Health Tip: Keep Heartburn Under Control

(HealthDay News) -- Heartburn is the most common symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which occurs when the acidic contents of the stomach back up into the esophagus.

Health Tip: Strained a Hamstring?

(HealthDay News) -- Athletes are particularly susceptible to strains or tears of the hamstring, one of three sets of muscles and tendons between the thigh and the knee.

Infections Might Raise Stroke Risk in Children: Study

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Many children who suffer a stroke had some sort of an infection in the days leading up to the stroke, a new study says.

Adult Children of Stroke Sufferers May Show Signs of Brain Aging, Too

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Many adults whose parents suffered a stroke before age 65 experience vascular changes and brain aging in middle age that may precede a stroke, a new study finds.

Many Hispanics Don't Call an Ambulance For Stroke: Study

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Hispanics are less likely to call an ambulance when they're having a stroke, one reason why Hispanics are about half as likely as non-Hispanics to have a favorable outcome after a stroke, a new study suggests.

Worrying Too Much Might Raise Your Risk for Stroke

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- High levels of a personality trait called harm avoidance -- which includes excessive worrying, pessimism, fear and fatigue -- is associated with a higher stroke risk, a new study indicates.

Scientists Use Brain Waves to Eavesdrop on the Mind

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists may one day be able to read the minds of people who have lost the ability to speak, new research suggests.

Study Compares 3 Common Prostate Cancer Treatments

TUESDAY, Jan. 31 (HealthDay News) -- Experts comparing three leading prostate cancer therapies find external beam radiation therapy to be more toxic and expensive than either surgery or a more localized form of radiation therapy known as brachytherapy.

Study Finds Link Between Heart Failure, Brain Changes

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Heart failure is associated with a loss of gray matter in the brain and a decline in mental processes, according to a new study.

Heartburn Drugs May Raise Fracture Risk in Older Women

TUESDAY, Jan. 31 (HealthDay News) -- Older women who take popular medications to control indigestion and heartburn may put themselves at higher risk for hip fractures, researchers report.

Exercise a Good Pick-Me-Up After Cancer Treatment: Study

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Exercise can improve the health, energy and well-being of cancer patients after they've completed their main cancer treatment, a new review finds.

Stem Cell Therapy Shows Promise for Stroke, Studies Say

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Treating stroke patients with stem cells taken from their own bone marrow appears to safely help them regain some of their lost abilities, two small new studies suggest.

Sleep Apnea May Be Tied to 'Silent' Strokes, Study Finds

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Sleep apnea, the disorder marked by abnormal pauses in breathing during sleep, is already known to boost the risk of stroke. Now, a new study links sleep apnea to so-called silent strokes, in which there is tissue death in the brain without symptoms.

Too Much Testosterone Linked to Inflated Ego: Study

TUESDAY, Jan. 31 (HealthDay News) -- Testosterone makes people more self-centered and less cooperative, a finding that may explain why group decisions can be affected by dominant individuals, researchers report.

Science Shows How Exercise Might Help in Prostate Cancer

TUESDAY, Jan. 31 (HealthDay News) -- Vigorous exercise causes changes in some 180 prostate genes among men with early stage prostate cancer, a new study suggests.

Experimental Drugs Do Battle Against Advanced Prostate Cancer

TUESDAY, Jan. 31 (HealthDay News) -- Two new drugs, taken alone or potentially together, may boost survival for men with advanced prostate cancer, studies suggest.

Pediatricians' Group Recommends HPV Vaccine for Boys

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- The American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending that all boys between the ages of 11 and 12 receive the three-dose vaccine for the human papillomavirus (HPV).

Clot-Busting Drug May Work for Those Who Have Strokes While Asleep

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that it may be safe to give the clot-busting drug tPA to people who wake up with stroke symptoms, even though there is a short time window in which to use the treatment and doctors have no idea when these patients first started experiencing their stroke.

Stenting, Surgery Appear Comparable for Opening Neck Artery

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- To open a clogged neck artery, a surgeon has two options: either insert a metal stent to keep blood flowing or perform surgery. A new study finds that both approaches will likely keep the arteries clear for at least two years and help prevent stroke.

Alzheimer's-Linked Brain Plaques May Affect Memory in Healthy People

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- A new study suggests that a brain-clotting plaque linked to Alzheimer's disease may cause cognitive decline even in healthy people, potentially setting the stage for the development of the devastating illness later in life.

Health Highlights: Feb. 1, 2012

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Pfizer Recalls 1 Million Packets of Birth Control Pills

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- About one million packets of birth control pills are being recalled in the United States by Pfizer Inc. because of a packaging error that could reduce the effectiveness of the pills and cause unintended pregnancies.

Science Shows How Massage Eases Sore Muscles

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Having a massage after strenuous exercise not only feels good, it reduces inflammation in muscles at the cellular level, researchers have found.

Experimental Drug Might Beat Aspirin in Preventing Repeat Strokes: Study

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- An investigational drug called apixaban (Eliquis) appears to be better than aspirin at preventing blood clots in certain patients who have already suffered a stroke or so-called "mini-stroke" due to an abnormal heart rhythm, according to the results of a new study.

Gleevec Approval Widened to Include Rare Cancer

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the Novartis drug Gleevec has been expanded to include adults who have had surgical removal of CD117-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), the agency said in a news release.

Child Abuse, Neglect a Major Public Health Problem: CDC

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Child abuse and neglect cost the United States $124 billion a year, which is comparable to the costs of other major public health problems, a new government study shows.

Type 1 Diabetes Treatment Disappoints in Trial

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- The latest trial of a drug called GAD-alum to treat type 1 diabetes failed to show any significant improvement in the common markers of the blood sugar disease.

'Morning-After' Pill May Be New Option to Treat Painful Fibroids

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- The morning-after pill may help shrink painful fibroids and relieve excessive bleeding, new research indicates.