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What You Should Know About Surge in Strep Cases
Strep is on the rise, and experts are concerned that the potentially deadly illness is presenting with some atypical symptoms. "I've been in infectious diseases and pediatrics for 30 years and I've never seen it this bad," Dr. Greg DeMuri, a pediatric infectious disease...
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FDA: Rigorous Trials Needed for Accelerated Approval
The U.S. health regulator on Friday proposed cancer drug developers in most cases conduct more rigorous trials to seek accelerated approval for their candidates. The Food and Drug Administration's proposed recommendation follows criticism for the accelerated approval...
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Music Boosts the Benefits of Medication
A new study found that listening to music can make medicines more effective. Researchers from Michigan State University examined the effects of musical interventions on chemotherapy-induced nausea. The team found that patients who listened to their favorite music for 30...
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E. Coli From Meat Linked to UTIs
E. coli bacteria are an infamous cause of food poisoning, but a new study suggests those same microbes lurking in meat may be behind nearly half a million cases of urinary tract infections (UTIs). UTIs are very common, affecting more than half of all women at least once in...
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Scientists Pinpoint Genetic Markers for Addiction
Breakthrough research shows genetic markers for substance abuse and could lead to more effective ways to prevent and treat drug and alcohol use disorders. These findings could help people who face addiction to varied substances, including those who have more than one...
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Vaccination Cuts Odds of Long COVID in Half
A review of studies from around the world finds that getting vaccinated halves the risk of long COVID-19. For the review, a team led by researchers from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom looked at data from 41 studies involving more than 860,000 patients to...
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Mental Illness Doubles a Woman's Cervical Cancer Risk
Women with mental illness have a risk for cervical cancer that's twice as high as that for others, according to new research. Swedish researchers noted that women with mental illness, neuropsychiatric disability or substance abuse were also less likely to get screening tests...
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Asthma Drug Reduced COPD Symptoms by 30 Percent
Sanofi's asthma drug Dupixent met all targets in a trial to treat "smoker's lung," potentially adding billions to the French drugmaker's growth prospects, but also underscoring a heavy reliance on its bestseller. In a late stage trial Dupixent, jointly developed with...
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Foods That Relieve, or Worsen, Seasonal Allergies
For millions of Americans who suffer from seasonal allergies to pollen and mold, climate change is bringing an earlier, longer, and overall worse allergy season. According to Climate Central, plants are leafing and blooming earlier, and the growing season is lasting longer...
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Autism Rising, 1 in 36 8-Year-Olds Have Diagnosis
More American children have autism than previously thought, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. It also finds that the COVID-19 pandemic delayed diagnosis for many, which could have lasting impact. Data from 11 communities in the Autism and...
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Warmer Climate Spreading Flesh-Eating Bacteria
Global warming is fostering the spread of a deadly flesh-eating bacteria along the northeastern coast of the United States, researchers report. Vibrio vulnificus bacteria grow in warm shallow coastal waters and can infect a person via a cut or insect bite during contact with...
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Living Near Noisy Roads May Increase Blood Pressure
That road noise outside your window could be wreaking havoc on your blood pressure. A new study published March 22 in JACC: Advances found that the roaring engines, blaring horns and wailing sirens can themselves elevate high blood pressure (hypertension) risk, aside from...
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Thinning Bones May Be a Warning of Mental Decline
For some older adults, thinning bones may be a harbinger of waning memory, a new study suggests. The study, of more than 3,600 older adults, found that those with relatively low bone density were at greater risk of being diagnosed with dementia within the next decade. The...
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FDA Grants Accelerated Approval for Skin Cancer Drug
Incyte Corp said on Wednesday its monoclonal antibody, Zynyz, has won accelerated approval from the U.S. health regulator for treating a rare and aggressive type of skin cancer in adults. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the therapy in Merkel cell carcinoma...
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Study: Coffee Does Not Affect Heart Rhythms
A new study has some heartening news for coffee lovers: That morning cup is unlikely to make your heart skip a beat. The study, published March 23 in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that drinking coffee does not seem to predispose healthy people to premature...
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FDA Panel Backs Accelerated Approval for ALS Drug
A panel of advisers to the U.S. drug regulator voted that data on Biogen Inc's experimental treatment for ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, shows that the drug could work, potentially paving the way for an accelerated approval. While the panel was divided on whether...
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Biden Admin to Revamp Organ Transplant System
The Biden administration said Wednesday it will attempt to break up the network that runs the nation's organ transplant system as part of a broader modernization effort. More people than ever are getting new organs, with a record 42,888 transplants last year - but that's not...
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Recalled Eyedrops Blamed for 3 Deaths, 8 Blinded
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that a multi-state bacterial outbreak that likely came from one of two different brands of contaminated eyedrops has injured 68 people, killed three, and blinded eight, since being discovered in February.
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DNA From Beethoven's Hair Reveals Health, Family Secrets
Genetic analysis of Ludwig van Beethoven's hair has provided new clues into the cause of the great composer's death in 1827 - as well as evidence of a family scandal. The analysis revealed that Beethoven suffered from a hepatitis B infection that could have contributed to...
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New Sperm-sorting Technique Selects Baby Gender
It's a controversial notion, but couples undergoing fertility treatments may soon be able to select the sex of their baby - with an 80% chance of success, doctors say. Sperm-sorting techniques have been tried and offered before, but the new procedure - which separates sperm...
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Study: Diabetes Drug Lowers Risk for Osteoarthritis
Metformin may help reduce the risk of osteoarthritis (OA) in people with Type 2 diabetes. A study of nearly 21,000 adults with diabetes found that those who were taking metformin had a 24% lower risk of developing OA compared to those taking a sulfonylurea, a different...
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Inability to Walk and Talk May Signal Dementia Risk
Problems walking and talking or thinking at the same time might be a warning sign of impending dementia, a new study suggests. Being unable to juggle two tasks simultaneously has been recognized as a sign of mental (or "cognitive") decline after age 65, but this research...
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FDA Declines to Approve AbbVie's Parkinson's Therapy
AbbVie Inc said on Wednesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had declined to approve its Parkinson's disease therapy for adults and had requested for more information on the device used to administer the treatment. The therapy, ABBV-951, is a formulation of...
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FDA Expands Use of Cholesterol Drug in Young Kids
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Wednesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved the expanded use of its drug in children aged 5 to 11 years to treat an ultra-rare disease that causes high cholesterol levels. The drug, Evkeeza, was approved in February 2021...
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All Hormonal Contraceptives Increase Breast Cancer Risk
All hormonal contraceptives carry a slightly increased risk of breast cancer, including the increasingly popular progestogen-only pills, according to a study published on Tuesday. The researchers who carried out the study stressed that the increased risk of breast cancer...