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Showing posts from February, 2019

Sully Gets New Gig As Walter Reed Facility Dog

Sully, who served former President George H.W. Bush before his death in December, was 'sworn in' as a Naval petty officer and assigned to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2XvErdJ via IFTTT

High-Fiber Diet May Help Your Gut Battle Melanoma

New research suggests that a diet that's full of fiber appears to lead to more diverse intestinal bacteria (microbiome). In turn, a thriving gut microbiome is linked to a stronger response to an immune therapy for the aggressive skin cancer. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2NxDrRP via IFTTT

Sleeping In on Weekends May Not Repay Sleep 'Debt'

People in a recent study who did not get sufficient sleep consistently showed decreased insulin sensitivity in their liver and muscles. Over time, decreased insulin sensitivity can be a precursor from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2BZgVfS via IFTTT

Cholesterol Meds May Not Help Ward Off Dementia

Combinations of drugs that lower blood pressure and/or statins to control high cholesterol did cut the chances of heart problems in people in a new study, but did not appear to have an effect on thinking and memory declines. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2VsVfjt via IFTTT

Study: Seniors With UTIs Need Antibiotics Fast

Delaying or withholding antibiotics in this age group can increase the risk of bloodstream infection (sepsis) and death, researchers reported Feb. 27 in the BMJ. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2UeADeC via IFTTT

Could Blood Tests Replace Surgical Lung Biospies?

The so-called liquid biopsy is as effective as testing tissue samples in diagnosing advanced non-small cell lung cancer, researcher say. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2tHrHms via IFTTT

Danger Abounds When Meds and Your Genes Don’t Mix

Almost everyone -- 99% of people -- has at least one gene variant that would cause them to respond to one or more medications differently than expected. Many people have several of these variants. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2GPUDBl via IFTTT

Could Blood Tests Replace Invasive Lung Biospies?

The so-called liquid biopsy is as effective as testing tissue samples in diagnosing advanced non-small cell lung cancer, researcher say. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2NAcOeI via IFTTT

Why Do Some Kids With Eczema Get Food Allergies?

A recent study of children with eczema found that those with food allergies had differences in their skin that kids without allergies did not have. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2H842Dy via IFTTT

Has America's Fight Against HIV Stalled?

After years of significant declines, the number of new HIV infections began to level off in 2013, the CDC says. The cause: Effective HIV prevention and treatments are not reaching those who could most benefit, according to the CDC. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2VontvL via IFTTT

Mom Blazes Path to Cure for Son’s Rare Disease

Although the FDA has approved 400 treatments for rare diseases, progress toward finding cures for the 7,000 remains slow from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2EsH5s7 via IFTTT

Prenatal Vitamins May Lower 2nd Child Autism Risk

Mothers who used prenatal vitamins, especially in the first month of pregnancy, had a reduced risk of having a second child with autism, a new study has found. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2EBjIOd via IFTTT

Tick Bites Even More Likely to Cause Meat Allergy?

New research suggests that every tick bite could potentially lead to meat allergy, a greater risk than had been suspected. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2tEKL4P via IFTTT

One-Handed NFL Star Lifts Spirits -- and a Toddler

Seattle Seahawks star Shaquem Griffin aims to inspire children like Joseph who have a limb difference. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2NB1AHe via IFTTT

Women Who Work Long Hours May Face More Depression

Researchers found that compared with women who worked a standard 40-hour week, those who were on the clock 55 hours or more typically reported more depression symptoms. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2NviYNg via IFTTT

Smokers May Fare Worse Vs. Deadliest Skin Cancer

In a study of more than 700 melanoma patients in the United Kingdom, smokers were 40 percent less likely to survive melanoma than people who hadn't smoked for at least 10 years before their diagnosis. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2tHCahQ via IFTTT

Cervical 'Microbiome' Could Help Predict Cancer

Women with the high-grade pre-cancerous cervical lesions had a more abundant and diverse mix of bacteria in their cervical microbiomes than women who had no lesions or less serious lesions, according to the study published recently in the journal mBio. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2Sqwcf3 via IFTTT

Keytruda May Help Put Melanoma Into Remission

Keytruda is the drug responsible for the remission of former President Jimmy Carter's cancer in 2015. Carter, then 90, had melanoma that spread to his brain and liver. Treatment with Keytruda appears to have cured him. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2TgxnCp via IFTTT

Single Moms Often Put Kids' Health Care First

The investigators found that both actual income losses and expectations of lost income affected health care spending decisions of single mothers differently than two-parent families. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2tCm5Kp via IFTTT

Green Space Good for Your Child's Mental Health

Though the study could only show an association, the researchers found that high levels of green space present in childhood was linked to a lower risk of a wide spectrum of mental problems in adulthood, even after adjusting for other risk factors like financial and social status, the stress of urban living, and any family history of psychiatric disorders. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2NwjRFl via IFTTT

Is At-Home Stool Test a Colonoscopy Alternative?

