Opioid addiction often starts with a prescription for post-surgery pain relief, and two new studies identify a handful of procedures that account for large shares of those prescriptions. The findings were published recently in two major medical journals. “Our findings suggest that surgical opioid prescribing is highly concentrated among a small group of procedures,” said… read on > read on >
U.S. health officials announced Tuesday that the federal government will pay Moderna $176 million to speed development of a pandemic flu vaccine based on mRNA technology. Such a vaccine could be used to treat bird flu in people, as concern grows about H5N1 cases spreading in dairy cows across the country, the U.S. Department of Health and… read on > read on >
As millions of Americans grapple with blistering heat this summer, the Biden Administration on Tuesday proposed a new rule to address excessive heat in the workplace. If the first major federal safety standard of its kind becomes final, the measure would aim to protect an estimated 36 million U.S. workers from injuries related to heat… read on > read on >
Two well-known healthy diets can lower heart disease risk in people with type 1 diabetes, a new study says. People who ate similarly to the Mediterranean diet or the DASH diet had lower levels of blood markers that are used in clinical settings to assess heart health risk, researchers reported Sunday at a meeting of… read on > read on >
Benzodiazepines do not appear to increase dementia risk, but could have subtle long-term effects on brain structure, a new study reports. Researchers found no link between use of the sedative drug and a higher risk of dementia in a group of more than 5,400 adults in the Netherlands, according to findings published July 2 in… read on > read on >
Ultrasound cannot reliably rule out endometrial cancer in Black women given how readings are now assessed, a new study argues. Transvaginal ultrasound is commonly used to screen for cancer by measuring the thickness of the endometrium, the inner wall of the uterus. This screening method is supposed to be 99% to 100% accurate for ruling… read on > read on >
Most people addicted to opioids and their loved ones are unaware that their primary care doctor can prescribe a medication to treat the disorder, a new nationwide survey reveals. “We’ve made great strides in making it easier for primary care doctors to prescribe these safe and effective treatments, but our study indicates a critical disconnect… read on > read on >
“Smart” prosthetic legs can help amputees achieve a natural walking gait, but it’s done through robotic sensors and algorithms that drive the limb forward at predetermined rates. A better way would be to give people full control over the limb through their nervous system — and that’s just what an MIT research team says it’s… read on > read on >
As bird flu continues to spread among U.S. dairy cows, reassuring new government research finds the pasteurization process widely used in the industry effectively kills all bird flu virus in milk. In a health update posted Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the results are the latest to show that pasteurized grocery store milk remains… read on > read on >
A study based on online Google searches suggests surging U.S. interest in microdosing psychedelics, such as psilocybin, as rules around the use of such drugs begin to relax. But the safety of these drugs isn’t entirely clear, said study lead author Dr. Kevin Yang. “As public interest in using psychedelics and cannabis for health grows,… read on > read on >
