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

Federal Court Blocks Release of Abortion Records

A federal appeals court refused on Friday to act on a U.S. Justice Department request for abortion records from Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

The Justice Department was seeking the records to see if the hospital was adhering to the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, which Congress passed last year.

But the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in Chicago, ruled that releasing the records would compromise the privacy of women who had abortions at the hospital, The New York Times reports.

The decision marked the first time an appeals court had issued an opinion on whether the federal government has a right to demand abortion records in its defense of the controversial Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, the newspaper says.

In a statement, the Justice Department said it "has made every attempt to ensure that sensitive patient information remains private" and that it planned to continue defending the partial-birth abortion ban.

But abortion-rights proponents called the ruling an affirmation of the privacy rights of women, the Times says.

"This is a victory for medical privacy," said Representative Rahm Emanuel, a Democrat from Illinois. "It's not for the Justice Department to intimidate people and tread on their medical privacy."

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Study Casts Doubt on Eye Injury/Shaken Baby Link

The belief that bleeding behind the eyes likely indicates a baby has been shaken violently may not be accurate, according to Wake Forest University researchers.

Writing in the new issue of the British Medical Journal, the Wake Forest team says there's little scientific evidence to prove that bleeding behind the eyes alone proves a baby has suffered abuse.

The researchers searched the medical literature on this type of eye injury and found no proof that it could only result from shaken baby syndrome. Their finding supports the conclusion of another recent study, BBC News Online reports.

"If some doctors believe that this eye injury can only result from shaking and haven't critically reviewed the medical literature, false allegations of child abuse could exist," lead researcher Dr. Patrick Lantz told BBC News Online.

An editorial in the same issue of the British Medical Journal suggests that experts need to re-assess the criteria used to diagnose shaken baby syndrome.

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Groups Launch Global Headache-Awareness Campaign

An effort to increase global awareness about headache disorders was launched Friday by the World Health Organization (WHO) and international non-governmental groups.

While headaches don't kill people, they cause long-term disability problems for nations, companies and families all over the world, Benedetto Saraceno, head of the WHO's Mental Health and Substance Abuse department, told the Associated Press.

Tension-related headaches, which include migraines, cluster headaches and chronic daily headache syndromes, are the most common, according to the WHO. Headaches affect people of all ages and levels of society in developing and developed countries.

"There is a common belief that headache is more burdensome in the industrialized countries. In poor countries, the headache problem isn't ranked high because there are other and more serious diseases that kill people," Saraceno told the AP.

This new campaign, called "Lifting the Burden," aims to map the extent of headaches globally and to increase headache awareness among government and health care authorities.

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Intense Aerobic Exercise Bad for Unfit People

Intense, sporadic exercise can cause serious harm to people who are unfit, warn University of Ulster researchers.

They found that infrequent aerobic exercise causes the body to release dangerous free radicals that can negatively affect normal function in people who aren't in shape, BBC News Online reports.

The release of these free radicals occurs when unfit people do exercise that takes their heart rate to about 85 percent of its maximum for more than 10 minutes. Only trained athletes, who seem to be protected from any adverse effects, should push their bodies to that level of exercise on a regular basis, the researchers say.

If you do perform strenuous aerobic exercise, you should work your way up gradually and also ensure that your diet is rich in antioxidants, the researchers recommend. Broccoli, spinach and berries are examples of foods rich in natural antioxidants.

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Senate Passes Bill Expanding Fetal Rights

The U.S. Senate has approved legislation that expands the legal rights of the unborn, making it a separate crime to harm a fetus during an assault on a woman who is pregnant.

Thursday's 61-38 vote means the bill now goes to President Bush, who has pledged to sign it. The House passed the measure last month.

On its surface, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act is somewhat limited, since it only applies during commission of a federal crime, the Associated Press reports. Examples include a terrorist attack, or crimes committed on federal lands or military bases.

But proponents and opponents alike acknowledge its far-reaching consequences, since it's believed to be the first legislation that recognizes a fetus as a distinct person. The bill's wording does not overtly define when life begins -- rather it says the protection involves "a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb," the AP reports.

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Drug Discount Cards to Debut Soon

The Bush Administration says it has chosen 28 companies to provide drug discount cards to Medicare participants, bringing the new Medicare law a step closer to fruition.

Beneficiaries can enroll in a discount card plan starting May 1, and begin using the cards on June 1. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson says the cards, intended mostly for people who have no prescription drug coverage, should cut retail prices by up to 25 percent, The New York Times reports.

The cards have been offered as an interim step until the new law's full-fledged drug benefit starts in 2006. The cards will allow qualifying Medicare participants to receive up to $600 a year to help pay for prescription drugs in 2004 and 2005, the newspaper says.

Sponsors of the new cards are permitted to charge an enrollment fee of up to $30, but about 25 percent of them have said they wouldn't impose the fee, a Medicare spokesman tells the Times.

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