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THURSDAY, Feb. 10, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Proposed changes to voluntary federal guidelines for prescribing opioid painkillers emphasize that doctors should first try other treatments for acute and chronic pain.The non-opioid treatment options suggested by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention include prescription medications like gabapentin and over-the-counter painkillers like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), as well as physical therapy, massage and acupuncture, The New York Times reported."The evidence around the long-term benefits of opioids continues to remain very limited," Christopher Jones, a co-author of the draft guidelines, told the Times.The proposed changes dovetail with a nationwide epidemic of opioid use and overdose deaths. Between 1999 and 2019, nearly 500,000...

THURSDAY, Feb. 10, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- The fossilized bones of a young dinosaur show evidence of a respiratory infection that may have caused familiar flu-like symptoms — fever, coughing and trouble breathing.Dolly, as she's been dubbed by researchers, was an immature diplodocid — a large, long-necked plant-eating sauropod. Her remains were found in southwest Montana and date back about 150 million years to the late Jurassic period.Close examination of three of Dolly's neck bones revealed never-before-seen protrusions with an unusual shape and texture. The abnormal growths were in an area that would have been penetrated by air-filled sacs connected to Dolly’s lungs.CT imaging revealed the protrusions were made of abnormal bone that most likely formed in response to a...

THURSDAY, Feb. 10, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- The mononucleosis virus, Epstein-Barr, has become a major suspect in the search for what causes multiple sclerosis.Now researchers are raising the next logical question -- can we stop both MS and mononucleosis by preventing Epstein-Barr infections, which occur in 95% of adults?Epstein-Barr vaccines currently under development by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the pharmaceutical company Moderna could provide an answer.But experts warn it's going to be years before any of the vaccine candidates are proven effective, and years more before studies will show that vaccination could prevent MS."Ultimately, a study to look at the effect of a vaccine on MS susceptibility would require a rather large study with extensive follow-up,"...

THURSDAY, Feb. 10, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly all men see their hairline recede or a bald spot emerge at some point in their life. For those looking to slow the march of time, a new study helps sort out which hair-loss medications work best.The analysis, of 23 previous studies, ranks the available hair-loss medications, from most effective to least.Experts said the list is helpful. The medications — dutasteride, finasteride and minoxidil — have long been used, but there has been little information on how they stack up against each other in effectiveness."We don't have trials comparing these medications head-to-head," said Dr. Anthony Rossi, a dermatologist who was not involved in the research.That has left doctors without a solid answer to the inevitable question, which option...