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Don’t let your surgeon toss your old heart pacemaker out with the trash.  Used pacemakers can be refurbished, researchers report, providing the potential for more people overseas to get the lifesaving devices. “Unlike in the United States, pacemaker therapy is often not available or affordable for people in low- and middle-income countries,” explained Dr. Thomas…  read on >  read on >

The rate and number of abortions among U.S. women took a slight dip in 2022 compared to 2021, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In late June of 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that since 1973 had legalized abortion…  read on >  read on >

Ultraprocessed foods have been linked to a myriad of health issues, and a new study suggests that the autoimmune skin disease psoriasis might be added to that list. “Results of this study showed an association between high ultraprocessed food intake and active psoriasis status,” concluded a team led by Dr. Emilie Sbidian, a dermatologist at…  read on >  read on >

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford health economist and critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates, to lead the nation’s largest medical research agency, the National Institutes of Health. In a statement late Tuesday, Trump said Bhattacharya will work under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., potential head of the Department of Health…  read on >  read on >

Folks with irregular sleep patterns might have an increased risk of a heart attack or stroke, a new study says. People who doze off and wake up at extremely varied times day by day have a 26% increased risk of a potentially fatal heart-related health emergency, results show. This elevated risk occurred whether or not…  read on >  read on >

Bouncing a soccer ball off the head during play could be doing real damage to the brain, a new study suggests. MRI brain scans of male and female soccer athletes suggests that lots of “heading” could damage areas of the brain already known to be linked to debilitating concussion-linked conditions, such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy…  read on >  read on >

The cutting-edge weight-loss drug Zepbound can protect obese people from developing type 2 diabetes, a new clinical trial has found. Zepbound reduced the risk of diabetes in obese prediabetic patients by more than 90% during a three-year period compared to placebo, trial results show. “These results show that type 2 diabetes may be prevented, even…  read on >  read on >

Men with heart risk factors tend to lose their brain health more quickly than women with similar heart risks, a new study finds. These men face brain decline as early as their mid-50s, while women are most susceptible from their mid-60s onward, researchers report in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. “These results suggest…  read on >  read on >

Already the go-to drug of choice for millions with type 2 diabetes, metformin might also fight lung cancer if those patients have it as well, new research shows. Metformin appears to help boost the benefits of immunotherapy drugs used to fight lung tumors, according to a team led by Dr. Sai Yendamuri. He directs thoracic…  read on >  read on >