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Cataracts: Common, and Easy to Treat

Many aging Americans can have their vision dimmed by cataracts, but the good news is that they're easily treated, one expert says.

By age 80, half of Americans either have cataracts or have had surgery to remove them, according to Dr. Waid Blackstone, an ophthalmologist at University of Alabama at Birmingham Callahan Eye Hospital Clinic at...

More Than a Snore? Recognize the Signs of Sleep Apnea

Does your bed partner claim that you snore?

If so, don't just tune him or her out. It may mean you have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Untreated sleep apnea -- which causes repeated breathing interruptions during sleep -- can lead to serious health problems, so the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) wants you to consider: Is i...

Big Rise in Suicide Attempts by U.S. Teen Girls During Pandemic

The suicide attempt rate has leapt by as much as half among teenage girls during the coronavirus pandemic, a new government study shows.

Emergency room visits for suspected suicide attempts among girls between the ages of 12 and 17 increased by 26% during summer 2020 and by 50% during winter 2021, compared with the same periods in 2019, re...

Obesity Could Raise Odds for 'Long-Haul' COVID Symptoms

FRIDAY, June 11, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- If you're obese, you're far more likely to have long-lasting health issues if you get COVID-19 and survive, a new study warns.

You are more likely than patients who aren't obese to be hospitalized. You're more likely wind up in the intensive care unit, need to be put on a ventila...

AHA News: Video Gaming Helps Heart Defect Survivor Connect With Others in the LGBTQ Community and Beyond

Mike Lane's heart journey began as a newborn – when his skin turned blue.

He was 2 days old when a cardiologist realized the reason. He was born with several congenital heart defects, including a missing ventricular septum, a narrowing of the pulmonary artery called stenosis, and a faulty pulmonary artery valve. In the coming weeks and m...

Will People Really Need a Yearly COVID Booster Vaccine?

As the number of people fully immunized against COVID-19 rises into the hundreds of millions, immunologists and infectious disease experts now are pondering a new question in the unfolding pandemic.

Namely, how long will vaccine immunity last, and will people who've gotten the jab need booster shots to maintain their protection?

It's...

Expiration Dates on Johnson & Johnson COVID Vaccine Extended

U.S. regulators have extended the expiration date on millions of Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine doses by six weeks, the company announced Thursday.

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration review concluded the shots remain safe and effective for at least 4 1/2 months, J&J said in a statement. In February, the FDA first authorized th...

There Is No 'Healthy Obesity,' Study Finds

There is no such thing as healthy obesity, a Scottish study reports.

A normal metabolic profile doesn't mean an obese person is actually healthy, because he or she still has an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke and respiratory illness, University of Glasgow researchers explained.

"The term 'metabolically healthy obesi...

Poor Sleep After Head Injury Could Point to Dementia Risk

Sleep disorders may increase the odds for dementia in survivors of traumatic brain injury, new research suggests.

The study included nearly 713,000 patients who were free of dementia when they were treated for traumatic brain injury (TBI) between 2003 and 2013. The severity of their brain injuries varied, and nearly six in 10 were men. The...

It's a Myth That Promiscuous Women Have Low Self-Esteem

The old double standard lives on.

A new study finds that many people still believe -- incorrectly -- that women who engage in casual sex have low self-esteem. And they don't think the same is true of men.

"We were surprised that this stereotype was so widely held," said study first author Jaimie Arona Krems, an assistant professor of...

COVID Antibody Treatment Is Safe, Effective in Transplant Patients

Antibody treatments are safe and effective for transplant patients with mild to moderate COVID-19, a new study shows.

Monoclonal antibodies help prevent the SARS-CoV-2 virus from attaching to cells, which helps block the spread of infection.

The findings are important, researchers said, because transplant patients with COVID are more...

Middle Ages Misery: Medieval Shoe Trend Brought Bunions

Suffering for fashion is nothing new. Researchers in the United Kingdom have unearthed new evidence that stylish pointed shoes caused a "plague" of bunions in the late medieval period.

Investigators from the University of Cambridge analyzed 177 skeletons from cemeteries in and around the city of Cambridge. Included were a charitable hospi...

Old Age No Bar to Successful Heart Transplant, Study Finds

People over 70 are far less likely to be considered for or to receive a new heart -- even though new research suggests their survival rates after transplant are similar to those of younger patients.

For the study, the researchers analyzed data on more than 57,000 adults (aged 18 and older) listed as heart transplant surgery candidates in t...

Smokers, Obese People Need Major Heart Interventions Earlier in Life

In a finding that confirms healthy habits make for healthy hearts, new research shows that smokers and obese people must have their clogged arteries cleared at much younger ages than nonsmokers or people who are a normal weight.

It found that angioplasty and/or stenting to widen coronary arteries and restore blood flow had to be performed ...

America Is Losing the War Against Diabetes

THURSDAY, June 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- After years of improvement, Americans with diabetes may be losing some ground in controlling the condition, a new government-funded study shows.

Researchers found that between 1999 and the early 2010s, U.S. adults with diabetes made substantial gains: A growing percentage had t...

'Laughing Gas' Shows Promise Against Tough-to-Treat Depression

THURSDAY, June 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- When antidepressants fail to rein in hard-to-treat depression, the common anesthetic most know as "laughing gas" might be a safe and effective alternative, new research suggests.

The finding follows work with 28 patients struggling with "treatment-resistant major depression," a...

A Real Headache: Racism Plays Role in Migraine Care

THURSDAY, June 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The color of your skin may very well determine how your headache gets treated, a new study warns.

The same percentage of white, Black and Hispanic Americans — about 15% — suffer from severe headaches and/or migraines, the investigators noted.

But the current analysis,...

AHA News: Why Everyone Should Care About Health Disparities – And What to Do About Them

The coronavirus pandemic and the equity movement have shined a spotlight on longstanding systemic problems that contribute to health disparities linked with factors such as race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status and sexual identity.

But health disparities don't only affect those facing them. In a time of deep division and uncertainty, ex...

Healthy Levels of Vitamin D May Boost Breast Cancer Outcomes

Breast cancer patients who have adequate levels of vitamin D — the "sunshine vitamin" — at the time of their diagnosis have better long-term outcomes, a new study finds.

Combined with the results of prior research, the new findings suggest "an ongoing benefit for patients who maintain sufficient levels [of vitamin D] through and beyon...

US to Send 500 Million COVID Vaccine Doses to Countries Desperate for Shots

The United States plans to purchase 500 million doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine that it will then donate to countries in need around the world.

The first 200 million doses will be sent out this year, with 300 million more shared in the first half of next year, three people familiar with the plan told the Washington Post on W...