Cheap, Same-Day Test Could Help Spot Miscarriage Risk

A new and inexpensive same-day test could help pregnant women learn if their developing fetus has genetic problems that increase their risk of miscarriage.

The Short-read Transpore Rapid Karyotyping (STORK) test can detect extra or missing chromosomes using samples collected from standard prenatal tests like amniocentesis and chorioni...

Taking a Shot at Pain Relief After Knee Replacement

THURSDAY, Aug. 18, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers may have found a new way to help ease the pain of knee replacement surgery: infusing morphine directly into the shin bone.

The findings come from a recent study of 48 patients undergoing total knee replacement. The investigators found that giving a morphine injectio...

Hispanic Americans' Suicide Rates Are Rising

THURSDAY, Aug. 18, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Suicide is a major public health issue for all Americans, but new research suggests it is a particularly pressing problem for Hispanics.

Between 2010 and 2020, the suicide rate among Hispanic adults increased by more than 70%, while the Hispanic population in the United States ...

Ivermectin, Luvox Fail as COVID-19 Treatment

Two drugs touted as potential COVID-19 treatments, ivermectin and fluvoxamine, don't do a thing to improve patients' oxygen levels and keep them out of the hospital or the morgue, a new clinical trial has shown.

Neither of the two repurposed drugs proved effective against COVID among overweight or obese patients who received them within se...

Change to Diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes Helped Women

THURSDAY, Aug. 18, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Using a lower threshold to diagnose pregnancy-related diabetes does not seem to reduce the risk of having a big baby, on average — but some women do benefit, a new clinical trial suggests.

Gestational diabetes is diagnosed when a pregnant woman's blood sugar levels are abnorm...

3 Big Pharmacy Chains Must Pay $650 Million to Ohio Counties for Role in Opioid Crisis

Three of the country's largest pharmacy chains will have to pay $650.5 million over the next 15 years to two Ohio counties for their role in the opioid epidemic, a U.S. federal judge has ordered.

The decision follows a November jury verdict that found CVS, Walgreens and Walmart pharmacies continued to dispense significant quantities of the...

Kids Born Premature Lag in Elementary School, But Most Catch Up Later

While babies born prematurely may lag behind their elementary school peers, they eventually catch up, British researchers report.

By the end of high school, only the kids born before 32 weeks of gestation were continuing to struggle, according to a new study published online Aug. 17 in the journal .

A team led by Neora Alterman and M...

Countries With Universal Health Care Had Better Child Vaccination Rates During Pandemic

Countries that are closer to achieving universal health coverage saw smaller declines in routine childhood vaccinations during the pandemic, a new study reveals.

The World Health Organization describes universal health coverage as "all individuals and communities receive the health services they need without suffering financial hardship."<...

Pregnancy Can Be Anxious Time for Women With Epilepsy

Pregnant women with epilepsy battle anxiety and depression more often than their peers who aren't pregnant or don't have epilepsy, a new study reveals.

"The good news is we did not find that pregnant women with epilepsy were any more likely to have episodes of major depression than the other two groups," said study author Dr. Kimford Meado...

Organ From Live Donor Best When Child Needs New Kidney

Children who need kidney transplants have better long-term outcomes when the donor is a living person and not someone who has died and donated organs, a new study finds.

"The findings of our study should lay to rest any fears and concerns that centers have about accepting organs from unrelated living donors," said senior study author Dr. L...

CDC Director Says Agency Needs Major Overhaul

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention failed to respond quickly enough during the COVID-19 pandemic and needs an major overhaul, Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday.

With her rebuke, she sketched out a plan to prioritize action on public health needs, reported.

“For 75 years, CDC and public health have been...

Need Advice on Medical Pot for Cancer Care? Don't Ask Local Dispensary

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 17, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Cancer patients who use cannabis to relieve pain and improve appetite may be getting bad advice from dispensary staff, a new study suggests.

Doctors usually offer only spotty advice about pot to their patients and, although well-intentioned, staff at many cannabis dispensaries...

Too Few Psychiatric Beds: Psychiatrists' Group Takes Aim at Ongoing Crisis

Amid a stark shortage of psychiatric beds that only worsened for millions suffering from mental illnesses during the pandemic, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) is rolling out a new model that can help communities determine exactly how many beds they need.

Having enough in-patient beds would cut down on overcrowding in emergency ...

More Athletes Are Getting Their Nutrition Through an IV. This Should Stop, Experts Say

Pro athletes appear to be regularly turning to intravenous (IV) nutritional drips to alleviate fatigue and speed recovery, despite the potential risks and without solid proof of any real benefit.

Normally, such needle-inserted drips are supposed to be reserved for treating a serious illness like anemia, or in an emergency situation such as...

The More Words Your Preschooler Knows, the Better They Do in Class

Kids who enter preschool with good vocabulary and attention skills have a head start on academic success.

That's the takeaway from a new study of nearly 900 4-year-olds and their ability to engage with teachers and peers, as well as their involvement in classroom tasks.

“The levels of vocabulary skills and inhibitory control that c...

Bedsores Can Cause Serious Harm — Are U.S. Nursing Homes Hiding Cases?

People might want to think twice before relying on federal quality ratings to help choose a nursing home for an elderly or frail relative, a new study warns.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) established the Nursing Home Compare website in the 1990s to publicly report patient safety indicators for every nursing faci...

Half of People Infected With Omicron May Not Have Known It: Study

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 17, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Are you one of those folks who thinks they have somehow miraculously managed to avoid COVID-19 infection more than two years into the pandemic?

You might be mistaken, claims new research that discovered most people hit by the highly contagious Omicron variant had symptoms so m...

AHA News: Having Ideal Heart Health May Lessen the Risk for Brain Vessel Disease

Maintaining excellent cardiovascular health may lower the risk for abnormalities in the small vessels of the brain, a new study suggests.

Scientists aren't sure what causes the condition, known as cerebral small vessel disease, or CSVD. Previous research shows CSVD contributes to about half of dementia cases, a quarter of clot-caused strok...

Here's How the Inflation Reduction Act Will Lower the Cost of Health Care

President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, making it the most significant health care legislation enacted in more than a decade.

How will it affect health care?

Millions of Americans covered by Medicare will see big reductions in costs for both health care and prescription drugs. And those covered by...

Biden Administration May Stop Buying COVID Vaccines, Treatments by Fall

The Biden Administration plans to stop buying COVID tests, vaccines and treatments as early as the fall, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said Tuesday.

Under that plan, those products would be provided through the regular health care system, Jha said at an event sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, ...