New York, Jan 21 : A 71-year-old man who turned up at an Italian hospital with symptoms of cardiac trouble surprised doctors when it was discovered that he had two hearts.

He had undergone a rare heart transplant seven years earlier in which a new organ was paired with the diseased one. The two hearts had developed independent rhythms and doctors attempted drug therapy to correct the problem.

New York, Dec 19 : The only real remedies to cure hangover are sleep and hydration, researchers say.

Alcohol is considered as a toxin by the body and its breakdown in the liver produces an even more poisonous compound called acetaldehyde.

“For the most part, most hangover cures are pretty bogus,” the New York Post quoted Dr. Paul Cesar, the director of headache medicine at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center as saying.

New York, Dec 8 : Scientists have found two new medicines that could keep breast cancer in check.

The drugs significantly delay the time until women with very advanced cases get worse.

In a large international study, an experimental drug from Genentech called pertuzumab held cancer at bay for a median of 18 months when given with standard treatment, versus 12 months for others given only the usual treatment.

New York, Nov. 8 : A judge has snuffed out the plans by the federal authorities to slap graphic warnings slapped on all cigarette packages — for now.

U. S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled Monday that a suit filed by several tobacco companies this year needs to be resolved before the federal rule could be enforced, The New York Daily News reported.

New York, August 05 : Next time, when you reach for that bar of Hershey''s, know that it only takes a bite or two of chocolate to get the benefits.

A new study has suggested that a daily bite of chocolate could bolster your workouts, reports the New York Daily News.

New York, June 21 - Nearly six million children in the US suffer from allergic reactions towards certain food items, says a new study.

This estimate is higher than some previous research has reported. The reactions are often severe and many kids have more than one allergy, Xinhua reported citing the study published in Pediatrics.

New York, May 7 - An estimated 400,000 people die every year due to infections in US hospitals and nursing homes, according to a new study.

Infections in nursing homes have become a leading cause of illness and death in the US, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health said in the study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Infection Control.

New York, May 6 - A growing number of US kids have been infected with measles after travelling abroad, health officials said.

Up to 39 percent of measles cases in the US originate in Europe. Cases of such measles among kids were under investigation, said officials from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

So far this year, there have been 89 cases of measles reported in the US.

New York, Apr 19 : A study has found that oral sex and HPV, a nasty bug with strains that causes genital warts and cervical cancer in women, is the leading cause of oral cancer among non-smoking men in the US.

Doctors revealed that the cases of oral cancer resulting from exposure to the HPV-16 strain of the virus are hitting epidemic proportions in the U. S., affecting mostly white, male, non-smokers in their late 30s and early

New York, April 15 - Children as young as 11 in Philadelphia city in the US can now order free condoms via mail in a new campaign launched to reduce sexually transmitted diseases.

The programme, launched by the department of health, features a website that shows facts on diseases like chlamydia, gonorrhoea and HIV/AIDS, as well as instructions for young girls on how to use female condoms, Fox News reports.

New York, April 7 - UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has said autism demands the collective attention of the international community.

The statement came as Ban addressed a UN panel discussion on strengthening regional and international collaboration to help treat the developmental disorder, according to Xinhua.

New York, April 3 - One in five women in the US have children with different fathers, according to a study.

Researchers found that this trend was higher in minority groups and women with low income and education backgrounds, Britain's Daily Mail reported.

The data was taken during a 27-year period from nearly 4,000 American women.

Author Cassandra Dorius of the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research presented her findings to the Population Association of America.

New York, Apr 2: Menopause is not limited to women, it hits men too, say researchers.

Scientists at the Centre for Men's Health in London say that women aren''t the only ones who have to worry about shifting hormones wrecking havoc as they age, men also suffer from andropause - a menopause-like condition - as they get older.

They found that 20 percent of the 10,000 men over 50 were affected by a hormonal imbalance, according to the Daily Mail.

New York, March 23: Berlin Zoo officials have claimed that Knut the polar bear died of unspecified brain problems.

