The shingles vaccine can do more than protect seniors from painful, blistering rashes. It also appears to protect older folks from dementia, researchers say. Seniors who got the shingles vaccine when it became available in the U.K. were 20% less likely to develop dementia than those who did not take the jab, according to research…  read on >  read on >

The inability to pay for health care has reached a new high in the United States, a new study says. More than one-third of Americans — an estimated 91 million people — say they couldn’t afford to access quality health care if they needed it today, according to the latest West Health-Gallup Healthcare Affordability Index.…  read on >  read on >

Insomnia and vertigo are health conditions so well-known that movies have been named after them. But only a quarter of Americans know about a condition that occurs even more often than vertigo or insomnia, called dysphagia, a new study says. Dysphagia is a condition in which people have trouble swallowing, due to nerve, muscle or…  read on >  read on >

Hundreds of U.S. research projects aimed at boosting vaccine confidence have been shut down — just as preventable diseases like measles and flu are on the rise. Since Jan. 20, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has canceled more than 1,600 research grants.  Around 300 of those were for vaccine-related projects, making…  read on >  read on >

Microplastics appear to be contributing to chronic diseases in shoreline areas of the United States, a new study suggests. High blood pressure, diabetes and stroke rates are higher in coastal or lakefront areas with greater concentrations of microplastics in the environment, researchers reported at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology (ACC). The results…  read on >  read on >

COVID-19 and influenza burned through the U.S. during this year’s cold and flu season, and deadly measles outbreaks have sickened people in 19 states. So what does it take to get people vaccinated against these preventable diseases? Essentially, an outbreak within a person’s own community appears to be one of the most potent influences on…  read on >  read on >

Breast-conserving therapy for breast cancer might not conserve as much as previously thought, a new study suggests. Women’s breasts can shrink considerably after they’ve undergone radiation therapy and lumpectomy for their early-stage breast cancer, researchers reported March 27 in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. “Our findings suggest that women undergoing (breast conserving therapy with…  read on >  read on >