Health

Actress Angelina Jolie, 37, writes that she made the choice with thoughts of her six children after watching her own mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, die too young from cancer.

To try to keep premiums low, some states are allowing insurers to charge patients a hefty share of the cost for expensive medications used to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and other life-altering chronic diseases.

If the government fails to appeal, it would clear the way for over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill to younger girls.

The Dynamic Athletics Research Institute has developed a new, marker-less way to track movement. The Missouri Orthopaedic Institute is the only facility in this hemisphere to use the technology.

It was the first time the data disclosing the list prices hospitals charge, compared to what Medicare covers, has been made available to the public. For Boone County residents, the news isn't all bad.

The Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services compiles statistics on the number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases throughout the state.

One hundred hours of preparation paid off with a $7,500 group scholarship for the MU team's presentation on how to improve health care for patients with COPD.

The Missouri Mission of Mercy dental clinic Friday and Saturday provided free fillings, cleanings and extractions to anyone who needed them. More than 1,700 people attended the event in Cape Girardeau.

The disease can be contracted by simply breathing in fungus-laced spores from dust disturbed by wind as well as human or animal activity.

Although more research is needed, preliminary studies show that girls and women who play sports suffer more concussion and feel the effects longer than males.

The application and accessories allow for people to test their blood pressure, run an EKG and take pictures inside the ear to determine infections.

The concerns over triclosan offer a sobering glimpse at a little-known fact: Many chemicals used in everyday household products have never been formally approved by U.S. health regulators.

It is estimated that nearly 2,569 pounds of unwanted or expired medications — close to 911,000 pills —  have been collected in Boone County since June 2010.

The poll found that two-thirds of people 40 and over have done little to no planning for the pricey reality of aging.

Drop-offs will be accepted at specific locations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Board of Health reviewed the city's fluoride levels in response to a request made by Columbia residents and Sixth Ward council member Barbara Hoppe. 

Sara Lazar, a Harvard-affiliated researcher and instructor in the psychiatry department at Massachusetts General Hospital, demonstrated her research about yoga and meditation to a group of people at MU's Acuff Auditorium on Wednesday.

Pain is the top reason people see a doctor, and there's no way to quantify how bad it is other than what they say. A big quest in neuroscience is to find tests or scans that can help diagnose ailments with mental and physical components.

A new study estimates that the direct cost of treatment and care for dementia patients cost the United States $109 billion in 2010, topping heart disease's $102 billion and cancer's $77 billion.