There’s one treatment for pregnant women addicted to opioids that’s safer for their unborn child, a new study reports. Buprenorphine is associated with a slightly lower risk of birth defects overall compared to methadone, according to findings published recently in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. However, the researchers stressed that expecting mothers with opioid use… read on > read on >
A disturbing number of people sick with an infectious disease conceal their illness to avoid missing work, travel or social events, new research reveals. About three in four people (75%) had either hidden an infectious illness from others at least once or might do so in the future. These folks reported boarding planes, going on… read on > read on >
Becoming pregnant as a result of sexual violence is disturbingly common in the United States, a new study reveals. Nearly 6 million U.S. women have become pregnant as a result of rape or sexual coercion, researchers reported recently in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. This equates to about one in every 20 American women… read on > read on >
The bacteria behind typhoid, a major killer of children in the developing world, could be vulnerable to something as simple as tomato juice, new research suggests. Typhoid is caused by the Salmonella Typhi bacterium, and is usually contracted from contaminated food or beverages. Its symptoms include nausea, fever and abdominal pain. Left untreated, the disease… read on > read on >
U.S. cases of syphilis have soared past numbers seen just a decade ago, new government statistics show. The grim numbers are for 2022, the latest year for which an accurate tally is available. More than 202,000 cases were recorded among Americans that year — a 17% rise over 2021 numbers and an 80% rise over… read on > read on >
Older adults frequently delay needed surgery because of financial concerns, a new study finds. Nearly half of people ages 50 and older who were very concerned about the cost of surgery wound up not having an operation they had considered, researchers reported Jan. 30 in the journal JAMA Network Open. Further, more than half who… read on > read on >
The first new kind of pain medication in over two decades could be on the horizon for patients, with promising results announced Tuesday from a company trial. For now, the drug from Vertex Pharmaceuticals is called VX-548. But in trials of patients undergoing abdominoplasties (tummy tucks) and foot bunion surgeries, VX-548 performed better than placebo… read on > read on >
The maker of a drug used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy has recalled one lot of the medication after a pill mixup was discovered. The recall notice, issued by Azurity Pharmaceuticals Inc., states that one lot of Zenzedi 30-milligram tablets is being recalled after a pharmacist found antihistamine tablets in a bottle labeled as Zenzedi. The… read on > read on >
New research is helping confirm smoking as a risk factor for the devastating brain illness amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS affects roughly 31,000 Americans each year, with about 5,000 new cases diagnosed annually, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s a progressive, fatal illness that causes nerves cells controlling muscles to… read on > read on >
U.S. approval of over-the-counter emergency contraception like “Plan B” has had an unintended but positive side effect for America’s hospitals, a new study shows. Emergency room visits related to “morning-after” contraception plummeted after the pills became easily available to adults in 2006, according to the report published Jan. 24 in the journal JAMA Network Open.… read on > read on >
