More than one in five teens who get strong painkillers, stimulants or other controlled medications from their doctor take too much of the substances, according to a new survey of Michigan students. Usually kids take too much of the drugs, risking dangerous side effects, but as many as 10 percent use them intentionally to get high, researchers said Monday. “There has been an increase in the prescribing of controlled substances in the last 15 years, but... 

Colonic irrigation, a treatment widely offered in health spas as a natural way to lose weight and detox the body, has no health benefits and can cause dangerous side effects, U.S. scientists said Monday. The procedure, which involves flushing the colon with water through a tube inserted in the rectum, can lead to nausea, cramping, bloating and in some extreme cases, renal failure and even death, according to a study by Georgetown University. Lead author Dr.... 

The storied Walter Reed Army Medical Center will retire its ceremonial flags on Wednesday, as it prepares to close its doors after more than a century of treating wounded American fighters and presidents. Walter Reed has treated some 18,000 troops that fought in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, who died there, and Generals John J. Pershing and Douglas MacArthur. The present facility, together with its current patients, will... 

Vitamin D is essential for bone health. Recent research suggests it may have other benefits, too, such as protecting against colds and fighting depression. The good news is that most people get enough vitamin D, according to the Institute of Medicine (IOM). However, if you don’t spend enough time in the sun or if your body has trouble absorbing the vitamin, you may not get enough. Here are nine ways to ensure adequate intake. 1. Sunlight Sunlight spurs... 

Despite a few well-publicized studies and many hopeful patients waiting for treatment, there is no good evidence that multiple sclerosis, or MS, is caused by a blood vessel condition, a fresh look at the medical literature finds. That means patients with MS shouldn’t have surgery to open veins that connect the brain and spinal cord to the heart, researchers say. “It’s so appealing, the idea of a quick fix, of a surgical amelioration,”... 

It makes the carnivorous Venus flytrap look downright tame. A monster plant with flowers the size of umbrellas and sap that causes blisters, scars that last years, and blindness is spreading across New York, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. It’s an invasive species called the giant hogweed, and the DEC seeks help locating outbreaks so they can send crews to nip it in the bud. According to the agency, the plant’s... 

A one-year weight loss program based on lifestyle changes can help obese people shed almost as many pounds as surgery, German researchers say. In a study published in the International Journal of Obesity, they found women who stuck with the program lost 43 pounds, while men trimmed their weight by 57 pounds. But more than 40 percent quit before the year was up. And even among completers, three-quarters of the weight they’d lost had crept back after three... 

Medicare will continue coverage of Roche Holdings’ drug Avastin for breast cancer regardless of what U.S. health regulators decide about the medicine, a spokesperson for the health insurer said. “The FDA decision, when it comes, does not affect CMS,” Don McLeod, a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), said on Thursday. “The drug will still be on the market, doctors will still be prescribing it, and we will continue... 

Though the horrendous tsunami that hit Japan on March 12, 2011 seems like old news in the midst of today’s headlines, the crippled nuclear power plants at Fukishima Daichi continue to spew radiation into water, air and soil, with no end in sight.  Even as thousands of Japanese workers struggle to contain the ongoing nuclear disaster, low levels of radiation from those power plants have been detected in foods in the United States. Milk,...