(HealthDay News) -- Hepatitis usually is caused by a viral infection, resulting in inflammation of the liver.

(HealthDay News) -- The cornea is the transparent film that covers the front of the eye, helping to focus on the retina what you see.

MONDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Obesity isn't linked with breast cancer risk in Mexican-American women, a new study has found.

MONDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- A new study confirms that two common and often painful foot disorders can be inherited.

MONDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Because weightlessness during space flight can cause people to experience rapid bone loss, long missions may take a toll on crew members' bones, according to researchers.

MONDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Breast cancer patients who undergo mastectomy seem to prefer silicone breast implants over saline (salt water) implants, researchers have found.

MONDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- A solar-powered blood-pressure measuring device that's reliable and affordable could help reduce rapidly rising rates of cardiovascular disease in low-income nations, according to a new study.

MONDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Breast cancer patients who smoke or previously smoked have a higher risk of dying than nonsmokers with breast cancer, new research finds.

MONDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Teenage girls in the United States are more likely than boys to have unprotected sex during their first sexual experience, new research indicates.

SUNDAY, Nov. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis may damage more than the joints, new research suggests.

MONDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Mental and behavioral problems cause children of U.S. soldiers deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and other war zones to need considerably more outpatient medical visits than those with non-deployed parents, a new study suggests.

SUNDAY, Nov. 7 (HealthDay News) -- More and more Americans are struggling with gout as rates of the painful and sometimes disabling arthritic condition continue a decades-long upswing, a new study shows.

MONDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- It's commonly believed that one of the sacrifices new moms must make in order to breast-feed is their sleep. But new research suggests that's just not the case.

MONDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. physicians' links with drug makers, medical device manufacturers and other health-related companies have decreased since 2004, but many doctors still have ties to these businesses, new research shows.

SUNDAY, Nov. 7 (HealthDay News) -- People suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee appear to receive no relief from taking vitamin D supplements, U.S. researchers report.

MONDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that a newer drug works no better than an older, cheaper medication for patients who need long-term treatment for a type of vasculitis, a rare blood vessel disorder.

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

MONDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Among certain patients with a history of stroke or mini-stroke, a new anticlotting medication called Pradaxa (dabigatran) appears to be as effective as the anticoagulant drug warfarin at preventing a second stroke, new German research reveals.

MONDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Putting people on dialysis early, while their kidneys still have adequate function, may increase the chances that they'll die in the year after the procedure is started, a new study suggests.

MONDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- The time it takes for a patient to get to an emergency room when experiencing the symptoms of a heart attack have remained stubbornly high for the past decade, despite efforts to fix that, researchers report.

(HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of ClinicalConnection.com:

MONDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- A large-scale new study found that postmenopausal women who take cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins do not reduce their risk for colorectal cancer.

MONDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that lung cancer in people who have never smoked may be a different disease than it is in smokers.