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EDINBURGH, Scotland -- Rett Syndrome -- a relatively rare autism spectrum disorder -- may be reversible, if experiments in mice are borne out in humans.

LOS ANGELES -- Arthritis patients taking Arcoxia (etoricoxib), an investigational highly selective Cox-2 inhibitor, had significantly fewer uncomplicated upper gastrointestinal events, versus a traditional NSAID, but it was no better for more serious GI problems.

ST. LOUIS -- African-American women, compared with white women, have preterm babies more frequently and deliver prematurely at an earlier gestational age, found researchers here.

ANTWERP, Belgium -- For the first time, the unassailable proof that physicians can do harm by indiscriminate use of antibiotics has emerged from a randomized controlled trial.

SAN DIEGO -- High levels of vitamin D can significantly reduce the relative risks of breast and colorectal cancer, according to two meta-analyses reported separately by researchers here.

ATLANTA -- Autism spectrum disorders are much more common than previously thought, and could affect as many as one in 150 school-age children, CDC researchers reported. The prevalence was highest in New Jersey among 14 states surveyed.

BOSTON -- Nearly 90% of patients with advanced cancer said in a study that religion and spirituality were important to them, but 72% said their spiritual needs were met only minimally or not at all by the medical system.

NEW YORK -- Breast cancer patients given colony stimulating factors to overcome chemotherapy-driven neutropenia have an increased risk of developing acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), according to researchers here.

CHICAGO -- If physicians have a moral objection to a legal medical procedure such as abortion, it is ethically acceptable for them to explain this to patients, two-thirds of doctors said in a national survey.

BOSTON -- A commonly used general anesthetic creates a vicious cycle of cell death and deposits of Alzheimer's disease proteins -- at least in cell culture.

SAN BRUNO, Calif. -- Trasylol (aprotinin), a drug designed to limit operative blood loss, was associated with a 48% increase in risk of dying within five years of coronary artery bypass surgery, according to researchers here.

BALTIMORE -- Men with an aggressive form of benign prostatic hyperplasia, which requires early intervention to stave off bladder complications, can be found with an investigational blood test, reported a multicenter team.

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA said today it has approved the first microarray genetic analysis designed to aid in predicting the risk of stage I or II breast cancer recurrence or metastasis.

TEMPLE, Tex. -- Only high-volume cardiac interventionalists with meticulous track records should consider performing percutaneous coronary procedures without onsite surgical backup, according to a consensus statement.

CHICAGO -- Older men and women who are lonely are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's-type dementia as their peers with good social networks, researchers have found.

NEW YORK -- Low birth weight and child abuse combine synergistically to increase the later risks of depression by 10-fold and social dysfunction by nearly ninefold, researchers here said.

AARHUS, Denmark -- Four common neuropsychiatric disorders of childhood appear on the rise, with Tourette's syndrome, and hyperkinetic disorder joining autism and autism spectrum disorder, researchers here reported.

ST. LOUIS -- Pediatricians who make medical errors would like to report their mistakes to their hospitals but the doctors often fear the recriminations of formal disclosure programs, according to a survey