For decades, doctors have struggled with the fact that the benefit of any blood-thinning pill came with the added risk of excess bleeding.

Now, an experimental anti-clotting pill called milvexian has been found to be effective in patients who had knee replacement surgery -- without adding any excess risk for bleeding.

The study focused on these patients because they're known to be a...

Arm and shoulder pain are common for women after breast cancer surgery, and beginning a supervised exercise program soon afterwards can go a long way to easing the discomfort, new research suggests.

As the team of British investigators explained, restricted shoulder movement and chronic pain or swelling in the armpit area can really impact a patient's recovery and quality of life.

...

Since 1971, when the U.S. government made defeating cancer a goal and put major funding behind it, death rates for many cancers have plummeted, but some are increasing, according to a new American Cancer Society report.

Death rates for all cancers combined have declined since passage of the National Cancer Act of 1971, according to the report. For example, in 2019, deaths from lung c...

Multiple sclerosis patients might be able to think more clearly and move more easily if they regularly undergo whole-body vibration training, a new pilot study reports.

A small group of MS patients who experienced vibration training showed improvements in decision making, information processing, attention and memory, according to find...

"Ultra-low" doses of the drug rituximab may be enough to keep some patients' rheumatoid arthritis under control for several years, a new, preliminary study suggests.

Researchers found that among 118 patients, low doses of the drug were comparable to standard ones in controlling flare-ups for up to four years.

The findings, the researchers said, suggest that some patients can try low...

Mike Smith is beating the odds.

Diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer back in 2016, the 56-year-old South Carolina resident says there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic as the "narrative of lung cancer changes from being a horrific, terminal disease to a chronic disease and, ultimately, to a cure."

Still, he remains clear-eyed about the challenges he faces.

"I'm at war," he s...

Nearly one-third of older U.S. adults visit at least five different doctors each year -- reflecting the growing role of specialists in Americans' health care, a new study finds.

Over the past 20 years, Americans on Medicare have been increasingly seeing specialists, researchers found, with almost no change in visits with their primary care doctor.

On average, beneficiaries saw a 34%...

A cheap and widely available antidepressant drug called fluvoxamine may reduce COVID-19 patients' risk of serious illness requiring hospitalization, according to a new study.

The trial included almost 1,500 unvaccinated outpatients in Brazil. All of the patients tested positive for infection with SARS-CoV-2 and were deemed to be at high risk for a severe case of illness.

Fluvoxamine...

After prostate cancer surgery, men can safely undergo fewer radiation treatments at higher doses, a new clinical trial shows.

Researchers found that the shorter regimen -- given over five weeks, instead of seven -- did not raise patients' odds of lasting side effects.

Safety has been a "major concern" because when patients have fewer radiation treatments, the daily dose needs to be ...

High-dose radiation therapy may stall tumor growth in patients with advanced lung cancer who are not fully responding to drug therapies, a preliminary study suggests.

The study involved patients whose lung cancer was considered "oligoprogressive." That means the cancer had spread to other sites in the body, and the patients were having a mixed response to standard systemic treatments -- i...

Antibody infusions help keep high-risk COVID-19 patients out of the hospital, but getting the therapy can be a challenge. One U.S. health system has found a creative way to address the problem: home infusions administered by paramedics.

Researchers found that the tactic was feasible, delivering antibody infusions to 144 COVID-19 patients in their homes over three months earlier this year....

Nine of 10 patients with so-called "bubble boy" immune disease who received gene therapy about a decade ago are still disease-free, researchers report.

The gene therapy was developed at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), to treat the rare and deadly immune system disorder formally known as adenosine deaminase--deficient severe combined immunodeficiency (ADA-SCID).

It'...

The number of Americans seeking treatment for anxiety and depression has soared during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating what a leading medical association terms a "mental health tsunami."

That's the key takeaway from a nationwide survey of psychologists by the American Psychological Association (APA).

"[The findings] highlight what we have been saying since the early days of the pand...

Gender-affirming breast removal (mastectomy) can greatly enhance a patients' mental well-being, a new study finds.

Gender-affirming mastectomy is the most common type of gender-confirming surgery, but there's "not a lot of information out there about how exactly these types of surgeries help people," said study co-author Dr. Megan Lane. She is a plastic surgery resident at Michigan Medic...

Men still outnumber women in stroke therapy clinical trials, which means women may end up receiving less effective treatment, researchers say.

For the new study, investigators analyzed 281 stroke trials that included at least 100 patients each and were conducted between 1990 and 2020.

Of the nearly 590,000 total participants, 37.4% were women. However, the average rate of stroke amo...

Despite hints of promise from early research, a new clinical trial finds no evidence that kids with autism benefit from nasal sprays containing the "love" hormone oxytocin.

Researchers called the findings disappointing.

But they said the study also offers important information: Some parents of children with autism are already using oxytocin nasal sprays in the hopes of supporting th...

