The GLP-1 drug semaglutide can help obese people manage debilitating knee arthritis, a new trial has found. People who received weekly injections of semaglutide — the active agent in the diabetes drug Ozempic and the weight-loss medication Wegovy — had a nearly 14% decrease in their body weight after 68 weeks, compared with 3% of… read on > read on >
Hillary Fisher thinks receiving weight-loss surgery as a teenager put her on the path to a better life. Fisher is one of 260 teens who participated in a long-term study which recently concluded that weight-loss surgery can bring lasting health benefits for obese teenagers. “It changed my life,” Fisher, now 31, said in a news… read on > read on >
Smokers diagnosed with cancer often shrug and keep lighting up, figuring a few more butts won’t make much difference. They’re very mistaken, a new study finds. Smokers are 22% to 26% less likely to die if they quit following a cancer diagnosis, researchers found. The best outcomes occurred in patients who quit within six months… read on > read on >
Seniors who’ve had a heart attack should probably delay any elective surgeries for three to six months, a new study advises. People aged 67 and older face double to triple the risk of life-threatening complications — like a stroke or a second heart attack — if they move forward with elective surgery too soon following… read on > read on >
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Are people with autism less able to “read” the nefarious intent of criminals, leaving them more vulnerable to scams or coercion into criminal activity? It’s been a common notion among trial lawyers, the Australian researchers behind a new report say, but it’s not grounded in any real evidence. “This perspective may not hold up under… read on > read on >
Doctors in New York City are describing the first known U.S. cases of sexually transmitted ringworm, which can cause a nasty rash that can take months to bring under control. Despite the name, ringworm isn’t any kind of worm but instead is a fungus, Trichophyton mentagrophytes. It’s more commonly known as jock itch (when it… read on > read on >
In a finding that challenges conventional thinking on when people with failing heart valves but no symptoms should get surgery, a new study suggests these patients would fare far better if they had their valves replaced right away with a minimally invasive procedure. The results, published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, could… read on > read on >
If anxiety over this year’s presidential election is keeping you up at night, you’re not alone. About 17% of all U.S. adults — a striking 45 million Americans — say the election has negatively impacted their sleep, according to a survey by the National Sleep Foundation. These folks are sleeping less on the weekend and… read on > read on >
A new guidance issued jointly by groups representing U.S. surgeons, anesthesiologists and gastroenterologists affirms that most people taking popular GLP-1 weight-loss meds can keep taking them in the weeks before a surgery. Concerns had arisen because the drugs, which include semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro and Zepbound), liraglutide (Saxenda) and dulaglutide (Trulicity), can… read on > read on >
When a black cat named Pepper dropped a dead mouse on the carpet at his owner’s feet on a day back in May 2021, neither of them knew then that it would alert scientists to the arrival of an exotic virus to the United States. Pepper is a skilled hunter who regularly leaves “gifts” for… read on > read on >
