MONDAY, Dec.2, 2024Cases of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are rising at an alarming rate among young Americans, a new study reveals. “Prevalence rates [are] among the highest reported worldwide,” said researcher Dr. Michael Kappelman, a professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  The study — published Nov. 20…  read on >  read on >

MONDAY, Dec.2, 2024Doctors have potent new weapons against the deadliest cancer in America and they want to make sure they’re on the radar of current and former smokers. “Lung cancer screening is the most powerful tool we have to lower cancer [deaths],” said Dr. Timothy Mullett, medical director of the Markey Cancer Center Network and…  read on >  read on >

Winter storms that are bearing down on Americansalso bring a hidden killer in their wake: carbon monoxide. Experts at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are warning of the potentially lethal effects of carbon monoxide (CO), emitted by the gas generators folks may use to power their homes when storms knock out electricity. According…  read on >  read on >

A child from a poorer neighborhood is more prone to severe illness once they develop multiple sclerosis (MS) compared to children growing up in more affluent areas, new research shows. The study of 138 MS patients who’d been diagnosed before the age of 18 revealed that kids from less advantaged neighborhoods showed larger volumes of…  read on >  read on >

Don’t let your surgeon toss your old heart pacemaker out with the trash.  Used pacemakers can be refurbished, researchers report, providing the potential for more people overseas to get the lifesaving devices. “Unlike in the United States, pacemaker therapy is often not available or affordable for people in low- and middle-income countries,” explained Dr. Thomas…  read on >  read on >

Certain hormone replacement therapy pills appear to increase the risk of heart disease and serious blood clots in women going through menopause, a new study says. Estrogen/progestin pills increased women’s risk of heart disease by 21% and risk of life-threatening blood clots by 61%, researchers found. Similarly, the synthetic hormone pill tibolone increased risk of…  read on >  read on >

The rate and number of abortions among U.S. women took a slight dip in 2022 compared to 2021, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In late June of 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that since 1973 had legalized abortion…  read on >  read on >

Ultraprocessed foods have been linked to a myriad of health issues, and a new study suggests that the autoimmune skin disease psoriasis might be added to that list. “Results of this study showed an association between high ultraprocessed food intake and active psoriasis status,” concluded a team led by Dr. Emilie Sbidian, a dermatologist at…  read on >  read on >

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford health economist and critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates, to lead the nation’s largest medical research agency, the National Institutes of Health. In a statement late Tuesday, Trump said Bhattacharya will work under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., potential head of the Department of Health…  read on >  read on >