Ascension, a major U.S. health care system with 140 hospitals in 19 states, announced late Thursday that a cyberattack has caused disruptions at some of its hospitals. “Systems that are currently unavailable include our electronic health records system, MyChart (which enables patients to view their medical records and communicate with their providers), some phone systems,…  read on >  read on >

Robot-assisted total knee replacements tend to have better outcomes on average, a new study reports. Unfortunately, there’s a downside – having a surgical robot assist a human surgeon can make the procedure much more costly. Patients who had a robot-assisted knee replacement stayed in the hospital nearly a half-day less, and were significantly less likely…  read on >  read on >

Every cold and flu season, folks are flooded with ads for zinc lozenges, sprays and syrups that promise to shorten their sniffles. Zinc might indeed reduce the duration of common cold symptoms by about two days, a new evidence review says. However, the evidence is not conclusive, and taking zinc can come with some unpleasant…  read on >  read on >

Though it is a widespread disorder, neuropathy often goes undiagnosed, new research shows, leaving many people at risk of falls, infection and even amputation. Neuropathy is nerve damage that causes numbness and pain in feet and hands.  A study of 169 people treated at an outpatient clinic in Flint, Mich., found that 73% had neuropathy.…  read on >  read on >

A tiny, flexible device that wraps around the spinal cord could be a breakthrough in the treatment of spinal injuries. The device, developed by a University of Cambridge team, can record 360-degree information and provide a complete picture of spinal cord activity, researchers report in the journal Science Advances. The device also can stimulate limb…  read on >  read on >