In this photo released by UC Berkeley anthropologist Charles Briggs on Aug. 7, 2008, Warao Indians grieve over the body of Elbia Rivas, who died from an unidentified illness, in Barraquitas, Venezuela, Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008. An unidentified illness has killed at least 38 Warao Indians in remote villages in Venezuela, according to indigenous leaders [...]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -
U.S. health officials warned the
public on Friday about the risk of a rare type of muscle injury
seen when the cholesterol drug simvastatin is combined with the
anti-arrhythmia medicine amiodarone.

The Food and Drug Administration said it continued to
receive reports of rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle injury that
can lead to kidney failure or death, despite [...]

- (HealthDay News) — Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy
of CenterWatch:

Erectile Dysfunction

If you are a male and at least 19 years old with a
history of erectile dysfunction, have had success with Viagra, Cialis, or
Levitra during the past six months, and expect to be in a relationship
with a female partner, you may [...]

- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments,
compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Interaction Between Cholesterol, Heart Meds
May Cause Muscle Damage

People who take the anti-cholesterol drugs Zocor (generic: simvastatin)
or Vytorin along with a medication to control irregular heartbeat are at
increased risk of severe muscle damage, the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration warned Friday.

[...]

- FRIDAY, Aug. 8 (HealthDay News) — A gene variant that may
influence a person's initial response to smoking and lifetime smoking
habits has been identified by a team of researchers.

The finding about the variant in the CHRNA5 nicotine receptor gene may
help explain how someone goes from trying their first cigarette to
becoming a long-term smoker.

Previous studies [...]

- FRIDAY, Aug. 8 (HealthDay News) — Eating foods with soy protein
has been promoted as a way to lower cholesterol, but a new study finds it
has no significant effect on cholesterol levels.

The findings “do not support the current health claims for soy protein
in a general population,” said study author Peter R.C. Howe, director of
the [...]

- FRIDAY, Aug. 8 (HealthDay News) — In what they say may be the
first operation of its kind in the United States, surgeons at New
York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center removed a
woman's gallbladder without making any external incisions.

The procedure, offered as part of an ongoing clinical research trial,
involved insertion of an endoscope through a [...]

- FRIDAY, Aug. 8 (HealthDay News) — The standard screening test
for prostate cancer may not be accurate for obese men, leaving them more
vulnerable to the disease, and surgery is less likely to be effective for
them, a new pair of studies found.

“Obese men are more likely to be diagnosed with an aggressive form of
the disease,” [...]

- FRIDAY, Aug. 8 (HealthDay News) — A protein produced by fat
cells may play a pivotal role in increasing an older American's risk for a
heart attack even if they are losing weight, a new report says.

Levels of adiponectin increase in the bloodstream when people lose
weight and appear to endanger the cardiovascular health of older [...]

- FRIDAY, Aug. 8 (HealthDay News) — A British study adds more
evidence for the link between dietary salt intake and high blood
pressure.

The study, which included researchers at the University of Cambridge,
looked at one possible genetic factor that might make people more or less
vulnerable to the effects of salt intake on blood pressure — variants [...]