Specific steps can be taken to reduce the risk of potentially fatal reactions to anti-seizure medications, researchers report in a new review. Performing blood tests, asking patients about risk factors and modifying dosages all can reduce reaction risk for drugs that millions of Americans take for epilepsy and other conditions, researchers said. However, rashes and…  read on >  read on >

U.S. children with inoperable brain tumors appear to die sooner and find it harder to get care if they live in poorer neighborhoods, a new study finds. Children from higher-income areas had more than double the average survival time than kids from poorer neighborhoods — 480 days versus 235 days, depending if a census tract…  read on >  read on >

For the fourth year in a row, rates of gun injuries stayed above levels seen before the pandemic, a new government report shows. Race played a key role in who saw those higher rates of gun violence in 2023, the researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted. “Annual rates among Black…  read on >  read on >

Can you trust your gut? UCLA researchers have shown that people who rank high in resilience — meaning they accept change positively and follow their instincts — have the bacteria living in their bellies in part to thank for it.  Their new study looked at the brains and gut microbiomes of people who cope effectively…  read on >  read on >

Everyday tasks like taking a shower or navigating stairs can be risky business for folks in the aftermath of a stroke. But grab bars, shower seats, ramps and other safety interventions allow many to live independently and reduce the risk of premature death, new research confirms.  One in eight stroke survivors die within a year…  read on >  read on >

A surgery that helps 7- to 10-year-olds with cerebral palsy walk also helps older kids and teens with the condition, a groundbreaking study shows. “We had thought that the older kids would not do as well, but there was really no difference in outcomes between the two groups,” said senior study author Dr. Robert Kay,…  read on >  read on >

They aren’t exactly ready to open a jungle clinic, but new research suggests wild chimpanzees are practicing a kind of medicine. Fifty-one chimps living in two communities in Uganda appear to select edible plants specifically for their medicinal qualities, reports a team led by Elodie Freymann of the University of Oxford in the UK. The…  read on >  read on >

Transgender and bisexual adults have rates of loneliness that are much higher than that of cisgender and heterosexual people, new data shows. Federal health data on U.S. adults from 2022 finds the highest rates of self-reported loneliness among people who identify as bisexual (56.7%) or transgender (rates ranging from 56.4% to 63.9%), according to researchers…  read on >  read on >

A Colombian family’s genetics are shining a spotlight on a gene that might help protect people from the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease. About 1,200 out of 6,000 family members carry a genetic variant called the “Paisa mutation,” which dooms them to early Alzheimer’s, researchers said. But 28 family members with the Paisa mutation dodged early…  read on >  read on >

Prostate medications might help reduce the risk of a specific type of dementia, a new study suggests. People were less likely to develop Lewy body dementia when taking drugs designed to treat urinary symptoms caused by an enlarged prostate, researchers reported June 19 in the journal Neurology. “These results are exciting, because right now there…  read on >  read on >