7 Healthcast: Health year ender

2007 rang in with the news that Americans are living longer, with a number of reports throughout the year, showing that death rates from all causes - including heart disease and cancer - are down - although in many cases, gaps between blacks and whites still remain.

The year also brought calls for stronger warning labels on prescription drugs, amid reports of dangerous side effects linked to a number of medicines- everything from anti-depressants to the popular diabetes drug Avandia.

Bad superbugs gained strength too, with the release of a government health report suggesting that resistant staph bacteria dubbed MRSA may cause more deadly infections than AIDS. Health experts say frequent hand washing is one of the best defense strategies.

A report by the Centers for Disease Control found after 25 years of climbing, obesity rates in the United States are holding steady.

Perhaps just the motivation we all need to grab a friend and stick to that get healthy new years resolution in 2008.

So what's to come in 2008? Global warming and it's impact on health will stay in the spotlight, and you can look for more advances in personalized medicine, with developments in genetics that will enable scientists to create customized therapies for patients.

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