The 4-year-old celebrity polar bear collapsed in his containment on Saturday in front of several hundred visitors, reports the New York Daily News.

Early findings from a necropsy performed Monday showed "significant changes to the brain, which can be viewed as a reason for the polar bear''s sudden death," the zoo said in a statement.

The zoo didn''t elaborate on what exactly was wrong with the bear''s brain, but it said pathologists found no damage to any other organs.

New York, March 19: Editor in chief of Vogue Italia, Franca Sozzani, is reportedly launching a petition to shut down pro-anorexia websites that encourage unhealthy eating habits among young people.

Sozzani turned to her blog to point fingers at the social networking site Facebook for being a major cause of eating disorders and to launch a campaign against pro-anorexia websites.

New York, Feb 26: Botox treatments may help women who suffer from vaginal muscle spasms, says an expert.

MSNBC. com reported that Botulinum Toxin A, the active ingredient in drugs such as Botox and Dysport, could help treat severe cases of vaginismus, vaginal spasms that affect women''s ability to be sexually penetrated.

Dr. Peter Pacik, a New Hampshire surgeon, is conducting an FDA-approved clinical trial testing the use of Botox on female patients who experience painful burning sensations and vaginal muscle contractions that make having sex nearly impossible.

New York, Feb 11: Unlike India, where there are no rebates whatsoever on life-saving drugs, even breast pumps and lactation supplies are tax deductible in the US.

The Internal Revenue Service''s new ruling has designated the items as ''medical expenses,'' meaning families can use pre-tax funds from their flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts to pay for them, reports the New York Daily News.

New York, Jan 31: Couples who will get down on Valentine''s Day just might bring an extra special delivery date after nine months - 11/11/11.

"Absolutely - there''s a significant chance of that," the New York Daily News quoted Dr. James Grifo, a professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the NYU Langone Medical Center, as saying.

New York, Jan 31: Experts have said that the latest `energy- shots' that seem to have caught everyone's fancy may be nothing but slightly caffeinated, sour-tasting water.

They said that the four-dollar a bottle drinks create nothing but a placebo effect.

The drink makers are not required to list how much caffeine they contain, nor does the law require them to be FDA approved.

New York, Jan 22: Sleeping with pets could result in health hazards from staph infections to meningitis, according to a new study.

Bruno Chomel and Ben Sun, the authors of the new study, said the diseases could even include the plague, reports the New York Daily News.

The researchers found more than half of all dog owners consider their pooches to be members of their family.

And more than half slept in the same beds with their dogs. And not to be outdone, cats are just as dangerous to owners'' health as dogs.

New York, Jan 11: Uggs-the trendy, flat-booted suede boots which are popular among celebs and comfort-craving pedestrians-can increase your chances of getting fungal, infection especially if you wear them without socks.

A fungal infection can result from any shoe that doesn''t "breathe," said Mitchell Greenbaum, chief of podiatry at St. Francis Hospital.

New York, Jan 7 : Fuel Loko-which was pulled from shelves across the New York City recently- could soon be found close to home: in your gas tank.

The controversial beverage, originally advertised as ''blackout in a can,'' was pulled from shelves after consumers complained the potent mix of alcohol and caffeine was causing dangerous side effects.

New York, Jan 6: Girls who begin menstruating before the age of 11.5 are the most depressed by ages 13 and 14, says a new study.

The younger a girl is when she begins her monthly period, the more likely she is to struggle with depression later in her teen years, according to British scientists.

New York, Dec 31: Video game company Nintendo has issued a warning that children, who are 6 years old and younger, should not play its new 3DS in 3-D mode as it could damage their eyes.

The firm posted the disclaimer on a website for an event in Japan that will promote Nintendo's coming 3DS portable console, the New York Daily News reported.

New York, Dec 22: A new frozen gel-filled cap- called DigniCap-may one day help cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy prevent hair loss.

According to Msnbc. com, four patients in the U. S. are trying out the DigniCap-a hat that contains a cooling gel and fits tightly on the head.

During the treatment, the gel chills the hair follicles, thus restricting the amount of chemotherapy that reaches them.