Medical News

RSS

Opioid dose tapering rates as much as six times higher than recommended

Stigma and safety fears have made daily dose tapering of opioid prescriptions more common. New research from UC Davis Health physicians, however, shows tapering can occur at rates as much as six times higher than recommended, putting patients at risk of withdrawal, uncontrolled pain or mental health crises.

18 Nov 2019

Despite Supreme Court win, Texas abortion clinics still shuttered

Over the past few years, abortion providers in Texas have struggled to reopen clinics that had closed because of restrictive state laws.

18 Nov 2019

Startup seeks to hold doctors, hospitals accountable on patient record requests

When Kelly Shanahan had her OB-GYN practice in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., she was meticulous about providing medical records promptly to all patients who requested them, she said.

18 Nov 2019

Increase in drug-resistant infections could put 10 million lives in the UK at risk

Antimicrobial resistance should be taken more seriously, yet more than 99% of the population are not fully aware of its impact. This is despite the outgoing UK Chief Medical Officer saying earlier this year that Superbugs “could kill us before climate change does”.

18 Nov 2019

High-fat maternal diet can cause life-long changes in the fetal brain

A study team at MedUni Vienna’s Center for Brain Research has found that high-fat maternal diets can cause life-long changes in the brain of the unborn offspring.

18 Nov 2019

Opening Medicare to senior Americans would lower health care premiums

Opening Medicare to Americans aged 50 to 64 would lower health care premiums for the group, but also drive up costs for younger people who buy health insurance on exchanges created under the federal Affordable Care Act, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

18 Nov 2019

Study: Two-third of parents struggle to differentiate between normal mood swings and signs of depression

Telling the difference between a teen's normal ups and downs and something bigger is among top challenges parents face in identifying youth depression, a new national poll suggests.

18 Nov 2019

Study explores the overall rate of new cancer cases in Canada from 1971 to 2015

The overall rate of new cancer cases is decreasing in men but increasing in women younger than 80 years, and obesity-related cancers are increasing in young people, according to a study on cancer trends in Canada from 1971 to 2015 published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association).

18 Nov 2019

Study finds no benefits of screening for thyroid dysfunction in nonpregnant adults

A new guideline from the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care recommends against routine screening for thyroid dysfunction in nonpregnant adults without symptoms or risk factors.

18 Nov 2019

Study: Almost 10% of diverse Latino populations meet the criteria for mild cognitive impairment

A study of over 6,300 Latinos of Dominican, Central American, Cuban, Mexican Puerto Rican and South American heritage estimates that nearly 10% of middle-age and older Latinos in the U.S. meet the criteria for mild cognitive impairment.

18 Nov 2019

Omega-3 supplement continues to protect heart health without increasing prostate cancer risk

Should you take omega-3 pills? Or try to have two to servings of omega-3 rich fish a week, as the American Heart Association recommends? It may seem a bit murky if you follow headlines about nutrition and health.

17 Nov 2019

Ramping up the body's waste disposal system helps heal diabetics' blood vessels

Research published today in Experimental Physiology shows that ramping up one of the body's waste disposal system, called autophagy, helps heal the blood vessels of diabetics.

17 Nov 2019

Treatment gaps exist for patients with peripheral arterial disease, 15-year study finds

Peripheral arterial disease is a progressive and life-threatening form of atherosclerosis that narrows the arteries serving the legs, arms, chest, and abdominal organs. It affects more than 8.5 million people in the United States, including 10 to 20 percent of individuals over 60 years old.

17 Nov 2019

Nutraceuticals could help prevent diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is among the fastest-growing conditions in the world, and in Australia, a new case is diagnosed every 5 minutes. Many people with this illness are now taking diet supplements in an attempt to prevent this condition.

17 Nov 2019

The Black Death still lurks all over the world

Beijing, the capital of the economic giant, China, is in the news currently for a far different reason – two patients have developed pneumonic plague. The patients, who hail from Inner Mongolia’s northwestern corner, are being treated at a high-level hospital there, amidst 21 million other people. The health authorities say they have put in place adequate protection and control measures to keep the plague from spreading.

17 Nov 2019

Sudden death due to heart disease – it could be in the genes

More than 220,000 American adults die suddenly of cardiac causes – a phenomenon called sudden cardiac death. Some sources put it as closer to 400,000. Both inexplicable and distressing, this has been the subject of a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and presented at the American Heart Association’s scientific session.

17 Nov 2019

Vaping wrecks immune cell function, increases infection risk

A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology shows that e-cigarettes have toxic effects on neutrophils function, making them a threat to human health by increasing the likelihood of infection with Gram-negative bacteria.

17 Nov 2019

Nicotine delivery different for different e-cigarettes finds study

A new study from Penn State College of Medicine researchers has shown that different electronic cigarettes or “electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS)” have different rates of nicotine delivery to the users. Most popular brand of e-cigarettes JUUL for example has been found to deliver more nicotine at a faster rate compared to other brands.

17 Nov 2019

Dementia risk perception vis-a-vis actual action among Americans

A study has shown that one in two Americans between age 50 and 64 years is aware of the risk of development of dementia with age but only 5 percent are actually visiting their healthcare providers to seek preventive and therapeutic attention.

17 Nov 2019

Clinical trial: Oral drug improves exercise capacity in teens with congenital heart defects

The largest-ever clinical trial of a medication for pediatric cardiology patients found that an oral drug significantly improved exercise capacity in adolescent patients with severe, congenital single-ventricle heart defects.

17 Nov 2019