Articles written by maria cheng
Sorted by date Results 26 - 43 of 43
AP Exclusive: Doctors clash over euthanasia for mentally ill
GHENT, Belgium (AP) — After struggling with mental illness for years, Cornelia Geerts was so desperate to die that she asked her psychiatrist to kill her. Her sister worried that her judgment was compromised. The 59-year-old was taking more than 20...
Lab-made "mini organs" helping doctors treat cystic fibrosis
UTRECHT, Netherlands (AP) — Els van der Heijden, who has cystic fibrosis, was finding it ever harder to breathe as her lungs filled with thick, sticky mucus. Despite taking more than a dozen pills and inhalers a day, the 53-year-old had to stop wor...
Pope Francis to Belgian Catholics: Stop offering euthanasia
LONDON (AP) — Pope Francis has ordered a Belgian Catholic charity to stop offering euthanasia in its psychiatric hospitals. In May, the Brothers of Charity group announced it would allow doctors to perform euthanasia at its 15 psychiatric...
Euthanasia used for 4.5 percent of deaths in the Netherlands
LONDON (AP) — Euthanasia has become "common practice" in the Netherlands, accounting for 4.5 percent of deaths, according to researchers who say requests are increasing from people who aren't terminally ill. In 2002, the Netherlands became the...
For 1st time, over half of people with HIV taking AIDS drugs
LONDON (AP) — For the first time in the global AIDS epidemic that has spanned four decades and killed 35 million people, more than half of all those infected with HIV are on drugs to treat the virus, the United Nations said in a report released...
Vatican hospital calls AP investigation into care a 'hoax'
ROME (AP) — When doctors and nurses at the Vatican's showcase children's hospital complained in 2014 that corners were being cut and medical protocols ignored, the Vatican responded by ordering up a secret in-house investigation. The diagnosis:...
'Pope's hospital' put children at risk as it chased profits
ROME (AP) — Doctors and nurses at the Vatican's showcase pediatric hospital were angry: Corners were being cut. Safety protocols were being ignored. And sick children were suffering. The Vatican's response was swift. A secret three-month...
Ethiopia's Tedros to be next leader of UN health agency
GENEVA (AP) — Africa, where viruses such as HIV, Ebola and Zika emerged, has its first chief of the U.N. health agency. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a former Ethiopian minister of health, was elected Tuesday as the next director-general of the...
Study: Taking abortion pill at home as safe as in a clinic
LONDON (AP) — Medical abortions done at home with online help and pills sent in the mail appear to be just as safe as those done at a clinic, according to a new study. The research tracked the outcomes of 1,000 women in Ireland and Northern...
Brain and arm implants help paralyzed US man feed himself
LONDON (AP) — A paralyzed man was able to feed himself for the first time in eight years, after doctors implanted sensors in his brain that sent signals to his arm. Bill Kochevar was paralyzed from the shoulders down after a cycling accident in...
Old mold from penicillin discoverer auctioned for $14,617
LONDON (AP) — How much is an old, dried out piece of mold worth? Apparently more than $14,600 if it was created by the doctor who discovered penicillin. The nearly 90-year-old swatch of mold has a rather extraordinary history: It came from the...
Adopted kids see long-lasting effects of Romanian orphanages
LONDON (AP) — Romanian children adopted from overcrowded orphanages in the 1990s were more likely to suffer psychological problems as adults compared to other children taken in by British families, according to a decades-long study. Doctors say...
Life expectancy to keep rising; S. Korean women could hit 91
LONDON (AP) — While most people born in rich countries will live longer by 2030 — with women in South Korea projected to reach nearly 91 — Americans will continue to have one of the lowest life expectancies of any developed country, a new...
Malaria parasite may trigger human odor to lure mosquitoes
LONDON (AP) — Scientists may have figured out part of the reason why mosquitoes are drawn to people infected with malaria. Mosquitoes prefer biting people already sickened by malaria, apparently attracted by some kind of odor. Now, Swedish...
Study: Superbug infections found in Chinese hospitals
LONDON (AP) — New research suggests a worrying number of people in China may be infected with bacteria resistant to an antibiotic used as a last resort. Researchers examined more than 17,000 samples from patients with infections of common bacteria...
Britain OKs making babies from DNA of 3 people in some cases
LONDON (AP) — Britain's fertility regulator has approved controversial techniques allowing doctors to create babies using DNA from three people — what it called a "historic" decision to help prevent a small number of children from inheriting...
How a patient's 'crazy' request for a new womb made history
STOCKHOLM (AP, Oct. 7, 2016) — When the young Australian cervical cancer patient learned she had to lose her womb in order to survive, she proposed something audacious to the doctor who was treating her: She asked if she could have a womb...
Treat or monitor early prostate cancer? 10-yr survival same
LONDON (AP, posted Sept. 14, 2016) — Men with early prostate cancer who choose to closely monitor their disease are just as likely to survive at least 10 years as those who have surgery or radiation, finds a major study that directly tested and...