Latest Health News

8Nov
2022

Dementia Rate Declining Among Older Americans: Study

Dementia Rate Declining Among Older Americans: StudyTUESDAY, Nov. 8, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- There's good news for aging adults: Prevalence of dementia declined in the United States from 2000 to 2016, a new study reveals. In people ages 65 and up, prevalence of dementia dropped by 3.7 percentage points. Disparities also decreased between white and Black men and between men and women."The reasons for the decline in the prevalence of dementia are not certain, but this trend is good news for older Americans and the systems that support them," said lead author Péter Hudomiet, an economist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. "This decline may help reduce the expected strain on families, nursing homes and other support systems as the American population ages," Hudomiet added in a RAND news release.In 2000, the age-adjusted...

Study Compares 2 Common Diuretics Used in Heart Failure

8 November 2022
Study Compares 2 Common Diuretics Used in Heart FailureTUESDAY, Nov. 8, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with heart failure are often prescribed a diuretic or "water pill" to prevent fluid buildup. A new study has found that two often-prescribed medications work equally well at reducing deaths. "Given that the two different therapies provide the same effect on outcomes, we shouldn't spend time switching patients from one to the other, and instead concentrate on giving the right dose and adjusting other therapies that have been proven to have long-term benefits," said study lead author and cardiologist Dr. Robert Mentz. He's chief of the heart failure section at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C.In the study, researchers compared torsemide (Demadex) and furosemide (Lasix) in more than 2,800 patients with heart failure....

Telemedicine's Popularity Has Risen During Pandemic

8 November 2022
Telemedicine`s Popularity Has Risen During PandemicTUESDAY, Nov. 8, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Telemedicine became widespread during the pandemic, and that may have shifted patient views about using technology as way to communicate with their doctors, a new study suggests.Certain groups, including Black patients and those with lower education levels, became especially more apt to use it."Our findings suggest that more Americans are becoming comfortable with telehealth and using video technology," said study author Dr. Shira Fischer, a physician scientist at RAND Corp., a nonprofit research organization."This is important because there are concerns that lack of access to or willingness to use video telehealth may exacerbate disparities in the delivery of high-quality health care," she said in an organization news release.In the study,...

Heat Waves, No A/C: A Deadly Combo at Texas Prisons

8 November 2022
Heat Waves, No A/C: A Deadly Combo at Texas PrisonsTUESDAY, Nov. 8, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Heat waves may be killing prisoners in Texas, according to an analysis that found far-higher-than-normal death rates in the state's non-air-conditioned prisons.“The majority of Texas prisons do not have universal air conditioning,” noted lead study author Julie Skarha. “And in these settings, we found a 30-fold increase in heat-related mortality when compared to estimates of heat-related mortality in the general U.S. population,” she said in a news release from Brown University. Skarha recently received her PhD in epidemiology from Brown.Texas prisons hold about 160,000 people, the most of any U.S. state, the researchers said in background notes. With climate change increasing the frequency of heat waves, the findings suggest mandatory...

6 'Heart-Healthy' Supplements Flop in Cholesterol Study

7 November 2022
6 `Heart-Healthy` Supplements Flop in Cholesterol StudyMONDAY, Nov. 7, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Folks taking dietary supplements intended to help their heart health are just wasting their money, a new clinical trial suggests.Six supplements widely promoted as heart-healthy — fish oil, cinnamon, garlic, turmeric, plant sterols and red yeast rice — didn’t do a thing to lower “bad” low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol or improve heart health, researchers found.“Compared to placebo, none of the supplements had a significant decrease in LDL cholesterol,” said lead researcher Dr. Luke Laffin, co-director of the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Blood Pressure Disorders.In fact, two of the supplements made matters worse, Laffin said during a presentation on the findings Sunday at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting,...

Amy Schumer's Son Recovering After Being Hospitalized With RSV

7 November 2022
Amy Schumer`s Son Recovering After Being Hospitalized With RSVMONDAY, Nov. 7, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- A jump in U.S. cases of RSV this fall has affected many infants and children, including comedian Amy Schumer’s 3-year-old son, Gene. Schumer wrote about her son being hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus in an Instagram post, calling it the "hardest week of my life."Schumer hosted "Saturday Night Live" this weekend but missed Thursday rehearsals to be with her son, who was admitted to the hospital after an emergency room visit. In her post, Schumer said she "got to be with him the whole day at the hospital." Now Gene "is home and better."Typically, RSV cases are mild like a cold. They can be serious and life-threatening for the very young, elderly and people with certain health issues.Public health experts say the current rise in RSV...

CDC Warns of Rare Bacterial Infections From Dentists' Water Lines

7 November 2022
CDC Warns of Rare Bacterial Infections From Dentists` Water LinesMONDAY, Nov. 7, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning that a number of U.S. children have picked up a serious infection from contaminated water lines at the dentist's office.Although rare, outbreaks of nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) infections have been reported in kids treated at the dentist, one cluster in 2015 and another in 2016, the CDC says. A third cluster identified at a pediatric dental clinic last March is under investigation.These harmful bacteria lodge in the narrow water lines in dental equipment."NTM infections following dental procedures are very serious," said Dr. Michele Neuburger, a dental officer in CDC's Division of Oral Health. "These infections can be resistant to antibiotic treatment and are difficult to...

Experimental Pill May Be New Way to Control Cholesterol

7 November 2022
Experimental Pill May Be New Way to Control CholesterolMONDAY, Nov. 7, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Millions of people take daily medication to lower their cholesterol levels and prevent heart attacks, but there hasn’t been a drug that targets a dangerous type of cholesterol in the blood known as lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a).That's why a new study of an investigational drug called olpasiran, which blocks the production of apolipoprotein(a) — a key component of Lp(a) — is generating a lot of excitement in scientific circles.“Unlike other types of cholesterol, there is, unfortunately, no approved treatment that is currently available to lower Lp(a),” explained study author Dr. Michelle O’Donoghue, a cardiovascular medicine specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Olpasiran binds to the body’s own mRNA, to prevent it from...

1 in 5 People Saved by CPR Recall 'Lucid Dying'

MONDAY, Nov. 7, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- People have long talked about having near-death experiences in which they felt they were looking down on themselves while others tried to save them. Now...

AHA News: Some Flu Vaccine Reactions Might Be a Good...

MONDAY, Nov. 7, 2022 (American Heart Association News) -- People with heart disease who forego annual flu vaccination for fear of having an adverse reaction may wish to reconsider. New research...
RSS
First261262263264266268269270Last