AP - The pharmaceutical industry won approval to market a record number of new drugs for rare diseases last year, as a combination of scientific innovation and business opportunity spurred new treatments for diseases long-ignored by drug companies. […]

HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers who identified a protein that worsens symptoms of Parkinson's disease say their finding could eventually lead to new treatments for the neurodegenerative disease. […]

HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack unveiled on Wednesday new standards for school meals -- the first revisions in more than 15 years. The goal: To provide healthier meals and better nutrition for the nearly 32 million children who take part in school meal programs. […]

Reuters - School meals for millions of children will be healthier under obesity-fighting U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) standards unveiled on Wednesday that double the amount of fruits and vegetables in cafeteria lunches - but won't pull French fries from the menu. […]

Reuters - Device manufacturers are pushing the government and health insurers to cover weight-loss surgery, an effort that could give millions more obese Americans access to the treatments. […]

AP - Some 15,000 AIDS victims in Congo likely will die waiting for lifesaving drugs in the next three years, Doctors Without Borders warned Wednesday in a report describing "horrific" health care access. […]

AP - A European Union high court ruled on Wednesday that the name Viaguara cannot be registered as an EU trademark for energy and alcoholic drinks because it is too similar to the impotence pill Viagra. […]

LiveScience.com - Fewer adults with diabetes are requiring foot or leg amputations as a complication of their condition, a new government study says. […]

HealthDay - TUESDAY, Jan. 24 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that Avodart, a drug used to treat an enlarged prostate gland, may help slow the progression of early stage prostate cancer, reducing the need for aggressive treatment in some men. […]

HealthDay - TUESDAY, Jan. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Genetic mutations known as BRCA1 and BRCA2 raise the risk of getting ovarian cancer, but new research shows that those same mutations may boost a woman's odds of surviving the deadly disease. […]

Reuters - Style author Charla Krupp, who regularly appeared on the NBC morning show "Today," has died at age 58, hosts of the show reported on Tuesday. […]

AP - Actors in adult movies filmed in Los Angeles will be required to use condoms under an ordinance signed into law by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and porn industry leaders say the regulation could lead them to abandon the nation's porn capital. […]

ContributorNetwork - A study found even after being diagnosed with lung or colorectal cancer, a significant number of those patients continued to smoke, according to Harvard Health Publications. The study was published in the medical journal Cancer. […]

AP - California did not suffer a single death from whooping cough in 2011, the first year since 1991 that there have been no fatalities in the state from the highly contagious illness, health officials said Tuesday. […]

AP - Foot and leg amputations were once a fairly common fate for diabetics, but new government research shows a dramatic decline in limbs lost to the disease, probably due to better treatments. […]

Reuters - The brains of people tripping on magic mushrooms have given the best picture yet of how psychedelic drugs work and British scientists say the findings suggest such drugs could be used to treat depression. […]

ContributorNetwork - Childhood asthma is back in the news as parents in a Maryland school found that their asthmatic children had more episodes after being back in school from winter break, reports ABC 7. Their concerns are prompting another look at asthma and what families can do to help make life easier for kids who have it. […]