Latest Health News

15Jun
2020

Icky Prescription: Could Hookworms Help Ease MS?

Icky Prescription: Could Hookworms Help Ease MS?MONDAY, June 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- In a new trial there are hints, but no proof, that a wriggling intestinal parasite might help fight multiple sclerosis. The lowly hookworm has for years been proposed as a potential treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune disorders. But the first clinical trial testing the potential benefits of the parasite against MS has produced decidedly mixed results, according to the report published online June 15 in JAMA Neurology. Hookworm treatment did not cause any decrease in the brain lesions associated with MS, compared with patients who received a placebo, the findings showed. However, "there were some hints of a potential beneficial effect," said researcher Dr. Cris Constantinescu, a professor of clinical neuroscience at...

FDA Pulls Emergency Approval of Hydroxychloroquine for...

15 June 2020
FDA Pulls Emergency Approval of Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19MONDAY, June 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has withdrawn its emergency authorization for the use of two malaria drugs championed by President Donald Trump in the fight against COVID-19. The agency said in a letter Monday that the drugs, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, are "unlikely to be effective" as treatments for the coronavirus, The New York Times reported. The FDA now says the drugs should not be used outside of clinical trials. Despite its earlier cautious approval, this isn't the first time the agency has voiced concern about the experimental medicines. The FDA had already issued a warning that they might cause dangerous heart rhythm abnormalities. However, despite a lack of evidence supporting the drugs as coronavirus preventatives,...

Breast Cancer Takes Big Financial Toll on Some Young...

15 June 2020
Breast Cancer Takes Big Financial Toll on Some Young PatientsMONDAY, June 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Breast cancer treatment costs are highest among young and middle-age patients with advanced breast cancer. That's the conclusion of a new analysis of data from women in North Carolina who were treated for breast cancer between 2003 and 2014. Researchers found that the highest treatment costs were among 18- to 44-year-olds with metatastic breast cancer, meaning it had spread to other parts of the body. Average monthly treatment costs in that age group were $4,463 for those with metastatic breast cancer and $2,418 for those with stage 1 cancer. In other age groups, treatment costs for early stage and advanced breast cancer were not statistically different, according to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study. The findings were...

Healthier Meals Could Mean Fewer Strokes, Heart Attacks

15 June 2020
Healthier Meals Could Mean Fewer Strokes, Heart AttacksMONDAY, June 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Sticking with a healthy diet can lower your risk for stroke and heart attack, a new study suggests. "Although each healthy eating pattern represents a different combination of dietary constituents, our study indicates that greater adherence to any of the four healthy eating patterns we looked at is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and the health benefits persist across racial and ethnic groups," said study author Zhilei Shan. He is a research associate in the department of nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in Boston. For the study, Shan's group focused on dietary scores for four healthy eating patterns: Healthy Eating Index-2015; Alternate Mediterranean Diet Score; Healthful Plant-Based Diet...

Lockdowns Making Things Worse for Obese Americans: Study

15 June 2020
Lockdowns Making Things Worse for Obese Americans: StudyMONDAY, June 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- As COVID-19 closed gyms and forced people to hunker down at home, "Quarantine-15" jokes flooded the internet, referring to the weight gain that many anticipated. For people who are already obese, though, breaking healthy habits poses special risks, according to Sarah Messiah, of the University of Texas School of Public Health in Dallas. She works with many people who have had or plan to have weight-loss surgery. After the operation, which limits how much a person can eat, patients are supposed to follow strict diets, and doctors regularly check in on them to help them stick with it and continue to shed pounds. After Texas ordered people to shelter in place in late March, Messiah and her colleagues feared that their obese patients -- now...

Experts Warn of 'Sound Cannon' Hearing Loss at Protest Marches

15 June 2020
Experts Warn of `Sound Cannon` Hearing Loss at Protest MarchesMONDAY, June 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- As Americans take to the streets to protest police brutality, they may face ear-blasting "sound cannons" that can harm their hearing. Sound cannons, or long-range acoustic devices (LRADs), were developed for the military, and now some police departments use them as weapons in crowd control. The sound they emit is greater than that of a jet engine and surpasses the average threshold for pain, warns the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). "LRADs have been and can be easily set at extremely high decibel levels that can cause serious lasting harm," ASHA said in a news release. That level of sound can cause permanent hearing loss, migraine and vestibular and other auditory symptoms. Children, the elderly and others with hearing...

Blood Donors Will Get Results of Coronavirus Antibody Test, Red Cross Says

15 June 2020
Blood Donors Will Get Results of Coronavirus Antibody Test, Red Cross SaysMONDAY, June 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The American Red Cross will test all blood, platelet and plasma donations for COVID-19 antibodies so donors can learn whether they've been exposed to the new coronavirus. "We recognize that individuals and public health organizations desire more information about COVID-19, and as an organization dedicated to helping others, the Red Cross is fortunate to be able to help during this pandemic," Chris Hrouda, president of Red Cross Biomedical Services, said in a news release. The test -- authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration -- may indicate if a person's immune system has produced antibodies to the coronavirus, even if they didn't have symptoms of COVID-19. A positive test result does not confirm immunity to the virus, and the test...

AHA News: Brother's Death From Heart Failure Inspires His Own Fight for Health

15 June 2020
AHA News: Brother`s Death From Heart Failure Inspires His Own Fight for HealthMONDAY, June 15, 2020 (American Heart Association News) -- Yonas Michael didn't know what to think when his younger brother, Daniel, kept saying he felt "funny." "It's like I can really feel my heartbeat," Daniel told him. The brothers didn't think much of it at first. Yonas was studying for a master's degree in education at Iowa State University and Daniel had joined him from their childhood home in Maryland. "He was trying to figure out life, so he moved in with me for a few years," Yonas said. "He wasn't living a healthy lifestyle. He smoked, drank, ate whatever." Yonas' lifestyle wasn't healthy either. Having grown up on processed foods and sodas, the brothers were significantly overweight, as was their younger sister. Daniel's discomfort eventually led to him being hospitalized....

America's Gyms Are Reopening and Your Workout Will Change

MONDAY, June 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Gyms are finally reopening across the United States, but your workout will not be the same. Some chains are offering individual workouts while group...

About 1 in 15 Parents 'Hesitant' About Child Vaccines:...

MONDAY, June 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- One-quarter of U.S. parents are hesitant about seasonal flu shots for their kids, and roughly 1 in 15 feel the same way about routine childhood...
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