Latest Health News

7Apr
2022

Study Uncovers Large Collection of Genes Behind Schizophrenia

Study Uncovers Large Collection of Genes Behind SchizophreniaTHURSDAY, April 7, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers who identified 120 genes linked to schizophrenia say their findings are the strongest ever demonstrating the genetic basis of the psychiatric disorder and could lead to new treatments.“Previous research has shown associations between schizophrenia and many anonymous DNA sequences, but rarely has it been possible to link the findings to specific genes,” said co-lead author Michael O’Donovan of the Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences at Cardiff University in Wales.“The present study not only vastly increased the number of those associations, but we have now been able to link many of them to specific genes, a necessary step in what remains a difficult journey towards understanding the causes of this...

Post-COVID Risk for Blood Clot Lasts at Least 6 Months

7 April 2022
Post-COVID Risk for Blood Clot Lasts at Least 6 MonthsTHURSDAY, April 7, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- COVID-19 increases people's risk of dangerous blood clots and bleeding for months after infection, researchers say.The new findings suggest that COVID-19 is an independent risk factor for deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and bleeding."Our findings arguably support [treatment] to avoid thrombotic events, especially for high-risk patients, and strengthen the importance of vaccination against COVID-19," the study authors concluded in the report published April 6 in the BMJ.While the added risk of clots and bleeding was known, it was unclear how long it lasted, the researchers noted in a journal news release.To find out, the investigators compared more than one million people in Sweden who tested positive for COVID-19 between Feb. 1,...

L.A. Study Shows E-Scooter Injury Rate Soaring

7 April 2022
L.A. Study Shows E-Scooter Injury Rate SoaringTHURSDAY, April 7, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Electric scooters may be a boon for the environment but not so much for riders.A surprising study finds that the injury rate in one Los Angeles neighborhood for riders of e-scooters topped that for users of motorcycles, bicycles and cars nationwide."There are millions of riders now using these scooters, so it's more important than ever to understand their impact on public health," said senior author Dr. Joann Elmore, professor at David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). "The finding that rates of injuries from e-scooters are similar to rates for motorcycle injuries is startling."Here's how it breaks down: The study estimated 115 injuries for every one million e-scooter trips. The closest comparison...

U.S. Medical Schools' Faculty Still Lack Diversity: Study

7 April 2022
U.S. Medical Schools` Faculty Still Lack Diversity: StudyTHURSDAY, April 7, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. medical schools are not keeping pace with a nation that is more racially and ethnically diverse every day, a new study reports.The schools' clinical faculty and leadership are not as diverse as the communities around them, though there are some positive developments, according to the findings.It is not enough to set diversity quotas, said lead author Dr. Sophia Kamran, an assistant professor of radiation oncology at Harvard Medical School and a radiation oncologist at Massachusetts General Cancer Center."We have to also focus on retention and development," she said in a hospital news release. "We need evidence-based initiatives that create inclusive environments that can support cultural change."Kamran said she was inspired to dig into...

Science Reveals Secrets of 'Puppy Dog Eyes'

7 April 2022
Science Reveals Secrets of `Puppy Dog Eyes`THURSDAY, April 7, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- If you've ever wondered how your pooch flashes those "puppy dog eyes" that melt your heart, a new study may provide some answers.The researchers identified certain muscle features that help dogs look so cute, and it suggests that thousands of years of selective breeding have contributed to their ability to use expressions to their advantage."Dogs are unique from other mammals in their reciprocated bond with humans which can be demonstrated though mutual gaze, something we do not observe between humans and other domesticated mammals such as horses or cats," said study senior author Anne Burrows. She is a professor at Duquesne University School of Health Sciences, in Pittsburgh. "Our preliminary findings provide a deeper understanding of the...

Your Pet's Food Bowl Is Big Infection Risk, Experts Warn

6 April 2022
Your Pet`s Food Bowl Is Big Infection Risk, Experts WarnWEDNESDAY, April 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Do you wash your dog's food bowl every day?Do you wash your hands before and after you fill it up?Do you prepare Fido's food in a different spot from where you prep your own?If you answered no to any of these questions, you may be putting your health and your pet's at risk, according to researchers from North Carolina State University. For their new study, they surveyed more than 400 dog owners about their animal feeding habits and swabbed pets' food dishes for bacteria.To put it bluntly, as researchers wrote April 6 in PLOS ONE, the findings suggest a need to educate pet owners about pet food handling and hygiene "to minimize bacterial contamination of dishes, especially for high-risk populations."Fewer than 5% of dog owners surveyed were...

New Charts Track 'Normal' Brain Growth, Decline Through the Life Span

6 April 2022
New Charts Track `Normal` Brain Growth, Decline Through the Life SpanWEDNESDAY, April 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Doctors use all sorts of tools to determine if a person is fit and developing normally -- charts tracking height and weight for growing children, tables showing healthy blood pressure and cholesterol in adults.Now an international team of researchers has created the first standardized tool to track brain development, based on one of the largest group of brain scans ever assembled.This comprehensive brain chart spans the human life span, from a 15-week-old fetus to a 100-year-old adult. It shows how the brain expands rapidly in early life before slowly shrinking with age.Up to now, there have been no reference charts for measuring age-related changes in the human brain. There are no standardized tools to assess brain growth and aging."We...

Could Antibiotic-Resistant Germs Be Passed Between You & Your Pet?

6 April 2022
Could Antibiotic-Resistant Germs Be Passed Between You & Your Pet?WEDNESDAY, April 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Humans and their pets tend to share a tight bond, but they may also share antibiotic-resistant bacteria, new research shows.Even worse for humans is the fact that these bacteria may contain antibiotic-resistant genes that can make the bacteria they already have in their bodies resistant to some antibiotics, such as penicillin and cephalosporins, the researchers added."We found evidence of sharing of cephalosporins-resistant Escherichia coli colonizing the gastrointestinal tract of both pets and owners," said lead researcher Juliana Menezes, a PhD student in applied microbiology at the University of Lisbon in Portugal."These results are crucial to demonstrate the importance of pet-to-human dissemination of bacteria resistant to critically...

Got A-Fib? Shed Pounds Before Treatment to Stop Its Return

WEDNESDAY, April 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- If you're one of the millions of people with a common heart rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation (a-fib), losing weight before treatment may...

AHA News: Walking Your Way to Better Health? Remember...

WEDNESDAY, April 6, 2022 (American Heart Association News) -- So you put on extra pounds during the pandemic. Your cholesterol's too high. Maybe you need to do a better job managing blood...
RSS
First415416417418420422423424Last