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THURSDAY, July 1, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- A gene therapy aimed at freeing the heart's capacity for self-repair has shown early promise in an animal study.The study -- done in pigs -- found that the treatment approach was not only feasible, but also improved the animals' heart function after they sustained heart attack damage.There is a long way to go before a similar gene therapy could be applied to human heart attack sufferers. But researchers said the findings offer proof that heart muscle cells can be coaxed into dividing and spreading to help repair damaged tissue.The hope is to one day have a therapy that can prevent heart attack sufferers from developing heart failure, according to senior researcher Dr. James Martin, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.Heart...

THURSDAY, July 1, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. passport applicants will soon be able to select their gender as "M" or "F" and won't require a doctor's note if their chosen gender doesn't match the gender on other documents such as citizenship papers or driver's licenses, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Wednesday.Also, the U.S. State Department will add an option for nonbinary, intersex and gender nonconforming people when they apply for a passport or Consular Reports of Birth Abroad (CRBA), CBS News reported."The Department is taking these steps after considerable consultation with like-minded governments who have undertaken similar changes," Blinken said in a statement.He noted that the process is "technologically complex" and would take "extensive system updates," but...

THURSDAY, July 1, 2021 (American Heart Association News) -- Whether they're serving as snacks at a family reunion or props in a late-night comedy act, watermelons and fun just seem to go together. But how does watermelon hold up health-wise?Smashingly, you might say."I'm definitely impressed by its health benefits," said Tim Allerton, a postdoctoral researcher at Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge.Fruit is always part of a healthy diet. But watermelon's combination of nutrients makes it special, Allerton said.It's a rich source of minerals such as potassium and magnesium. It's also a good source of vitamins C and A (plus beta carotene, which helps produce vitamin A), and it has fair amounts of vitamins B1, B5 and B6. You get all of that...

THURSDAY, July 1, 2021 (American Heart Association News) -- Always game for a new challenge, Andrea Engfer began running with a friend in her small town of Orting, Washington. She liked it so much, she signed up for a 5K. Then another – and so on."I try to improve every time, even if it's by 10 seconds," she said. "That gets me going."That competitive spirit served her well for the toughest challenge of her life: Recovering from a severe stroke five days after giving birth.Andrea and her husband, Martin, were excited about the arrival of their first child last spring. The pregnancy was relatively uneventful until the last three weeks, when Andrea's blood pressure started to increase. She developed preeclampsia, a form of high blood pressure during pregnancy that affects the mother's...