The shingles vaccine can do more than protect seniors from painful, blistering rashes. It also appears to protect older folks from dementia, researchers say. Seniors who got the shingles vaccine when it became available in the U.K. were 20% less likely to develop dementia than those who did not take the jab, according to research… read on > read on >
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) top tobacco regulator, Brian King, has been placed on leave as part of a large wave of cuts across federal health agencies. King, who led the FDA’s tobacco control efforts, told his staff Tuesday that he was removed with “a heavy heart and profound disappointment.” “If you make… read on > read on >
The telehealth company Hims & Hers Health is expanding its weight-loss offerings by adding new medications to its platform. The company said Tuesday it now provides access to Zepbound, a brand-name version of the drug tirzepatide, as well as to generic liraglutide. Zepbound is made by drugmaker Eli Lilly. While Hims & Hers offers it… read on > read on >
The inability to pay for health care has reached a new high in the United States, a new study says. More than one-third of Americans — an estimated 91 million people — say they couldn’t afford to access quality health care if they needed it today, according to the latest West Health-Gallup Healthcare Affordability Index.… read on > read on >
Insomnia and vertigo are health conditions so well-known that movies have been named after them. But only a quarter of Americans know about a condition that occurs even more often than vertigo or insomnia, called dysphagia, a new study says. Dysphagia is a condition in which people have trouble swallowing, due to nerve, muscle or… read on > read on >
They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. The eyes also might help detect seniors at risk for a common syndrome in which they emerge from surgery in a state of delirium, new research suggests. Seniors who have thicker retinas are about 60% more likely to develop post-surgical delirium, researchers reported April 1… read on > read on >
Lower levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol could mean a lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, a new study says. People with low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels lower than 70 mg/dl had a 26% lower risk of dementia and 28% lower risk of Alzheimer’s, compared to people with LDL levels above 130 mg/dl, researchers reported… read on > read on >
The Visby Medical Women’s Sexual Health Test received marketing authorization to diagnose chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis in women read on >
Hundreds of U.S. research projects aimed at boosting vaccine confidence have been shut down — just as preventable diseases like measles and flu are on the rise. Since Jan. 20, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has canceled more than 1,600 research grants. Around 300 of those were for vaccine-related projects, making… read on > read on >
For nearly two decades, a stroke had left a woman unable to speak — until now. Thanks to a new brain implant, her thoughts are being turned into real-time speech, giving her a voice again for the first time in 18 years. The device was tested on a 47-year-old woman with quadriplegia who lost her… read on > read on >