The coronavirus pandemic forced a significant shift to telemedicine treatment for addiction, but it's not clear whether that approach is better than in-person care, a new study finds.

Before the pandemic, addiction treatment services in the United States had many restrictions on telemedicine use, so only about 27% of addiction facilities offered telehealth services, while telehealth was u...

Clot-busting drugs may be safe for certain stroke patients with brain aneurysms that haven't ruptured, researchers say.

An aneurysm is a bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. In the new study, patients had suffered an ischemic stroke, which is caused by blocked blood flow in the brain.

Even though clot-busting drugs are the main treatment for ischemic stroke, they're often not given ...

In yet another illustration of how the pandemic wreaked havoc on medical care, a new report shows that 15% of adult cancer patients worldwide didn't get potentially lifesaving surgery due to COVID-19 lockdowns.

"Our research reveals the collateral impact of lockdowns on patients awaiting cancer surgery during the pandemic. Whilst lockdowns are critical to saving lives and reducing the spr...

Imagine battling debilitating depression for years, trying everything but finding little or no relief.

That's what Sarah, 36, lived with most of her adult life.

"I had exhausted all possible treatment options," recalled Sarah, who did not want her last name used. "It [depression] had controlled my entire life. I barely moved. I barely did anything. I felt tortured every day."

...

Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. said Friday that it will seek federal approval for emergency use of its new antiviral pill molnupiravir, after a clinical trial showed the drug halved the risk of hospitalization or death when given to high-risk people shortly after infection with COVID-19.

The new medication is just one of several antiviral pills now being tested in studies, and experts s...

The cancer drug cisplatin can save children's lives, but often with the side effect of hearing loss. Now a new study shows that young children are especially vulnerable, and the hearing damage may begin early in the course of treatment.

The researchers said the findings highlight the need to screen kids' hearing during each round of cisplatin treatment, to catch problems early.

A saltwater solution may help stop the SARS-CoV-2 virus in its tracks, Brazilian researchers report.

However, although saline may keep the virus from replicating, it does not offer full protection against infection or a cure for COVID-19.

"It's not a single solution, and it would have to be used in the first few days after infection," said researcher Cristiane Guzzo, a professor of ...

Treating sickle cell anemia with the drug hydroxyurea may also reverse related heart abnormalities, a new study suggests.

Heart issues are common among people with sickle cell disease. Among them are enlargement of the heart and an impaired ability to relax heart muscles, a condition called diastolic dysfunction that can lead to heart disease and heart failure and death. Long-term treatme...

As severe cases of COVID-19 rise and demand surges for monoclonal antibody treatments, the U.S. government is ordering more from two key suppliers.

Monoclonal antibodies, which are lab-engineered immune system proteins, can help trigger a healthy immune response against COVID-19 infection.

The Biden administration has also taken over distributing the therapeutics, to help avoid shor...

Despite studies showing that it doesn't work against COVID-19, prescriptions for the anti-parasite drug ivermectin have climbed sharply in recent weeks as COVID-19 cases surge nationwide, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

Prescriptions for what was originally a drug for animals soared to more than 88,000 a week in mid-August from a pre-pandemic average of 3,600 per...

Treatment with two monoclonal antibodies lowers the odds of hospitalization for high-risk COVID-19 patients with mild to moderate illness, according to a new study.

"Our conclusion overall at this point is that monoclonal antibodies are an important option in treatment to reduce the impact of COVID-19 in high-risk patients," said senior author Dr. Raymund Razonable, an infectious diseases...

A first-of-a-kind nerve stimulation treatment for people who have problems moving their arms after a stroke has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"People who have lost mobility in their hands and arms due to ischemic stroke are often limited in their treatment options for regaining motor function," explained Dr. Christopher Loftus. He is acting director of the FDA's ...

A new approach to spinal cord stimulation may drastically reduce chronic back pain, a small pilot study suggests.

The study, of 20 patients with stubborn low back pain, tested the effects of implanting electrodes near the spinal cord to stimulate it with "ultra-low" frequency electrical pulses.

After two weeks, 90% of the patients were reporting at least an 80% reduction in their pa...

It's no surprise to hear that women's fertility wanes as their biological clock ticks away.

But do men have a biological clock, too?

New research shows it's not exactly the same, but their likelihood of fathering a child does appear to decline, even with assisted reproductive technology, once they're past age 50.

Research completed among potential fathers both above and...

Men with chronic pain from prostate inflammation may get lasting relief from acupuncture, a new clinical trial finds.

At issue is a condition known as chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome, in which the prostate gland becomes inflamed and nerves supplying the area are irritated. That can cause pain in the perineum, penis, scrotum and low belly, as well as urinary problems and s...

Early treatment with COVID-19 survivors' blood plasma doesn't prevent disease progression in people who have mild COVID-19 symptoms but are at risk for more severe illness, a new clinical trial finds.

"As physicians, we wanted this to make a big difference in reducing severe illness and it did not," said principal investigator Dr. Clifton Callaway, professor of emergency medicine at the U...