(CBC News) — Doctors are prescribing anti-seizure and nerve pain medications for a common type of chronic low-back pain, a non-licensed use, despite a lack of studies supporting their effectiveness for that purpose, according to a new review.

The drugs, known as gabapentinoids,  …

(Healthline) — When there is pressure or pain in your head, it can be difficult to tell whether you are experiencing a typical headache or a migraine. Differentiating a migraine headache from a traditional headache, and vice versa, is important. It can mean faster relief through better treatments. It can also help prevent future headaches  …

(TCTMD) — Women who choose to take hormone therapy—whether estrogen alone or in combination with progestin—to curb menopausal symptoms have no higher or lower long-term risks of all-cause, cardiovascular, or cancer mortality than women who don’t take the drugs, according to long-term follow-up from the two Women’s Health Initiative  …

(CBC News) — Middle and high school students in Canada who tried an e-cigarette are twice as likely to be susceptible to smoking cigarettes, which researchers call concerning.

In a study published in the journal Preventive Medicine, public health investigators analyzed data from the most recent Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol   …

(Agence France-Presse) — Fewer children are dying before their fifth birthday and although humans are living longer than ever before, one in five deaths last year were linked to poor diet, researchers said Friday.

More than 1.6 million people in poor countries died in 2016 from diarrhoea caused by contaminated water and food, while   …

(New York Times) — Aerobic fitness seems to alter the interior workings of cells in ways that may substantially lower the risk of breast cancer.

A new study with female rats found that those that were the most fit were much less likely than other animals to develop cancer after exposure to a known carcinogen, even if they did not exercise.  …

(The Guardian) — Regular use of bleach and other common disinfectants has been linked to a higher risk of developing fatal lung disease, researchers have found.

The use of disinfectants is linked to a higher risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to research looking at incidence of the disease in  …

(Kelly Malone/CBC News) — The rate of mumps in Manitoba is more than 100 times higher than usual, according to numbers from Manitoba Health.

There have been 853 confirmed cases of mumps in the province from Sept. 1, 2016, to Aug. 31, 2017.

“Normally we would have maybe eight in a year,” said Dr. Richard Rusk, a provincial medical  …

(Dr. Brian Goldman/CBC Radio) — Governments have been accused of trying to spin the news to their political advantage. It turns out that some medical researchers may be tempted to do the same. A study just published in PLOS Biology has uncovered a heap of hype in medical science.

Spin is defined as research conclusions that distort the   …

(CBC News) — A Vancouver Island elementary school is attempting to do away with the lunchtime juice box, encouraging staff and students to go water-only during school hours.

Since classes began this week, Alexander Elementary in Duncan has been conducting an experiment to see if pop, juice and other sugary drinks could be eliminated.  …