Latest Health News

TUESDAY, Sept. 7, 2021 (HealthDay News) — If you have fallen arches, you know just how debilitating they can be. Now, doctors have some new guidance on which patients with this condition — also called flat feet — would benefit most from surgery."Roughly half of patients will need surgery," said Dr. Scott Ellis, a foot and ankle surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York and senior author of a new study. "If the foot continues to hurt and limits quality of life and function, and there's pain from walking, travel and other activities, then we say it's time to perform surgery."Fallen arches are relatively common with advancing age and affect at least 3% of women over 40 and more than 10% of folks over 65. The condition is more common in women and excess weight increases...

TUESDAY, Sept. 7, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Implanted brain stimulation devices used to treat epilepsy won't turn patients into someone they don't recognize, a small study shows."We found that the brain implants did not transform patients' sense of self or personality. Neither the long-term implantation of the electronic device in their brain, nor the electrical stimulation to modulate their brain function, led to changes in their self-perceptions -- or the perceptions of the patient by family members and others around them," said study author Tobias Haeusermann, from the University of California, San Francisco."This is reassuring news for more than 3,000 patients with refractory epilepsy implanted with this device to date -- as well as the many others who may consider this treatment...

TUESDAY, Sept. 7, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- While the United States is one of the only developed nations without universal sick leave, workers with COVID-19 can take paid emergency leave -- at least for now.Problem is: Fewer than half of U.S. workers know it's available, according to a new study. And, the researchers add, cases of sick employees who couldn't take time off have tripled during the pandemic."When the government does not ensure that people have access to paid sick leave, people go to work sick," said study author Nicolas Ziebarth, an associate professor at Cornell University's Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy. "And when you have a virus going on – it could be the flu or coronavirus, it doesn't really matter -- then the sick people at work infect coworkers who go on...

TUESDAY, Sept. 7, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- An alliance of leading U.S. cancer centers has updated guidance about COVID-19 vaccine boosters for cancer patients and the people around them.The National Comprehensive Cancer Network's new recommendations are intended for health care providers."COVID-19 can be very dangerous, especially for people living with cancer, which is why we're so grateful for safe and effective vaccines that are saving lives," chief executive officer Dr. Robert Carlson said in a network news release.The guidance, from the NCCN's Vaccination Advisory Committee, says several groups should be considered eligible immediately for a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna mRNA COVID vaccine:Patients with either new or recurring solid tumors receiving treatment within...