“Ultra-low” doses of the drug rituximab may be enough to keep some patients’ rheumatoid arthritis under control for several years, a new, preliminary study suggests. Researchers found that among 118 patients, low doses of the drug were comparable to standard ones in controlling flare-ups for up to four years. The findings, the researchers said, suggest…  read on >  read on >

Is there an ideal time to go to bed every night if you want to dodge heart disease? Apparently there is, claims a new study that found hitting the sack between 10 and 11 p.m. may be the ideal time to cut the risk for cardiovascular trouble. The finding may be worth heeding, since the…  read on >  read on >

Young, Black Americans are experiencing significant spikes in obesity, type 2 diabetes and smoking, all risk factors for heart attack and stroke. Between 2007 and 2017 – before the COVID-19 pandemic and the concerns it has created – hospitalized Black Americans aged 18 to 44 had sharp increases in these risks. They were also having…  read on >  read on >

Schools could provide solutions for kids who are grappling with depression, a new study suggests. Students who have school-based depression screening are twice as likely to begin treatment as peers who don’t get that service, researchers say. “Our study is publishing at a time when more adolescents are reporting symptoms of depression,” said principal investigator…  read on >  read on >

While the lockdowns of the pandemic may have done the planet’s atmosphere a favor, a new study predicts that discarded masks, gloves and face shields will add more than 25,000 tons of plastic waste to the world’s oceans. Researchers from Nanjing University’s School of Atmospheric Sciences in China and the University of California, San Diego…  read on >  read on >