Experts said the findings offer more support for a screening test that has long been a recommended option -- but not often performed in the United States.         Instead, most Americans are screened for colon cancer by colonoscopy -- an invasive test that examines the colon. However, many other countries favor a yearly stool test. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2GJSuqV via IFTTT

Smokers May Fare Worse Vs. Deadliest Skin Cancer

In a study of more than 700 melanoma patients in the United Kingdom, smokers were 40 percent less likely to survive melanoma than people who hadn't smoked for at least 10 years before their diagnosis. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2GM11tg via IFTTT

Don't Be Fooled: Thermography No Substitute for Mammograms, FDA Says

Thermography devices -- also called digital infrared imaging devices -- are approved by the FDA only for use with another screening or diagnostic test like mammography, not as a stand-alone diagnostic tool. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2Ewigwz via IFTTT

Evening Exercise Won't Wreck Your Sleep

In other good news, the researchers said the exercise session also seemed to quell feelings of hunger. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2H8kEvh via IFTTT

Will Your Flu Shot Weaken as Flu Season Drags On?

The risk of getting the flu rises about 16% every 28 days after vaccination, according to a study by Kaiser Permanente Northern California researchers. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2NrO0pd via IFTTT

Insomnia May Be in Your Genes

American and British investigators analyzed data from more than 450,000 people in the United Kingdom -- 29 percent of whom reported frequent sleeplessness -- and identified 57 gene regions associated with insomnia. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2EvhrDX via IFTTT

Almost 87 Tons of Boston Market Pork Ribs Recalled

The frozen, not ready-to-eat boneless pork rib patties were produced on various dates between Dec. 7, 2018 and Feb. 15, 2019. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2tBAPca via IFTTT

Weedkiller Chemical Found in Popular Beer and Wine

All but one of 20 alcoholic beverages analyzed in a recent study by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) had detectable levels of the pesticide glyphosate. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2GO3S54 via IFTTT

More Severe Flu Strain Starts to Spread Widely

At the start of the flu season, the main strain was influenza A H1N1, but now a more severe strain, influenza A H3N2, accounts for nearly half of all the new cases, the CDC says. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2XhYg8e via IFTTT

Study: Heavy Smoking May Damage Vision

In a small new study, people who smoked more than 20 cigarettes a day showed significant changes in their red-green and blue-yellow color vision and had greater difficulty seeing contrasts and colors than nonsmokers. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2SlbAFd via IFTTT

Opioid OD Deaths Quadruple, Centered in 8 States

Researchers also found that the death rate from opioids has increased the fastest in the District of Columbia, more than tripling every year since 2013. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2T9LdpZ via IFTTT

After Tax Was Added, Soda Sales Fell in Berkeley

The study shows that a soda tax can influence what people buy and can be effective in encouraging healthier drinking habits, researchers said. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2ItOUCU via IFTTT

Study Sees Slight Drop in Doctor Burnout

Physicians remain at increased risk for burnout relative to workers in other fields, but for the first time, researchers saw improvement burnout symptoms in physicians nationally. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2NjRmuo via IFTTT

Few Teens Meet Sleep, Screen, Exercise Guidelines

When it comes to the right amount of screen time, exercise, and sleep, research published this month in JAMA Pediatrics finds only 5% of teens are meeting guidelines, and girls are less likely to do so than boys. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2Xhiwa2 via IFTTT

Toxins in Home Furnishings Can Be Passed to Kids

Semi-volatile organic compounds (or SVOCs) are widely used in electronics, furniture and building materials, and can be detected in nearly all indoor environment. Human exposure to them is widespread. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2Tew4DQ via IFTTT

U.S. Leads Rich Nations in Drug Overdose Deaths

Drug deaths in the United States are more than 27 times higher than in Italy and Japan, which have the lowest rates, and are double the rates of Finland and Sweden, the countries with the next highest death rates. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2TbGPH6 via IFTTT

