More than a year after its launch, public awareness of the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline remains moderate, a new survey found. However, awareness is highest among people who need it most — those in serious psychological distress. Survey participants with serious distress were 45% more likely to have heard of 988 than those… read on > read on >
All Health and Wellness:
Playing Pro Football May Shorten Players’ Lives, Study Finds
Playing professional football, especially if you are a lineman, may shorten your life, a new study suggests. The University of Minnesota researchers thought that perhaps professional football players are unlike “American men in general” in ways that determine their future health. “When we started digging into the literature on later life health outcomes for professional… read on > read on >
Could You Recognize the More Subtle Signs of a Seizure?
A seizure doesn’t always look like what you see in the movies, but a new survey finds most Americans don’t know what the more subtle signs of seizures are. “Anything that interrupts your brain’s circuit can cause seizures, from tumors, infections and strokes to high or low blood sugar, or glucose levels, to inherited genetic… read on > read on >
Simple Antibiotic Switch for Pneumonia Patients Could Prevent Hospital Infection
A new study on Clostridioides difficile infections finds that choosing an alternative antibiotic for high-risk patients with pneumonia can reduce infection risk. C. diff infections can be deadly, and they are often acquired by hospitalized patients taking broad-spectrum antibiotics. More than 450,000 C. diff infections are reported in the United States each year, leading… read on > read on >
While Fewer Americans Have High Cholesterol, Too Many Still Do
Despite progress in recent decades, too many Americans still have dangerously high LDL cholesterol levels, and about a quarter don’t even know it, new research finds. That puts those people at risk for a longer span of artery clogging disease and increases their risk of heart attack and stroke, a new study says. “We are… read on > read on >
Study Confirms Effectiveness of Newer Arthritis Meds
Newer oral medications for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) do work quite well in the “real world,” despite some doubts that they would, according to a new study. The study, of 622 adults with RA, found that most were doing well on medications called JAK inhibitors, a relatively new drug class for the arthritic condition. They are… read on > read on >
FDA Advisors Say New Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease is Safe
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 1, 2023 A new gene therapy for sickle cell disease was deemed safe by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Tuesday, paving the way for full approval by early December. The FDA had already decided that the therapy, known as exa-cel, was effective. Developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals of Boston and… read on > read on >
Many Antibiotics No Longer Work Against Common Childhood Infections
Many antibiotics long used to treat common childhood infections are no longer effective because of antibiotic resistance. The authors of a new study say global guidelines on antibiotic use need to be updated to reflect this, and they called for an increased focus on developing new antibiotics for infants and children. “We are not immune… read on > read on >
Easy-to-Wear ECG Patch Tracks Heart Health
A new, more comfortable wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) device could be on its way. Researchers from Australia and India have created a compact, lightweight, gel-free hexagonal-shaped ECG patch that they say is ideally suited for point-of-care diagnostics. For those at risk, having a wearable device that can detect heart problems and assess overall cardiac health can… read on > read on >
Blood Test Measures ALS Risk From Environmental Toxins
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS, is debilitating and has no cure. Now, researchers at the University of Michigan have developed an environmental risk score that will allow them to assess a person’s risk for developing ALS, as well as their survival after diagnosis. Toxins such as pesticides and carcinogenic PCBs affect a person’s… read on > read on >