Thinking about quitting smoking? There are three top ways to help you stop, a new review finds. According to the study, folks wanting to quit should turn to: Varenicline, a prescription nicotine-blocking drug sold under the brand names Chantix and Champix Cytisine, a plant-based compound sold as an over-the-counter supplement in Canada and Europe Nicotine… read on > read on >
An AI-enhanced digital stethoscope can help doctors detect a potentially deadly form of heart failure that can occur late in pregnancy, a new clinical trial reports. The AI-driven stethoscope was 12 times more likely than traditional methods to spot heart pump weakness tied to peripartum cardiomyopathy, an uncommon form of heart failure linked to pregnancy,… read on > read on >
‘Fetch’: It’s not just for dogs. New research finds that lots of cats — 41% — love retrieving toys tossed by their human. “Although cats and dogs are very different in many aspects of their behavior and in how they ended up being companion animals, we find it fascinating that so many of them share… read on > read on >
Ketamine is becoming a popular depression drug, but doctors aren’t keeping in mind the danger it can pose to a pregnancy, a new study warns. Ketamine can be very harmful to a developing fetus and should not be used during pregnancy, researchers said. But only 20% of ketamine clinics require a pregnancy test at least… read on > read on >
A new interactive map of the United States can show people the risk of leg, foot or toe amputations due to peripheral artery disease (PAD) in their locale. Mississippi has the highest risk of lower limb amputation, followed by Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and South Carolina, the Non-Traumatic Lower Extremity Amputations by Congressional District Heat Map… read on > read on >
Current vaccines against mpox were designed to fight an older, rarer cousin of the virus, smallpox. Now, new research from the drug company Moderna suggests its new mpox vaccine, based on mRNA technology, might do a better job at shielding recipients from harm. The findings were published Sept. 4 in the journal Cell. “With the… read on > read on >
In news that should reassure folks glued to their cellphones all day, a new international review finds no link between cellphone use and brain cancer. Commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO), the review included 11 experts from 10 countries who sifted through decades of research — 5,000 studies published between 1994 and 2022 to… read on > read on >
A wearable heart monitor raises the detection rate of the dangerous irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation (A-fib) by more than 50%, a new study finds. Unfortunately, there was no increase observed in the number of strokes prevented after folks got the devices, the researchers noted. A-fib can create clots that can then trigger strokes.… read on > read on >
People who can cope with challenges as they grow older are more likely to live longer, a new study shows. Seniors with higher levels of mental resilience are 53% less likely to die within the next 10 years than those with the lowest levels, researchers found. Even with chronic health problems or an unhealthy lifestyle,… read on > read on >
An experimental three-in-one blood pressure pill works better than layering on meds one at a time, a new clinical trial shows. After a month on the combo pill, 81% of patients had their blood pressure under control compared with 55% of patients receiving standard care, researchers report. “The triple pill still produced clinically meaningful reductions… read on > read on >
