Deaths where alcohol played a key role climbed sharply in recent years, hitting women even harder than men, new government data shows. Between 2016 and 2021 (the latest numbers available), “the average number of U.S. deaths from excessive alcohol use increased by more than 40,000 [29%], to 178,000 per year,” reported a team from the… read on > read on >
Air travel can be miserable for people with disabilities, particularly if an airline mishandles, damages or loses their wheelchair in transit. Now, the Biden Administration has proposed tough new standards for how airlines treat and accommodate people in wheelchairs. The proposed rules would make mishandling wheelchairs an automatic violation of the Air Carrier Access Act,… read on > read on >
In a finding that unearths yet another way Long COVID can harm health, new research finds the condition may trigger thinking declines. Published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study involved cognitive testing on nearly 113,000 people in England. It found that those with Long COVID scored 6 IQ points lower than people… read on > read on >
Middle-aged folks who have difficulties navigating their way through space could be at higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease years later, a new study finds. “Very early symptoms of dementia can be subtle and difficult to detect, but problems with navigation are thought to be some of the first changes in Alzheimer’s disease,” noted Dr.… read on > read on >
The eyes may have it when it comes to the early diagnosis of autism in children, a new study finds. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), have pinpointed a gene that affects how kids’ eyes react when they turn their heads. Typically, people use what’s called the vestibulo-ocular reflex to help their… read on > read on >
Perhaps by reducing anxiety, a service dog can help reduce seizures in people with tough-to-treat epilepsy, a new study finds. A group of 25 study participants had an average 31% fewer seizures after months of owning a service dog trained to help people with epilepsy. And seven of those patients experienced a 50% to 100%… read on > read on >
The historic overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 has not had any significant effect on the number of abortions performed each month in the United States, new data shows. The #WeCount report tracks abortion rates across the country for the nonprofit Society of Family Planning, a group promoting research on abortion and contraception. It… read on > read on >
According to the advocacy group Autism Speaks, one in every 36 U.S. children has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Early diagnosis is crucial to helping to treat the condition, but how is a diagnosis done? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has an updated review of what’s involved in diagnosing autism in kids.… read on > read on >
Folks who use marijuana have a greater risk of heart attack and stroke, with the odds rising even higher when they partake every day, a new study finds. Both daily and non-daily marijuana users had an increased risk of heart attack and stroke compared to non-users, researchers reported Feb. 28 in the Journal of the… read on > read on >
What if you’d been treated for years for a condition, only to find out that you’d long ago been misdiagnosed? That’s what’s happening to a sizable number of Americans who are taking allergy meds (to little effect) when in fact they have chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), a new study contends. “We have seen so many patients… read on > read on >
