Latest Health News

11Aug
2020

At High Doses, Popular Biotin Supplement Could Mask Heart Trouble

At High Doses, Popular Biotin Supplement Could Mask Heart TroubleTUESDAY, Aug. 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- A growing number of older people are turning to the vitamin biotin to fortify their aging skin, hair and nails. But a new study shows how large doses of it can interfere with some vital medical tests. Biotin, or vitamin B7, is an essential nutrient. And there is no issue with the lower doses found in multivitamins, said study author Danni Li, an associate professor of laboratory medicine and pathology at the University of Minnesota. But high doses of biotin can cause falsely low results in a blood test that measures the protein troponin -- which is used to help diagnose heart attacks. In 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a safety alert on the issue. It hasn't been clear, though, how popular high-dose biotin use is. So Li...

Pot Use While Pregnant Tied to Higher Odds for Autism in...

11 August 2020
Pot Use While Pregnant Tied to Higher Odds for Autism in KidsTUESDAY, Aug. 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Research has shown that pot use during pregnancy may increase the risk of stillborn birth, preterm birth and low birth weight. Now, a new study adds another danger: children whose mothers used pot while pregnant could be at greater risk for autism. And the increased danger wasn't slight: Using data on every birth in Ontario, Canada, between April 2007 and March 2012, the University of Ottawa researchers found that pregnant women who used cannabis were 1.5 times more likely to have a child with autism than women who didn't. There were half a million women included in the sample, and around 3,000 of them said they used pot during their pregnancy. The database did not include the particulars of these women's marijuana use -- such as how, how...

AHA News: Black People Get Fewer Heart Valve...

11 August 2020
AHA News: Black People Get Fewer Heart Valve Replacements, But Inequity Gap Is NarrowingTUESDAY, Aug. 11, 2020 (American Heart Association News) -- Black people with severely malfunctioning heart valves are less likely than their white peers to receive lifesaving valve replacements, according to a new study. The study, published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, looked at the treatment rates by race for aortic valve stenosis, a condition when the valve doesn't open and close properly and may leak blood. Recent valve replacement technology has increased the life expectancy for people with the worst cases. If left untreated, half of patients with severe aortic valve stenosis die within two years, the study said. With treatment, however, they can get relief from symptoms and return to "a normal life trajectory." Researchers examined a decade of...

Mental Health Woes Spiraled Among College Students Early...

11 August 2020
Mental Health Woes Spiraled Among College Students Early in PandemicTUESDAY, Aug. 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Depression, anxiety and inactive lifestyles are all too common among college students, and a new study finds they may have escalated during the initial outbreak of COVID-19. Using a mix of smartphone data and online surveys from more than 200 students, researchers at Dartmouth College determined that the coronavirus pandemic had an immediate impact on the mental health of this particular undergraduate group. The students involved in the study were participating in a research program tracking mental health at the New Hampshire university. They reported spikes in depression and anxiety at the beginning of the pandemic in early March, just as the school pushed students to leave campus and begin remote learning. While their self-reported...

Hospitals Full, Doctors Treated Her Severe COVID-19 at Home

11 August 2020
Hospitals Full, Doctors Treated Her Severe COVID-19 at HomeTUESDAY, Aug. 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- New York City resident Jeanne Jennings was so sick with COVID-19 she couldn't draw a decent breath. "Even going from my bed to the bathroom was such a difficult task, I felt like I was going to pass out," Jennings, 46, said. Jennings wanted to go to the hospital, but this was early May, the height of the Big Apple's COVID-19 crisis, and over the phone her doctor laid out the situation in stark terms. "She said, 'There's no guarantee they would have a place for you because they're reserving hospital space for the more serious patients. If you do stay there, you're going to be isolated from your family. You won't really have the freedom to move around all that much,'" Jennings recalled. Jennings added that the doctor said, "'Would you be...

Trump May Block Citizens From Re-Entry if COVID Infection Suspected

11 August 2020
Trump May Block Citizens From Re-Entry if COVID Infection SuspectedTUESDAY, Aug. 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The Trump Administration is weighing a new rule that would temporarily block an American citizen or legal permanent resident from returning to the United States from abroad if authorities believe the person might be infected with the coronavirus. President Donald Trump has already imposed sweeping rules that ban entry by foreigners into the United States, citing the risk of allowing the virus to spread from hot spots around the world. But so far those rules have not applied to American citizens and foreigners who have established legal residence here, The New York Times reported. Now, a draft regulation proposes giving the federal government the power to do so in individual, limited circumstances, the Times reported. Federal agencies have...

New IV Opioid Approved for Use in Controlled Settings

10 August 2020
New IV Opioid Approved for Use in Controlled SettingsMONDAY, Aug. 10, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The opioid Olinvyk (oliceridine) was granted approval for the management of moderate-to-severe acute pain in controlled settings, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday. Olinvyk is indicated for short-term intravenous use in adults with pain that is severe enough to require an intravenous opioid and who are inadequately treated with other alternatives. The drug is approved only for use in hospitals or other controlled settings and is not for at-home use. The maximum recommended daily dose is 27 mg. Approval was based on phase 3 data from clinical and open-label trials that included a total of 1,535 patients with moderate-to-severe acute pain. Compared with patients randomly assigned to placebo, those who received Olinvyk after...

FDA Approves First Oral Drug for Spinal Muscular Atrophy

10 August 2020
FDA Approves First Oral Drug for Spinal Muscular AtrophyMONDAY, Aug. 10, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first oral, at-home drug for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the agency announced Friday. Evrysdi (risdiplam) was approved to treat patients ages 2 months and older with SMA and is the second drug approved for the disease. The drug is administered daily at home by mouth or feeding tube. Approval was based on two clinical studies, including FIREFISH, an open-label study of 21 patients aged 6.7 months on average at study initiation. At one year, 41 percent of patients met the efficacy end point of sitting independently for more than five seconds, and at nearly two years, 81 percent of patients were alive without permanent ventilation, which the FDA notes is a "noticeable improvement from...

Many Deaths Labeled 'Cardiac Arrest' Could Be Drug ODs:...

MONDAY, Aug. 10, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Americans have long known that there's an epidemic of opioid abuse and deaths in the United States. But a new report suggests the true extent of these...

Telemedicine Is Here: Experts Offer Tips for Seniors

MONDAY, Aug. 10, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Virtual medical visits have been invaluable for many during the COVID-19 pandemic, but older adults may still need help managing them -- especially if...
RSS
First902903904905907909910911Last