Patients who don't take their medications drive doctors crazy. "We spend billions of dollars developing new drugs," says military cardiologist Allen Taylor. "You'd think we could spend a little money getting people to take them." At least half of all patients are guilty of this, and an aging population on more medications will only make matters worse. Taylor's answer: patient education, blister packs, and more education.
A clinical trial described on Monday at the American Heart Association's annual science meeting suggests that a drug already taken by many diabetics for insulin control may also stave off a heart attack.
Broken condom? No worries. The over-the-counter emergency contraceptive Plan B is arriving in pharmacies this week and next. Approved for OTC use in August, Plan B is 89 percent effective at preventing pregnancy if taken within the first 72 hours of unprotected sex. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, nearly half of the more than 6 million pregnancies that occur each year are unplanned. The organization estimates that expanded access to Plan B could cut unintended pregnancies–and abortion rates–in half.
AP - Suspected Shiite militiamen dressed as Interior Ministry commandos stormed a Higher Education Ministry office Tuesday and kidnapped dozens of people after clearing the area under the guise of providing security for what they claimed would be a visit by the U.S. ambassador.
AP - Democrats voted Tuesday to keep the leaders who guided their takeover of the Senate last week but were sharply divided over whether to give Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi the majority leader she wants in the House.
AP - More Americans rank Iraq as the top priority of the new Democratic-controlled Congress, but nearly three out of five say the party does not have a plan to deal with the war.
Anti-war Rep. John Murtha, who wants to be House majority leader, fended off what he called "swift boat-style attacks" on his ethics record Tuesday. Murtha also blasted his rival for the post, Steny Hoyer, for siding with President Bush on Iraq. Hoyer says he has sided with Democratic calls for a "phased redeployment" of U.S. troops.
Two California court cases are raising questions about whether prisoners in the nation's toughest prison, SuperMax, are continuing to commit crimes by smuggling coded messages out of the high-security institution.
High-ranking police officers are being arrested and questioned after up to 80 gunmen breached security in Baghdad and raided a government building. The armed gangs went floor to floor, splitting men from women, then forcing as many as 100 hostages into a fleet of getaway vehicles, officials said.
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