Latest Health News

3Mar
2021

Choice of Brand-Name Drug Over Generics Costs Medicare Nearly $2 Billion Annually

Choice of Brand-Name Drug Over Generics Costs Medicare Nearly $2 Billion AnnuallyWEDNESDAY, March 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Wider use of prescription generic drugs could save Medicare nearly $2 billion a year, researchers say.The new analysis of Medicare Part D prescription drug claims for 2017 used a random 20% of beneficiaries, 224 drugs with one or more generic substitutes and at least 1,000 claims.Medicare Part D accounts for roughly one-third of all prescription drug spending in the United States.All 50 states and the District of Columbia have laws promoting generic drug dispensing. But in 2017, prescribing clinicians and patients in the Medicare Part D program collectively requested brand-name drugs over generics 30% of the time when a brand-name drug was dispensed, according to the study.Of 169 million filled prescriptions analyzed, 8.5 million involved...

Does an Arthritis Drug Help Patients Battling Severe...

3 March 2021
Does an Arthritis Drug Help Patients Battling Severe COVID? It Depends on the StudyWEDNESDAY, March 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Two new studies suggest that the jury is still out on whether the arthritis drug tocilizumab helps those with severe COVID-19.Both reports were published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. The first, from scientists at the University of California, San Diego, found tocilizumab didn't improve outcomes or reduce the risk of death in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. However, it might shorten hospital stays and the length of time these patients spend on ventilators.The second study, led by British scientists and first reported last November before being peer-reviewed or published, came to a more hopeful conclusion, with researchers finding the drug may save lives of patients hospitalized with severe cases of COVID-19."We...

Patients With Sickle Cell Disease Often Overlooked for...

3 March 2021
Patients With Sickle Cell Disease Often Overlooked for Life-Saving Kidney TransplantsWEDNESDAY, March 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- People with kidney failure related to sickle cell disease are less likely to receive a transplant than those without sickle cell disease, but it could be life-saving for them, a new study finds. Sickle cell disease is a risk factor for kidney failure, and adults with sickle cell-related kidney failure who are on long-term dialysis have high rates of early death. Kidney transplant is another option, but it wasn't clear if it would lower these patients' risk of premature death. To find out, researchers examined data on all U.S. adults with kidney failure who began dialysis or were added to the kidney transplant waiting list from 1998 to 2017. Patients who had a kidney transplant -- including those with sickle cell-related kidney failure --...

Scientists Gain Insight Into Genetics of Glaucoma

3 March 2021
Scientists Gain Insight Into Genetics of GlaucomaWEDNESDAY, March 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have identified 44 new genetic variants associated with glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness. They say their findings could provide new targets to treat the common eye disease. In their study, the international team compared the genes of more than 34,000 people with glaucoma and more than 349,000 people without the incurable eye condition.In addition to pinpointing the new genetic variants, the researchers confirmed 83 previously identified loci linked to glaucoma. Loci are "genetic street addresses" that denote a specific location on a gene, the study authors explained."The number of genes identified will lead to the discovery of new biological pathways that can lead to glaucoma, and in turn, new targets for therapeutics,"...

How Climate Change Could Put More MS Patients in Danger

2 March 2021
How Climate Change Could Put More MS Patients in DangerTUESDAY, March 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- When temperatures rise, people with multiple sclerosis need to keep cool. Heat sensitivity is a hallmark of the central nervous system disorder.So, what happens when warm weather spikes become more frequent because of climate change?More MS patients end up in the emergency room. A new study found that during periods of unusually warm weather, they were more likely to visit the emergency room or require a visit to the doctor. The relative increase in visits is small -- but the effect is meaningful, said study author Holly Elser, an epidemiologist and student at Stanford University School of Medicine in California.Elser was moved to investigate after a patient at a routine checkup mentioned that her MS symptoms were worse with the heat."We know...

What You Need to Know About the New J&J COVID Vaccine

2 March 2021
What You Need to Know About the New J&J COVID VaccineTUESDAY, March 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the emergency use of Johnson & Johnson's single-shot coronavirus vaccine, adding a third weapon to the arsenal the United States is building to battle the pandemic.The overall effectiveness of the J&J vaccine in protecting recipients against any case of COVID-19 (66%) is not as high as that of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines (95%). But J&J's single shot was very effective where it really counted: preventing severe illness. The vaccine showed 86 percent efficacy against severe forms of COVID-19 in the United States and 82 percent efficacy against severe disease in South Africa, where a potentially tougher new variant of coronavirus was circulating. None of the nearly 22,000 people who were...

Skipping Mammograms Raises a Woman's Odds for Breast Cancer Death

2 March 2021
Skipping Mammograms Raises a Woman`s Odds for Breast Cancer DeathTUESDAY, March 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Don't skip your breast cancer screening mammogram.This is the overarching message of an extended study of more than a half-million Swedish women. Those who missed even one recommended screening mammogram were more likely to die from breast cancer, the study found.The new findings -- which appear March 2 in the journal Radiology -- are concerning given the widespread delays and cancellations of preventative cancer screenings that took place during early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic."You can save your own life by making sure to get your regular, routine mammogram," said Dr. Marisa Weiss, founder and chief medical officer of Breastcancer.org and Breasthealth.org in Ardmore, Pa. "Getting your mammogram won't increase your risk for COVID," said...

Could ADHD Raise Odds for More Serious Psychiatric Ills?

2 March 2021
Could ADHD Raise Odds for More Serious Psychiatric Ills?TUESDAY, March 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- As if attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) isn't already tough on a child, new research suggests the condition might also raise the odds for a psychotic disorder later in life.But parents should not panic."I would say that this finding should not be an alarm for parents and people who have ADHD, because the absolute risk for psychotic disorders remains low," said psychiatry professor Dr. Gabrielle Shapiro. She is chair of the American Psychiatric Association's Council on Children, Adolescents and Their Families. That point was echoed by Dr. Victor Fornari, vice chair of child and adolescent psychiatry with Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y. "What's clear is that the vast majority of youth with ADHD do not go on to develop...

AHA News: A New Heart at 18 Put Her on a New Path

TUESDAY, March 2, 2021 (American Heart Association News) -- Jill Hollander was 9 when, during a visit to her cardiologist with her parents, he asked her to step outside so he could speak alone...

Stressed and Distracted, Kids and Their Teachers Say...

TUESDAY, March 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- For Morgan Compton, 7, who has attended school remotely for nearly a year, the stress of the pandemic manifests...
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