Following continued reports of a rare but life-threatening clotting condition linked to the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, a federal advisory panel will meet Thursday to once again weigh the safety of the shot. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which makes vaccine recommendations to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is… read on > read on >
All Health and Wellness:
Early CDC COVID Tests Were Not Only Contaminated, But Flawed: Report
Along with being contaminated, there was also a basic design flaw in COVID-19 testing kits created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention early in the pandemic, a new agency review shows. It was already known that the PCR kits were contaminated, but the CDC’s findings published Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE… read on > read on >
Heart Transplant Successful in Young Man Who Survived Severe COVID-19
After nearly dying from a severe case of COVID-19, a young male patient received a successful heart transplant even as he was recuperating from his infection while on a ventilator, a new case study reports. The transplant was performed on the 31-year-old patient at the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in May.… read on > read on >
Global Rate of Stroke Cases, Deaths Still Too High
While strokes and related deaths have declined in rich nations, they remain stubbornly high worldwide, a new study says. Author Liyuan Han attributed the overall decreases to “better medical services in high-income countries, which may offer earlier detection of stroke risk factors and better control” of them. “But even in these countries, the total number… read on > read on >
Drug Combo May Fight a Tough Form of Breast Cancer
An experimental drug, added to chemotherapy, may benefit women with an aggressive form of breast cancer, suggests an early study offering much-needed good news. The study involved women with “triple-negative” breast cancer, which accounts for about 15% to 20% of breast cancers among U.S. women. It is so called because the cancers lack receptors for… read on > read on >
Too Many Fertility Specialists Still Use a Painful, Useless Procedure: Study
Couples struggling to conceive a child through in vitro fertilization (IVF) sometimes are offered an often-painful procedure known as “scratching the womb” as a desperate last hope to get pregnant. As many as one-third of IVF clinics offer the practice in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, a new survey reports. It’s very likely… read on > read on >
AHA News: ‘And Just Like That,’ Everyone Wondered: Is Exercise Safe?
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 15, 2021 (American Heart Association News) — And just like that, heart health and exercise became the talk of the town. By now it’s not a spoiler to say that in the latest “Sex and the City” revival, the character known as Mr. Big, played by 67-year-old actor Chris Noth, has an apparent… read on > read on >
Medical Marijuana May Help Ease Severe Epilepsy in Kids: Study
Kids with severe epilepsy may take multiple medications and follow special diets, yet still suffer seizures. Now a small study suggests medical marijuana may sometimes help when other therapies fail. British researchers found that medical pot slashed seizures by almost 90% and reduced use of traditional medications. But at least one outside expert cautions that… read on > read on >
With Certain Oils Gone, Margarine May Now Be Healthier Than Butter
Margarine has gotten a bad rap for years, but a U.S. ban on partially hydrogenated oils may have made it a healthier choice than butter, a new study suggests. Before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned such oils in 2018, margarine contained these oils, which are heavy in trans fats and raise bad (“LDL”)… read on > read on >
AHA News: Revised Scale Could Lead to Timelier Treatment for Strokes in the Back of the Head
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 15, 2021 (American Heart Association News) — A tool widely used by doctors to help determine who needs clot-busting therapy after a stroke has some missing pieces, according to new research that suggests adding a few simple tests could help improve treatment for people who have less common strokes in the back of… read on > read on >