If you’re having nightmares during these stressful times, rest easy: A sleep expert says it’s to be expected. “Your experiences and interactions during the day can affect your dreams, and right now many of us are spending time watching the news or reading articles that are downright scary,” said Jennifer Martin, a director of the… read on >
Huge declines in patient visits during the coronavirus pandemic have slashed U.S. primary care doctors’ revenues, a new study finds. As a result of decreases in office visits and fees for services from March to May during the pandemic, a full-time primary care physician will lose an average of more than $65,000 in revenue in… read on >
More and more U.S. states are allowing marijuana to be taken as medicine, and a new study suggests that users do indeed feel better. In a survey of nearly 1,300 people with chronic health conditions, researchers found that those using “medicinal cannabis” reported less pain, better sleep and reduced anxiety. They also tended to use… read on >
Happy couples apparently make good bedfellows. New research says that when happy couples sleep together, they tend to have more — and less disrupted — rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. The REM phase of sleep is when you dream, and it’s been linked to emotion regulation, memory consolidation and creative problem-solving, the researchers said. “There… read on >
As the United States reported yet another record-breaking number of new coronavirus cases on Thursday, public health officials warned that younger Americans now account for an ever-growing percentage of infections. In Arizona, where drive-up testing sites were being overwhelmed, nearly half of all cases are being seen in those aged 20 to 44, The New… read on >
Patients with severe COVID-19 may be at risk for a variety of brain complications — from stroke to psychosis, new research suggests. “There have been growing reports of an association between COVID-19 infection and possible neurological or psychiatric complications, but until now these have typically been limited to studies of 10 patients or fewer,” said… read on >
Animal studies of a potential COVID-19 vaccine have been so encouraging that researchers plan to speed up testing of the vaccine in humans. Initially, the next phase of the trial was expected to begin in September, but that start date has now been moved to August. Developed by researchers at the Duke-NUS Medical School in… read on >
Kids as young as age 8 can show signs of being at increased risk for diabetes in adulthood, a British study finds. Researchers analyzed blood samples collected from more than 4,000 participants at ages 8, 16, 18 and 25, looking for patterns specific to early stages of type 2 diabetes development. “We knew that diabetes… read on >
College students who partied on the beach at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, over spring break paid a price for their frivolity: Their fun in the sand led to 64 cases of COVID-19 back in Texas, U.S. health officials report. Little did the University of Texas at Austin students know that as they tanned and knocked… read on >
An experimental vaccine helps protect monkeys against bacteria that cause diarrhea in millions of children worldwide, researchers report. Bacterial gastroenteritis — a digestive problem associated with malnutrition among millions of children younger than age 5 each year in developing nations — can be caused by Campylobacter bacteria. Repeated infections can stunt growth and impair brain… read on >
