Pfizer Inc. announced Tuesday that it has launched a Phase 2/3 clinical trial of its COVID antiviral pill known as Paxlovid in children ages 6-17. A news release from the company said the trial will assess the safety and efficacy of the drug in children with COVID symptoms and a confirmed infection who are not… read on > read on >
Kids who’ve suffered a concussion are at heightened risk of mental health issues in the aftermath, a large new study suggests. The researchers found that compared with their peers, children and teenagers with a past concussion were 39% more likely to be diagnosed with a mental health condition — including anxiety disorders, depression and behavioral… read on > read on >
School mask mandates helped protect students and staff last fall as the Delta variant spread, a new government report shows. Ironically, the finding arrived just as many U.S. school districts have dropped masking rules. In the study released Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers examined public school districts in Arkansas… read on > read on >
There are serious mental harms and high financial costs associated with so-called conversion therapy for LGBTQ people, researchers report. Conversion therapy attempts to make lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people “straight.” Its safety and effectiveness has been discredited in multiple prior studies. In the new analysis, researchers looked at data from 28 published studies… read on > read on >
Health and fitness apps are growing in popularity, but not among the people who might benefit most from them — seniors and people with chronic health conditions. Nearly two out of three American adults are living with a chronic health problem like heart disease, diabetes or asthma, a new HealthDay/Harris Poll survey found. Health apps… read on > read on >
Antidepressants don’t always help ease depression and anxiety in pregnant women and new moms, according to a new study. “This is the first longitudinal data to show that many pregnant women report depression and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum, despite their choice to continue treatment with antidepressants,” said senior author Dr. Katherine Wisner. She… read on > read on >
People who were born with a heart defect have a nearly doubled risk for severe COVID-19 illness or death and need to get vaccinated, wear masks and take other steps to protect themselves, researchers report. Those patients at the highest risk for severe COVID-19 were 50 and older, men, and those with other health conditions… read on > read on >
Florida legislators voted on Thursday to ban most abortions after 15 weeks, a move that would severely restrict access to the procedure for women in that state. The bill — modeled after a similar abortion ban in Mississippi that the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on this summer — now heads to Gov.… read on > read on >
Sleep apnea may be linked with joint pain and fatigue in postmenopausal women, a new study suggests. “This study highlights an opportunity to increase identification of women with OSA [obstructive sleep apnea], which is underdiagnosed in women who often present with vague symptoms such as insomnia, fatigue and morning headaches. According to these findings, joint… read on > read on >
Women with long or irregular periods are at increased risk for a serious condition called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, according to a new study. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic disease in which excess fat builds up in the liver. It affects about 24% of U.S. adults, according to the March 3 report… read on > read on >
