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

U.S. Posts Fewest Measles Cases in Nearly a Century

Just 44 cases of measles were tallied in the United States in 2002, the lowest number in the 92 years since records have been kept, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Only 216 cases of the virus were recorded in the three years from 2001-2003, compared with more than 55,000 cases between 1989 and 1991, the Associated Press reported.

Thanks to preventive vaccinations and other public health efforts, the CDC declared the U.S. measles-free in 2000, meaning that virtually every case reported since then has been traced to people visiting the U.S. from places like Europe and Asia, the agency said.

For that reason, measles shots among Americans are still a must, the CDC warned. Among people who aren't immunized, the virus can cause pneumonia, diarrhea, encephalitis, and death, the wire service said.

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Greek Olympic Athletes Accused of Dodging Drug Tests

On the day the 2004 Olympics were to begin in Athens, two of Greece's top athletes were being investigated Friday for allegedly failing to undergo required drug testing.

To make matters worse for the pair, their hearing on the matter was postponed when sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Ketrine Thanou were hospitalized with injuries suffered in a motorcycle wreck, the Associated Press reported.

Kenteris is the defending 200-meter champion, and Thanou was the 100-meter silver medalist at the Sydney games four years ago. They weren't seriously hurt, police said, but were expected to remain hospitalized for two more days, the AP report said.

It isn't known yet whether the pair will be well enough to compete in this year's games. They recently returned to Greece after a training session in Chicago, but failed to report to International Olympic Committee officials for a drug test, the AP reported.

Neither athlete has tested positive for drug use, and a Greek Olympics official called their failure to show up for the tests a misunderstanding, the wire service said.

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Epilepsy Drug Approved to Counter Migraines

The anti-seizure drug Topamax (topiramate) has been newly approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat frequent or severe migraine headaches.

In clinical trials, patients who took the recommended daily dose showed a significant reduction in monthly migraine attacks compared to those who took a non-medicinal placebo, marketer Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical said in a statement. The drug is already approved for migraines in 22 countries, the company said.

Migraines are a chronic, debilitating condition characterized by sharp, throbbing pain on one side of the head. Other symptoms can include nausea or vomiting, visual disturbances, and sensitivity to noise and light. Some 14 million Americans experience severe or frequent cases, Ortho-McNeil said.

Common side effects reported among Topamax users include tingling in the extremities, fatigue, loss of appetite, and a change in taste sensation.

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New Antidepressant Cleared in Woman's Suicide

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has concluded that Cymbalta, an antidepressant the agency approved earlier this month, was not responsible for the death of a woman who committed suicide during a clinical trial.

The Indianapolis Star reported that the FDA told the drug's maker, Eli Lilly and Co., that it had no further questions about the suicide of 19-year-old Traci Johnson.

According to the Star, the closing of the investigation was part of the FDA's approval package for Cymbalta, giving Lilly the permission to begin selling it.

The finding is "confirmation of our assertion there wasn't a link between her participation in the study and her death," Lilly spokesman Philip Belt told the paper.

Johnson hanged herself with a scarf on Feb. 7 in a bathroom of Lilly's drug testing clinic during a study of the drug. She stopped taking Cymbalta and was being weaned from it when she hilled herself. The Star previously reported that she had had a history of depression and suicide attempts.

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West Nile Virus Found to Linger in Some

A new study finds that most participants who were hospitalized with a severe West Nile virus infection still hadn't recovered fully a year later.

Researchers at the New York Academy of Medicine tracked 42 New York City residents who were hospitalized with severe West Nile symptoms in 1999, the year the virus was first discovered in the United States. The patients were between 16 and 90 years old.

The study, appearing in the August issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, found that 63 percent of the patients still suffered from muscle weakness, headaches, and difficulty concentrating. Most of the patients who recovered fully were under the age of 65.

"Many people with severe West Nile virus infection suffered lingering and debilitating symptoms well after they left the hospital," Denis Nash, an epidemiologist at the academy, said in a statement. "West Nile virus infection appears to cause longer-term health problems than was previously appreciated."

Since it first came to the U.S., West Nile has cut a deadly swath from coast to coast. California has reported its fifth suspected death from the virus, which hadn't killed anyone in that state before this year.

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Changes Urged in Labeling of Allergy Drug

A drug safety group says that changes are needed in the labeling of the allergy drug epinephrine because, it says, the current labeling is confusing to the point of being dangerous.

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices announced Thursday that it is requesting the changes from the U.S. Pharmacopeia, citing a string of what it calls "ongoing problems."

The latest problem was the death of a 16-year-old boy in a hospital emergency room because of an overdose of epinephrine.

The problem, according to the institute, is that the dilution strengths are expressed on the label as ratios, which can cause health-care workers to misunderstand how to use the drug.

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