Latest Health News

6Aug
2020

Many Older Americans Getting Cancer Screens They Don't Need: Study

Many Older Americans Getting Cancer Screens They Don`t Need: StudyTHURSDAY, Aug. 6, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Contrary to recommendations set by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, many Americans are getting screened for cancer even when old age or poor health would likely render such screenings risky and pointless, new research finds. The task force notes that screening always entails some degree of risk, and cancer treatment can be harsh. So the reasoning is that neither the risk nor the ordeal are worth it for those who don't have long to live anyway. But after reviewing the 2018 screening histories of over 176,000 patients, Penn State investigators determined that many patients were getting "overscreened." At an average age of 75, roughly 55,000 men and women got tested for colorectal cancer, 83,000 women for cervical cancer and 38,000...

Scientists Call for Broader Use of Faster COVID Tests

6 August 2020
Scientists Call for Broader Use of Faster COVID TestsTHURSDAY, Aug. 6, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- As coronavirus cases continue to surge across America, scientists on Wednesday called for widespread adoption of simpler, less accurate tests, as long as they're given often and quickly. "Even if you miss somebody on Day 1," Omai Garner, director of clinical microbiology in the UCLA Health System, told The New York Times. "If you test them repeatedly, the argument is, you'll catch them the next time around." The strategy hinges on having an enormous supply of testing kits. But many experts believe more rapid, frequent testing would spot people who need immediate medical care while also identifying those most likely to spread COVID-19, the Times reported. Of the dozens of coronavirus tests that have been granted emergency use authorization...

More Education May Slow Start of Early-Onset Alzheimer's

5 August 2020
More Education May Slow Start of Early-Onset Alzheimer`sWEDNESDAY, Aug. 5, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Among people who have the gene that carries a heightened risk for early-onset Alzheimer's disease, a new study suggests that more education might slow the development of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain. About 1% to 6% of people with Alzheimer's disease have genes that put them at risk for early development of the disease, which can start in their 30s to 50s, the researchers said. "Because we've assumed that the effects of these genes can't be changed, very little research has been done on whether we can modify the trajectory of the disease," explained researcher Sylvia Villeneuve, of McGill University in Montreal, Canada. "It's exciting to see that education may play a role in delaying the start of this devastating disease, which...

New Drug May Beat Older One at Preventing MS Relapse

5 August 2020
New Drug May Beat Older One at Preventing MS RelapseWEDNESDAY, Aug. 5, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- A new injection drug can prevent multiple sclerosis flare-ups better than an existing medication, a clinical trial has found. The drug, called ofatumumab, beat a standard MS medication in reducing patients' symptom relapses. It also slowed down the progression of their disability over six months. The researchers said the findings, published Aug. 6 in the New England Journal of Medicine, support a new focus that MS drug development has taken in recent years. It's an approach that has been "astoundingly effective" against the most common form of MS, said Dr. Stephen Hauser, lead investigator on the new trial. MS is a neurological disorder caused by a misguided immune system attack on the body's own myelin -- the protective sheath around...

Two Common Nutrients Might Keep Vertigo at Bay

5 August 2020
Two Common Nutrients Might Keep Vertigo at BayWEDNESDAY, Aug. 5, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Taking in extra vitamin D plus calcium might cut your odds of getting a debilitating form of vertigo, new research shows. The Korean study focused on benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), a sudden spinning sensation that's commonly triggered by changing your head position. According to the study authors, about 86% of people who have this type of vertigo find that it affects their life, even resulting in missed days at work. Often, the condition can be remedied by undergoing a specific type of head movement under a doctor's supervision, according to researcher Dr. Ji-Soo Kim, of Seoul National University College of Medicine. But the new findings now suggest that for folks with BPPV, "taking a supplement of vitamin D and calcium is a...

People Are Dying, Going Blind After Drinking Hand Sanitizer, CDC Warns

5 August 2020
People Are Dying, Going Blind After Drinking Hand Sanitizer, CDC WarnsWEDNESDAY, Aug. 5, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Federal health officials have been warning for weeks that illegal forms of hand sanitizer containing toxic methanol are being sold across the United States. Now, new data from Arizona and New Mexico illustrate the danger: During the months of May and June, 15 people were rushed to hospital after drinking hand sanitizer containing methanol. Four of them died and three went blind or lost at least some vision, reported researchers led by Dr. Luke Yip of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID-19 Response Team. "Swallowing alcohol-based hand sanitizer products containing methanol can cause life-threatening methanol poisoning," Yip's group warned, and although the 15 victims in this report were all adults, children might be...

Marijuana Is Not Heart-Healthy, Experts Say

5 August 2020
Marijuana Is Not Heart-Healthy, Experts SayWEDNESDAY, Aug. 5, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- As marijuana use becomes more common, could heart troubles follow? Yes, warns a new statement from the American Heart Association (AHA). A full understanding of how marijuana affects the heart and blood vessels remains limited by a lack of adequate research, but some chemicals in cannabis -- particularly THC, the chemical behind marijuana's "high" -- have been linked to an increased risk of heart attacks, heart failure and atrial fibrillation, the statement says. Marijuana is "just like any other medication," said statement author Robert Page, a professor of clinical pharmacy at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, in Aurora. "Medications have side effects, and some of those side effects can be...

Fauci, Cuomo Top Trump as Reliable Sources on COVID-19: Survey

5 August 2020
Fauci, Cuomo Top Trump as Reliable Sources on COVID-19: SurveyWEDNESDAY, Aug. 5, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Despite facing continued criticism from the Trump administration, Dr. Anthony Fauci is still the considered best source for COVID-19 information, an online poll finds. A growing number of Americans say federal, state and local governments are doing a poor job of responding to the coronavirus pandemic -- and a shrinking number see President Donald Trump as a reliable information source. The survey was conducted June 19-26 by the University of Southern California's Center for the Digital Future as a follow-up to an April study. The new findings revealed 44% of Americans rely on Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, more than anyone else. After Fauci, people rely on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo...

AHA News: High-Speed Internet Offers Key Connection to...

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 5, 2020 (American Heart Association News) -- If you live in the right neighborhood and can afford it, you might think of high-speed internet as a convenient way to connect to...

Skip the 'Maskne,' Not the Mask

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 5, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- For most people, wearing a face mask is a harmless inconvenience, but wearing the coverings may cause skin problems for some, one dermatologist...
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