HPV Infections in Decline, Thanks to Vaccines

The new study finds that rates of infection with HPV 16 or 18 -- the two strains most heavily implicated in cervical cancer -- have markedly declined between 2008 and 2014. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2T8bC7K via IFTTT

Aggressive Breast Cancer Responds to New Drug

In the clinical trial of the new drug, sacituzumab govitecan, about a third of the patients responded to treatment and the effect lasted up to eight months. The research was funded by the drug's maker. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2EnqLcY via IFTTT

Nurse Builds Database of Women Murdered By Men

Since 2017, a school nurse in a Dallas suburb has been counting women murdered by men. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2U1Nq4a via IFTTT

FDA Proposes Major Changes to Sunscreen Rules

According to the FDA, 12 sunscreen ingredients lack sufficient data to support whether they are generally safe and effective. They are cinoxate, dioxybenzone, ensulizole, homosalate, meradimate, octinoxate, octisalate, octocrylene, padimate O, sulisobenzone, oxybenzone and avobenzone. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2T3OcAs via IFTTT

A Quest For Phantom Sweet Cigarettes

When the popular ’90s confection, Phantom Cigarettes began to disappear from Mumbai’s kirana shelves after the millennium, Kamakshi Ayyar never gave up the hope of re-encountering her favourite childhood treat. The Hong Kong-based writer reflects on how this constant search for an object from the past represents a longing in the present.… from Verve Magazine https://ift.tt/2SfGGOz

Gut Microbes May Help Drive Lupus, Study Finds

Comparing gut bacteria from lupus patients with bacteria from their healthy peers, scientists learned those with lupus had about five times more of the bacteria known as Ruminococcus gnavus. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2NiBOHl via IFTTT

Could Pacemakers Be Powered By Heartbeats One Day?

Battery-powered pacemakers have to be replaced every five to 12 years. So, some scientists have been working an alternative: battery-free pacemakers that in theory would never have to be replaced. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2VdMsSJ via IFTTT

Acupuncture Could Help Ease Menopausal Symptoms

Compared with women who didn't get acupuncture, those who did had significant reductions in hot flashes, a recent study found. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2EjpQu8 via IFTTT

High-Fat Diets Do No Favors for Your Gut Bacteria

The study showed that a high-fat diet is linked to unfavorable changes in the type and numbers of gut bacteria, known as the microbiome, as well increasing inflammatory triggers in the body. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2NiJqJZ via IFTTT

Study: FDA Fell Short on Tracking Fentanyl Use

Despite what should have been a very restrictive distribution system, as many as half of the patients receiving a specific form of fentanyl did not meet the requirements to get it, researchers said from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2Imn6jM via IFTTT

Kaiser Permanente Med School to Offer Free Tuition

A new medical school will offer free tuition to its first five classes in hopes of student debt as an obstacle to enrollment. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2NiZgEh via IFTTT

FDA Head: Agency May Cut Kids' Vaccine Exemptions

The federal government could "mandate certain rules about what is and isn't permissible when it comes to allowing people to have exemptions," FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CNN. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2SfFlau via IFTTT

Cancer and Sugar: Is There a Link?

Does sugar cause cancer or make it grow faster? Some experts believe so, while others believe the real culprit is something that can happen if you have too much sugar. from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2BLsN55 via IFTTT

‘Young Blood’ Clinics Shut Down After FDA Action

While the FDA did not name Ambrosia its release, it cautioned consumers that there is “no proven clinical benefit” to the transfusions. Although from WebMD Health https://ift.tt/2SQhm6C via IFTTT

Revisit Three Iconic Ads from The ’90s With These Behind-The-Scenes Anecdotes

Before the turn of the century, advertisements weren’t as ephemeral or easily forgotten as they are today. We were constantly greeted by the same limited number of commercials on every channel — of which there were only a handful — and ad makers could create a lasting impression thanks to a dedicated viewership. Featuring some of the country’s biggest stars, these ‘hidden persuaders’ continue to be as impactful as they were during the decade in which they were first aired, perhaps due to the immense cultural value we seem to place on nostalgia. from Verve Magazine https://ift.tt/2VatGvw

Study: FDA Fell Short on Tracking Fentanyl Use

Despite what should have been a very restrictive distribution system, as many as half of the patients receiving a specific form of fentanyl did not meet the requirements to get it, researchers said from WebMD Health https://wb.md/2SMKHPD via IFTTT