Latest Health News

TUESDAY, Nov. 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Small, powerful magnets in toys like Buckyballs building sets and jewelry kits are causing an alarming number of serious pediatric injuries in the United States, new research warns.Analyzing national data, researchers found an 80% rise in these injuries to children from 2016 to 2019, following the repeal of a sales ban on the magnets by a federal court.When these small rare earth magnets are swallowed, the potential for serious gastrointestinal injury is high, noted study lead author Dr. Michael Flaherty.Cases are popping up all over the United States, according to a recent report from NBC News. In Indiana, a 4-year-old boy was rushed to surgery after swallowing 27 magnetized balls; one 2-year-old girl in Illinois needed her appendix removed...

TUESDAY, Nov. 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Older adults with memory problems may progress to Alzheimer's more quickly if they are also suffering from anxiety symptoms, a preliminary study suggests.It's common for people with Alzheimer's disease to have mood symptoms, including anxiety and depression. And some research has suggested those symptoms can, in older people, act as early indicators of the dementia process.The new study focused on 339 patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment -- persistent problems with memory and thinking skills that can progress to full-blown dementia.But progression is not guaranteed, and people vary in how quickly their mental functioning declines.There's no way to predict how things will go for any one person, said Dr. Maria Vittoria Spampinato,...

TUESDAY, Nov. 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States is likely to nearly double before President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, researchers warn.Cases could rise from 11.4 million to 20 million by the end of January, according to a study published Nov. 23 in the journal Scientific Reports. Of course, counts vary day to day -- as of Tuesday, for example, there were 12.4 million cases of COVID nationwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.For the new study, researchers from Washington University in St. Louis developed a model that had accurately predicted the rate of COVID-19 growth in the United States over the summer."One of the key reasons for the increased accuracy of this model over other COVID-19 forecasts is that this model...

TUESDAY, Nov. 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Overweight women who eat a Mediterranean-like diet may reduce their odds of developing type 2 diabetes by 30%, compared with women who don't, a new study suggests.The Mediterranean diet is rich in olive oil, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Previously, it has been linked with a reduced risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other conditions."The findings of this study make perfect sense," said Dr. Minisha Sood, an endocrinologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City."This provides unique long-term data and supports the idea 'fad diets' are not the magic bullet. Having the core of one's dietary approach based on Mediterranean diet principles over decades may be very helpful in reducing one's overall risk for...