2008-07-30 How the Heart Works
This is the VOA Special English Health Report. We talked last week about the life of famed heart doctor Michael DeBakey. He died this month at age ninety-nine. Today, we…
2008-07-23 Dr. Michael DeBakey’s Long and Productive Life
This is the VOA Special English Health Report. Michael DeBakey performed more than sixty thousand operations during his long career as a heart surgeon. His patients included American presidents John…
2008-07-16 Among Vitamins, D Seems Short for ‘Does a Lot’
This is the VOA Special English Health Report. Vitamin D helps bones and muscles grow strong and healthy. Low levels of vitamin D can lead to problems such as rickets,…
2008-07-09 Hand Washing by Birth Attendants, Mothers Saves Lives
This is the VOA Special English Health Report. A new study in rural Nepal shows the value of washing hands with soap and water in preparation for childbirth. Researchers found…
2008-07-02 Safety Checklist Aims to Reduce Mistakes in Surgery
This is the VOA Special English Health Report. Doctors around the world now perform more than two hundred thirty million major operations every year. The World Health Organization says preventable…
2008-06-25 Cancer Stem Cells Capture Attention of Scientists
This is the VOA Special English Health Report. Some experts predict that doctors will someday use stem cells to treat many different diseases. Yet so far there has been less…
2008-06-18 Ear Care: Do-It-Yourself Wax Removal
This is the VOA Special English Health Report. Some people’s ears produce wax like busy little bees. This can be a problem even though earwax appears to serve an important…
2008-06-11 Scientists Link Gene Changes to Longer Lives
This is the VOA Special English Health Report. Scientists continue to search for genetic answers to why some people live a long time. One study has now examined more than…
2008-06-04 More People Get HIV Drugs, but Even More Get Infected
This is the VOA Special English Health Report. A United Nations report says almost three million people in developing countries are now receiving drugs for H.I.V. This is an increase…
2008-05-28 Brain Cancer Like Kennedy’s Is Difficult to Treat
This is the VOA Special English Health Report. Last week doctors in Massachusetts announced that Senator Ted Kennedy has brain cancer. The news came after he suffered a seizure. Doctors…
2008-05-21 WHO Chief Says World Faces Three Growing Threats
This is the VOA Special English Health Report. A yearly meeting of all the member countries in the World Health Organization is this week in Geneva, Switzerland. Delegates from the…
2008-05-14 Need Your Appendix Out? Let Me Reach Down Your Throat
This is the VOA Special English Health Report. Medical researchers keep looking for less invasive ways to perform operations. The aim is to cut less and to reduce pain and…
2008-05-07 How to Do ‘Hands-Only CPR’
This is the VOA Special English Health Report. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, is help for a stopped heart. It increases the chances of survival and reduces the danger of brain…
2008-04-30 Deaths in Blood-Thinner Patients Bring Calls for Answers
This is the VOA Special English Health Report. Heparin is a blood-thinning medicine made from pig intestines, which often come from small farms in China. The drug is often used…
2008-04-23 New Malaria Drug Launched in Latin America, Southeast Asia
This is the VOA Special English Health Report. A Brazilian drug company and a nonprofit group have developed a new, simplified malaria treatment. Patients have to take only one tablet…