Latest Health News

MONDAY, Oct. 9, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have developed an antibody that can reduce Alzheimer's-like brain damage in lab mice — inspired by the case of one woman with remarkable resistance to the disease.The work, by researchers at Mass General Brigham, Harvard Medical School in Boston, and elsewhere, began a few years ago, with the case of a woman in Colombia who had shown "extreme protection" from Alzheimer's disease.She was from a family with an unusually high genetic risk of early-onset Alzheimer's disease, and her genes seemed to have her on a course toward developing the disease by her 40s. Despite that, she withstood dementia until her 70s.After her death, it was found that her brain harbored large amounts of abnormal amyloid — the protein that makes up the...

MONDAY, Oct. 9, 2023 (HealthDay News) – One way to help lower the odds for long COVID in people with pre-existing conditions may be to get more sleep.A new study discovered the risk was lower in those who slept six to nine hours a night compared to "short sleepers" who snoozed less.“Habitual short nighttime sleep duration exacerbated the risk of long COVID in individuals with pre-existing conditions,” said senior study author Dr. Frances Chung, chair of anesthesia, sleep and perioperative medicine research at Toronto's University Health Network. “Based on its proven adjuvant role in immunity, habitual sleep duration may alter the risk for developing long COVID.”The odds for long COVID were three times higher in people with pre-existing conditions who slept fewer than six...

MONDAY, Oct. 9, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- A type of gut bacteria found in wild wolves could help treat domestic dogs who have a common, debilitating gastrointestinal condition. New research in an Oregon wolf discovered a novel strain of Paenibacillus bacteria that displays the characteristics of a probiotic.The benefit from this bacteria would be to stop canine inflammatory bowel disease.A chronic illness, this disease causes vomiting, reduced appetite, weight loss, flatulence, a rumbling stomach and abdominal discomfort in domestic dogs, said researcher Bruce Seal, from Oregon State University-Cascades’ biology program.“At present there is no known cure for this ongoing dysbiosis [an imbalance of gut bacteria] of the gastrointestinal tract, and there are limited options for...

SUNDAY, Oct. 8, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Catching breast cancer early is key to making it easier to treat and survive, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).The organization aims to highlight early detection, noting that screening with mammography has helped breast cancer death rates drop 43% since 1989.“Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women (after skin cancer) and the second most common cause of cancer mortality. Breast cancer screening with mammography is important because early detection saves lives,” said Robert Smith, senior vice president of early cancer detection science for the cancer society. “Research has shown regular mammograms are associated with a substantially reduced risk of dying from breast cancer,” Smith said in an ACS news release.ACS...