Latest Health News

13Apr
2023

Juul Reaches $462 Million Settlement With Six States, D.C.

Juul Reaches $462 Million Settlement With Six States, D.C.THURSDAY, April 13, 2023 (HealthDay News) – Juul Labs on Wednesday reached a $462 million settlement with several states over the aggressive marketing of its electronic cigarettes to minors.This latest settlement includes New York, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts and New Mexico.Juul settled with West Virginia earlier this week. The company has already agreed already to pay out more than $1 billion to 47 states and territories, Juul Labs said in a statement.“The terms of the agreement, like prior settlements, provide financial resources to further combat underage use and develop cessation programs and reflect our current business practices,” Juul spokesman Austin Finan told the New York Times. The latest settlement represents a near “total...

New Drug May Treat Rare Diseases That Make Exposure to...

13 April 2023
New Drug May Treat Rare Diseases That Make Exposure to Sunlight PainfulTHURSDAY, April 13, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- It sounds like the stuff of a vampire novel, but for people with a group of rare genetic disorders, exposure to sunlight can cause excruciating pain. Now, an experimental medication is showing promise for helping them better tolerate the light of day.In an early clinical trial, researchers tested the drug for patients with either of two related conditions: erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) and X-linked protoporphyria (XLP).Both belong to a group of eight rare genetic disorders called porphyrias. Studies estimate that EPP and XLP affect one in every 75,000 to 200,000 white people. Both conditions arise from certain genetic abnormalities that cause a chemical called protoporphyrin to build up in the blood and the lining of the blood...

Blood Donors' Gender Doesn't Affect Outcomes for Recipients

13 April 2023
Blood Donors` Gender Doesn`t Affect Outcomes for RecipientsTHURSDAY, April 13, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Whether the gender of a blood donor could affect the recipient's survival was an unanswered question in medicine. Until now.“Some observational studies had suggested female donor blood might be linked with a higher risk of death among recipients compared to male donor blood, but our clinical trial found that isn’t the case,” co-lead author Dr. Dean Fergusson, a senior scientist at the Ottawa Hospital in Ontario, Canada, said in a hospital news release.The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute identified this question as a research priority in 2015. To study this, researchers began a large, innovative clinical trial with more than 8,700 patients.“To answer this question definitively we needed a large, randomized clinical...

Statins Cut Heart Risks for Folks Living With HIV

13 April 2023
Statins Cut Heart Risks for Folks Living With HIVTHURSDAY, April 13, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- As people with HIV live longer they're at risk of premature heart disease. But a new study finds statin drugs can cut the risk of serious heart problems by more than one-third.The U.S. National Institutes of Health trial found the cholesterol-lowering drugs so effective, in fact, that the study was stopped early.Taking the daily statin pitavastatin calcium lowered the risk of major heart events by 35% in this patient group, according to an interim analysis of data from the Randomized Trial to Prevent Vascular Events in HIV (REPRIEVE) study.“The REPRIEVE study reflects the evolution of HIV science, and progress from focusing mostly on approaches to treat and control the virus to finding ways to improve the overall health of people living...

Allergies: Climate Change Is Worsening 'Sneezin' Season'

13 April 2023
Allergies: Climate Change Is Worsening `Sneezin` Season`THURSDAY, April 13, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Allergy and asthma sufferers may think their symptoms are harsher and lasting longer this spring. They’re not imagining it. The changing climate means that allergy seasons are starting about 20 days earlier, are 10 days longer and include 21% more pollen than they did in 1990, according to the U.S. National Institute of Food and Agriculture.“It’s a pretty simple equation,” said allergist Dr. Kathleen May, president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). “More pollen means more days of suffering with asthma and allergy symptoms," she said in a College news release. "People across the country are aware they need to start allergy and asthma medications sooner because symptoms arrive earlier and stay...

No Sign Mild COVID in Pregnancy Can Harm Infant Brain

12 April 2023
No Sign Mild COVID in Pregnancy Can Harm Infant BrainWEDNESDAY, April 12, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Molly E. came down with COVID last February when she was 36 weeks pregnant.“My symptoms were mild, and after speaking to my obstetrician, I felt reassured to hear that if anything, my baby would maybe have some antibodies,” said the New Jersey resident, who did not want her last name used. Her daughter was born on March 23 and, so far, she is a normal and healthy baby.Now, new research offers even more reassurance for moms like Molly who had mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 during their pregnancy. These toddlers showed normal learning, language and motor development skills between the ages of 5 and 11 months.“Mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 during pregnancy does not have an effect on early neurodevelopment,” said study author Dr. Dani...

Feds to Toughen Rules on Privacy Around Abortion, Contraceptive Services

12 April 2023
Feds to Toughen Rules on Privacy Around Abortion, Contraceptive ServicesWEDNESDAY, April 12, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. officials said Wednesday that they plan to strengthen existing privacy rules to prevent the sharing of private legal reproductive health care information for use in investigations and prosecutions against patients or providers.The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), through its Office for Civil Rights (OCR), moved to strengthen the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule protections.The latest action would prohibit using or disclosing protected health information to investigate patients or their doctors for receiving or providing legal reproductive health services, including abortion care. The issue has become particularly pressing as more states move to ban or partially ban...

Weight-Loss Surgery Might Reverse the Nerve Damage That Diabetes Brings

12 April 2023
Weight-Loss Surgery Might Reverse the Nerve Damage That Diabetes BringsWEDNESDAY, April 12, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- While the immediate goal of bariatric surgery is to help obese patients shed significant weight, new research shows it may also reduce diabetes complications, including nerve damage.Investigators followed 127 weight-loss surgery patients for two years. They found the surgery led to a sustained drop in previously high blood sugar (glucose) levels as well as in levels of certain lipids (fats).But the procedure was also linked to marked improvements of peripheral neuropathy, a condition that undermines nerve fiber density throughout the body. It can cause weakness, numbness and pain, often in the hands and feet.“We were not surprised to see that patient’s neuropathy improved, because bariatric surgery improves obesity, diabetes, and...

Mix of Vet Tranquilizer, Fentanyl an 'Emerging Threat,'...

WEDNESDAY, April 12, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. officials are intensifying efforts to crack down on illicit use of the veterinary tranquilizer xylazine, which can cause painful and deadly side...

AHA News: Children Can Have High Blood Pressure, Too....

WEDNESDAY, April 12, 2023 (American Heart Association News) -- High blood pressure – sometimes referred to as "the silent killer" because it can do serious heart and brain damage before symptoms...
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