Minorities Miss Out on Brain-Imaging Studies for Alzheimer's

• Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter
• July 27, 2023
• Full Page

Americans in ethnic and racial minority groups are underrepresented in Alzheimer's research, a new study finds.

Still, the review of U.S.-based Alzheimer's disease brain imaging studies found the gap is closing.

Compared with white patients, Hispanic Americans ar...

New High-Tech CT Might Expand Heart Imaging

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• June 20, 2023
• Full Page

The benefits of noninvasive imaging may soon be available to patients at high risk of coronary artery disease, according to researchers studying a newer technology.

That technology is called ultra-high-resolution coronary CT angiography.

Currently, patients have co...

CT Scans Beat Gene Scores at Predicting Mid-Life Heart Risk

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• May 23, 2023
• Full Page

When it comes to predicting heart trouble down the road, the arteries may say a lot more than the genes do, according to a new study.

Researchers found that CT scans of the heart arteries were better than genetics at predicting middle-aged adults' risk of heart disease i...

Fat Growing Around Muscles Could Be a Silent Killer

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 18, 2023
• Full Page

It's well known that it's unhealthy to have belly fat accumulating around your abdominal organs, but there's a more insidious form of fat that could be even more hazardous to your health, a new study says.

Fat that infiltrates your muscles appears to dramatically increas...

How Many CT Scans Are Safe for Kids?

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• April 24, 2023
• Full Page

Getting a single CT scan during childhood doesn't appear to increase a child's risk of a future brain tumor, leukemia or lymphoma, new research finds, but getting four or more scans more than doubles the chances.

CT scans use low-dose radiation, which can damage cells. P...

Good News or Bad, Patients Want Access to Medical Test Results

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• March 21, 2023
• Full Page

When waiting for medical test results, days can feel like an eternity.

In a new survey, patients overwhelmingly say they'd like their results immediately -- even if their provider has not yet reviewed them and even if the news is bad.

In April 2021, new rules went ...

Chest Scans for Respiratory Ills Can Also Spot Heart Trouble

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• March 13, 2023
• Full Page

Ordering special heart scans before a major surgery to gauge risks may be unnecessary, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that surgeons can instead estimate patients' risk of heart attack or death by reviewing existing images of the chest captured months earlier dur...

U.S. Hospitals Are Facing Shortage of Dye Needed for Life-Saving Scans

• By Ernie Mundell and Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporters
• May 19, 2022
• Full Page

U.S. hospitals are running low on contrast dye injected into patients undergoing enhanced X-rays, CT scans and MRIs.

The fluid, which makes the routine but potentially life-saving scans r...

CT Lung Cancer Screening Saved His Life, and Could Do So for More

• Alan Mozes HealthDay Reporter
• December 23, 2021
• Full Page

Wolfgang Lehner always considered himself "a triple threat" when it came to cancer risk.

One grandfather died of lung cancer in the 1970s. His other grandfather had his own bout with stomach cancer. And Lehner himself was a smoker.

Although the New York City cinema...

More Evidence That Pandemic Delayed Cancer Diagnoses

• Robert Preidt
• December 6, 2021
• Full Page

New research offers fresh proof that the COVID-19 pandemic delayed cancer diagnoses in the United States, increasing patients' risk for poor outcomes.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 9 million patients at over 1,200 Veterans Affairs (VA) medical f...

Even T. Rex Had Bone Trouble

• Robert Preidt
• December 1, 2021
• Full Page

They once ruled the planet, but even the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex could suffer from bone disease, new research shows.

Scientists used imaging to examine the lower left jaw of a fossilized T. rex skeleton discovered in Montana in 2010. The skeleton, which is about 68 mill...

Certain Blood Thinners Can Raise Risk of 'Delayed' Bleeding After Head Injury

• Ernie Mundell and Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporters
• November 30, 2021
• Full Page

Older blood thinners, especially when taken in combination with daily low-dose aspirin, are associated with a higher risk of brain bleeds and death after hospital discharge in patients treated for head injury, new research shows.

The risk fell when patients were taking o...

Low-Dose CT Scans Can Diagnose Appendicitis

• Robert Preidt
• November 15, 2021
• Full Page

CT scans expose patients to radiation even as they help doctors spot serious health problems. Now a new study finds low-dose scans can readily spot appendicitis while reducing patients' radiation exposure.

"The results of this study suggest that the diagnostic CT scan ra...

4 Out of 10 Adults With No Known Heart Disease Have Fatty Hearts: Study

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• September 21, 2021
• Full Page

Many middle-aged adults with apparently healthy hearts have a "silent" buildup of fatty deposits in their arteries, a large, new study shows.

Researchers found that of more than 25,000 50- to 64-year-olds, about 42% had signs of atherosclerosis -- a buildup of "plaques" ...