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Small Businesses Oppose Mandates for Health Plans

The small business lobbying group that had a big part in derailing Hillary Clinton's effort to overhaul health care in the early 1990s has staked out its position for the 2008 political season.

Patients Wonder Whether to Replace a Wire That Might Fail

Thousands of patients with failing hearts must decide whether to heed a warning from Medtronic and replace a defibrillator in their chest that has a potentially faulty wire.

Skin Deep: Hold the Chemicals, Bring on the Needles

More and more women are using facial acupuncture instead of Botox to attack wrinkles.

Officials See No Public Health Threat in Shortage of a Meningitis Vaccine

A developing shortage of vaccine against childhood meningitis is expected to inconvenience some pediatricians and parents, but should not become a public health threat, officials said.

Clinics That Offered Antifat Injections Close

A national chain of cosmetic medical clinics that popularized antifat injections denounced by medical groups shut its doors in the wake of dozens of complaints from consumers asking for their money back.

National Briefing | West: California: Ruling Against Marijuana Clubs

A federal appeals court in San Francisco upheld an 2002 injunction barring three California marijuana clubs from giving the drug to medical patients with a prescription. The ruling by judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit sided with the Justice Department, which first sued the dispensaries in 1998 to stop sales of medical marijuana to patients with a doctor's approval, as allowed under a California law approved by voters in 1996. The law has been at the heart of a series of legal battles over state and federal drug laws, which categorize marijuana as illegal. The ruling was likely the last legal recourse for the clubs. In 2001, the United States Supreme Court heard the case and ruled against the California cooperatives.

Advertising: Campaign on Childhood Mental Illness Succeeds at Being Provocative

A provocative public service campaign on children's psychiatric disorders has raised hackles as much as awareness.

Lawmakers Seek Inquiry on F.D.A. Rejection of Cancer Drug

Lawmakers called for hearings to investigate the rejection of the Dendreon Corporation's experimental prostate cancer drug.

F.D.A. Panel Rejects Over-the-Counter Cholesterol Drug

Government advisers rejected Merck's bid for over-the-counter sales of a cholesterol-lowering drug, saying that too many people would mistakenly use the drug if it no longer required a prescription.

Agency Approves Drug to Treat Genetic Disorder That Can Lead to Retardation

The drug, called Kuvan, is intended to help people who have phenylketonuria, or PKU, which requires those who have it to adhere to a strict low-protein diet.