Latest Health News

23Dec
2021

Formaldehyde in the Workplace Tied to Later Brain Issues

Formaldehyde in the Workplace Tied to Later Brain Issues THURSDAY, Dec. 23, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Long-term workplace exposure to formaldehyde may prompt thinking and memory problems later in life, new research suggests. Formaldehyde is a gas used in making wood and chemical products and plastics."We know that exposure to formaldehyde has been linked to certain cancers, and our results suggest that exposure to low amounts of formaldehyde also may be associated with lower level of cognitive [thinking] functioning," said study author Noemie Letellier, from the University of Montpellier in France. The study included more than 75,000 people in France, average age 58. Of those, 8% were exposed to formaldehyde through their occupations as nurses, caregivers, medical technicians, workers in the textile, chemistry and metal industries,...

HPV Vaccination Could Rid U.S. of Most Mouth, Throat...

23 December 2021
HPV Vaccination Could Rid U.S. of Most Mouth, Throat Cancers in MenTHURSDAY, Dec. 23, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- How do you prevent nearly 1 million cases of mouth and throat cancers in American men in this century? Find a way to reach an 80% HPV vaccination rate among adolescents, a new study suggests. HPV vaccination protects against the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is the leading cause of cancer in the oropharynx. It's the middle part of the throat, behind the mouth. About 16,000 cases of oropharyngeal cancer are diagnosed in the United States each year, and more than 70% are caused by HPV, the study authors noted. The vaccine prevents nearly all cancer-causing HPV infections, and the Advisory Committee on Human Immunization Practices recommends HPV vaccination at 11 to 12 years of age, and catch-up vaccinations through age 26."We are in an era...

FDA OKs Pfizer Pill as First At-Home COVID Treatment

22 December 2021
FDA OKs Pfizer Pill as First At-Home COVID TreatmentWEDNESDAY, Dec. 22, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved the emergency use of Pfizer's new antiviral pill Paxlovid in people who are at high risk for severe COVID-19. It's the first approved treatment for COVID-19 meant to be taken at home. "Today's authorization introduces the first treatment for COVID-19 that is in the form of a pill that is taken orally — a major step forward in the fight against this global pandemic," Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in an agency news release. "This authorization provides a new tool to combat COVID-19 at a crucial time in the pandemic as new variants emerge."Pfizer first asked for emergency authorization in mid-November, and later announced...

NYC's Overdose Prevention Centers Already Saving Lives

22 December 2021
NYC`s Overdose Prevention Centers Already Saving Lives WEDNESDAY, Dec. 22, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- At least 59 overdoses were prevented in the first three weeks that two overdose prevention centers have been open in New York City, the city's health department said Tuesday. During that time, there were more than 2,000 visits to the centers that are operated by OnPoint NYC and are the first publicly recognized overdose prevention sites to open in the United States. The city first announced the program on Dec. 1. The centers — also known as safe injection sites — are located in Washington Heights and East Harlem. "These data are promising and show how overdose prevention centers will reduce needless suffering and avoidable death," City Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi said in an agency news release. "The simple truth is that...

U.S. Army Reports Progress on COVID Vaccine That Fights All Variants

22 December 2021
U.S. Army Reports Progress on COVID Vaccine That Fights All VariantsWEDNESDAY, Dec. 22, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Army says it has developed a COVID-19 vaccine it believes could work against any and all coronavirus variants, including Omicron.Results from early human trials of the Spike Ferritin Nanoparticle (SpFN) COVID vaccine are expected by the end of the month, the Army added. Lab studies have already shown that the new vaccine protects monkeys from the original strain of COVID-19, and induces highly potent antibody responses against the major variants of concern that have emerged during the pandemic, claims a report published last week in the journal Science Translational Medicine.The upcoming results from phase I human trials, which started in April 2021 and aimed to include a total of 72 people, will show whether the effectiveness...

Americans' Stigma Against Depression May Finally Be Fading: Study

22 December 2021
Americans` Stigma Against Depression May Finally Be Fading: StudyWEDNESDAY, Dec. 22, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Americans may be dropping some of the stigma they once had toward depression, but attitudes toward other mental health conditions still seem stuck in the past, a new study shows.The research, based on interviews with U.S. adults conducted over 22 years, found a mixed bag when it came to mental health stigma.In general, the researchers found, Americans' "mental health literacy" seemed to improve over the years: More people understood that depression, alcohol dependence and schizophrenia are medical conditions with biological causes.Attitudes toward depression showed a particular shift. In recent years, people were less likely to want to avoid someone with depression, versus two decades ago.The picture was different with alcohol dependence and...

Trump Tells Followers He Got a Booster Shot. They Booed.

22 December 2021
Trump Tells Followers He Got a Booster Shot. They Booed.WEDNESDAY, Dec. 22, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- After former President Donald Trump said he had gotten a booster shot during an event in Texas this week, boos erupted from parts of the crowd.The incident occurred Sunday during a stop of Trump's tour with former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly and was recorded in a video tweeted by O'Reilly's "No Spin News."During the video, O'Reilly says that both he and Trump have been vaccinated and then asks Trump, "Did you get the booster?" Trump replies that he did, triggering boos from some in the audience.In a Wall Street Journal interview published in September, Trump said he was unlikely to get a booster shot, CNN reported. While he has championed his administration's efforts to develop COVID vaccines, he has not widely endorsed vaccines or boosters....

AHA News: 12-Year-Old Is on a Mission to Kick Kawasaki Disease

22 December 2021
AHA News: 12-Year-Old Is on a Mission to Kick Kawasaki DiseaseWEDNESDAY, Dec. 22, 2021 (American Heart Association News) -- Aubrey Virgin was a healthy, active 2-year-old when she developed a high fever.Then came a rash that quickly spread over her body. Lymph nodes in her neck swelled. So did her lips, hands and feet. Aubrey cried when her mother, Shannon, touched her.Shannon rushed Aubrey to a pediatrician near their home at the time in Anchorage, Alaska. The doctor immediately suspected Kawasaki disease, the most common cause of children's heart disease that is not a congenital heart defect.Because it resembles many other childhood illnesses, such as measles and scarlet fever, misdiagnosis is common. Left untreated, it has potential life-threatening consequences – 20% to 25% of children develop coronary artery aneurysms, bulges in the...

Going Viral: Flu Rebounds as Omicron Variant Surges

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 22, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Flu is making a comeback in the United States this year, with cases rising around the country even as the Omicron variant is surging, infectious...

Who's Dying Young in U.S. From Heart Attacks?

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 22, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Fewer Americans are dying prematurely from heart attack compared with years ago, but progress has stalled out in the past decade, new research...
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