Latest Health News

THURSDAY, Jan. 5, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling last June, many feared that abortion bans would jeopardize the health of pregnant women.Several months later, a conservative group known as the Alliance Defending Freedom sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reverse their decades-old approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, claiming lingering safety concerns over the medication.But a new study of more than 39,000 Canadian women shows that both medical (pill-based) and surgical first-trimester abortions are safe and effective, although there were slightly more complications seen with medical abortion, the study showed.Medical abortion involves two drugs that can end an early pregnancy: mifepristone and...

THURSDAY, Jan. 5, 2023 (HealthDay News) – Researchers studying patients with low-grade, slow-growing brain tumors have found that more aggressive surgery may extend survival. The trick to treating low-grade gliomas is to remove as much of them as possible soon after diagnosis, researchers at University of California, San Francisco found.“Our findings put an end to the controversy that maximal resection [tumor removal] may not be required for some low-grade gliomas,” said study co-author Dr. Shawn Hervey-Jumper, an associate professor in the UCSF department of neurological surgery.Low-grade gliomas are diagnosed in 20,000 people, mostly young adults and those in midlife, each year in the United States, the study noted. After surgery, undetectable pockets of tumor cells grow...

THURSDAY, Jan. 5, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Having a “dry January,” or giving up alcohol for the first month of the year, is a trend. And it’s not a bad idea, according to a drug and alcohol rehab counselor with Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Not consuming alcohol can have many health benefits, said Alan Berki, from sleeping better and having more time for other hobbies to saving money."The condition of your skin, the increased amount of energy that you have, if you're not replacing the alcohol with candy or sweets — because you may start to crave those a little more if you stop drinking — you'll definitely experience weight loss,” Berki said.One group should not take part, Berki cautioned. Those are heavy drinkers, who should talk with their doctors first because withdrawal...

THURSDAY, Jan. 5, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Cigars are linked with victory, new babies and Winston Churchill, not nicotine addiction, but are they any better for your health than cigarettes?No, say experts who point out the many dangers of cigar smoking.Over the past few decades, through clever marketing, cigar smoking has taken on a rarified aura, with cigar bars and magazines like Cigar Aficionado devoted to a cigar-smoking lifestyle that appeals to male fantasies of power and class. It's also a way to relax because it is a more leisurely smoke than the frenetic rush of a cigarette. What are cigars made of? Unlike cigarettes, they are all tobacco from the inside to the tobacco leaf wrapper. Do cigars have nicotine? Like cigarettes, they contain nicotine and the same cancer-causing...