The Food and Drug Administration warned the medical community on Friday regarding heparin after learning that some of the facilities still had supplies of the contaminated blood thinner.

A large number of hospitals, medical societies and pharmaceutical organizations were warned despite a recall by the California Department of Health and the FDA's own recall monitoring. Baxter International Inc., the largest supplier of heparin, also showed gaps in the recall response

British scientists have identified a type of stem cell treatment which offers hope to the patients of osteoarthritis. The technique, which uses a patient's own stem cells to replace lost cartilage, is already being tried out on goats and would soon be tested on humans as early as next year.

Researchers have identified a type of stem cell which can be transformed into cartilage cells known as chondrocytes. If the scientists succeed in creating new chondrocytes in sufficient numbers, it would be possible to achieve a real therapeutic effect for osteoarthritis patients

The Canadian Special Senate Committee on Aging has proposed the establishment of a registered chronic care savings plan to help address the health care bills of the Canadian elderly. The proposal acknowledges the failure of the country's health care system to cover home or long-term care of Canadians with chronic ailments.

The proposal would be similar to a registered retirement savings plan which provides a tax shelter for a portion of an employee's income if it is being saved for retirement. Its focus, though, would be to utilize the savings for health needs when one reaches the twilight years when chronic ailments often kick in

Following the Saturday warning of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency advised consumers that cantaloupes grown in Honduras are being recalled after salmonella outbreaks in North America.

Officials have cautioned the public not to eat melons from Agropecuaria Montelibano, a Honduran grower and packer. The melons may be contaminated with salmonella bacteria and appear to be related to salmonella litchfield reports in Canada and the US

A recent study discovered that a vegan diet - no meat, no dairy, and no gluten -- significantly decreases the risk of heart ailments, alleviating the risk for those with rheumatoid arthritis, whose arteries are blocked by the disease.

Scientists from the Karolinska Institute derived their study from an experiment that involved 58 patients divided into two groups: the vegan diet group and the non-vegan diet group