Top Medical News: Junior Seau, Myeloma, Avian Flu, Alzheimer's, Choline, & More

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1. Autopsy conducted on body of NFL star Junior Seau: Medical authorities conducted an autopsy on Thursday on the body of Junior Seau, a day after the former star San Diego Chargers linebacker died of an apparent suicide in his beachfront California home, a coroner's official said.

2. US health care spending highest, Japan lowest: study: A study of 13 industrialized countries released Thursday showed Japan spends the least on health care, while the United States spends the most without providing superior care for the money.

3. Ethicist: We need safer drugs for our kids: Today, four out of five children hospitalized in the U.S. are given medications that were never tested for them.

4. Fewer Teens Are Having Sex: Use of Highly Effective Birth Control Also Increasing.

5. Overly Long Pregnancies Linked to Behavioral Problems in Toddlers: Children born after a longer-than-normal pregnancy are at increased risk for behavioral and emotional problems, a new study suggests.

6. Avian Flu Study Finally And Fully Published: After endless toing and froing over whether two studies that demonstrated how bird flu, also known as avian H5N1 influenza, or avian flu, should be published, one of them has appeared in the latest issue of the journal Nature in its entirety.

7. How does the FDA monitor your medical implants? It doesn't, really: Each prescription drug you take has a unique code that the government can use to track problems. But artificial hips and pacemakers? They are implanted without identification, along with many other medical devices.

8. Study: Omega-3s may help lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease: Eating foods such as chicken, fish and nuts may help lower blood levels of a protein strongly associated with Alzheimer's disease and memory problems, according to new research.

9. Increased maternal intake of choline better for the baby: Pregnant women may have added incentive to bulk up on broccoli and eggs now that a Cornell University study has found increased maternal intake of the nutrient choline could decrease their children's chances of developing hypertension and diabetes later in life.

10. Multiple Myeloma Detection Better with CT Scans: A new study of finds low-dose, whole body CT scans are nearly four times better at detecting multiple myeloma than radiographic skeletal survey, which is currently the standard approach in the United States.

11. Low Oxygen Levels Could Drive Cancer Growth, Research Suggests: Low oxygen levels in cells may be a primary cause of uncontrollable tumor growth in some cancers, according to a new University of Georgia study. The authors' findings run counter to widely accepted beliefs that genetic mutations are responsible for cancer growth.