Health briefs: Couples and binge drinking

Binge drinking can be contagious between romantic partners, according to a new study. The findings suggest that many young adults who binge drink do so because their romantic partner binge drinks, said the team at Canada's Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Two problems solved?

A hormone called DHEA helps ease menopausal symptoms as well as improve sex, according to a small new study, the first evidence that low doses of adrenal hormone DHEA (dehydroepiandro- sterone) can help sexual function, say researchers at Italy's University of Pisa.

Early gender test

New research suggests that a blood test may one day be available to tell expectant mothers the gender of their baby as early as the first trimester. South Korean researchers said that various ratios of two enzymes, DYS14 and GAPDH, in a pregnant woman's blood can tell a baby's sex. The test is not yet available.

-- HealthDay