(HealthDay News) -- Metabolic syndrome, a host of risk factors often thought of as a precursor to diabetes, also doubles a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease, the U.S. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute says.

(HealthDay News) -- People undergoing chemotherapy or other treatments for cancer often have compromised immune systems, which can make them more vulnerable to germ-related illness.

TUESDAY, Oct. 11 (HealthDay News) -- White and black Americans who live in poor neighborhoods struggle with many of the same health disparities, which suggests that where a person lives plays a larger role in health disparities than previously believed, according to a new study.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Black Americans are more likely than whites to die of gunshot and other assault-related injuries after they arrive at a trauma center, a new study has found.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Drivers who get behind the wheel after using marijuana run more than twice the risk of crashing compared to others, a new study finds.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Vitamin D plays a critical role in the body's ability to fight off infections like tuberculosis (TB) -- a potentially fatal lung disease, according to a new study.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) -- There could be 18 million more tuberculosis (TB) cases and 40 million more TB deaths worldwide over the next 40 years if smoking rates stay at their current levels, a new study warns.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Black Americans who have surgery for stage 2 and stage 3 colon cancer have worse overall and recurrence-free survival rates than whites, a new study finds.

TUESDAY, Oct. 11 (HealthDay News) -- More than half of panel members who gather to write clinical practice guidelines on diabetes and high cholesterol have conflicts of interest, new research suggests.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists have sequenced the entire genome of the bacterium that caused the Black Death, a bubonic plague that killed 50 million Europeans between 1347 and 1351 and ranks as one of the worst epidemics in human history.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Stroke patients function better physically and are less likely to die if they undergo treatment that pays special attention to fever, high blood sugar and swallowing problems, new research suggests.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Exercise can prevent migraines just as well as drugs or relaxation techniques, a new study from Sweden suggests.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) -- A new national survey finds that significantly more teenaged males are using condoms when they have sex for the first time.

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

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Growth in a particular part of a premature baby's brain in the first weeks and months following birth may predict how well a youngster is able to think, plan and pay attention later in childhood, new research suggests.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists announced Wednesday that they have succeeded in sequencing the full genome of the naked mole rat, an exceptionally long-lived and cancer-resistant rodent.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) -- The risk of developing deadly esophageal cancer for patients with a condition known as Barrett's esophagus is significant, but not as dire as once reported, a large new Danish study suggests.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Changes in the bacteria in a person's mouth might signal the onset of pancreatic cancer, preliminary research reveals.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) -- The death toll from an outbreak of listeria first linked to tainted cantaloupes has risen to 23, and a total of 116 people have been sickened across 25 states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported late Wednesday.