Roughly 16 million Americans have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but only a fraction have access to a lifesaving treatment called pulmonary rehabilitation. COPD is a family of diseases, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis, that make breathing difficult and worsens over time. The main cause is smoking. Other causes include secondhand smoke and exposure to… read on >
Jails and prisons are hotbeds for the spread of COVID-19, endangering both the inmates held within as well as the wider community, public health experts warn. The highly infectious virus easily passes from person to person, and prison conditions — overcrowding with poor ventilation and shared living quarters — make it even more likely that… read on >
The coronavirus pandemic has many people putting off medical appointments, but if you have possible cancer symptoms, don’t delay. A small lump in a breast, blood in your stool or an odd-looking mole, for example, should not be ignored, according to experts at Cedars-Sinai Health System in Los Angeles. “We’re seeing a concerning trend that… read on >
The coronavirus pandemic has been tough on Americans of all ages, but parents need to watch their teens for signs of depression, anxiety, anger and other emotional and mental health problems, a leading pediatricians’ group says. “It’s normal for teens to feel sad during this time, crying sometimes because they miss their friends or because… read on >
Insomnia may significantly increase the risk that older adults will be unable to shake off depression, researchers say. For the study, the investigators analyzed data on nearly 600 people over age 60 who visited primary care centers in New York City, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. All had some level of depression. Compared to patients whose sleep… read on >
(HealthDay News) — As millions of Americans try to navigate a safe re-entry into public life, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday released recommendations to guide schools, businesses and restaurants through reopening during the coronavirus pandemic. Six “checklists” — which also offer advice to day care centers, mass transit and camps… read on >
In a finding that illustrates how distracted driving laws are saving lives, researchers report that car crash deaths among teens plunged by one-third during a period when the number of U.S. states with such laws on the books tripled. “We found that states which had primary enforced distracted driving laws had lower fatal crashes involving… read on >
COVID-19 hits smokers much harder than nonsmokers, according to a new review. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), analyzed 19 studies that included data on smoking and severity of COVID-19 among nearly 11,600 patients in the United States, China and Korea. Most patients were hospitalized, but two studies also included outpatients. Just… read on >
A combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy may slow the progress of metastatic bladder cancer and extend survival, a clinical trial suggests. Current treatment for advanced bladder cancer is chemotherapy, but adding the immunotherapy drug atezolizumab (Tecentriq) appears to help more patients fight this disease. It strikes 81,000 Americans a year and kills 18,000. “This is… read on >
The new coronavirus isn’t just attacking the lungs: New research shows it’s causing harm to the gastrointestinal tract, especially in more advanced cases of COVID-19. A variety of imaging scans performed on hospitalized COVID-19 patients showed bowel abnormalities, according to a study published online May 11 in Radiology. Many of the effects were severe and… read on >
