A new theory about the start of the COVID-19 virus points to illegally traded raccoon dogs at a market in Wuhan, China. Genetic data from swabs connected to these fox-like animals with a raccoon face offers tangible evidence of the virus’ possible origin, according to an international team of virus experts. These animals are known… read on > read on >
Cases of a parasitic disease spread by ticks have been on the rise, particularly in states in the Northeast that had previously seen few cases, U.S. health officials reported Friday. Between 2011 and 2019, more than 16,000 cases of babesiosis were reported in the United States, with the lion’s share of those cases reported in… read on > read on >
Just like adults, young children with type 1 diabetes may get the blood sugar control they need using an “artificial pancreas,” new research shows. The Control-IQ artificial pancreas system was tested in a clinical trial in children aged 2 to 6. Using the technology developed at the University of Virginia (UVA), these children spent approximately… read on > read on >
After U.S. pregnancy deaths soared in 2021, they are on track to drop to pre-pandemic levels in 2022, a new government report shows. While the decline from more than 1,200 pregnancy deaths in 2021 to 733 deaths in 2022 is positive news, experts said it’s still not enough when pregnancy deaths were already at high… read on > read on >
When Yoni Silverman, now 13, was a toddler, his parents fretted as he missed milestone after milestone. The New York City couple took their son to a host of specialists, searching for answers about why he wasn’t speaking and had difficulty with balance, among other developmental issues. Fast forward a few years later, and a… read on > read on >
Sometimes new moms receive opioid prescriptions for pain, particularly after a cesarean delivery. They needn’t worry, researchers say. Their newborns are at no greater risk of harm than those whose moms don’t get those prescriptions, according to a large new study in Canada. The findings, published March 15 in the BMJ, should reassure parents and… read on > read on >
When Yoni Silverman, now 13, was a toddler, his parents fretted as he missed milestone after milestone. The New York City couple took their son to a host of specialists, searching for answers about why he wasn’t speaking and had difficulty with balance, among other developmental issues. Fast forward a few years later, and a… read on > read on >
Sometimes new moms receive opioid prescriptions for pain, particularly after a cesarean delivery. They needn’t worry, researchers say. Their newborns are at no greater risk of harm than those whose moms don’t get those prescriptions, according to a large new study in Canada. The findings, published March 15 in the BMJ, should reassure parents and… read on > read on >
Women with multiple sclerosis who want to undergo fertility treatment can do so without worry, according to a new study. Participants who had MS were no more likely to have a flare-up of the disease after receiving fertility treatments than they were before their treatments, researchers found. The study also found a link between MS… read on > read on >
A strain of avian (bird) flu appears to be killing seals off the New England coast, heightening fears among scientists that mammal-to-mammal transmission could be happening. If so, it would be a step towards something health experts have long dreaded: A strain of H5N1 bird flu that might spread easily among people, with potentially devastating… read on > read on >
It’s extremely rare, but the number of women suffering cardiac arrest during childbirth is rising in the United States as older, less healthy women have babies, a new study finds. One in 9,000 women hospitalized during delivery has a cardiac arrest — a higher rate than previously known, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease… read on > read on >
Even modest weight gain above the average puts kids at risk for high blood pressure, new research shows. “Hypertension during youth tracks into adulthood and is associated with cardiac and vascular organ damage,” said lead study author Corinna Koebnick of Kaiser Permanente Southern California. “Since the organ damage can be irreversible, preventing hypertension in our… read on > read on >
Don’t rely on TikTok for accurate health information about mpox, the virus once known as monkeypox, a new study says. An international group of researchers who watched and analyzed videos about mpox on the social media site found them to be often inaccurate, incomplete and of poor quality. Study findings were published May 14 in… read on > read on >
Newer scanning technology may spot more breast cancers and lower the rate of dreaded false positives, a large, new study shows. Now available in a growing number of health care facilities, tomosynthesis uses low-dose X-rays and computer reconstructions to create 3D images of the breasts to find cancers. In contrast, traditional mammography creates 2D images… read on > read on >
The children of women who took a common anti-nausea drug for pregnancy in the 1960s and 1970s may be at higher risk of colon cancer, according to a new study. The drug, dicyclomine, is used to treat spasms caused by irritable bowel syndrome. It was also initially included in Bendectin, a drug prescribed during pregnancy… read on > read on >
During the first year of the pandemic, the United States saw a spike in the number of Black infants who died suddenly — worsening a longstanding disparity, a new government study finds. The increase was seen in what’s called sudden unexpected infant death, or SUID. It’s a term used when a baby younger than 1… read on > read on >
