Plant oils have been used for their healing properties for centuries and are a central part of traditional medicine systems in China and India. Aromatherapists maintain that essential oils exert their effects because their odors are transmitted directly to two parts of the brain most intimately tied to emotion and long-term memory.  Full story »

A new report confirms the concerns brought to light in 2007 by Cleveland Clinic cardiologist Steven Nissen, who warned of the increased potential for heart attack in people taking the drug in a New England Journal of Medicine study. Full story »

Most researchers and physicians agree that we need more vitamin D. And because food is generally a poor source, most people turn to pills. But how much do we really need? And how do we know?  Full story »

A new test for peanut allergy may more accurately diagnose the condition, cutting down on unnecessary anxiety for families who may be avoiding peanuts for no reason. Full story »

Michelle Obama's sweeping plan to wipe out childhood obesity launches Tuesday, and local physicians on the front lines hope that "Let's Move" will deliver on its promises. Full story »

The Buteyko theory turns conventional thinking about asthma on its head, so the method — taking fewer small, measured, shallow breaths through the nose — seems counterintuitive. Yet practitioners swear it works. Full story »

Staci Woo was nearly full term in an easy pregnancy when she lost her baby to stillbirth. Her search for answers led her to Yipling Han at Case Western Reserve University and has confirmed the first documented case of a term stillbirth caused by oral bacteria. Full story »

While the standard treatment for depression, a mix of psychotherapy and pharmaceuticals, helps most people facing the illness, holistic and integrative medicine practitioners have been offering a wide variety of other techniques to treat depression -- from meditation and hypnosis to energy medicine -- for years. Full story »

The synthetic platelets created at CWRU may help slow blood loss caused by trauma on the battlefield and severe injuries at home. In tests on laboratory rats, the injected synthetic platelets stopped internal bleeding after an injury 23 percent faster than in untreated rats. Rats injected with the platelets prior to injury stopped bleeding in half the time of the untreated animals.  Full story »

At high-stress times, many of us would like a full-body massage, but time and money can be a factor. Self massage offers many of the same benefits, including muscle relaxation, pain and stress reduction and even improvements in immunity. Full story »

A national ad promoting H1N1 shots at local Walgreens stores that ran in today's Plain Dealer gave a phone number that directed people to pharmacies in Indiana and Michigan. The shots aren't available in Ohio yet, but the company says they're on the way. Full story »

A Case Western Reserve University biomedical engineer and her former doctoral student have created synthetic platelets that may help treat blood loss caused by trauma on the battlefield and severe injuries at home.  Full story »

Recognized as a valid practice for pain and anxiety relief by the American Medical Association as early as 1958, hypnosis today it is well-accepted by mainstream medicine but is usually considered an add-on, rather than a stand-alone, therapy.  Full story »

Students at Albion Middle School in Strongsville are using grant funding from the NFL and the National Dairy Council to change their school's eating and exercise habits, one step at a time Full story »

Children under ten years of age who received a dose of the H1N1 vaccination when the shots first became available in November are now due for a booster, which will be available at several locations in the next week. Full story »