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Vaping-related respiratory illness characterized by lipid-laden macrophages in the lungs

Doctors have identified a previously unrecognized characteristic of the vaping-related respiratory illness that has been emerging in clusters across the U.S. in recent months.

8 Sep 2019

Study shows large differences in ED and hospital destinations of minority patients

A new national study done by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center showed large differences in the emergency department and hospital destinations of minority (Black and Hispanic) patients who are transported by emergency medical services when compared with their non-Hispanic white counterparts.

7 Sep 2019

Groupons for medical treatment? Welcome to today’s U.S. health care

Emory University medical fellow Dr. Nicole Herbst was shocked when she saw three patients who came in with abnormal results from chest CT scans they had bought on Groupon.

6 Sep 2019

How political maneuvering derailed a red state’s path to Medicaid expansion

This was supposed to be the year Medicaid expansion finally happened in Kansas.

6 Sep 2019

Physician-hospital integration increases health care costs, study shows

When physicians integrate with hospitals, the cost of health care rises even though there's no evidence patients get better treatment, according to a new paper by experts at Rice University and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas.

6 Sep 2019

Machine learning may augment diagnostics of kidney disease

Two new studies reveal that modern machine learning--a branch of artificial intelligence in which systems learn from data, identify patterns, and make decisions--may augment traditional diagnostics of kidney disease. The findings appear in an upcoming issue of JASN.

6 Sep 2019

Taxing SSBs by the amount of sugar could produce greater health benefits and economic gains

Taxing sugar-sweetened beverages by the amount of sugar they contain, rather than by the liquid volume of these drinks, as several U.S. cities currently do, could produce even greater health benefits and economic gains, a team of researchers has concluded.

6 Sep 2019

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Waiting for the Trump health plan

President Donald Trump has been promising to reveal a new health plan since early this year. That hasn't happened yet. Now, there is a debate about whether having a plan for Democrats to criticize would help or hurt the president's campaign.

5 Sep 2019

As measles outbreak fades, N.Y. sets in motion new rules on school vaccinations

As children head to school this fall, the number of measles cases in New York has slowed to a trickle, and officials this week declared that the outbreak in New York City, which largely affected Orthodox Jewish families who avoided immunizations, is over.

5 Sep 2019

Analysis: How your beloved hospital helps to drive up health care costs

As voters fume about the high cost of health care, politicians have been targeting two well-deserved villains: pharmaceutical companies, whose prices have risen more than inflation, and insurers, who pay their executives millions in salaries while raising premiums and deductibles.

5 Sep 2019

School districts double down on drug testing, targeting even middle schoolers

Thirteen-year-old Aura Brillhart and her 11-year-old sister, Morgan, will face a new sort of test in school this year: a drug test.

5 Sep 2019

Cancer patients with low income and no insurance see fewer trial benefits

When it comes to benefiting from experimental treatments offered in cancer clinical trials, your health insurance status and where you live matters, according to results of two new research studies to be presented at the 2019 ASCO Quality Care Symposium, held September 6 and 7 in San Diego.

5 Sep 2019

New polypill cheaper, better at reducing cardiovascular disease

A new study from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has proved the cost-effectiveness and life-saving potential of the “polypill”: a single new pill which combines four commonly prescribed cardiovascular drugs into one to prevent a recurrent stroke or heart event in adult patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).

5 Sep 2019

ASTRO guideline provides recommendations on use of radiation therapy to treat pancreatic cancer

A new clinical guideline from the American Society for Radiation Oncology provides recommendations on the use of radiation therapy to treat patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, including when radiation treatments are appropriate, as well as the optimal dosing, timing and fractionation for these treatments.

4 Sep 2019

Rutgers studies find link between poor oral health and cognitive decline, perceived stress

Oral health is an essential part of psychological well-being and overall health in older adults. Poor oral health is associated with decreased quality of life, depression, hypertension, and cognitive decline.

4 Sep 2019

Large-scale study maps the genetic underpinnings of early TB progression

While the vast majority of the 1.8 billion people infected with the TB bacterium never experience active disease, an estimated 5 to 15 percent do develop full-blown infections--roughly half of them within 18 months of exposure.

4 Sep 2019

Poll: Many older adults are not fully prepared for emergency situations

Most people over age 50 say they're ready for natural disasters and emergency situations, but a new national poll shows that many haven't taken key steps to protect their health and well-being in case of severe weather, long-term power outages or other situations.

4 Sep 2019

Study aims to achieve earlier diagnosis of ATTR cardiac amyloidosis in minority populations

Researchers at Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, in collaboration with Columbia University Irving Medical Center, are leading a national, multi-site study aimed to achieve earlier diagnosis of transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis.

4 Sep 2019

A young woman, a wheelchair and the fight to take her place at Stanford

Sylvia Colt-Lacayo is 18, fresh-faced and hopeful, as she beams confidence from her power wheelchair. Her long dark hair is soft and carefully tended, and her wide brown eyes are bright.

4 Sep 2019

Medical imaging rates continue to increase despite broad campaign to reduce their use

Despite a broad campaign among physician groups to reduce the amount of imaging in medicine, the rates of use of CT, MRI and other scans have continued to increase in both the U.S. and Ontario, Canada, according to a new study of more than 135 million imaging exams conducted by researchers at UC Davis, UC San Francisco and Kaiser Permanente.

4 Sep 2019