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THURSDAY, June 24, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- In the world of chronic kidney disease, the dilemma is not uncommon: A relatively young patient with kidney trouble may need a transplant down the road, and an older family member is more than ready to step up. But the need for a kidney transplant, while predictable, is not immediate.So the older donor doesn't act. Given that donor supply has never met demand, the loss of a golden opportunity — due to age or circumstance — has long frustrated those in the kidney transplant community.But a new study reports on what appears to be a possible solution to the problem: kidney vouchers."It's like a coupon to use in the future," said study author Dr. Jeffrey Veale. He is a renal transplantation specialist with the Kidney Transplant Exchange...

THURSDAY, June 24, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- A year on, nearly all patients in a French study who lost their sense of smell after a bout of COVID-19 did regain that ability, researchers report."Persistent COVID-19-related anosmia [loss of smell] has an excellent prognosis, with nearly complete recovery at one year," according to a team led by Dr. Marion Renaud, an otorhinolaryngologist at the University Hospitals of Strasbourg.Early in the pandemic, doctors treating people infected with SARS-CoV-2 began to realize that a sudden loss of smell was a hallmark of the illness. It's thought that COVID-linked "peripheral inflammation" of nerves crucial to olfactory function is to blame in these cases.But as months went by, and many patients failed to recover their sense of smell, some began...

THURSDAY, June 24, 2021 (American Heart Association News) -- Jesse Shea felt a little cloudy when he got up for work on a Monday. He chalked it up to being out later than usual to watch football with friends.Jesse drove to the dock in Cape May, New Jersey, where he worked on a tugboat for a salvage operation. It was a demanding job, mentally and physically. But at 26, Jesse, a former college soccer player, was in the best shape of his life. He lifted weights daily at his local gym and watched what he ate. He had a bachelor's degree in nutritional science.On the drive to work, his head felt heavy. When a friend called, he tried to speak but couldn't. It must be morning throat, he thought. He hadn't spoken to anyone yet that day.At work, Jesse went to put on his waterproof overalls....

THURSDAY, June 24, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- A steady lunch routine of cheeseburgers and fries may shorten your life, but loading your dinner plate with vegetables could do the opposite.Those are among the findings of a new study looking at the potential health effects of not only what people eat, but when.Researchers found that U.S. adults who favored a "Western" lunch — heavy in cheese, processed meat, refined grains, fat and sugar — were at heightened risk of premature death from heart disease.The same was true of people who had a penchant for potato chips and other "starchy" snacks between meals.On the opposite end of the spectrum were folks who got plenty of vegetables — specifically at dinnertime. They were nearly one-third less likely to die during the study period, versus...