Valproic acid has been a mainstay of epilepsy treatment for decades. But how the drug works has been a mystery. Researchers have now figured out the drug boosts a particular chemical in the brain. The finding may help scientists develop better treatments someday.

Three years after bariatic surgery, most people experienced health improvements. Yet some people benefited much more than others. Figuring out those differences would help doctors and patients understand who should have surgery and who should avoid it.

Scientists are asking people to contribute samples of their gut microbes to help figure out how those microbes affect human health. But ethicists say sharing that information, as well as the personal health data that makes it useful to researchers, poses risks. That's especially true for children.

A monkey virus that's a stand-in for HIV plummeted to undetectable levels when animals got potent antibodies of a type recently discovered in some humans. A single antibody injection was enough to do the job.

Prescription painkillers don't work for many people, and some people are helped by treatments like meditation that don't rely on drugs. The varied responses may stem from fundamental differences in how people's brains react to pain. Some minds can wander away from pain, while others just can't turn away.

The majority of new HIV infections among gay men in the U.S. these days occur within committed couples. So researchers are piloting a strategy that's been successful in Africa. Gay couples in several cities have tried it and say the benefits are unexpected.

Anorexia and bulimia, once thought to be eating disorders affecting girls and women, affect a growing number of boys and men. Boys as young as 9 and 10 are feeling the pressure to be ripped and muscular, psychologists say. But they can have a hard time finding a treatment program geared to males.

Doctors and nurses are starting to look more carefully at delirium as a health problem for people who have been hospitalized. It may signal long term thinking problems, a study says. More emphasis is being put on preventing delirium in hospital patients by getting them walking sooner and encouraging adequate sleep.

Lost cost shots will be available through the month of October.

Don't let a swamped website keep you from checking out insurance options. That's the advice from Dr. Aaron Carroll, director of IU's Center for Health Policy & Professionalism Research.