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

Large Increase in Kidney Disease Hospitalizations: Report

Between 1980 and 2005, the number of hospitalizations for kidney disease in the United States increased from 416,000 to 1.6 million, says a study published Thursday in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hospitalization rates for kidney disease, including chronic and acute kidney failure, were consistently higher (30 percent to 40 percent) among men than women, increasing from 25 to 66.5 per 100,000 in men and from 17.8 to 45.8 per 100,000 in women.

In 2005, about 61.4 percent of hospitalized kidney disease patients were 65 and older, compared to 49.9 percent in 1980. An increasing number of kidney disease-related hospital admissions were associated with diabetes or high blood pressure, the study said.

The report authors said more research is needed to learn why hospitalization rates for kidney disease are increasing and to better understand the link between kidney disease and chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

In addition, there needs to be increased focus on early detection of kidney disease through screening, and encouraging health-care professionals to standardize criteria for diagnosing kidney disease.

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Tobacco Company Helped Fund Lung Cancer Study

There's widespread dismay and concern after it was revealed that researchers who concluded that lung scans may help save smokers from cancer failed to reveal their financial ties to a tobacco company, the Associated Press reported.

The Weill Cornell Medical College researchers didn't disclose the money links to the parent company of cigarette maker Liggett Group Inc. when they submitted two studies to the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine. The studies were published in 2006. News of the tobacco funding was first reported Tuesday in The New York Times.

In a statement released Wednesday, Liggett spokeswoman Carrie Bloom said the company "had not control or influence over the research."

Cornell Dean Dr. Antonio Gotto said there was no attempt to hide the fact the research was co-funded by the tobacco company, the AP reported. Gotto said the university made a public announcement about the funding.

Dozens of organizations, including the American Cancer Society, also funded the Cornell team's research. But the cancer society wouldn't have contributed to the study if it knew "Big Tobacco" was also providing funding, said ACS chief medical officer Dr. Otis Brawley.

A statement released by Dr. John Niederhuber, director of the U.S. National Cancer Institute, said scientists must maintain the trust of patients in research studies and "any breach of that trust is not simply disappointing but, I believe, unacceptable," the AP reported.

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Targeting RNA May Lead to New Disease Treatments

By silencing key genetic material in cells, it may be possible to treat a number of kinds of diseases, suggests a study by Danish researchers.

They silenced strands of micro-RNA in the liver cells of monkeys, which resulted in lower cholesterol levels. This was the first time this technique was used in primates. Previous tests were conducted in test tubes and rodents, BBC News reported.

The study, published in the journal Nature, was conducted by a team from Copenhagen-based Santaris Pharma.

The researchers said this technique could eventually prove effective in treating a number of diseases, including liver disease, diabetes, certain types of cancer, and cardiac diseases, BBC News reported.

This could be done by developing a new generation of drugs that silence certain types of RNA, which is believed to be the main regulator of activity within cells. Some types of RNA have been found to be associated with disease.

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Lilly to Pay $15 Million to Settle Alaska Zyprexa Lawsuit

In what's seen as a surprise announcement, Eli Lilly and the state of Alaska announced Wednesday that the drug maker has agreed to pay $15 million to settle a state lawsuit claiming its schizophrenia drug Zyprexa caused users to develop diabetes.

The announcement comes three weeks into a trial in Anchorage. The case hadn't reached the jury, but it was expected that closing arguments would take place this week, The New York Times reported.

In the statement released Wednesday, Lilly did not admit wrongdoing.

The state of Alaska sued Lilly to recover the cost of medical care allegedly generated by Medicaid patients who developed diabetes while taking Zyprexa. A number of other states have sued Lilly with similar claims, or are taking part in settlement talks led by federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania.

Lilly has already shelled out $1.2 billion to settle 30,000 individual lawsuits from people who said they developed diabetes while taking Zyprexa, the Times reported. Since the drug was introduced in the U.S. in 1996, more than 23 million people have taken it.

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FDA Issues Draft Guidelines for Drug-Eluting Stents

Draft guidelines to help in the development, testing and manufacture of coronary drug-eluting stents were issued Wednesday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Stents are hollow mesh cylinders used to prop open arteries that were once blocked. Drug-eluting stents have a coating that slowly releases a drug to prevent the growth of scar tissue.

For more than two years, there has been growing concern about the possibility of dangerous clot formation in some patients. Since 2006 when such concerns were raised, medical societies have urged patients to take anti-clotting drugs for at least a year after the devices are implanted, the Associated Press reported.

The proposed guidelines recommend that the device manufacturers conduct large, analytic studies of the devices, the AP said.

The guidelines also include a recommendation that a device maker should track patients for up to five years after a drug-eluting stent receives FDA approval, the wire service said. Public comment on the draft guidelines is being accepted for 120 days.

The FDA has so far sanctioned drug-coated stents made by three manufacturers: Boston Scientific, Medtronic, and Johnson & Johnson. Each year in the United States, about 650,000 patients receive this type of stent.

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New Yorkers Gain 10 Million Pounds in 2 Years

The Big Apple is getting much bigger.

Between 2002 and 2004, New York City residents gained a total of more than 10 million pounds, about 173,500 residents became obese, and more than 73,000 were diagnosed with diabetes, says a study by the city's health department.

During those two years, the city's rates of obesity and diagnosed diabetes both increased by 17 percent, compared to a six percent increase in obesity and no increase in diabetes diagnoses nationwide.

In New York City, obesity increased by 20 percent among whites and by 14 percent among Hispanics. Among older residents, the obesity rate increased by 28 percent, and shot up by 33 percent among foreign-born residents.

There were large increases in diabetes diagnoses among both U.S.- and foreign-born residents, 15 percent and 26 percent, respectively. The highest diabetes rates were among black and Hispanic adults, and among people in low-income neighborhoods.

In another study, health department researchers said calories from sodas and other sugary drinks are a major cause of the city's obesity epidemic. Overall, 27 percent of New York City adults consume an average of nearly two sugar-sweetened sodas a day, which contain nearly 300 calories.

The studies appear in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease and in the Journal of Urban Health.