Latest Health News

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Adding to an ongoing debate over the timing of mammography, a new British study finds that screening women aged 40 to 49 for breast cancer saves lives, with only small increases in overdiagnosis. "This is a very long-term follow-up of a study which confirms that screening in women under 50 can save lives," researcher Stephen Duffy, from Queen Mary University of London, said in a university news release. "The benefit is seen mostly in the first 10 years, but the reduction in mortality persists in the long term at about one life saved per thousand women screened," he added. The findings are now added to the mix of data that has fueled disparate guidelines on breast cancer screening in the United States and around the world. In the United...

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists are well on the way to understanding more about how genes can cause stillbirth, new research suggests. In the study, researchers used genetic analyses to identify gene mutations that are linked to stillbirth, which is the in utero death of a fetus after 20 weeks' gestation. The findings might help doctors counsel parents who have experienced a stillbirth. The team, led by David Goldstein and Dr. Ronald Wapner of Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, identified the likely genetic causes in about one of every 10 cases of stillbirth studied. "This study shows that careful genetic analyses can often identify the precise genetic causes of stillbirth and demonstrates the importance of...

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Fewer Americans have been dying of lung cancer in recent years -- partly because of advances in treatment, a new government study finds. The researchers found that after a gradual decline, lung cancer deaths in the United States started to drop more quickly in 2013. That coincided with the introduction of new "targeted" drugs that can more precisely go after certain lung tumors. Experts called the findings a promising development against a disease that has traditionally had a dismal prognosis. "We're still far from a cure, but we're making tremendous progress in treating the disease," said Dr. Jacob Sands, a volunteer medical spokesperson for the American Lung Association. Sands, who was not involved in the study, said the findings are a...

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Obesity during pregnancy may hinder fetal brain development, a new study suggests. Development of brain areas involved in decision-making and behavior may be affected as early as the second trimester, New York University researchers said. For the study, the researchers examined nearly 200 groups of active nerve cells in the fetal brain. "Our findings affirm that a mother's obesity may play a role in fetal brain development, which might explain some of the cognitive and metabolic health concerns seen in children born to mothers with higher BMI [body mass index]," researcher Moriah Thomason said in a university news release. She is an associate professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at NYU Langone Health in New York City. As U.S....