If you are middle-aged or older, you may often feel lonely and isolated as you deal with the strains of daily life. Now, a new survey suggests you are far from alone: More than one-third of middle-aged and senior Americans feel that way. The good news? That means that loneliness and isolation has mostly returned… read on > read on >
Some people develop epilepsy after surviving a stroke, as the injury they’ve sustained causes scarring and disorganized electrical activity in their brains. But one type of blood pressure medication seems to help stroke survivors avoid post-stroke epilepsy (PSE), according to a first-of-its-kind study presented Friday at the annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society in… read on > read on >
Shingles can strike anyone who had chickenpox when they were young, and the intense pain that can accompany this body rash has sidelined many a senior. Here, one expert explains how and why shingles can surface, and what you can do to treat it, or better yet, avoid it. Shingles can happen at any age,… read on > read on >
Faced with rising cases of bird flu virus being detected in raw milk in California, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday announced it would mandate testing for the virus in milk nationwide. The National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS) “builds on measures taken by USDA and federal and state partners since the outbreak of… read on > read on >
Many women with epilepsy who are of childbearing age might not realize their anti-seizure drugs can raise the risk of birth defects or dampen the effectiveness of their birth control, a new study warns. Likewise, some birth control methods can cause anti-seizure meds to be less effective, researchers reported Friday in a presentation at the… read on > read on >
After facing weeks of pushback, health insurer Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield said Thursday it will not go ahead with a policy change that would have limited reimbursements for anesthesia during medical procedures. If the proposed policy had taken effect, it would have only reimbursed doctors based on time limits set by the insurer. When… read on > read on >
A new AI can help identify women at higher risk for developing breast cancer by tracking changes in breast tissue, a new study shows. The AI compares women’s own mammograms over time, looking for early signs of breast cancer that are tough to see even by a well-trained specialist, researchers said. “Our new method is… read on > read on >
Stroke survivors have an 80% increased risk of dementia compared to people who’ve never suffered a stroke, a new study finds. About 19% of people who’d had a stroke developed dementia during an average six-year follow-up, compared with just 13% of those with no stroke, researchers reported Dec. 4 in the journal Neurology. “Importantly, our… read on > read on >
Deaths from fentanyl-linked drug overdoses have begun to decline in the United States, but the crisis is far from over and those numbers could easily rise again, a new government report shows. About 70% of fatal drug overdoses recorded in 2023 involved fentanyl, the research showed. The number of these deaths dropped 7.8% nationwide in… read on > read on >
Hockey players’ chances of developing concussion-related brain injury increase with every year they spend on the ice, a new study finds. The odds of having chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) increase among hockey players 34% for each year played, researchers reported Dec. 4 in JAMA Network Open. Results show 18 out of 19 National Hockey League… read on > read on >
