The FDA is approved a first-of-its-kind implantable electrical nerve stimulator device to treat severe depression.

The Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) System is approved for adult patients with long-term or recurrent major depression that has not responded properly to four or more antidepressant treatments

Nearly six months after a devastating tsunami left over 200,000 people dead or missing in Asia and Africa, survivors are suffering from unusual lung and sinus infections, and even a paralyzing brain infection.

Reuters reports doctors from Massachusetts General Hospital revealed in the New England Journal of Medicine the case of a 17-year-old girl from Indonesia who was 2.5 kilometers inland when a wave from the Dec. 26 tsunami swept her up and carried her another kilometer

San Diego biotech company, Arena Pharmaceuticals, says an experimental anti-obesity drug called ADP356 has done well in small clinical Phase II trials.

The drub, when taken at it's highest dose enabled obese people to lose an average of 2.9 pounds after 28 days, compared with just 0.7 pounds for those getting a placebo

A new government study shows that doctors are still not recommending routine Pap tests for patients.

Such an oversight puts women at risk for cervical cancer

A study released Thursday indicates more American teens are using prescription painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin to get high. The 2004 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study commissioned by nonprofit group, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, says about 20-percent of teenagers nationwide admit to abusing prescribed drugs in their medicine cabinet more than using drugs such as cocaine, LSD, or Ecstasy. The study also says about 9-percent have abused cough medicine or other over the counter products. PDFA President Steve Pasierb says, "The pain reliever number translates to about 4.3 million kids who have tried these products, outside of a doctor's recommendation, with the intention of getting high." Partnership Chairman Roy Bostock says, "For the first time, our national study finds that today's teens are more likely to have abused a prescription painkiller to get high than they are to have experimented with a variety of illegal drugs." Vicodin is the leading drug of choice by teens with 18 percent abusing it. 10-percent of teens say they abuse Ritalin or OxyContin. v The survey says 48 percent of teenagers consider experimenting with prescription medication as being a "great risk". They say "ease of access" is the top reason to try the drugs. v Pasierb says, "We're finding that the kids who are doing this are by and large already drug-experienced. This is not an entry behavior. These are kids who have tried other drugs, primarily illicit drugs. They're getting a buzz, they're getting high. They're seeing these as a safer alternative to illicit street drugs." The study indicates marijuana use is down from 42 percent in 1998 to 37 percent in 2004. Ecstasy use is also down slightly as well as methamphetamine. More than 7,300 teens participated in the 17th annual survey that has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.5 percent