Health Highlights: May 18, 2009
May 19 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
More Americans Pro-Life: Survey
More Americans consider themselves to be pro-life (51 percent) than pro-choice (42 percent), according to a new Gallup poll. It's the first time since Gallup started asking the question in 1995 that a majority of respondents said they're pro-life.
The results of the survey (which has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points) suggests a significant shift in attitudes, the Los Angeles Times reported. Last year, 50 percent of respondents said they were pro-choice, while 44 percent said they were pro-life.
The new poll found that 53 percent of Americans support legal abortion only in certain circumstances. The number of those who believe abortion should be illegal in all circumstances is 22 percent, while 23 percent think abortion should be legal in any circumstances.
In recent years, surveys found that people who opposed all restrictions outnumbered by a wider margin those who supported a total abortion ban, the Times reported.
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Injectable Risperdal Approved for Bipolar Disorder
The long-lasting, injectable form of Risperdal has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of bipolar disorder.
The approval, based on two studies, is for the use of the Johnson & Johnson drug on its own and in conjunction with other treatments, such as lithium, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
One study found that the drug used alone delayed bipolar disease relapses characterized by extreme mood shifts. The other study showed that injectable Risperdal significantly delayed relapses among patients who were already being treated with valproate or lithium.
Injectable Risperdal was approved by the FDA in 2003 for treatment of schizophrenia.
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Later Retirement May Delay Dementia: Study
Postponing your retirement could help delay the development of Alzheimer's disease, suggests a British study that included more than 1,300 people with dementia.
