Older men and women who break a hip are five to eight times more likely to die in the first three months after the fracture, a new study by Belgian researchers has found.

And, while the death rate after a hip fracture diminishes substantially during the first two years after the break, it never returns to the death rate seen in similar people who did not fracture a hip, the study authors said.

A generic drug widely prescribed for arthritis shows promise in treating type 2 diabetes, according to U.S. researchers.

They found that salsalate -- an atypical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, chemically similar to aspirin but easier on the stomach -- helps control glucose levels.

A new set of guidelines to treat sleepiness, constipation and sexual dysfunction in people with Parkinson's disease has been released by the American Academy of Neurology.

The main symptoms of Parkinson's disease are movement problems, but patients also must cope with many often unrecognized symptoms, noted lead guidelines author Dr. Theresa A. Zesiewicz, of the University of South Florida in Tampa.

New research suggests that extra vitamin D could make a major difference in heart disease risk among people who have low levels of the nutrient.

Researchers from the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Murray, Utah, report in two new studies that vitamin D supplementation may reduce the risk of other chronic diseases, too.

Scientists have believed that testosterone and estrogen play a major role in regulating blood pressure, but a new study in mice suggests that female sex chromosomes could also be key, at least after menopause begins.

In the study, researchers genetically engineered male mice to have female chromosomes (XX) and females to have male chromosomes (YY). They found that the chromosomes affected the rodents' blood pressure on their own.