While strokes and related deaths have declined in rich nations, they remain stubbornly high worldwide, a new study says. Author Liyuan Han attributed the overall decreases to “better medical services in high-income countries, which may offer earlier detection of stroke risk factors and better control” of them. “But even in these countries, the total number… read on > read on >
An experimental drug, added to chemotherapy, may benefit women with an aggressive form of breast cancer, suggests an early study offering much-needed good news. The study involved women with “triple-negative” breast cancer, which accounts for about 15% to 20% of breast cancers among U.S. women. It is so called because the cancers lack receptors for… read on > read on >
Couples struggling to conceive a child through in vitro fertilization (IVF) sometimes are offered an often-painful procedure known as “scratching the womb” as a desperate last hope to get pregnant. As many as one-third of IVF clinics offer the practice in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, a new survey reports. It’s very likely… read on > read on >
The Omicron variant is spreading rapidly in the United States and could trigger a huge wave of COVID infections as early as January, federal health officials said Tuesday. In just one week there was a sevenfold spike in the highly contagious variant’s presence across the nation, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and… read on > read on >
“Medicare For All” gets tossed around a lot by advocates of universal health coverage, but a new study finds that today’s Medicare is far from free for seniors and people with disabilities. Instead, a large number of beneficiaries are sliding into medical debt and delaying needed health care due to financial holes in the system,… read on > read on >
The deadly tornadoes that devastated communities in multiple states this past weekend have destroyed many homes and left others without power. But if people turn to generators to manage in the aftermath, they should use caution, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) warns. Portable generators can expose users to increased risk of carbon monoxide… read on > read on >
When it comes to fending off new viruses, baby has Mom and Dad beat. An infant’s immune system is better than an adult’s at combating new viruses, researchers say. Compared to adults, babies get a lot of viral respiratory infections, but babies are dealing with these viruses for the first time, study author Donna Farber… read on > read on >
Here’s a social distancing strategy that really worked in the early days of the pandemic: New research shows that providing hotel rooms to homeless people at high risk for severe COVID-19 significantly lowered their chance of infection. In early April 2020, the city of Chicago made 200 rooms at a hotel available to homeless people… read on > read on >
When someone says “I need a drink,” it’s usually because they’ve had a rough day. Now, new research suggests that stress is more likely to trigger heavy drinking in women than in men. “Some people can intend to have one or two alcoholic beverages and stop drinking, but other people just keep going,” said study… read on > read on >
Is air pollution a bigger health threat to minorities? Apparently so, claims a new U.S. study that finds while air pollution levels have fallen in recent decades, people of color still have more exposure to dirty air than white Americans do. Air pollution is linked to a range of health conditions, including heart disease, cancer… read on > read on >
