- TUESDAY, Sept. 2 (HealthDay News) — Fluctuations in the actions of the
serotonin transporter, which helps regulate the mood-altering
neurotransmitter serotonin, may help explain seasonal affective disorder
and related mood changes, researchers say.

In places where the weather changes with the seasons, people commonly
feel happier and more energetic when the days are bright and sunny and
more [...]

A woman breast feeds her baby in Bordeaux, southwest France April 27, 2006. (Regis Duvignau/Reuters)

WELLINGTON (Reuters) -
Scientists have discovered the
crucial ovulation-triggering role played by a small protein
molecule in the brain, a finding that could hold the key to new
therapies for infertility.

Dubbed kisspeptin, the protein is known to play a vital
role in kick-starting puberty.

Now, [...]

A person receives an injection. Schoolgirls in Scotland have become the first in the country to get a jab against cervical cancer.(AFP/File/Mychele Daniau)

LONDON (AFP) -
Schoolgirls in Scotland became the first in the country to get a jab against cervical cancer on Monday.
Pupils aged 12 and 13 in several areas are being offered the vaccine from [...]

A bar patron, seen in 2006, lights a cigarette at a bar in Lille, France. All cigarettes sold throughout the European Union will be self-extinguishing “fire-safe” brands by 2011, the EU Commission said Tuesday.(AFP/File/PHILIPPE HUGUEN)

MUNICH, Germany - Women typically get heart disease much later than men, but not if they smoke, researchers said Tuesday.
In fact, [...]

- TUESDAY, Sept. 2 (HealthDay News) — Three simple questions were just
as good as conventional screening for identifying potential postpartum
depression among new mothers.

“Postpartum depression is under-diagnosed,” said Dr. Adam Aponte, a
pediatrician and associate director for recruitment and retention at Mount
Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. “We found the fewer the
questions, the better. [...]

- (HealthDay News) — Your baby needs his or her own place to take
a bath. Tubs made for adults are simply too big and lack safety features
for infants.

Use these guidelines, provided by the Nemours Foundation, to help
select the safest tub for your baby:

Look for tubs with a backing on the bottom, so it won't [...]

- (HealthDay News) — When a splint or cast is applied to help a
broken bone heal, the cast itself requires some care.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons offers these
suggestions:

Keep your cast dry. Use two layers of waterproof protection to cover
it when you shower.
If you have a walking cast, give it plenty of time to [...]

- TUESDAY, Sept. 2 (HealthDay News) — Drug companies that advertise
directly to consumers may not be getting their money's worth, a new study
contends.

The research, published Tuesday in the online British Medical
Journal, found that despite the billions that are being spent on
direct-to-consumer drug marketing campaigns, the advertising is having a
modest effect at best on sales.

The [...]

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

COPD

If you are aged 40 to 80, a cigarette smoking history
of 10 pack-years, and a diagnosis of stable moderate-to-severe COPD, you
may qualify for this study.

The research site is in DeLand, Fla.

More information

Please see http://www.centerwatch.com/patient/studies/cat44.html.

—–

Vaginitis

If you are a postmenopausal woman [...]

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

Women Smokers Suffer Heart Attacks Earlier
Than Nonsmokers

Smoking is more of a threat to women's hearts than to men's, according
to Norwegian researchers who analyzed data from 1,784 patients admitted to
a hospital after suffering a first heart attack.

The study found that [...]