Latest Health News

THURSDAY, Sept. 29, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Weight-loss surgery can change a person's life and health, but new research warns it might also come with a slight risk of developing epilepsy.People who had the surgery had a 45% relative increased risk of developing epilepsy, compared with people who did not have the surgery. Moreover, those who suffered a stroke after weight-loss surgery were 14 times more likely to develop epilepsy than those who did not have a stroke, Canadian researchers reported. "Patients who are considering weight-loss surgery should discuss the benefits and risks of bariatric surgery with their doctor," said lead researcher Dr. Jorge Burneo, a professor of neurology at Western University in London, Ontario. "It's important to note that, though elevated, the risk of...

THURSDAY, Sept. 29, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- A new technology dubbed the "bionic pancreas" may beat standard treatment in helping people with type 1 diabetes control their blood sugar levels, a clinical trial has found.Among adults and children with type 1 diabetes, those who used the bionic pancreas for three months saw their average blood sugar levels decline — without an increase in potentially dangerous blood sugar lows, the researchers reported.The device, called the iLet Bionic Pancreas, is under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. If approved, it would be the most automated system available for managing type 1 diabetes — tracking blood sugar levels and delivering insulin with minimal input from patients."This technology takes more of the burden away from...

THURSDAY, Sept. 29, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Regular home monitoring can help with blood pressure control, but only half of people who have hypertension or other related conditions actually do it, a new study found. Of Americans ages 50 to 80 who take blood pressure medications or have a health condition affected by high blood pressure, only 48% regularly check their pressure at home or other places, according to findings.About 62% of patients affected by these issues have said a health care provider has encouraged them to monitor their blood pressure at home. When providers did make that recommendation, study participants were more 3.5 times more likely to do the tests at home.The data came from the National Poll on Healthy Aging, based at the University of Michigan Institute for...

THURSDAY, Sept. 29, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Folks having surgery have lots of things to worry about as they go under the knife, but the gender of their surgeon isn't one of them, a new study finds.There's no difference in rates of death or complications between male and female surgeons, Japanese data shows.And that’s even though in Japan female surgeons are more likely to be assigned high-risk patients than male surgeons, researchers report in the Sept. 29 issue of the BMJ.For the study, researchers analyzed data from the Japanese National Clinical Database, which contains detailed information on more than 95% of surgeries performed in Japan.The research team evaluated nearly 300,000 surgeries that took place between 2013 and 2017, focusing specifically on three common procedures...