Poverty and crowded living conditions increase the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, a new study suggests. Researchers reached that conclusion after testing nearly 400 women who gave birth at two hospitals in New York City during the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak. “Our study shows that neighborhood socioeconomic status and household crowding are… read on >
Seattle resident Michael Flor’s heart nearly stopped when he received a $1.1 million dollar hospital bill for months of COVID-19 treatment. The 181-page bill listed nearly 3,000 itemized charges — and didn’t include other items likely to make Flor’s bill even higher, the 70-year-old told Time. But one fact provided Flor some solace: Kaiser Permanente,… read on >
A mainstay of 18th-century medicine — the lowly leech — has made something of a comeback in the 21st century. That’s largely due to powerful blood thinners the parasitic worm secretes naturally. Now, genetic research could give a major boost to the medical use of leeches, scientists say. An international team sequenced the genome of… read on >
If you’re working from home because of the coronavirus pandemic and expect to keep doing so, you need to be sure your work station is set up properly, an orthopedic specialist says. You also need to take regular breaks to move around, according to Terrence McGee, a physical therapist at Johns Hopkins University School of… read on >
The coronavirus pandemic is adding to the mood issues that many pregnant women and new moms experience, according to a new study. One in 7 women experience anxiety or depression immediately before or after giving birth — and researchers say the pandemic has made it even worse. “The social and physical isolation measures that are… read on >
Stroke patients in rural areas of the United States are less likely to get cutting-edge treatments and more likely to die than those in cities. That’s the takeaway from a new analysis of nationwide data on more than 790,000 adults who were hospitalized with stroke between 2012 and 2017. Most were 64 or older. Compared… read on >
A ruptured appendix is one medical emergency that a general surgeon colleague of Dr. Jacqueline Fincher hadn’t treated for more than 15 years in their small town of Thomson, Ga. That’s because the signs and symptoms of appendicitis are so well-known that nearly everyone gets to the hospital well before an inflamed appendix has a… read on >
With U.S. fatalities from COVID-19 now past 115,000, British scientists delivered some welcome news on Tuesday: A drug that appears to cut the odds of death in ventilated patients by one-third. The drug is a low-cost steroid called dexamethasone, which has been in use for decades, noted a team at the University of Oxford. In… read on >
Anesthesiologists can help save the planet, a new study suggests. Increased use of regional anesthesia instead of general anesthesia may help reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, according to researchers at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. Unlike general anesthesia, regional anesthesia doesn’t use volatile halogenated agents, such as… read on >
Back off, Mom and Dad: Teens who feel their parents are overly controlling may have more difficulty with romantic relationships as adults, a new study suggests. The study, which followed 184 teens, found that those with domineering parents had a future that was different from their peers: On average, they did not go as far… read on >
