Preterm births linked to “hormone-disruptor” chemicals in plastics cost the U.S. health care system billions of dollars, a new study claims. Daily exposure to phthalates — chemicals used to manufacture plastics — might be tied to nearly 56,000 preterm births in the United States in 2018, researchers report. Estimated medical costs resulting from those early… read on > read on >
Two people have died and 23 have been hospitalized in a years-long outbreak of listeria illness that’s finally been traced to one company’s cheeses, yogurts and other dairy products. That’s the message from a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention alert sent out on Tuesday. All of the dairy products, sold nationwide and marketed… read on > read on >
The COVID-19 vaccine given to pregnant women does no harm to their unborn babies, and can actually lower the risk of serious complications in newborns, a new study finds. Babies born to women who received the COVID vaccine had half the death rate of those born to unvaccinated moms, according to findings published Feb. 6… read on > read on >
When getting vaccines, switching arms for each dose may produce greater immunity than having the jabs delivered into the same arm. That’s the finding from a new study that looked at the first two doses of COVID vaccines. Those who alternated arms showed a small increase in immunity over those who got both shots in… read on > read on >
New guidelines from the American Dental Association (ADA) are cracking down on the use of opioids for tooth pain. The guidelines say that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) taken alone or alongside acetaminophen should be the first-line treatment for managing short-term dental pain in teenagers and adults. The available medical evidence indicates that those medications can… read on > read on >
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has resumed a national campaign that uses the stories of former smokers to warn Americans about the many health dangers of tobacco. Known as the “Tips From Former Smokers” campaign, seven new people are featured in ads sharing their stories about how cigarette smoking damaged their health.… read on > read on >
Scientists say they’ve created the first 3D-printed brain tissue where neurons network and “talk” to each other. The breakthrough could be an advance for studying neurological processes in the lab, say a team from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “This could be a hugely powerful model to help us understand how brain cells and parts of… read on > read on >
Police seizures of “magic” mushrooms have more than tripled within the past five years, the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse reports. The total weight of psilocybin mushrooms seized by law enforcement increased from 498 pounds in 2017 to 1,861 pounds in 2022, according to a new report published Feb. 6 in the journal Drug… read on > read on >
Using ultrasound to measure blood flow in the placenta and the fetus could help spot issues tied to low birth weight, researchers report. As the Dutch investigators explained, about 10% of fetuses are determined to be “small for gestational age” after ultrasound examination in the womb. Some underweight newborns do just fine, but others may… read on > read on >
The former ‘party drug’ ketamine has gotten some good press recently, with clinical trials suggesting it might be a powerful and fast-acting antidepressant. Now, one of the first “real-world” studies of ketamine against depression appears to support those findings. Researchers at the University of Michigan and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System say that almost half… read on > read on >
