December 3, 2008 Health Check: Generic vs. brand name drugs Play video

(Ally Donnelly, NECN) - In the Health Check, generic drugs put to the test versus the brand name. Plus - how healthy is your state? The latest rankings are out. Health reporter Ally Donnelly has more.

Patients anteing up extra cash for brand name drugs to treat cardiovascular disease are getting no more bang for their buck than folks who stick with generics. So says a new study in the journal of the American Medical Association.

The study says some specialists are still pushing patients to buy the expensive designer drugs, but mounting evidence shows the generics have the same active ingredients and in *some cases could lead to better outcomes.

The lead researcher -- a doctor at Boston's Brigham and Women's hospital -- says that's because generics cost less, which means patients can afford to take them and *stay on them.

New England states ranked in the top 11 spots in the annual "America's health rankings." The overall report says after 10 years of gains, the nation's collective health seems to have leveled off and may be heading for a downslide.

The report says American's widening waistlines, addiction to tobacco and increased rates of chronic diseases are the problem.

Vermont for the second year takes the top slot in the nation -- praised for a low prevalence of obesity, relatively few children in poverty and a low premature death rate. New Hampshire ranked 3rd, up 1 slot from last year. Massachusetts came in 6th, up

The explosion in stem cell research findings has also led to a boom in web sites from clinics offering treatments. But a new study says buyer beware.

A report published in the journal cell, stem cell cautions that many of the web sites proclaim their therapies safe and effective -- when there is not enough evidence to support the claims. In recent years, American patients have traveled to china and other countries to seek treatment for everything from Alzheimer's to Parkinson's disease.

The former head of the international society for stem cell research -- who is a researcher at Children's hospital Boston -- calls the web sites dangerous and says the warning is an important wake up call.