroit, Los Angeles most stressful US cities-poll
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Detroit, Los Angeles and Cleveland are the most stressful cities in America, according to a new study.

NIH to use BP cash to study oil spill health effects
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. National Institutes of Health said on Tuesday it would use $10 million from BP to start a multiyear study to look at the potential health effects from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Study links cholesterol, nonstick coating chemical
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chemicals used to make non-stick coatings on cookware and to waterproof fabrics may raise levels of cholesterol in children, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

Can money buy happiness? Maybe, up to $75,000
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Can money really make you happy? Not really, but up to about $75,000 a year can ease the pain of life's stresses, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.