Men with chronic pain from prostate inflammation may get lasting relief from acupuncture, a new clinical trial finds. At issue is a condition known as chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome, in which the prostate gland becomes inflamed and nerves supplying the area are irritated. That can cause pain in the perineum, penis, scrotum and low…  read on >  read on >

If you’re pregnant and worried that getting a COVID-19 vaccine might trigger severe side effects, you can relax. New research shows that pregnant women and new mothers don’t suffer more reactions after a shot than other women do. “Pregnant people do well with the vaccine,” said lead study author Dr. Alisa Kachikis, an assistant professor…  read on >  read on >

If you suffered a bout of COVID-19 and your lungs took a beating, new research has reassuring news: You will likely be spared long-term respiratory damage. Scientists looked at COVID-19 survivors who had asymptomatic, moderate or severe COVID-19 infections and also underwent unrelated elective lung operations (for example, to treat lung nodules or lung cancer)…  read on >  read on >

A new study may help explain why people with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience worsening disability while those with two related diseases do not. MS causes permanent brain and spinal cord scarring, and researchers investigated whether the same damage accompanies two rarer, similar diseases in which the immune system also attacks the central nervous system. The…  read on >  read on >

There’s an old saying, “Age and guile beat youth and exuberance,” and new research suggests there might be something to that. Some key brain functions can improve in people as they age, researchers report, challenging the notion that our mental abilities decline across the board as we grow old. With increasing age, many people appear…  read on >  read on >

The United States’ early rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations may have saved nearly 140,000 lives, a new study suggests. Using data on state vaccination campaigns and COVID-19 deaths, researchers estimate that immunizations prevented 139,393 deaths nationwide between December 2020 and early May 2021. On the state level, vaccinations prevented an average of five deaths for every…  read on >  read on >