According to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, herbal supplement Echinacea doesn't help prevent colds or relieve their symptoms.

"It's a product with remarkable traction," Dr. Stephen E. Straus, director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, told the New York Times. "It has that traction because of the combination of folklore, myth and word of mouth which is much more than the science has borne out."

What is Echinacea?

About Healthy Herbs

About Alternative Medicine

The parents of a baby born in Winsonsin have taken to calling their new child the "big enchilada," as the infant girl entered the world at almost 14 lb., nearly twice the average weight of a newborn baby.

LGA: Large for gestational age

What Is Gestational Age?

Normal Growth & Development

Autism has come to the forefront of health news, which pleases advocates because it's an issue they've been talking about for years. Why is this such a hot topic?

All About The Kennedy/Autism Controversy

What Is Autism?

How Is Autism Treated?

Can Autism Be Prevented?

Five people die of AIDS every minute. Every minute! Today is World AIDS Day, an occasion to raise awareness about AIDS, HIV and related illnesses and celebrate the advances that have been made in the search for a cure. Read these selections to learn more about how to protect yourself and your family against this disease.

All about AIDS

HIV Infection

Immunodeficiency disorders

Elsewhere on About:

How to Talk to Your Teen About AIDS

Women & AIDS

World AIDS Day

So many holiday traditions revolove around food. How can you avoid ganing weight during this festive time? Delve into the Weight Loss Guide for information on finding your ideal weight, motivational tips, and losing weight the healthy way.

Low-Carb Thanksgiving Recipes

Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court William H. Rehnquist may have anaplastic thyroid cancer. Anaplastic thyroid cancer grows very rapidly and is an invasive type of thyroid cancer. It occurs most often in people over age 60. The cause is unknown. Thyroid function tests are usually normal. Anaplastic cancer accounts for only about 1% of all thyroid cancers and is a very rare disease.

Last night, Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling pitched an amazing seven inning against the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. The Sox won the game, taking the legendary rivals into Game 7.

What was first thought to be a badly sprained ankle turned out to be a torn tendon that needed to be surgically repaired.

Tendon repair

First-Aid for Sprains

The United States is facing a massive shortage of flu vaccinations because British company Chrion Corp., responsible for shipping about half of the nation’s doses, has had its license suspended by the UK government. It’s most important to the medical community that the right people get vaccinated. Since there is such a shortage, the Centers for Disease Control is recommending that people most at-risk for flu be vaccinated, while others are being asked not to be vaccinated.

The flu

Prevention of the flu

Treatment for the flu

It seems a diet of cheeseburgers and onion rings can have an negative impact on your health. Go figure. President Clinton's successful quadrupal bypass surgery created a lot of interest in the topic. Not sure what's involved in surgery like this? Our step-by-step diagrams give you everything you need to know.

Eyeball jewelry? Yes, you read that right. It's the latest fad in the Netherlands. As About Vision Guide Marilyn Haddrill reports, it involves a platinum implant, in shapes such as hearts and half moons, placed in the eye's conjunctiva -- a moist, thin membrane covering the inner eyelids and much of the eyeball's outer surface. See diagram below to understand the parts of the eye, and consider how drunk you'd need to be to do something like this.