Health Tip: Common Reasons for Potty Training 'Accidents'

(HealthDay News) -- Potty training accidents can be frustrating for parents and kids, but they're usually a part of the learning process.

Health Tip: How to Protect Seniors From Injury

(HealthDay News) -- Creating a home safety checklist can help seniors prevent injuries and let them prepare if they happen to fall or hurt themselves.

Constipation May Help Explain Some Bedwetting

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Constipation is often the cause of bedwetting in children, a small, new study suggests.

College Degree Lowers Marriage Odds for Those From Disadvantaged Backgrounds

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Far from enhancing their value in the marriage market, a college degree actually reduces the chances that an American from an economically disadvantaged background will tie the knot, a new study finds.

New Scoring Method May Help Predict Stroke Outcome

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- A new scoring system can help quickly identify stroke patients who will respond well to the clot-busting drug alteplase (Activase), Finnish researchers say.

Vulnerability to Anthrax Varies Widely: Study

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- People's susceptibility to anthrax toxin is determined by their genes and can vary greatly among individuals, a new study says.

Smoking May Be Especially Tough on Men's Brains

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Smoking appears to speed declines in memory, thinking, learning and processing information in men, but not in women, new research suggests.

Thousands of U.S. Kids Hospitalized for Abuse

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Close to 4,600 kids in the United States were hospitalized as a result of child abuse in one recent year, and 300 of them died, a new study shows.

Spanking Produces Troubled Kids, Study Contends

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Adding more fuel to the controversial topic of children and spanking, two Canadian child development experts have published a new analysis that warns that physical punishment poses serious risks to a child's long-term development.

Fewer Teens Exposed to Tobacco Smoke in Cars: Report

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Although fewer kids are being exposed to smoking while riding in cars, more than 20 percent of nonsmoking teens still are, U.S. health officials report.

New Criteria Could Change Who Is Diagnosed With Alzheimer's

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- New guidelines for diagnosing the mental decline that can come with several diseases of aging may create confusion among doctors and patients about who has early Alzheimer's disease and who simply has mild cognitive impairment, a new report warns.

Health Highlights: Feb. 6, 2012

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Certain Cancer Drugs May Have Fatal Side Effects: Analysis

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Treatment with three relatively new cancer drugs may be linked to a slightly increased risk of death, a new analysis suggests.

Antidepressants May Not Raise Suicide Risk in Youth: Study

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Antidepressant drugs such as Prozac do not raise suicide risk in young people, a new study says.

Many U.S. Kids Still Buy Unhealthy Snacks at School

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Despite efforts to serve healthier meals to school children, roughly half of U.S. elementary school kids can buy junk food at school, a new study finds.

Pancreas May 'Taste' Fructose, Hinting at Links to Diabetes

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- New research shows that the pancreas has sweet-taste receptors -- like those found on the tongue -- that can "taste" fructose.

Does Abortion in First Trimester Raise Risk of Mental Ills' Return?

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Women with a history of mental illness do not seem to be at increased risk of readmission to a psychiatric hospital after having an abortion in their first trimester, a new study suggests.

Metformin Preferred Drug for Type 2 Diabetes, Experts Say

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- When it comes to the treatment of type 2 diabetes, the first line of defense is lifestyle changes such as losing weight and exercising more often.