Two drugs used to increase and maintain bone density in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis may work better when used together, according to a report in the Aug. 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The two drugs -- Fosamax (alendronate) and parathyroid hormone -- when given sequentially or daily achieved greater increases in bone mineral density than increases reported when the drugs were used alone, Medpage reports

A new study finds that surgically implanting tubes in a child's eardrum to help drain a middle ear infection doesn't guard against developmental problems later in life

Avian flu claims the life of a 35-year-old man in southern Vietnam as health officials begin a mass vaccination of poultry to stem the virus' spread.

The Associated Press reports Ben Tre, from the southern Mekong Delta province, died on July 31. He tested positive for the H5N1 flu virus on Saturday, says Phan Van Tu, chief virologist at the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City

A new study suggests that some people infected by the monkeypox outbreak in 2003 were protected by previous smallpox vaccinations. This finding could prove beneficial in the event of a bioterrorism attack, researchers say.

The monkeypox outbreak made 72 people ill in several Midwestern states, but did not cause any fatalities

Scientists at the Vienna Medical University in Austria say varying tamoxifen therapy with a drug called anastrozole produces better results in older women past menopause, in the early stages of their breast cancer.

"Switching from tamoxifen to anastrozole after two years is more beneficial for the patients than staying on tamoxifen," Professor Raimund Jakesz, the lead researcher, says in an interview