Surprisingly, most people suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are in excellent mental health, Canadian researchers report. Two-thirds of COPD patients don’t suffer from common mental health issues such as depression, anxiety or addiction to drugs, the new study found. The key to well-being seems to be having the support of loved ones and…  read on >  read on >

Black patients are more likely than their white peers to need emergency surgery for colon cancer, which increases their risk for complications and death, study authors say. “Overall, these results suggest that racial and ethnic differences persist” among colon cancer patients, and “these differences likely contribute to disparities in postoperative outcomes among these groups,” said…  read on >  read on >

Patients who undergo angioplasty and stenting to open clogged arteries in and around the heart should also be screened for depression, according to a new study. Researchers found that depressed patients were less likely than their mentally healthy peers to take their prescribed medications, including beta-blockers, antiplatelets and statins. These medications reduce the likelihood of…  read on >  read on >

For those who care about their teeth, a new study sounds a pretty clear alarm: using tobacco in any form — including the increasingly popular practice of vaping — is a recipe for a dental nightmare. The warning comes from the U.S. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), after scientists analyzed several years…  read on >  read on >

For some people, dozens of U.S.-approved drugs can lead to a rare but often fatal brain infection. Researchers have now confirmed a strong link between four genetic mutations and this illness, called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). A new study found that in people taking PML-inducing drugs, having one of four genetic variants increased the odds…  read on >  read on >