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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- Major hormonal contraception methods appear to have little or no effect on HIV susceptibility for women at moderate risk, according to a study of more than 4,000 African women.

ORLANDO -- Mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow show promise for severe steroid-resistant graft-versus-host disease, reported European investigators here.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- Midway through a two-day FDA hearing on the safety of drug-eluting coronary stents the hard questions were still open.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- The FDA's drug-eluting stent advisory panel recommended today that the agency change the labels of the two approved coronary devices to warn that off-label use may increase the risk of thrombosis, myocardial infarction, and death.

LEEDS, England -- Once again the question of whether women ages 40 to 49 should have routine screening mammograms has arisen.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- The FDA's drug-eluting stent safety panel recommended today that the labels of Cypher (sirolimus-eluting) and Taxus (paclitaxel-eluting) stents be changed to include a warning that off-label use of the devices may carry an increased risk of stent thrombosis, myocardial infarction, and death. The panel also called for the label to carry a recommendation for 12-months of dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and Plavix (clopidogrel) when drug-eluting stents are used off-label.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Gleevec (imatinib) has led to an overall 60-month survival rate of 95% for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients with who took the tyrosine kinase inhibitor daily, found an international study. Yet the drug doesn't cure the disease.

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Cutting down on cigarettes may be an effective stepping stone toward eventually kicking the habit, according to researchers here. On the other hand, cutting back in and of itself has no known health benefit.

GENEVA -- Patients in the intensive care unit who give informed consent to participate in a clinical trial may not be capable of making such a decision, according to a small Swiss study.

EDINBURGH, Scotland -- For a person at high risk for schizophrenia, a reduction in gray matter in the temporal lobes over time suggests a high likelihood that psychosis will develop, reported investigators here.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- There are more questions than answers on the eve of the start of a two-day special FDA advisory panel on drug-eluting stents, such as whether they are safe, who should get get them, and who should not.

ESSEN, Germany -- For colorectal cancer patients, whole-body PET/CT colonography provides a one-stop tumor staging that seemed at least equivalent to CT plus PET, according to a preliminary report.

SEATTLE -- When it comes to mammogram interpretation, the eyes and judgment of radiologists still have it over computer chips, according to researchers here.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Extending dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and Plavix (clopidogrel) to six months or longer significantly reduced the risk of death or myocardial infarction for patients given-drug eluting stents, researchers here reported.

MADISON, Wis. -- Severe social deficits in males with autism has been traced by investigators here to shrinkage of the amygdala, the component of the limbic system that governs non-verbal responses to threats.

COPENHAGEN -- Long-term cell phone users are not at elevated cancer risk, according to a large Danish study.

SAN DIEGO -- When the Marine Corps evaluated thousands of recruits, it found that young men, ages 18 to 20, were significantly more likely to become risky drinkers if they started drinking as children or young teenagers.

EDMONTON, Alberta -- When enthusiastic hockey fans get into it, the sound in an indoor arena can rise to the level of a jet aircraft taking off, with the risk of permanent hearing damage.