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Megan Thee Stallion Urges Fans to 'Check on Friends' for Mental Health

THURSDAY, Sept. 28, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Megan Thee Stallion is urging you to check on your friends.

The rapper, whose offstage name is Megan Pete, is part of a new public service announcement called Seize the Awkward, a national campaign to encourage young people to talk to friends about mental health.

“It�...

Biden Administration Gives Funding Boost to Help Curb Suicides

THURSDAY, Sept. 28, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- The Biden administration is allocating $232.2 million in grants to help stem suicides and improve behavioral health care for at-risk groups.

Suicide is happening at an “alarming” rate, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Last year alone, nearly...

Oregon Decriminalized Possession of Small Amounts of Drugs. Fatal ODs Didn't Skyrocket

Critics of a law that decriminalized drug possession in Oregon have blamed the policy for rising overdose deaths in the state, but a new study finds no evidence of that.

Researchers discovered that while drug overdose deaths have risen recently in Oregon, it appears the trend has no relation to a law popularly known as Measure 110.

...

Health Issue Has Bruce Springsteen Postponing Shows for the Rest of the Year

Rock star Bruce Springsteen announced Wednesday that he has postponed all of his remaining shows this year as he deals with peptic ulcer disease.

Springsteen said he’s continuing to “recover steadily from peptic ulcer disease over the past few weeks and will continue treatment through the rest of the year on doctor’s advice,” in a...

Heavy Marijuana Use May Harm the Heart

THURSDAY, Sept. 28, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- People who abuse marijuana may be setting themselves up for heart problems down the road, Canadian researchers report.

The new study found that people with so-called cannabis use disorder may have a 60% higher risk for a heart attack, stroke or other major heart-related event, compared ...

FDA Panel Says No to Experimental ALS Drug

THURSDAY, Sept. 28, 2023 (HealthDay News) – An advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday voted resoundingly against recommending a stem cell-based experimental treatment for ALS.

Although the FDA isn't bound by the votes of its advisory panels, agency scientists have already penned a scathing review of the drug...

Is the First Cure for Advanced Rabies Near?

Rabies virus is incurable and almost always fatal once it has invaded the central nervous system, with the victim doomed to suffer a horrible death.

But researchers now think they’ve found an effective and simple treatment that can cure even advanced cases of rabies.

A monoclonal antibody injected into lab mice successfully protect...

Smoggy Days Raise Short-Term Odds for Stroke

Exposure to air pollution, even for just a short time, drives up your risk of having a stroke over the next few days, new research warns.

That conclusion stems from a review of 110 studies conducted across Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Depending on the specific nature of the pollutant in question, stroke risk rose anywhere from 5% ...

Over a Third of Adults With Type 1 Diabetes Weren't Diagnosed Until After 30

Type 1 diabetes has long been viewed as a childhood disease, but a new study suggests it might be time to revise that thinking.

Investigators concluded that nearly 4 in 10 Americans with type 1 diabetes aren’t diagnosed with the blood sugar condition until they’re at least 30.

“Our research adds to a growing body of studies sho...

Coffee Won't Raise Preemie Birth Risk, But Smoking Certainly Will: Study

Smoking during pregnancy is a significant risk factor for premature births, but drinking coffee is not, new research suggests.

Women who smoked during pregnancy were 2.6 times more likely to give birth prematurely compared to nonsmokers, a risk that was double that of previous estimates, the University of Cambridge scientists found.

...

Adding Just 3,000 Steps Per Day Could Lower High Blood Pressure

THURSDAY, Sept. 28, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Adding 3,000 extra steps a day can help older adults with hypertension significantly lower their blood pressure.

About 80% of older adults in the United States have high blood pressure. Keeping it down can help protect against heart failure, heart attacks and strokes.

“We’ll a...

New Antibiotic Could Help Fight Resistant Staph Infections

New research shows that an antibiotic effective for bacterial pneumonia also appears to fight treatment-resistant staph infections.

The drug is ceftobiprole. It appeared successful in fighting methicillin-resistant staph infections, sometimes called MRSA. It showed similar benefit when tested against the antibiotic daptomycin to treat comp...

Job Loss Within Couples Ups Odds for Miscarriage, Stillbirth

A new study suggests there may be a link between job loss and miscarriage or stillbirth.

The risk of miscarriage or stillbirth doubled after a pregnant woman or her partner lost a job, European researchers found. Their study was published Sept. 28 in the journal Human Reproduction.

“Further research would need to ...

Estrogen Could Be Key to Women's Brain Health

Being exposed to more estrogen throughout life -- or a longer reproductive life span -- may be good for the brain, according to new research that found a lower risk of cerebral small vessel disease in women who had more cumulative exposure.

Cerebral small vessel disease happens from damage to small blood vessels in the brain. It can incre...

Fast-Acting Nasal Spray May Ease Rapid Heartbeat

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 27, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Up to 2 million people in the U.S. experience rapid-fire heartbeats from time to time, and many end up in the hospital for treatment.

But an investigational nasal spray may help folks with paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) safely and quickly slow their heart rate on their ...

FDA Adds Warning to Ozempic Label About Risk for Blocked Intestines

Ozempic, a type 2 diabetes drug that has increasingly been used to help with weight loss, will now be labeled as having the potential to block intestines.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently made the label update for the drug made by Novo Nordisk, without directly citing Ozempic as the cause for this condition.

"Because t...

Stem Cell Treatment Halts MS for Some Patients

A new study is strengthening the evidence that stem cell transplants can be highly effective for some people with multiple sclerosis -- sending the disease into remission for years, and sometimes reversing disability.

Researchers found that of 174 MS patients who underwent stem cell transplants -- with cells from their own blood -- two-thi...

Emotional Issues Could Be Early Sign of MS

A newer understanding of multiple sclerosis (MS) suggests that psychiatric conditions like anxiety and depression may emerge long before classic MS symptoms.

“For a long time, it was thought that MS only really began clinically when a person experienced their first demyelinating event, such as in the form of vision problems,” said seni...

In Mice, Gene Therapy Helps Restore Movement After Spinal Cord Injury

Gene therapy has restored mobility in mice with completely severed spinal cords, researchers report.

The mice regained the ability to walk, with gait patterns resembling those of mice that resumed walking naturally after only partial cord injuries, the investigators found.

This happened because the new gene therapy used techniques to...

Timing of Hot Flashes Could Give Clues to Alzheimer's Risk

Hot flashes and night sweats top the list of bothersome symptoms for women going through menopause.

Now, a new study suggests that hot flashes, especially during sleep, may be more than a nuisance: They may foreshadow Alzheimer's disease.

And the more hot flashes a woman experiences during sleep, the greater her risk for develo...