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BOURNEMOUTH, England-A campaign to urge kids to stop drinking sugared carbonated beverages-an effort to have them lose weight or prevent obesity-didn’t seem to have much value in the long run, reported investigators here.

DURHAM, N.C. -- The oxygen-transporting efficacy of stored blood begins to decay almost immediately but adding nitric oxide may keep it fresh, two groups of researchers here said.

GRONINGEN, Netherlands -- Smoking has been overrated as an important factor in spurring multiple sclerosis progression and disability, researchers here said.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Three researchers, including two U.S. scientists, who were pioneers in gene targeting, will share the 2007 Nobel Prize in medicine.

SAN DIEGO -- Pediatric infectious disease specialists have no consensus about the optimal approach to treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in children, a nationwide survey indicated.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Cancer patients are not waiting longer for chemotherapy, nor are they traveling greater distances to receive treatment, despite predictions of access issues when Medicare reduced payment for infusion therapy.

NEW YORK -- Subclinical hypothyroidism may modestly increase the risk of heart failure, researchers found.

DUNDEE, Scotland -- A five-month course of the ACE inhibitor perindopril (Aceon) was equivalent to six months of exercise training for elderly patients with mobility problems, researchers here found.

Take this MedPage Today poll that looks at creation of a behind-the-counter drug dispensing category that would involve pharmacists more heavily in direct patient counseling.

LILLE, France -- Older treatment-naïve stages II or III multiple myeloma patients have a survival advantage when thalidomide (Thalomid) is added to standard therapy, researchers found in a randomized trial.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Patients seem more skeptical than their doctors do on the safety of menstrual suppression with continuous-use oral contraceptives, but the women like the idea, survey results suggested

LONDON -- For treating agitation in Alzheimer's disease, the cholinesterase inhibitor donepezil (Aricept) was no better than placebo, found a multicenter study.

SEATTLE -- Fetal cells that enter the mother's circulation during pregnancy may contribute to a reduced risk of future breast cancer, according to a preliminary study.

TORONTO -- Drug-eluting stents are associated with a lower three-year mortality rate than bare-metal devices, according to registry data here.

WASHINGTON -- Senator Pete Domenici (R, N.M.), who has announced that he will not seek re-election next year, has been diagnosed with frontotemporal lobar degeneration.

NUTHETAL, Germany -- An onion a day may help fend off pancreatic cancer, but apples were a bust, found investigators studying the cancer-fighting role of flavonols.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA will convene a public hearing next month to consider formalizing a dispensing category that would make drugs available without a prescription, but only after consultation with a pharmacist.

PHILADELPHIA -- There's a first time for every biting dog, and the animals that bite children may show warning signs, according to investigators here.