Category: Health

July 17, 2023 — Illnesses spread by ticks and mosquitos are on the rise, prompting warnings from doctors and scientists to take precautions and watch out for any telltale symptoms. At least seven cases of malaria from mosquitoes in the United States were reported in Florida and Texas last month – the first reports of local spread in 20 years. Cases of tick-borne illness, like Lyme disease, in the U.S. have increased 25%, from 40,795 reported cases in 2011 to 50,856 in 2019, according to the CDC. Cases of a tick-borne disease called babesiosis more than doubled during the same time frame in some Northeastern states. ... Read more

July 17, 2023 – Singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley died from a “strangulated,” or twisted, small bowel on Jan.12, surprising many fans who had seen her attend the Golden Globe awards ceremony just days before. The daughter of the late Elvis Presley was 54 years old. The Los Angeles medical examiner ruled Presley died of natural causes and, in a report issued last week, linked her small bowel obstruction to bariatric surgery she had years earlier. CNN, which first obtained the autopsy, said it included the official opinion of deputy medical examiner Juan M. Carrillo, MD, who said the obstruction was ... Read more

July 19, 2023 — It’s well known that exercise is beneficial to one’s health and particularly that it protects against heart disease. But how much exercise should people get? And how should they apportion their exercise time? Current guidelines (such as those from the World Health Organization and the American Heart Association) recommend at least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of moderate-to-vigorous exercise weekly to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and death, but these guidelines don’t specify how those hours should be divided up. The U.K. National Health Service recommends spreading the exercise evenly over 4 to 5 days, or ... Read more

July 20, 2023 — A finger-prick blood test can accurately identify key Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers without the need for temperature or storage control measures, results of a new study suggest. The use of blood samples to detect amyloid and other markers of Alzheimer’s has become standard procedure for monitoring patients in clinical trials. But this presents logistical challenges because it requires strict, time-limited, temperature-dependent protocols. To make this process more efficient, the researchers conducted a pilot study that investigated a new way of detecting them by dropping a small blood sample onto a blood spot card, where it dries and ... Read more

July 20, 2023 – Gout is a form of arthritis that causes intense pain, redness, and swelling of the joints and extremities. Physical complications of gout, if it’s left untreated, can include high blood pressure, heart attacks, diabetes, kidney problems, and obesity. Now, researchers are taking a closer look at another difficult health challenge that’s linked to gout: depression.  A recent study from the University of British Columbia found a significant increase in gout patients who also have the mood disorder. Their study looked at 157,426 patients and found that about 13 patients out of every 1,000 person-years received a diagnosis of ... Read more

Cough syrup, aspirin, toilet paper … and hearing aids. That may be some consumers’ drugstore shopping list this fall, thanks to a new FDA rule making some hearing aids available without a prescription in pharmacies, electronics stores such as Best Buy, and online. Is that good news or bad news for the 38 million American adults estimated to have trouble hearing? It depends on whom you ask. Some advocates for those with hearing loss lobbied for the rule change, which they hope will make hearing aids cheaper, easier to get, and less stigmatized. Hearing aid makers are cheering expanded opportunities ... Read more

July 28, 2023—Women in the U.S. are dying of alcohol-related causes at a much faster rate than are U.S. men, according to a new study that tracked these deaths for 20 years. The most dramatic rise occurred in the last 3 years covered by the study. “From 2018 to 2020, there was an increase of 14.7% per year” in alcohol-related deaths in women, said study researcher Ibraheem M. Karaye, MD, DrPH, assistant professor of population health, and director of the health science program at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY. While alcohol-related deaths in men also increased greatly during that same 3-year ... Read more

July 28, 2023 – What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the term “game-changer”? For two-time Olympian, three-time Women’s World Cup player, and former professional soccer player Rosie White, it’s a condition called ulcerative colitis, and it would be a takeover that neither she nor her teammates anticipated.  “I was playing collegiate soccer at UCLA and also playing for the New Zealand national team, and I started feeling symptoms during an international game,” White said. “And I just thought that I was sick, had diarrhea, or had eaten something funny.”  “There was blood in my ... Read more

July 21, 2023 – Richard Carter had spent the morning walking the picket line outside the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, CA, with other striking actors. Now, at noon, the temperature had reached 93 F, with a hot breeze blowing. Yet Carter, a 50-something background actor who counts the television show This is Us among his credits, was still cheerful. Some might call him an “iguana,” one of those people who, like the reptiles that prefer to bask in 95 degrees, don’t complain when the temperatures skyrocket. He notices but doesn’t dwell. “I say, ‘Damn, it’s hot,’” he said, then ... Read more

July 24, 2023 – Pickleball.  It’s a new national obsession, the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. And by the end of 2023, it’s expected to yield roughly 67,000 emergency department visits, 366,000 outpatient visits, 8,800 outpatient surgeries, 4,700 hospitalizations, and 20,000 post-acute injury episodes. All told, UBS Group AG financial analysts have forecast that the direct medical costs of pickleball will top $377 million this year alone, mostly due to wrist, lower leg, head, or lower trunk injuries. So why is one of the most popular and easily accessed sports associated with falls, tears, strains, and sprains? More importantly, what can ... Read more