A federal appeals court on Wednesday said the abortion pill mifepristone could remain available for now. But the court’s judges added some provisions to their ruling: A block on mailing the pill to patients as well as stays on other measures the federal government has taken recently to boost access to the medication. The three-member… read on > read on >
(HealthDay News) – Juul Labs on Wednesday reached a $462 million settlement with several states over the aggressive marketing of its electronic cigarettes to minors. This latest settlement includes New York, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts and New Mexico. Juul settled with West Virginia earlier this week. The company has already agreed… read on > read on >
It sounds like the stuff of a vampire novel, but for people with a group of rare genetic disorders, exposure to sunlight can cause excruciating pain. Now, an experimental medication is showing promise for helping them better tolerate the light of day. In an early clinical trial, researchers tested the drug for patients with either… read on > read on >
Whether the gender of a blood donor could affect the recipient’s survival was an unanswered question in medicine. Until now. “Some observational studies had suggested female donor blood might be linked with a higher risk of death among recipients compared to male donor blood, but our clinical trial found that isn’t the case,” co-lead author… read on > read on >
As people with HIV live longer they’re at risk of premature heart disease. But a new study finds statin drugs can cut the risk of serious heart problems by more than one-third. The U.S. National Institutes of Health trial found the cholesterol-lowering drugs so effective, in fact, that the study was stopped early. Taking the… read on > read on >
Allergy and asthma sufferers may think their symptoms are harsher and lasting longer this spring. They’re not imagining it. The changing climate means that allergy seasons are starting about 20 days earlier, are 10 days longer and include 21% more pollen than they did in 1990, according to the U.S. National Institute of Food and… read on > read on >
U.S. officials said Wednesday that they plan to strengthen existing privacy rules to prevent the sharing of private legal reproductive health care information for use in investigations and prosecutions against patients or providers. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), through its Office for Civil Rights (OCR), moved to strengthen the Health Insurance… read on > read on >
While the immediate goal of bariatric surgery is to help obese patients shed significant weight, new research shows it may also reduce diabetes complications, including nerve damage. Investigators followed 127 weight-loss surgery patients for two years. They found the surgery led to a sustained drop in previously high blood sugar (glucose) levels as well as… read on > read on >
U.S. officials are intensifying efforts to crack down on illicit use of the veterinary tranquilizer xylazine, which can cause painful and deadly side effects in humans. The drug, when mixed with the opioid fentanyl, has been designated an “emerging threat,” the Office of National Drug Control Policy announced Wednesday. “As a physician, I am deeply… read on > read on >
Pregnancy rates in the United States suffered a steep decline during the last decade, new government data shows. The overall U.S. pregnancy rate fell by 12% between 2010 and 2019, according to figures released Wednesday by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The pregnancy rate among women aged 15 to 44 was 85.6… read on > read on >
