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KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Dutasteride (Avodart), a drug used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia, may also prevent the development of prostate cancer by inducing genetic changes at the cellular level, researchers reported today.

BOSTON -- Nursing home residents taking 800 IU of vitamin D were less likely to fall and had a 72% decrease in falls compared with those taking a placebo, according to a five-month study.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Only 9% of the men whose early prostate cancer was judged to be indolent agreed to active surveillance, an aggressive form of the so-called watchful waiting, urologists reported here today.

HEIDELBERG, Germany -- A natural family-planning method based on fertility self-monitoring may be as effective as hormonal contraception, but only when used correctly, researchers reported.

LONDON -- The beneficial effects of five years of tamoxifen to healthy high-risk women in preventing breast cancer persist for at least 10 years, whereas most side effects fade, according to two major trials.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Tumor expression of two DNA-repair genes, RRM1and ERCC1, suggest a survival advantage for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer given only surgical treatment, researchers here reported.

CALGARY, Alberta -- A pregnancy hormone may offer a key to halting or reversing the progression of multiple sclerosis and other demyelinating diseases, researchers here reported.

LONDON -- Treating herpes simplex with valacylovir (Valtrex) reduces the levels of HIV in women who are infected with both viruses, according to researchers here.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA informed physicians today of a report by GlaxoSmithKline of an increased number of arm, hand, and foot fractures among women taking rosiglitazone (Avandia) for newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes.

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt. -- A slim primer that helps patients weigh the subtleties of medical claims and the consequences of treatment decisions appears to have survived the rigors of a randomized controlled study.

UTRECHT, The Netherlands -- In low-risk patients undergoing CABG surgery, spurning the cardiopulmonary bypass pump had no effect on five-year cognitive or cardiac outcomes, according to Dutch researchers.

CHICAGO -- Survivors of childhood cancers have a nine-fold higher risk of developing secondary sarcomas more than a decade after their original diagnosis, reported investigators here.

ORLANDO -- About a third of all children treated in a pediatric intensive care unit will develop some of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, including hallucinations and nightmares, investigators reported here.

HAMILTON, Ontario -- Genes associated with an autism risk appear to be clustered in a region on chromosome 11, according to the largest study yet of families with a predisposition to the condition.

NEW YORK -- Video game skills may give younger surgeons a leg up on more experienced practitioners for laparoscopic procedures, according to a small study.

ORLANDO -- In critically ill trauma patients, recombinant epoetin alfa reduces mortality by 48%, according to the most recent in a series of studies of the cytokine.

PARIS -- Women have a higher mortality rate than men after a heart attack largely because they are older and sicker when these events occur, according to investigators here.

GLASGOW, Scotland, Feb. 19 -- There's more evidence women can benefit from moderate exercise during early treatment for breast cancer, researchers here said.