Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
CDC Team Investigating Teen Suicides in Palo Alto, Calif.
Recent clusters of teen suicides in Palo Alto, Calif. are being investigated by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mental health experts.
Project Safety Net said the town -- home to Stanford University -- had seven teen suicides between 2009 and 2011 and at least four in 2014 and 2015. Palo Alto's teen suicide rate last year was the highest in a decade, NBC News reported.
As part of the investigation, the CDC team will spend two weeks analyzing data from various health services and schools. They'll also arrange eight meetings with students, parents, teachers and community leaders to discuss suicide prevention strategies.
"They're really here to investigate and help us understand the youth suicides," Mary Gloner, executive director of Project Safety Net in Palo Alto, told NBC News.
"They'll be looking at data we've already collected, exploring different programs and examining the media of how the coverage of teen suicides during the prime time period," she explained.
The CDC experts -- who were requested by the Palo Alto Unified School District, City of Palo Alto and the Santa Clara County Department of Public Health -- are expected to complete a preliminary report soon after their on-site visit ends Feb. 29, NBC News reported.
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High Sugar Levels in Hot Flavored Beverages: Report
Most hot flavored drinks at popular coffee shops have extremely high levels of sugar, according to a new report.
The Action on Sugar group in the U.K. found that 98 percent of such beverages at major coffee chains in the U.K. have excessive amounts of sugar, and that 35 percent contain nine or more teaspoons of sugar per serving, the same as a can of Coca Cola, CNN reported.
With 25 teaspoons of sugar per serving, Starbucks' hot mulled fruit grape with chai, orange and cinnamon was the "worst offender," the group said. That's three times the amount of sugar in a can of Coke, and more than three times the maximum adult daily intake recommended by the American Heart Association.
Two other Starbucks products -- vanilla latte and caramel macchiato -- each had more than eight teaspoons of sugar per serving.
Sugar levels are similar in hot flavored drinks sold by the same chains in the United States and other countries, according to CNN.
Action on Sugar analyzed 131 hot drinks, including flavored lattes, chai teas, mocha coffees and mulled fruit drinks sold at nine major coffee shops and food chains in Britain, including Starbucks, Costa and Pret a Manger.
