A drug from Pfizer and Ligand Pharmaceuticals effectively treats osteoporosis but it may increase the chances of death from cancer or stroke, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) noted Thursday.

Pfizer's Fablyn is taken once daily as a tablet to prevent fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. The drug lasofoxifene tartrate or Fablyn was rejected by the FDA in September 2005 as a medicine to prevent osteoporosis

A fire retardant chemical has been found in the blood of children, according to the nonprofit Environmental Working Group. The chemical is known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDE and is used quite often in toys, electronics, etc.

In a small pilot study of 20 families, the researchers found that in 19 of the families the levels of PBDE, a hormone-disrupting chemical, were about three times as high in the children as in their mothers. The study was carried out by taking blood samples from mothers and their children aged 18 months to 4 years

An experimental drug called pegloticase lowered levels of uric acid in the blood to target levels within a few hours in most gout patients that could help them cope with the painful condition.

Current treatments for gout include use of drugs such as allopurinol and probenecid, which reduce blood levels of uric acid. However, some people with difficult-to-treat gout cannot tolerate medications or are not helped by drugs. Pegloticase is more soluble in blood and easier to excrete

A childhood vaccine given for protection against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) is not linked to autism, a new study published Wednesday said.

The MMR vaccine has been linked to the autism for the last 10 years with many experts believing that the live virus found in it can cause inflammation in the intestines, resulting in toxins leaking into the bloodstream and damaging the developing brain

Obese people who undergo gastric bypass surgery get their diabetes symptoms under control quickly, new research suggests. A report in the September Cell Metabolism also adds that lap-band surgery doesn't offer the same instant gratification.

During gastric bypass surgery, the portion of the intestines closest to the stomach is removed so that it no longer receives nutrients and the lower portion is then attached directly to the stomach, thus receiving all of the incoming nutrients