Attention, chocolate lovers: You may not be able to help yourselves. Swiss and British scientists have linked the widespread love of chocolate to a chemical "signature" that may be programmed into our metabolic systems.
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New Meningitis Vaccine Gets Nod
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MONDAY, Jan. 17 (HealthDayNews) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a longer-lasting vaccine for meningitis, an often fatal bacterial infection of the brain and spinal cord. Sanofi Pasteur''s Menactra was approved to prevent meningococcal infection among people aged 11 to 55. It''s meant to last longer than the firm''s existing meningitis vaccine, which lasts from three to five years. While symptoms of the disease can mimic the flu, its effects are often more deadly and typically strike faster. Otherwise healthy people can die from a meningitis infection in 48 hours or less, the company said in a statement. Those who survive can be left with disabilities including hearing loss, memory loss and brain damage. The infection often spreads rapidly in confined living quarters, like those of a college dormitory. Adolescents and young adults account for nearly 30 percent of cases in the United States, and death rates are five times higher among 15- to 24-year-olds than younger people. Up to 3,000 Americans get meningitis each year. The strain targeted by the vaccine kills about 10 percent of its victims, Sanofi Pasteur said. More information To learn more about meningitis, visit the National Library of Medicine.
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