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Reuters - More 12-year-olds in the United States admit to using potentially deadly inhalants to get high than have used marijuana, cocaine and hallucinogens combined, U.S. health officials said on Thursday.

When their kids turn 12, parents are concerned about peers pressuring them to smoke cigarettes, drink and use drugs, but it turns out 12-year-olds are doing something else: getting high on inhalants.

HealthDay - THURSDAY, March 11 (HealthDay News) -- A knee replacement can help improve an elderly person's balance, according to a new study.

HealthDay - THURSDAY, March 11 (HealthDay News) -- The recent approval of a new, more broadly effective pneumococcal vaccine (PCV13) for young children could greatly reduce the prevalence of pneumococcal disease in that age group, a new government report suggests.

HealthDay - THURSDAY, March 11 (HealthDay News) -- A mutation that affects how the body responds when a person smells or tastes food may play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes in some people, U.S. researchers report.

An Oklahoma elementary school student has died of bacterial meningitis, officials said Thursday, and two other students are hospitalized with the illness.

Reuters - Until now, a scant number of top notch clinical trials have evaluated whether sodium picosulfate -- the active ingredient in numerous over-the-counter laxatives -- is safe and effective.

When a friend is depressed, it's hard to know what to say. But by simply reaching out, you may help avert a tragedy like the one Marie Osmond's family experienced. Here's how to gently help.

Sure, you could always be more organized, more cheerful, more on top of every little detail. But you're not a Mombot, thank goodness, and no one (except, perhaps, you!) expects you to be.

Reuters - More than 90 Australian authors signed a letter on Thursday decrying China's refusal to grant a visa to one of the country's most celebrated writers because he was HIV-positive, a move that Beijing defended.

HealthDay - TUESDAY, March 9 (HealthDay News) -- Better health translates into better sex lives, with healthy people more likely to engage in sex (and good sex at that) and to express an interest in sex, new research finds.

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Obesity is a major problem in the United States, and children are no exception. Today's kids are spending more hours watching TV, sitting at the computer or playing video games, and less time being active.

HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, March 10 (HealthDay News) -- Orthopedic surgeons warn that sports injuries in children are rising dramatically, creating a "silent epidemic."

HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, March 10 (HealthDay News) -- In the coming weeks, millions of American children will dust off their bats and gloves and head out to the baseball field.

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of ClinicalConnection.com:

HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, March 10 (HealthDay News) -- In an effort to understand the relationship between tobacco smoke and Parkinson's disease, researchers have found that smoking for many years may reduce risk for the disease but smoking a large number of cigarettes a day does not seem to reduce risk.

AP - As they scrambled recently to trace the source of a salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds around the country, investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention successfully used a new tool for the first time — the shopper cards that millions of Americans swipe every time they buy groceries.

Reuters - U.S. regulators said on Wednesday they have found no link between oral bisphosphonate osteoporosis medications such as Merck & Co Inc's Fosamax and certain thigh bone fractures.

AP - Children inherit about 30 mutated genes from each parent, fewer than had been thought, but enough in at least one case to pass on inherited illnesses, according to a first detailed look at the blueprint for human life in a family.

AP - A troublingly high number of U.S. patients who are given angiograms to check for heart disease turn out not to have a significant problem, according to the latest study to suggest Americans get an excess of medical tests.