Childhood obesity was a worrisome issue before the pandemic, and now it’s alarmingly worse, new data shows. A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found a “profound increase in weight gain for kids” that is “substantial and alarming,” Dr. Alyson Goodman, one of the study’s authors, told the Associated Press. For the study,… read on > read on >
Treating sickle cell anemia with the drug hydroxyurea may also reverse related heart abnormalities, a new study suggests. Heart issues are common among people with sickle cell disease. Among them are enlargement of the heart and an impaired ability to relax heart muscles, a condition called diastolic dysfunction that can lead to heart disease and… read on > read on >
Health officials are bracing for a viral double whammy this fall and winter. “This year, we expect influenza and COVID-19 to circulate at the same time,” said Dr. Jonathan Grein, director of hospital epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. That’s why Grein and his colleagues remind Americans that it’s time to get your seasonal flu… read on > read on >
Even when genetics and personality are working against you, having a strong network of supportive friends and family may help lower alcoholism risk, researchers say. “Genes play an important role in alcohol use,” stressed Jinni Su, an assistant professor of psychology at Arizona State University in Tempe, and lead author of a new study. But… read on > read on >
The cost of providing hospital care for unvaccinated Americans has reached $5.7 billion in just three months, CBS News reported. Between June and August, about 287,000 people who were not vaccinated were hospitalized for COVID-19 in the United States, according to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and the Peterson Center on Healthcare, which… read on > read on >
The number of U.S. infants born with syphilis is climbing at an alarming pace, reaching a high not seen since the 1990s, according to new government figures. Newborn syphilis, a potentially fatal condition, was at one time nearly eliminated in the United States. But the disease has seen a resurgence in recent years — and… read on > read on >
As severe cases of COVID-19 rise and demand surges for monoclonal antibody treatments, the U.S. government is ordering more from two key suppliers. Monoclonal antibodies, which are lab-engineered immune system proteins, can help trigger a healthy immune response against COVID-19 infection. The Biden administration has also taken over distributing the therapeutics, to help avoid shortages… read on > read on >
Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients undergoing a treatment that depletes a type of immune cell that fuels MS attacks still have a strong response to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, a new study finds. “The message from this study is clear — it is worthwhile for patients with MS receiving [anti-CD20] treatment to get a COVID-19 vaccine, which… read on > read on >
The COVID-19 pandemic has many women thinking twice about having more kids. In a survey of close to 1,200 New York City women with young children, one-third of respondents who had been thinking about having another baby before the pandemic but hadn’t started trying said they were no longer considering it. For women who stopped… read on > read on >
It’s hard to resist those big, pleading eyes in the pet store window. But buyer beware. Pet store puppies may infect people with a bacteria for which no common antibiotic treatment exists, a new study warns. Campylobacter jejuni (C jejuni) cannot be treated with any common antibiotics and is an increasing public health threat, according… read on > read on >
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