A toxin found in paint strippers that’s responsible for 85 U.S. deaths over the past five decades will be phased out for many uses, under an Environmental Protection Agency rule finalized Tuesday. The cancer-causing solvent methylene chloride will still have some allowed uses, but with strict guidelines aimed at keeping workers safe. “Exposure to methylene… read on > read on >
Women approaching menopause appear to be at higher risk of depression, a new review indicates. Women in the transition period prior to menopause are 40% more likely to experience depression than premenopausal women, according to pooled data from seven studies involving more than 9,100 women around the world. The results show that women heading into… read on > read on >
At what age does loneliness strike adults the hardest? A new review maps it out, finding that people are more lonely as young adults, grow less lonely as they approach middle age, and then fall back into loneliness in old age, researchers reported April 30 in the journal Psychological Science. “What was striking was how… read on > read on >
The benefits of physical fitness for kids spill over into their mental health, new research shows. Getting plenty of exercise may guard against depressive symptoms, anxiety and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a new study published April 29 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics found. And the more exercise, the better: Higher performance in cardiovascular activities, strength and… read on > read on >
As bird flu continues to spread among dairy cows, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday it is now testing ground beef for any presence of the virus. The agency said it is sampling ground beef bought in grocery stores in states where dairy cattle have tested positive for the virus, also known as H5N1,… read on > read on >
A middle-aged Seattle man collapsed in his Portland, Ore.-area hotel room, where he was staying during a business trip. He’d just tried fentanyl for the first time, and it very nearly killed him by literally destroying his brain. Inhaling fentanyl caused terrible inflammation throughout large sections of white matter in the patient’s brain, his doctors… read on > read on >
As the battle over abortion continues to rage in the courts and American politics, a new report estimates that one in every four U.S. women will undergo the procedure during their lifetime. The study was issued by the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization focused on sexual and reproductive health that supports access to abortion. … read on > read on >
H5N1 avian “bird” flu is making headlines this week, with new reports finding inactive virus detected in 1 in 5 U.S. milk samples. That means the virus is infecting mammals such as dairy cows, and now researchers report it’s turned up in a bottlenose dolphin in Florida. “We still don’t know where the dolphin got… read on > read on >
At major medical centers across the southeast, 1 in every 20 visits to emergency departments involve people who are homeless or face “housing insecurity,” a new U.S. study finds. Concerns of suicide was the leading medical reason bringing these types of patients to the ER and many were uninsured, said a team reporting recently in… read on > read on >
Laboratory tests used by millions of Americans are soon to be classified as medical devices, and as such be regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the agency announced Monday. The new rule does not apply to tests and kits made by big medical device manufacturers — those already face FDA review. Instead, the… read on > read on >
