Statins may do more than help your heart: New research shows the cholesterol-lowering drugs may also lower your risk for a bleeding stroke. An intracerebral hemorrhage, which involves bleeding in the brain, comprises about 15% to 30% of strokes, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. It is also the most deadly. With this…  read on >  read on >

A proposed U.S. federal ban on menthol cigarettes doesn’t go far enough and needs to include other menthol products, from pipe tobacco to cigarette tubes, researchers say. New evidence shows both the appeal and the addiction potential of these substitutes in adults who smoke menthol cigarettes, said scientists from Rutgers University Center for Tobacco Studies…  read on >  read on >

The antiviral Paxlovid has kept people from getting really sick and dying from COVID-19 since it became available — at no cost to them. But by the middle of next year, the U.S. government will stop subsidizing the medication. Instead, it will be billed for like many other medications. While the Biden administration has paid…  read on >  read on >

One of the two most common drugs used to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD) appears better than the other, a new, small study suggests. Among 106 patients with “wet” age-related macular degeneration, 50% of those treated with aflibercept (Eylea) could be weaned off the drug after one year, compared with only 17% of those treated…  read on >  read on >

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 7, 2022 (HealthDay News) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s foods program is in “constant turmoil” and needs stronger leadership, a panel said Thursday. The Reagan-Udall Foundation, a group with close ties to the FDA, released a 51-page report Tuesday noting the need for a clear mission in the program and more…  read on >  read on >

Chips, pizza, cookies: Delicious, but a diet full of ultra-processed foods like these may contribute to brain deterioration, researchers report. Ultra-processed foods have lots of added and unhealthy ingredients, such as sugar, salt, fat, artificial colors and preservatives. Examples include frozen meals, soft drinks, hot dogs and cold cuts, fast food, packaged cookies, cakes and…  read on >  read on >

Advertising would have you believe that a big bowl of sugary cereal or a syrupy iced coffee drink will make you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning. But that sort of sugar-laden breakfast may be one of the worst things you can do to help you wake up alert and refreshed. A major new sleep…  read on >  read on >

When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned fruit-flavored vaping products in early 2020, the idea was to reverse the rapid rise in electronic cigarette use among youths. Now, a new survey of adult e-cigarette users finds that instead of quitting e-cigarettes, most vapers switched to flavored products not covered by the ban, or even…  read on >  read on >

A small toilet-based sound sensor that can tell the difference between peeing, pooping and diarrhea may one day help prevent cholera outbreaks. “The hope is that this sensor, which is small in footprint and noninvasive in approach, could be deployed to areas where cholera outbreaks are a persistent risk,” said researcher Maia Gatlin of the…  read on >  read on >