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 >
Smoking cigarettes while pregnant has long been known to harm the fetus, but new research shows things get even worse when marijuana is in the mix. The study by a team at Oregon Health & Science University (OSHU) in Portland involved more than 3 million pregnancies. It found heightened risks for underweight newborns, preterm… 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 >
More than 320,000 U.S. children lost a parent to drug overdose during the past decade, according to a new study reported May 8 in JAMA Psychiatry. What’s more, the death rate accelerated during the period, more than doubling between 2011 and 2021, researchers found. About 27 children per 100,000 had a parent die from an… read on > read on >
Nine of 10 American adults are in the early, middle or late stages of a syndrome that leads to heart disease, a new report finds, and almost 10% have the disease already. “Poor cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic health is widespread among the U.S. population,” concludes a team led by Dr. Muthiah Vaduganathan of Brigham and… read on > read on >
Parents striving to be “perfect” will never attain that goal, and the aim isn’t even healthy for their families, a new study says. The risks of striving for perfection are such that researchers have now created a scale to help parents track their burnout and, if necessary, counter it. The first-of-its-kind Working Parent Burnout Scale… read on > read on >
People who carry two copies of the gene mutation most strongly implicated in Alzheimer’s disease are almost certain to develop brain changes related to the degenerative disorder, a new study says. A single mutated APOE4 gene has been found to pose the strongest genetics-driven risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s, researchers said. Virtually everyone with two… read on > read on >
Researchers say they’ve identified a human “neural compass” — a pattern of brain activity that helps prevent humans from becoming lost. For the first time, the internal compass humans use to orient themselves and navigate through the environment has been pinpointed in the human brain, researchers reported May 6 in the journal Nature Human Behavior.… read on > read on >
Parents can be very effective buzzkills for their teens, just by letting kids know they’re being closely watched, a new study reports. Teenagers are less likely to drink, smoke or use drugs when parents keep tabs on their activities, according to findings published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. What’s more, teens… read on > read on >
