Health

Laser Safety: Everyday Life in a New Light
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Developed just over 30 years ago, lasers have revolutionized industry, medicine and science. They play our compact discs. They can carry our phone messages. They entertain us with light shows in the night sky.

The Gallbladder : Shock Wave Lithotripsy, Surgery
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Shock wave lithotripsy, a noninvasive procedure that FDA approved for treating kidney stones in 1985, seemed to hold great promise for treating gallstones as well. (To treat kidney stones, the torso of the anesthetized but conscious patient is immobilized

The Gallbladder : The Role of Diet, Drug Treatment
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Studies indicate that gallstones are more prevalent in some populations than others, but it is difficult to tell whether this is due to heredity or environmental factors. For example, gallstones are common in the United States (with 20 million sufferers)

The Gallbladder - An Organ You Can Live Without
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Laser surgery and other therapies have simplified treating ailing gallbadders. And though gallbadder removal appears to be on the decline, if it's necessary you're fine without this organ. The gallbladder is a small, muscular, pear-shaped sac nestled

Pet Foods with Drug Claims
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
From a fifth to over half of dogs are overweight, though the lack of agreement as to what constitutes canine obesity complicates the estimate. If your dog is overweight, in most cases a veterinarian's opinion is needed to decide what to do.

Pet Cuisine: Feeding Galloping Gourmets
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Will your dog or cat be better off with a gormet pet food rather than the usual chow? Though benefits may be touted, owners need to know when these products are really needed and when pets and pocketbooks - may be better off without them.

From Psyllium Seeds to Stoneware: FDA Insures Quality of Imports
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Across the country, FDA inspectors work to make sure that regulated products entering the United States from abroad meet the same high standards as those made here. Every food, drug, or other FDA-regulated import is screened - one way or another.

FDA Enforcement Activities Protect Public
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Many people know the Food and Drug Administration as the federal agency whose scientists approve the safety and effectiveness of drugs and medical devices, safeguard the wholesomeness of the nation's food supply, and ensure the safety of cosmetics.

Genetic Screening : Prenatal Peeks
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
In an ultrasound exam, a device called a transducer passed over the abdomen or inserted into the vagina bounces sound waves off the fetus, much like sonar locating a submarine. A computer converts the sound waves into an image.

Genetic Screening : Cystic Fibrosis, Treating the Fetus and Child
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
While cystic fibrosis carrier tests are being refined, Robert Williamson, M.D., of St. Mary's hospital in London is already combining technologies to diagnose the disease in a fetus in a single day.

Genetic Screening : Clues in DNA, Genetic Markers
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The sequence of a gene's building blocks (called bases) instructs the cell to string together amino acids to build a particular protein. Screens for PKU, sickle cell disease, and Tay Sachs disease were possible because the abnormal proteins causing

Genetic Screening
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Like explorers of old, scientists are discovering the unexpected as they undertake to map all human genes. On this voyage, identification of genes for inherited disorders are leading to ways to prevent or treat these conditions in babies.

Head Injuries : Prevention: The Sure Cure
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
'In a very real sense, head injury is a social disease,' says Russell Katz, M.D., deputy director of FDA's division of neuropharmacological drugs. 'People drive drunk, don't use seat belts, shoot each other, or don't protect themselves with headgear

Head Injuries : Minor Head Injury
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Older people are particularly susceptible to head injury that may go unnoticed, says Mark Schapiro, M.D., chief of the brain aging and dementia section of the National Institute on Aging.

Head Injuries : Early Diagnosis, Brain Swelling, Coma
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Early recognition of the extent of damage is vital to survival and to immediate appropriate care. Indeed, the risk of dying increases tenfold when there's more than a four-hour delay of needed brain surgery.

Head Injuries Require Quick, Skilled Care
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Quickly, they measure vital signs such as heartbeat and blood pressure and place electrodes on the skin to attach lines to cardiac and other monitors. They set up life-support measures such as mechanical breathing (ventilation) and blood replacement

Genetic Engineering Yields Disease - Fighting Hormones
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Many of the products described in this article have not yet gone through FDA's approval process. The therapeutic uses described should therefore be understood as investigational, not proven.

Biological Rhythms
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Like the lovely heliotrope, the human body has observable daily rhythms that seem to be governed by what some have called a biological clock. Heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, body temperature, and urine excretion all have higher levels

How to Take Your Medicine: Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
How you take a drug makes a big difference in how well it will work and how safe it will be fore you. Timing, what you eat and when you eat, proper dose, and many other factors can mean the difference between feeling better, staying the same, or even feel

Pet Ownership: Risky Business?
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Sharing homes with pets is a way of life for many Americans at least 60 percent by some estimates. And the companionship, affection and trust of pets can provide distinct health benefits for their owners.