Paxlovid, a medication that has helped millions of high-risk COVID patients avoid hospitalization and death since late 2021, moved one step closer to getting full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday. An FDA advisory panel voted 16-1 that the Pfizer drug remains a safe and effective treatment and should be given…  read on >  read on >

Even modest weight gain above the average puts kids at risk for high blood pressure, new research shows. “Hypertension during youth tracks into adulthood and is associated with cardiac and vascular organ damage,” said lead study author Corinna Koebnick of Kaiser Permanente Southern California. “Since the organ damage can be irreversible, preventing hypertension in our…  read on >  read on >

Americans are eating more food additives, according to a new study that found about 60% of foods they purchase contain coloring or flavoring agents, preservatives and sweeteners. That’s up by 10% from 2001. “Our research clearly shows that the proportion of ultra-processed foods with additives in Americans’ shopping carts increased significantly between 2001 and 2019,”…  read on >  read on >

U.S. water utilities will be required to remove certain “forever chemicals” from drinking water as the Biden administration sets first-ever limits on perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl compounds, better known as known as PFAS. Nearly all Americans have PFAS in their bloodstream. The toxic chemicals are found in an enormous range of goods from dental floss to…  read on >  read on >

(HealthDay News) – Migraine sufferers will soon have a new treatment option that works more quickly and may be safer for people at risk of heart attack or stroke. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Pfizer Inc.’s zavegepant (Zavzpret), a nasal spray meant to treat severe headache pain, the company announced Friday. “The…  read on >  read on >

Eating disorders are on the rise, affecting about 30 million people worldwide, and they can be deadly. The causes are “like pieces of a puzzle,” according to Amy Ethridge, an occupational therapist and clinical psychiatric specialist in the Adolescent Medicine and Eating Disorders Program at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey. “It…  read on >  read on >