Heartache and heartbreak are apt terms for the intense grief caused by losing a spouse. A new study says such a loss can lead to major health problems and even death, and the paper may help explain why that happens. When faced with stressful situations, grieving spouses have significant increases in body inflammation. Inflammation is… read on > read on >
There’s some discouraging news for baby boomers. Americans born between 1948 and 1965 are more likely than the generations that preceded them to have multiple health problems as they age, a new study shows. And, many develop two or more health conditions up to 20 years sooner than folks from other generations, too. Until recently… read on > read on >
If you battled a COVID-19 infection early in the pandemic, it probably won’t protect you much from reinfection with Omicron and its subvariants, a new study warns. Even a previous infection with the original Omicron variant provides little protection against reinfection, researchers report. They said the findings from their study of more than 730 triple-vaccinated… read on > read on >
Researchers have figured out a way to safely give children a donor kidney without the need for immune-suppressing drugs — an advance they hope to expand to many more kidney transplant patients in coming years. Reporting in the June 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, doctors at Stanford University describe the first… read on > read on >
Managing epilepsy is an increasingly expensive process in the United States, with prices of brand-name anti-seizure drugs nearly quadrupling over eight years, a new study finds. From 2010 to 2018, the cost of brand-named epilepsy drugs, including meds like Vimpat (lacosamide), rose 277% overall, researchers found. Over the same period, the cost of generic drugs… read on > read on >
Suicide rates are rising more slowly in states that have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a new study finds. “Suicide is a public health problem, and our findings indicate that increasing access to health care — including mental health care — by expanding Medicaid eligibility can play an important role in addressing… read on > read on >
Adult flu shots have slumped in states with low COVID-19 vaccination rates, suggesting that COVID-19 vaccination behavior may have spilled over to flu-vaccine behavior, new research indicates. University of California, Los Angeles researchers point to declining trust in public health agencies caused by controversy over COVID-19 vaccines as a possible reason for the falloff in… read on > read on >
Treating precancerous anal growths in people with HIV slashes their risk of anal cancer by more than half, according to a new study. Researchers found that treating these growths — called high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) — is a safe and effective way to reduce the risk of anal cancer. “We’ve now shown for the… read on > read on >
A centuries-old mystery as to the origins of the Black Death has been solved, according to an international team of scientists. They said the plague pandemic that killed up to 60% of people in Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa in the mid-1300s originated in central Asia in what is now Kyrgyzstan. Plague first… read on > read on >
At least 13 infant deaths have been reported in Fisher-Price’s Infant-to-Toddler Rockers and Newborn-to-Toddler Rockers since 2009, while there has been one death reported with a Kids2 Bright Starts Rocker, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and both companies warned in new alerts issued Tuesday. Rockers should never be used for sleep, and infants… read on > read on >
