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Vaccine panel's hepatitis B vote signals further turbulence for immunization policy, public trust
When Su Wang was in medical school, she donated blood. That’s when she learned she was infected with hepatitis B, a virus that attacks the liver and can lead to cancer and death decades later.
“I was 18, healthy, in college,” she said. “And suddenly I had a chronic illness I didn’t even know about.”
Born in Florida in 1975, Wang ...Read more
Long-Term NSAID Use Can Often Lead To Stomach Damage
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a woman in my 80s. Is it safe to take 400 mg of ibuprofen a day? I take it with breakfast. I never take more than this. -- J.S.B.
ANSWER: Ibuprofen has the potential for many serious side effects, but most of them are unusual, especially at the low dose you are taking. Kidney damage, meningitis (which is not an infection ...Read more
Muscling in on brain power
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson are more than super-strong superheroes -- they have brain power, too. Schwarzenegger, movie idol and former governor of California, has an IQ of 132, according to CBS News. Johnson graduated from the University of Miami with a bachelor's degree in criminology and physiology and is now a major ...Read more
Obamacare subsidies are set to expire. Dems call Idaho 'ground zero' for crisis
If federal subsidies for marketplace health insurance plans expire at the end of the year, Idahoans on the most “vulnerable fringes” will feel the effects first, Idaho state Rep. Ilana Rubel, a Boise Democrat, said Tuesday.
But it won’t be long until the loss of those subsidies, which keep insurance premiums low for people on Affordable ...Read more
After the LA fires, heart attacks and strange blood test results spiked
LOS ANGELES — In the first 90 days after the Palisades and Eaton fires erupted in January, the caseload at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s emergency room looked different from the norm.
There were 46% more visits for heart attacks than typically occurred during the same time period over the previous seven years. Visits for respiratory ...Read more
Virginia medical leaders sign letter denouncing CDC hepatitis B stance
Four of the top medical leaders in Virginia have signed a letter opposing a vote last week by a Centers for Disease Control committee to end the agency’s recommendation for universal hepatitis B vaccines for all newborns at birth.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices now recommends “individual-based decision making” for ...Read more
House Republicans join Democrats to force vote on ACA subsidies
WASHINGTON — An effort to force a vote on Democrats’ proposal to extend expiring tax subsidies for three years reached the required signatures, after four Republicans signed on to the discharge petition Wednesday morning.
The discharge petition triggers a vote on a clean three-year extension of the enhanced subsidies under the Affordable ...Read more
4 GOP moderates join Democrats to force Obamacare tax credit vote
A handful of moderate Republican lawmakers Wednesday joined congressional Democrats to force a vote on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits that could avert skyrocketing insurance premiums for more than 20 million Americans, even as GOP leaders bulldozed ahead with a doomed plan of their own that would allow the aid to expire.
Four GOP ...Read more
GOP sticks to health plan that doesn't extend Obamacare credits
Congressional Republicans bulldozed ahead Wednesday with a doomed health bill that wouldn’t extend Affordable Care Act tax credits that could avert skyrocketing insurance premiums for more than 20 million Americans on Jan. 1.
House Speaker Mike Johnson rejected efforts by some Republican moderates to win a vote on an amendment that would call...Read more
Reiner family tragedy sheds light on pain of families grappling with addiction
LOS ANGELES — When Greg heard about the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner, and the alleged involvement of their son Nick, the news struck a painfully familiar chord.
It wasn't the violence that resonated, but rather the heartache and desperation that comes with loving a family member who suffers from an illness that the best efforts and ...Read more
Don’t get caught by the Medicare tax torpedo: A retirement expert’s tips to steer clear
When retirees map out income in retirement, most think about their tax bracket, investment returns and required minimum distributions (RMDs).
What often gets overlooked is how Medicare premiums can rise dramatically if income crosses certain thresholds — a penalty known as the income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA).
For higher-...Read more
Environmental Nutrition: Debunking dietary deceptions: Do eggs raise your cholesterol?
For years, even decades, common wisdom was that if you wanted to eat a heart-healthy diet, you should avoid eating eggs, which are high in cholesterol. Actually, egg whites were given a pass, because the yolks contain all the cholesterol. The rationale was that dietary cholesterol would raise levels of cholesterol in the blood, especially LDL (�...Read more
6 ways to eat more fiber during the holidays
How we eat during the holidays can be much different than what we normally eat the rest of the year. One big change during this season? Your fiber intake may take a hit. Consuming enough dietary fiber daily supports your health in many ways, so check out these dietitian-approved tips for eating more fiber during the holiday season.
1. Start ...Read more
6 mistakes that sabotage your workout
Sticking to an exercise program is a major commitment. It takes time, dedication, and hard work to reap benefits such as stronger muscles, increased endurance, better balance, and sharper thinking. The last thing you want to do is undermine your efforts.
But it’s easy to make workout mistakes that wind up hurting you, such as doing an ...Read more
Mayo Clinic Q&A: Tonsil cancer: What is it and how do you prevent it?
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My brother had lingering hoarseness and a sore throat. When he finally went to the doctor, he was diagnosed with tonsil cancer. He’s in treatment, but it’s been tough. Chemo makes him sick, and radiation is doing a number on his throat and salivary glands, making it hard to eat. He’s on a feeding tube, but he has lost a ...Read more
Living Long Depends on Where You're Living
Even with modern medicine, vaccines and artificial intelligence helping to diagnose diseases early, the risk of dying before age 70 -- called probability of premature death, or PPD -- still varies widely around the world.
In 2019, 12% of people in the world's healthiest countries died before age 70. In sub-Saharan Africa, that number was 52%;...Read more
How this Florida Keys diver and his 'spare part' helped a boy needing transplant
MIAMI -- Aaron got a lot of surprises for his ninth birthday.
He went on his first Disney cruise. And he got a special gift from a Florida Keys scuba diver, one he will carry with him for the rest of his life: a new kidney.
Since he was a baby, Aaron has dealt with a condition that has slowly degraded his kidneys. On Monday, about three months...Read more
This HIV expert refused to censor data, then quit the CDC
John Weiser, a doctor and researcher, has treated people with HIV since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. He joined the CDC’s HIV prevention team in 2011 to help lead its Medical Monitoring Project, the only in-depth survey of HIV across the United States. The project has shaped the country’s response to the epidemic over two ...Read more
How delays and bankruptcy let a nursing home chain avoid paying settlements for injuries and deaths
Nancy Hunt arrived at an emergency room from a Genesis HealthCare nursing home in Pennsylvania in such dreadful shape, including maggots infesting her gangrened foot, that the hospital called an elder abuse hotline and then the police, her son alleged in a lawsuit.
Hunt died five days later. Her death certificate said the foot injury was a “...Read more
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Is More Effective Than Sleep Aids
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am an 82-year-old female who has a hard time staying asleep. I have been taking melatonin to help. I read recently that if you have taken melatonin for a long time, you could have a danger of heart problems. Should I stop?
I started taking 1/8 of a gummy with CBD instead. It helps me sleep but makes me feel dopey and dizzy. ...Read more
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Popular Stories
- How this Florida Keys diver and his 'spare part' helped a boy needing transplant
- After the LA fires, heart attacks and strange blood test results spiked
- Don’t get caught by the Medicare tax torpedo: A retirement expert’s tips to steer clear
- 6 mistakes that sabotage your workout
- This HIV expert refused to censor data, then quit the CDC






















