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Revolutionary toe-to-thumb surgery restores hand function after devastating injuries
BALTIMORE — Scott Price was working with a wood splitter when it kicked out a fragment of a log, pinning his left hand against a metal plate and severing his thumb and forefinger. After his local hospital in Poconos, Pennsylvania, failed to reattach the digits, Price came to MedStar Health’s Curtis National Hand Center at Union Memorial ...Read more
Ticks are the backyard threat southwestern Pennsylvania homeowners keep ignoring
As spring unfolds, new research highlights an issue for southwestern Pennsylvania residents: Most people know ticks are in their backyard, but few believe they’re actually at risk of contracting tick-borne illnesses.
Every year in the United States, an estimated 500,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease. The illness, caused by ...Read more
Benefits of mindfulness meditation go far beyond relaxation – here’s what it is and how to practice it
Imagine being asked to sit alone in a quiet room for 15 minutes with nothing to do – no phone, no music, no external distraction. In a well-known 2014 study, many participants found that task so challenging that they chose to press a button to give themselves an unpleasant electric shock instead of continuing to sit with their thoughts and ...Read more
Mayo Clinic study demonstrates safety, feasibility of delivering chemotherapy at home
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In a study published in NEJM Catalyst, Mayo Clinic researchers have demonstrated that chemotherapy can be safely delivered in patients' homes.
The study evaluated Mayo Clinic's Cancer CARE Beyond Walls (Connected Access and Remote Expertise), a model that combines virtual care, remote patient monitoring and in-home ...Read more
Nightmares, flashbacks, addiction: What human trafficking survivors face
PONTIAC, Mich. — By the time women arrive at the doorstep of Hope Against Trafficking, a nonprofit long-term recovery program for victims of human trafficking in Oakland County, their needs are extreme.
Some have not seen doctors for years and suffer from internal injuries, dental neglect and physical ailments, including sexually transmitted ...Read more
Minnesota risks rankling Trump by prioritizing diversity in federal health grants
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota risked irking President Donald Trump’s administration this month by prioritizing diversity in the use of nearly $200 million in new federal rural health grants
Hospitals applying for the funding were urged in the state’s application to “intentionally identify how the grant serves diverse populations, especially ...Read more
Do you have the guts to be stronger, longer?
If you want to make sure your muscles stay stronger longer, you don't just want to do strength-training and aerobics and eat lean and plant-based proteins (though, of course, they're beneficial). A study published in Gut says that you also want to eat plenty of prebiotic foods, such as chicory root, legumes, lentils, onions, garlic, asparagus, ...Read more
Floater In Man's Eye Signifies A Posterior Vitreous Detachment
DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a 73-year-old man who had worn glasses since the age of 12 until a successful laser surgery from 22 years ago, which resulted in near 20/20 vision. My vision has changed little since the surgery.
My eye health has always been very good, if not excellent, but after a recent two-hour airplane flight, I noticed a small "blob"...Read more
Scientific review finds e-cigarettes likely cause lung and oral cancer
E-cigarettes are likely to cause cancer, including in the lungs and mouth, according to a sweeping review of scientific evidence that challenges their positioning as a safer alternative to smoking.
Published Monday in the journal Carcinogenesis, the review concludes that nicotine-based vapes are “likely to be carcinogenic to humans,” even ...Read more
Mayo Clinic Q&A: What are the different types of pacemakers?
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I have a slow heart rate, and my cardiologist has recommended that I have a pacemaker implanted. Can you tell me what a pacemaker does and what I should consider when I make this decision?
ANSWER: A heart rate slower than 50 beats per minute is called bradycardia. When the heart beats too slowly, it may not pump ...Read more
Ask the Pediatrician: Sports nutrition for busy families and busy lifestyles
Hectic schedules, especially as spring sports season begins, can throw a wrench into family meal planning and can encourage families to rely on quick, less nutritious options.
The American Academy of Pediatrics offers guidance to help busy families eat and drink better before, during and after game time.
Preparing nutritious food ahead of time...Read more
Allergy alert
This is nothing to sniff at: Climate change has extended pollen seasons by three weeks and is stimulating plants to produce 20% more pollen. That means around 25% of U.S. adults (including me) are headed into spring with an increased load of sniffles, red, itchy eyes, and sneezes and wheezes (not to mention associated sleep problems and mood ...Read more
Sixty-Year-Old Woman Is Mysteriously Unable To Gain Weight
DEAR DR. ROACH: I have a sister who is in her mid 60s and has a very low weight. She cooks a lot but doesn't eat much. Is there something to suggest to make her gain some weight? She weighs 80 pounds and is 5 feet, 2 inches tall. By contrast, I'm 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weigh 150 pounds. I am worried that if she gets sick, she will not have ...Read more
Medicaid cuts could add pressure to already-stressed psychiatric units
Federal Medicaid cuts could exact a heavy toll on psychiatric units at hospitals across the country, many of which are already struggling to keep their doors open but provide essential mental health care to people who need it.
Psychiatric units are costly and, like labor and delivery services, typically lose money for hospitals and tend to be ...Read more
COVID-19 variant BA.3.2 is spreading quickly across US – a doctor explains what you need to know
A variant of COVID-19 called BA.3.2, which has circulated under the radar since late 2024, is now spreading quickly across the United States.
As a pulmonary and critical care doctor, I see many patients who are at high risk for severe COVID-19 due to chronic lung disease, as well as patients living with long COVID. All of them ask me ...Read more
Providing Insight Into Heart Rate Variability And Its Significance
DEAR DR. ROACH: My heart rate variability (HRV) on my heart rate tracker has ranged from 12-14 ms for years now. I read that this means something is going on inside me. Do you have any insight into HRV? I'm a 64-year-old male who is in decent health. My Lipoprotein(a) level is 224 mg/dL, but my other heart tests are OK.
I play pickleball ...Read more
The power of exercise to transform your gut health
Your gut microbiome contains roughly 100 trillion microbes from 5,000 species and weighs around four-and-a-half pounds. These teeming masses can protect -- or damage -- your health.
When they're doing their job, they extract energy from food and help your body make neurotransmitters, enzymes and even vitamin K, all of which are important for a ...Read more
Two verdicts in two days: How American courts are rewriting the rules for Big Tech and children
Within 48 hours, the legal landscape governing social media and children shifted in ways that will take years to fully understand and verify.
On March 24, 2026, a Santa Fe jury ordered Meta to pay US$375 million for violating New Mexico’s consumer protection laws. The next day, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google’s YouTube ...Read more
Editorial: What's essential: Hochul must reduce the pain with Essential Plan changes
Gov. Kathy Hochul said that she had no choice from a hostile federal government and had to change the state’s Essential Plan health coverage and thus potentially remove nearly a half-million New Yorkers from this zero-premium plan. The request to alter the program received preliminary approval from Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers ...Read more
Rising health costs push some middle-aged adults to skip the doc until Medicare
John Galvin knows he needs a colonoscopy. But he’s waiting to schedule the procedure until December, when he turns 65 and qualifies for Medicare.
He was already thinking about delaying it — then his monthly Obamacare insurance premium payment tripled this year to $2,460, about a third of his income, he said. And with a $2,700 deductible, he...Read more
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Popular Stories
- Nightmares, flashbacks, addiction: What human trafficking survivors face
- Benefits of mindfulness meditation go far beyond relaxation – here’s what it is and how to practice it
- Mayo Clinic study demonstrates safety, feasibility of delivering chemotherapy at home
- Ticks are the backyard threat southwestern Pennsylvania homeowners keep ignoring
- Scientific review finds e-cigarettes likely cause lung and oral cancer






















