It’s no wonder many teens are pooped out. “The obligations of school, work, family and friends make it hard for teenagers to get sufficient sleep to perform their best,” said Dr. Raman Malhotra, president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). “While it might seem like teens sleep a lot, most are sleep deprived…  read on >  read on >

Pfizer is expanding the recall of its anti-smoking drug Chantix (varenicline), the company announced Friday. The nationwide recall of all Chantix 0.5 mg and 1 mg tablets was prompted because they may contain levels of a nitrosamine, N-nitroso-varenicline, that are at or above levels approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Long-term ingestion of…  read on >  read on >

In kids and teens, symptoms of long COVID rarely last more than 12 weeks, a new international study reports. The researchers also found that exposure to the highly contagious Delta variant did not result in more serious disease in children compared to earlier variants, and that most cases of COVID-19 were asymptomatic or mild. Despite…  read on >  read on >

U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisors will meet Friday to consider whether it is safe and effective for Americans to receive a third “booster” dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The FDA posted the materials it intends to use in the review on Wednesday. The advisory panel will review a variety of evidence, including new…  read on >  read on >

Treating sickle cell anemia with the drug hydroxyurea may also reverse related heart abnormalities, a new study suggests. Heart issues are common among people with sickle cell disease. Among them are enlargement of the heart and an impaired ability to relax heart muscles, a condition called diastolic dysfunction that can lead to heart disease and…  read on >  read on >

Diseases that can rob you of vision as you age also appear to be tied to an increased risk for dementia, a new study finds. Specifically, age-related macular degeneration, cataracts and diabetes-related eye disease were linked with a higher likelihood of dementia, researchers in China said. However, one other common eye ailment, glaucoma, was not…  read on >  read on >

Health officials are bracing for a viral double whammy this fall and winter. “This year, we expect influenza and COVID-19 to circulate at the same time,” said Dr. Jonathan Grein, director of hospital epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. That’s why Grein and his colleagues remind Americans that it’s time to get your seasonal flu…  read on >  read on >