(HealthDay News) -- Fad diets may promise drastic and quick loss of weight, but may be dangerous and often fall short when it comes to long-term weight loss.

THURSDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Breast cancer survivors carrying specific genetic mutations, known as BRCA1 or BRCA2, have a 10 percent greater risk for developing cancer in their other breast, and the risk rises further when a woman receives her first diagnosis before age 40, new research suggests.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Hispanic women have a 20 percent greater risk of dying from breast cancer than non-Hispanic white women, according to a new study.

THURSDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Women under the age of 45 who have their ovaries removed are more likely to be diagnosed with arthritis and have lower bone mineral density, a predictor of osteoporosis, a new study finds.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Obese women with early stage breast cancer are less likely to survive than other women who are of normal weight, new research suggests.

THURSDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Many Americans who experience acute kidney injury that does not get better do not see a kidney specialist within a year, which suggests that doctors need to do more to identify and treat these patients, a new study reveals.

THURSDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- The brains of new taxi drivers change as they learn to navigate thousands of streets and places of interest over several years, a new study shows.

THURSDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- A stressful early pregnancy could lower a woman's odds for delivering a boy and raise her risk for premature delivery, a new study suggests.

THURSDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Rats may have gotten a bum rap.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 7 (HealthDay News) -- A government colon cancer screening program in England is on target to reduce colon cancer deaths by its goal of 16 percent, according to researchers who conducted an analysis of the first 1 million test results.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 7 (HealthDay News) -- In November, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration revoked its approval of the drug Avastin for the treatment of breast cancer. But, a new study suggests that the drug can boost the survival of women with a specific type of aggressive breast tumor when used in conjunction with two other medications.

THURSDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Some women who inherit the BRCA1 or BRCA2 breast and ovarian cancer genes from their father may be diagnosed with breast cancer nearly a decade earlier than those who inherit the genes from their mother, a new study indicates.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Breast cancer researchers report they are heartened by the results of two new studies that show combination therapies might improve survival for women with two different types of advanced tumors.

THURSDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Increased consumption of carbohydrate-rich foods, especially starches, may boost the risk of breast cancer recurrence, new research finds.

THURSDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- A new study found that the risk of stroke dropped about 22 percent in people with prehypertension who took drugs that lower blood pressure.

THURSDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. health advisers recommended Thursday that several newer forms of oral contraceptives carry revised labels warning about an increased risk of potentially fatal blood clots.

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

THURSDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Exercise is good medicine, and the number of American adults who did no physical activity in their leisure time decreased from 31 percent in 1989 to 25 percent in 2008, researchers have found.

THURSDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Women aged 40 and older who follow recommendations to have annual mammograms may do themselves more harm than good, British researchers report.

THURSDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- New guidelines on treating so-called "latent" tuberculosis infection in the United States should significantly shorten and simplify the course of the therapy from about 9 months to 3 months, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

THURSDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Few women undergo breast reconstruction after a mastectomy, despite the known cosmetic and psychological advantages, a new study indicates.