FRIDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Velaglucerase alfa for injection (VPRIV) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat a rare inherited disorder called Gaucher disease, the agency said Friday.

FRIDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Most pancreatic cancer patients die soon after diagnosis, but researchers have identified an oncogene that appears to be a promising new treatment target.

FRIDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Reduced brain activity may explain why drivers can make fatal mistakes on familiar routes, German researchers report.

FRIDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) -- New studies provide more proof that the mainstays of anti-clotting therapy, namely warfarin and aspirin, are facing some severe competition from newcomers.

FRIDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) -- A significant "red tide" this spring and summer could threaten the New England shellfish industry, say scientists with the Gulf of Maine Toxicity project.

FRIDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Small domestic dogs probably originated in the Middle East more than 12,000 years ago, new research suggests.

FRIDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists studying the anatomy of children's brains during reading discovered something rather unexpected: Remedial training for poor readers results in a growth of white matter tracts in the brain, and the increase correlates with the level of improvement in sounding out words.

FRIDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that biomarkers used to detect liver cancer in its early stages aren't doing a great job.

FRIDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) -- New measurements for determining dangerous blood sugar levels for pregnant women and their unborn babies mean that two to three times as many women will be diagnosed with gestational diabetes, a new study suggests.

FRIDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Both stents and conventional surgery appear to be equally effective in preventing strokes in people whose carotid arteries are blocked, according to research presented Friday at the American Stroke Association's annual meeting in San Antonio.

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

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

FRIDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) -- An increase in certain types of immune system antibodies may contribute to the development of heart disease in people with active lupus, a new study finds.

FRIDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) -- If you're trying to reduce your sensitivity to pain, Zen meditation may help by actually thickening your brain, new research suggests.

FRIDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Cutting off the flow of blood to the heart by repeatedly inflating a blood pressure cuff appears to reduce the amount of tissue damaged during a heart attack, a new Danish study shows.

FRIDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Genes that influence tooth development in the first year of life have been identified by British and Finnish researchers.

FRIDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) -- It's not a particular brain region that makes someone smart or not smart.

(HealthDay News) -- Gastroparesis, commonly affecting people with diabetes, occurs when the vagus nerve is damaged and the stomach and intestines don't process food normally. As a result, the stomach takes too long to empty.

(HealthDay News) -- While hearing loss may be present from birth or come on gradually as a person gets older, it isn't always permanent.