Want to keep a stroke a bay? Drink water, nothing fizzy and skip fruit drinks. That’s the key takeaway from a global review that also raises a red flag for people who drink more than four cups of coffee a day. “While [high blood pressure] is the most important risk factor, our stroke risk can… read on > read on >
One in 14 hospital patients may be the victim of damaging diagnostic mistakes, new research suggests. The finding is from a study of 675 patients admitted to one large hospital in Boston at various periods between July 2019 and September 2021. The patients were randomly selected from more than 9,000 hospitalized during that time. “The… read on > read on >
More and more, primary care doctors routinely ask patients a question that may come as a surprise: Do you ever have suicidal thoughts? Now, new research shows it’s a simple intervention that can save lives. When suicide care was made a routine part of primary care visits at Kaiser Permanente clinics in Washington state, suicide… read on > read on >
Patients who lose the use of their hands and arms after a stroke or traumatic brain injury could regain some function through deep brain stimulation (DBS), new research demonstrates. DBS involves surgical placement of electrodes to deliver electrical impulses to areas of the brain regulating specific activity. It is often used to treat control movement… read on > read on >
Food left in the stomach or stool left in the bowel can impede a doctor’s ability to successfully perform an endoscopy or colonoscopy. Now, research finds this scenario is more likely if the patient is taking popular new weight-loss meds such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro or Zepbound. For these patients, “inadequate bowel preparation was more… read on > read on >
Following the historic destruction of Hurricane Helene, many Americans must now return to their mangled homes and begin the heartbreaking task of clean-up. After making landfall in Florida near Tallahassee as a ferocious Cat 4 storm on Thursday, Helene caused record-breaking storm surges in Tampa, flash flooding in Atlanta and power outages, massive flooding and… read on > read on >
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Besides being useless in altering a person’s sexuality or gender identity, so-called “conversion therapy” or “conversion practice” can greatly raise the odds that an LGBT person experiences mental health issues, new research finds. Questionnaires completed by over 4,400 LGBTQ+ Americans found that having undergone these bogus interventions was linked to higher rates of depression, post-traumatic… read on > read on >
Clinical trials sponsored by Big Pharma enrolled eight times as many patients as U.S.-government trials did between 2018 and 2022, new research shows. The study — conducted by researchers at Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Seattle — underscores the lack of investment in federally funded studies and a growing reliance on industry research. The magnitude… read on > read on >
More than 14 million seniors a year take a tumble, and those falls can be life-changing. “The relationship between falls and dementia appears to be a two-way street,” said Molly Jarman, senior author of a new study showing that cognitive decline may increase an older person’s risk for a fall and the trauma that follows… read on > read on >
A shorter course of post-mastectomy radiation doesn’t jeopardize a patient’s chances of successful breast reconstruction, a new study finds. About 40 percent of people with breast cancer have mastectomies, followed by five to six weeks of radiation therapy to kill any cancer cells that may remain in the chest wall or lymph nodes. Most opt… read on > read on >
