Latest Health News

MONDAY, May 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Health insurance disruptions are never a good thing, but for people with cancer it can lead to poor care and lower odds of survival, a new study finds. This could prove ominous for the many Americans who have lost health insurance due to coronavirus-related layoffs. "Our findings were consistent across multiple cancer sites, with several studies finding a 'dose-response' relationship, meaning the longer the disruption, the worse the care," said study co-author Robin Yabroff, of the American Cancer Society. "Disruptions" can stem from gaps in health insurance, changes in type of coverage (public to private) or changes between plans, the researchers explained. For the study, Yabroff and her colleagues reviewed 29 studies published between...

MONDAY, May 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental vaccine seems to give monkeys extended protection from an HIV-like infection -- by "waking up" an arm of the immune system that vaccines normally do not. Experts cautioned that animal research often does not pan out in humans. The decades of work toward an HIV vaccine has been a clear example. But, researchers said, this vaccine works differently, targeting two "arms" of the immune system. And they think the work potentially has broader lessons for vaccines being developed for other viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. "The big question will be, does this translate to humans?" said Bali Pulendran, one of the senior researchers on the study and a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, in...

MONDAY, May 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Babies who have disrupted sleep, as many with autism do, may experience delayed brain development, a new study suggests. Sleep problems in baby's first year may affect growth of the hippocampus and may also precede an autism diagnosis, researchers say. In the study of 400 6- to 12-month-old infants, the investigators found that those diagnosed with autism were more likely to have had trouble falling asleep. Sleep time is prime time for brain development, the study authors noted. "The hippocampus is critical for learning and memory, and changes in the size of the hippocampus have been associated with poor sleep in adults and older children," said lead author Kate MacDuffie, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington Autism...

MONDAY, May 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Children treated in America's emergency rooms for mental health disorders jumped 60% over a recent decade, a new study finds. Between 2007 and 2016, visits for self-harm like suicidal thoughts and cutting soared 329% and treatment for drug abuse rose 159%, according to the study led by Charmaine Lo, from Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. "This is happening in all emergency departments all across the country and in kids of all ages," said Lo. "And regardless of whether it's a children's hospital or a general hospital, and whether or not they're in an urban location or in a rural location." Lo thinks that social media has put a lot more pressure on children. "Children, particularly teenagers, are feeling that. Also, there's a...