Some rectal cancer patients might be spared surgery and the lifelong need for a colostomy bag if they undergo MRI screening, a new study finds. The scans might accurately predict which patients have a higher odds for cancer recurrence and require surgery plus chemotherapy, and which can forgo surgery and opt for a “watch-and-wait” strategy… read on > read on >
Treehouse Foods Inc. has recalled dozens of frozen waffle products because of potential listeria contamination. The recalled products were distributed throughout the United States and Canada and packed in various formats, the company said in its recall notice, which includes photos of the various waffle products. They include waffles sold by Kodiak Cakes and under Publix, Food… read on > read on >
Baby Boom seniors are divorcing at rates triple that of a few decades ago, a new study has found. “Gray divorce” among folks 65 and older increased to 15% in 2022 from 5% in 1990, according to research from the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University. Increased life expectancy… read on > read on >
Heart bypass operations have gotten safer, but not everyone is benefiting equally: New data shows that Black patients face a 22% higher odds of dying in the hospital after their surgeries. “We found Black patients who have coronary artery bypass surgery experience higher rates of severe postoperative complications, including death and cardiac arrest,” said study… read on > read on >
Cataract surgery could restore good vision to older people and by doing so cut their odds for potentially life-threatening falls, a new study finds. Folks who got the surgery had significantly lower odds for bone fractures and brain hemorrhages linked to falling compared to people with cataracts who didn’t get the operation, researchers report. The… read on > read on >
Experiments in sheep are hinting that doses of caffeine given to women in pregnancy, as well as their newborns after birth, could prevent cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a disabling condition often caused by asphyxia — reductions in oxygen supply — around the time of birth. Asphyxia can cause other neurodevelopmental disorders, as well. Researcher… read on > read on >
Expanded access to addiction treatment and the overdose-reversal med naloxone likely prompted a 37% reduction in OD deaths linked to opioids taken with meth or other stimulant drugs, a new study suggests. OD death rates were 8.9 deaths per 100,000 in communities with expanded access to treatment and naloxone, compared to 14.1 deaths per 100,000… read on > read on >
At-home brain stimulation therapy can safely and effectively treat severe to moderate depression, a new clinical trial shows. Rates of treatment response and depression remission were three times higher in people receiving the noninvasive brain stimulation, researchers said. “The study results bring promise that an innovative treatment modality may become available for patients suffering from… read on > read on >
Smokers find it easier to quit if they’re automatically offered support, even if they didn’t ask for it, a new clinical trial finds. Quit rates were higher among health system patients placed in an “opt-out” program, in which tobacco cessation medications and counseling are automatically prescribed upon learning they smoke, researchers found. It’s called an… read on > read on >
Light therapy could be a useful treatment for the most common form of age-related macular degeneration, a new study says. The therapy, called photobiomodulation or “red light” therapy, can reduce the risk of vision loss and slow progression of the “dry” form of macular degeneration, researchers reported recently at the annual meeting of the American… read on > read on >
