New research shows the breast cancer drug tamoxifen also kills a fungus that causes a deadly brain infection. The fungal infection called cryptococcosis is responsible for more than 600,000 deaths worldwide each year. It primarily strikes people who have compromised immune systems.
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The majority of people who have coronary heart disease now die from causes other than heart disease, such as cancer and lung disease. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic looked at the deaths of nearly 7,000 heart patients over 20 years and found only 37% are now cardiac-related.
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And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the West Nile virus has cost the U.S. economy nearly $800 million in health care expenses and lost productivity. More than 37,000 cases of the mosquito-borne illness have been reported to the CDC since it was first detected in 1999.
