The first study to look at methamphetamine’s potential lasting effects on children whose mothers used it in pregnancy finds these kids at higher risk for behaviour problems than other children.
The behaviour differences – anxiety, depression, moodiness – weren’t huge, but lead researcher Linda LaGasse called them “very worrisome”.
Methamphetamine is a stimulant like crack cocaine, and earlier research showed meth babies have similarities to so-called “crack babies” – smaller in size and prone to drowsiness and stress. Results in long-term studies conflict on whether children of cocaine-using mothers have lasting behaviour …

Fetal exposure to radio frequency radiation from cell phones is likely to result in lasting behavioral damage, a new study released by Yale researchers claims. According to the report, the radiation affects brain development and may lead to hyperactivity.
The suspicion is based on a test with mice that compared pregnant mice that were kept in close proximity to a muted cell phone with an active call for the time of the entire trial. A control group was exposed to a cell phone with no active calls during the test period. …

Mass. urology practice offers this deal
BARNSTABLE – Get a vasectomy, eat some pizza and watch some basketball.
That’s the idea behind a promotion by a Massachusetts urologists group that’s offering a free pizza to vasectomy patients during March Madness.
An administrator with Urology Associates of Cape Cod says it’s a lighthearted way to raise awareness about the procedure and drum up business.
Evan Cohen tells the Cape Cod Times that getting a vasectomy during the NCAA basketball tournament is the
perfect time because typically a day or two of recovery is needed following the …

As many as 74 percent of patients on targeted cancer drugs have taken other medicines that may limit the cancer therapy’s effectiveness or cause toxic side effects, a study found.
Researchers at Medco Health Solutions Inc. (MHS) found that 23 percent to 57 percent of patients on targeted cancer drugs were also prescribed medicines that may have blunted the effect of the cancer treatment. Twenty-four percent to 74 percent of the patients received drugs that may have added toxic side effects when used at the same time as the cancer therapies.
“Oncologists …

Will watching someone shave a hole in their throat make you quit? The scarier the message, the stronger the effect. But could graphic new ads depicting tobacco’s toll do more harm?
This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised a few eyebrows and turned a few stomachs with the debut of their $54 million campaign of graphic anti-smoking ads. The TV spots show regretful ex-smokers who have lost toes or a voice-box in graphic detail; such images are sure to make a strong and lasting impression. They also beg …