New research finds that Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act — also known as Obamacare — brought an unexpected benefit: increases in how many patients got palliative care. “Our findings are encouraging, especially with growing evidence of the important benefits of palliative care for patients with cancer,” said lead study author Dr. Xuesong Han,… read on > read on >
A day at the beach can be fun with family and friends, but water pollution can ruin the experience. The problem is more widespread than many might think: In a new report, the Environment America Research & Policy Center, a nonprofit organization, found that half of U.S. beaches had potentially unsafe contamination levels in 2022.… read on > read on >
Pregnancy triggers many changes to the body, but there’s one that may surprise many women. A hidden change is that the heart has to pump, on average, nearly 50% more blood by the end of pregnancy than it did before pregnancy, and then it has to quickly go back to “normal operations” after delivery. While… read on > read on >
You have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. What are your medication options? That depends on what type of diabetes you have and what risk factors you carry. In type 2 diabetes, the body becomes resistant to the insulin and the pancreas has to make more. Insulin resistance can be caused by obesity, lack of… read on > read on >
Heather Anderson, a star Australian rules football player who died last November, is the first female professional athlete to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. “She is the first female athlete diagnosed with CTE, but she will not be the last,” researchers wrote in a paper published Friday. Anderson was 28 when she… read on > read on >
A new blood test approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can predict imminent preeclampsia, helping pregnant women who are at risk of this severe and sometimes deadly form of high blood pressure. The test can identify with 96% accuracy which women with sometimes-vague symptoms will develop preeclampsia within the following two weeks, The… read on > read on >
For nearly three decades, daily antiretroviral pills have offered patients living with HIV a highly effective way to keep their infection under control. But some patients, particularly those beset by homelessness, drug addiction and/or mental illness, find it very difficult to follow a daily pill routine due to the “competing priorities in their life, like… read on > read on >
Medical marijuana is touted as a pain reliever, but in U.S. states where it’s legal, prescriptions for opioid or non-opioid painkillers haven’t decreased, a new study finds. According to researchers, this means that people aren’t switching to cannabis for pain relief in huge numbers even when it’s legally available, so it’s unlikely to ease the… read on > read on >
WEDNESDAY, July 5, 2023 (American Heart Association News) — Ed Frauenheim frequently walked the hilly streets around his San Francisco neighborhood. One summer day, he took long strides to his favorite park. As always, he huffed and puffed a bit up the steep ascent. Walking back down the hill was another story. Suddenly, he felt… read on > read on >
Youth who are both LGBTQ+ and either Black or Hispanic and live in U.S. states that have discriminatory policies are more likely to have depression than their counterparts in states that are more affirming to gender and sexual identity, new research finds. “This study provides scientific evidence to what many queer and trans people of… read on > read on >
