San Francisco Set to Ban 'Forever Chemicals' in Firefighter Gear

• Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
• May 14, 2024
• Full Page

San Francisco is on the verge of passing a ban on "forever chemicals" in the protective clothing firefighters wear while battling blazes.

City lawmakers are expected to pass an ordinance on Tuesday that will prohibit the use of firefighting gear made with per- and p...

More Studies Support Wegovy's Long-Term Weight-Loss Benefits

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 14, 2024
• Full Page

Semaglutide -- the active ingredient in the blockbuster weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy -- can produce long-term weight and heart health benefits, a pair of new studies show.

Researchers found that overweight and obese adults lost an average 10% of their body weight...

Americans With Private Insurance May Pay More for Hospital Stay

• Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
• May 14, 2024
• Full Page

Having private insurance may not be all it is cracked up to be when it comes to hospital bills, new research warns.

In a report published Monday by the nonprofit research institute RAND Corp., researchers discovered that patients with private health insurance m...

Patients Over 80 Still Benefit From Treatment for AML Blood Cancer

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 14, 2024
• Full Page

Seniors over 80 with acute myeloid leukemia can safely and effectively take the standard targeted therapy for the blood cancer, a new study finds.

The oral drug venetoclax is typically given to older AML patients whose bodies can’t handle the rigors of chemotherapy. Th...

Why C-Section Babies Need 2 Doses of Measles Vaccine

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 14, 2024
• Full Page

Babies born by C-section are unlikely to receive protection from a single dose of measles vaccine, a new study finds.

A single measles jab is up to 2.6 times more likely to be completely ineffective in C-section babies, compared to those born vaginally. Their immune syst...

Vaping Rates Fall Among Teens, But Still Too High

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• May 14, 2024
• Full Page

Vaping rates among U.S. kids in grades 9 through 12 fell to 5% in 2021, the latest year for which data is available.

That's down from a peak of 7.2% of teens who vaped in 2019, a new report finds.

However, the 5% vaping rate observed in 2021 is still more than dou...

Melanoma Can Strike Black Americans, Often With Deadlier Results

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 14, 2024
• Full Page

Melanoma, while rare among Black Americans, is often detected later with devastating consequences, a new study finds.

Black people are frequently diagnosed with melanoma at later stages, increasing their risk of death compared to fairer-skinned patients, researchers foun...

Olivia Munn Underwent Hysterectomy After Breast Cancer Diagnosis

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• May 13, 2024
• Full Page

Actress and "X-men" star Olivia Munn has revealed that she underwent egg retrieval and then a hysterectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

In an article published on Mother's Day, Munn told Vogue she opted for hysterectomy because it allowed her to avo...

Getting Abortion Pill Via Mail Order Is Quick, Safe & Effective

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 13, 2024
• Full Page

Women who get abortion pills through the mail receive care that's as good as those who are required to get them in person from a clinic or doctor’s office, a new study says.

Using a mail-order pharmacy to deliver the drugs after an in-person assessment was both safe an...

Lesbian, Bisexual Women More Likely to Die Early Than Straight Peers

• Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
• May 13, 2024
• Full Page

MONDAY, May 13, 2024 (HealthDay news) -- Could being a lesbian or bisexual shorten your life? New research that analyzed decades of data on women suggests it might.

What's driving the trend? Researchers point to discrimination as the primary culprit.

While there is...

Wegovy Can Help Heart Failure Patients Reduce Meds: Study

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• May 13, 2024
• Full Page

People with heart failure are often prescribed what are known as loop diuretic medications to help reduce the fluid buildup that's a hallmark of the disease.

Now, research suggests that taking the blockbuster weight loss drug Wegovy (semaglutide) can help patients reduce...

Cancer & COVID Drove Him to Double-Lung Transplant

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 13, 2024
• Full Page

Chicago resident Arthur “Art” Gillespie fell ill in early March 2020 with COVID, after he and his father went to visit an uncle in a nursing facility.

“I was hospitalized for 12 days with a high fever and cough, and during that time, they were taking scans of my lu...

First Pig Kidney Recipient Dies Almost Two Months After Transplant

• Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
• May 13, 2024
• Full Page

Rick Slayman, the first person to receive a kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig, has died nearly two months after having the historic surgery.

In a statement released Saturday, Slayman's family said they were "deeply saddened about the sudden passing of our...

Police Seizures of Pills With Fentanyl Have Skyrocketed

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 13, 2024
• Full Page

Police seizures of illicit fentanyl pills have soared in recent years, a new study has found.

The number of pills containing fentanyl seized by law enforcement was 2,300 times greater in 2023 than in 2017 – more than 115 million pills, compared to just under 50,000.

Microneedle Patches Might Reverse a Form of Hair Loss

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• May 13, 2024
• Full Page

Early research in mice suggests a new path forward to restoring hair growth in people affected by a form of alopecia. 

Alopecia areata is an autommune disorder that affects an estimated 6 million Americans and has no cure, according to researchers at the Massachuset...

Could Having 'Skinny' Fat Cells Encourage Weight Gain?

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 13, 2024
• Full Page

“Skinny” fat cells might actually make it harder to lose weight and easier to pack on extra pounds, a new study says.

Researchers say it’s possible to predict if someone’s going to gain weight based solely on the size of their fat cells.

People with large f...

Test Might Predict Which Kids Will Outgrow Peanut Allergy

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• May 13, 2024
• Full Page

About a third of young children who are allergic to peanuts will outgrow the allergy by the age of 10, and an antibody test might predict who those kids might be.

Fluctuations in two immune system antibodies in the blood, called sIgG4 and sIgE, could point to a probable ...

Yoga Can Help Heart Failure Patients Stay Strong

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 13, 2024
• Full Page

Yoga can help improve the long-term health of people with heart failure, a new study has found.

“Patients who practiced yoga on top of taking their medications felt better, were able to do more, and had stronger hearts than those who only took drugs for their heart fai...

Avoid Overheating Dangers When Recharging Medical Devices

• Carole Tanzer Miller HealthDay Reporter
• May 12, 2024
• Full Page

SUNDAY, May 12, 2024 (HealthDay News) — If you use a medical device such as a blood glucose monitor or insulin pump, keeping it charged is a must. 

But devices that rely on a USB charger can overheat, which may cause minor injuries, serious burns or fires. That's ...

Tips to Celebrating Mom on Her Day, Even When Dementia Intervenes

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 11, 2024
• Full Page

Women account for two-thirds of all Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease, which means this Mother’s Day will be bittersweet for many families across the nation.

“Mother’s Day is all about honoring the mother figures in our lives who loved, nurtured, and supp...