Common Meds Appear To Delay Onset Of Parkinson's Disease

Common medications like aspirin, ibuprofen, statins and beta blockers appear to slow the progress of Parkinson’s disease, a new study says.

Parkinson’s symptoms took nearly a decade longer to crop up in patients taking these drugs to treat pain, high blood pressure, diabetes or elevated cholesterol levels, researchers reported ...

New Trial Will Test Gene-Edited Pig Liver for Sudden Liver Failure Patients

A new clinical trial will soon test if a pig liver can help people whose own livers have suddenly stopped working.

The hope? That animal organs can temporarily filter a patient’s blood, giving their own liver time to rest and possibly recover.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first-of-its-kind study,...

Autism Rates Rise Again, Now Affecting 1 in 31 U.S. Children

WEDNESDAY, April 16, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Autism diagnoses are on the rise again, with about 1 in 31 U.S. children affected, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The latest data, from 2022, shows a jump from the 2020 estimate of 1 in 36. 

The report looked at health a...

Arkansas, Indiana Push to Ban Candy, Soda From SNAP Program

WEDNESDAY, April 16, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Republican governors in Arkansas and Indiana are asking the federal government for permission to ban soda and candy purchases with food stamps.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said her goal is to improve the health of the nearly 350,000 people in her state who use the Supplemental Nut...

Blood Test Can Predict Melanoma Recurrence

A new blood test can help predict if melanoma survivors will have a future bout with skin cancer, researchers say.

The test looks for DNA fragments that are shed by tumors and float free in a person’s bloodstream.

About 80% of later-stage melanoma patients who had detectable levels of these DNA fragments before cancer treatment...

Brisk Walking Lowers Risk Of Heart Rhythm Disorders

Long brisk walks might lower a person’s risk for heart rhythm problems, a new study says.

Folks who stride faster than 4 miles per hour have a 43% lower risk of developing an abnormal heart rhythm, compared with those who amble at a pace of less than 3 miles an hour, researchers reported April 15 in the journal Heart.

...

Timing Might Be Everything With Asthma Inhalers

Folks with asthma might better control their symptoms by precisely timing when they use their inhaler, a new study says.

A single daily preventive dose of inhaled corticosteroid is best taken at mid-afternoon for effective asthma control, researchers reported April 15 in the journal Thorax.

That timing will suppress the usua...

Gene Test Predicts Urinary Problems From Prostate Cancer Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy is commonly used to treat prostate cancer, but it can cause embarrassing urinary problems in some men.

But a new genetic test appears capable of sussing out which men are at greater risk of urinary side effects from radiation treatment, a new study says.

The test, PROSTOX, successfully predicted which men would even...

Heavy Weed Use Increases Risk Of Dementia

Middle-aged folks and seniors whose weed use lands them in the hospital are at higher risk for developing dementia within a matter of years, a new study says.

An ER visit or hospitalization due to cannabis use is associated with a 72% increased risk of a dementia diagnosis within five years compared to the general population, researchers r...

CT Scans Can Increase Your Cancer Risk

Considering a trendy whole-body CT scan after hearing celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton and Jason Bateman tout their benefits?

Weigh the cancer risk from the scan’s radiation before making an appointment, a new study warns.

CT scan radiation is expected to cause about 103,000 future cancers among the 61.5 million pe...

Pfizer Ends Testing of Obesity Pill After Possible Liver Injury

TUESDAY, April 15, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Pfizer has stopped developing a once-daily pill to treat obesity after a person in a clinical trial showed signs of a possible liver injury.

The company said the injury went away after the person stopped taking the drug, called danuglipron, The Associated Press reported.

The p...

Pig Kidney Removed After Historic Transplant in Alabama Woman

TUESDAY, April 15, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Doctors have removed a genetically modified pig's kidney from an Alabama woman after her body rejected the organ, NYU Langone Health reported.

Towana Looney, 53, had the transplanted organ for 130 days — the longest anyone has ever tolerated an organ from a genetically altered...

New Antibiotic May Be Effective in Treating Gonorrhea

TUESDAY, April 15, 2025 (HealthDay News) — A newly approved antibiotic to treat urinary tract infections may also help fight drug-resistant gonorrhea, a new study shows.

The medication, called gepotidacin, could become the first new gonorrhea treatment since the 1990s. In an international study of more than 600 people, researchers fo...

Smart Shirt Might Predict Heart Problems

A “smart shirt” equipped with an electrocardiogram (ECG) can help identify folks who are at higher risk of heart disease, a new study says.

The shirt monitors people’s heart rate recovery after exercise, tracking the time it takes for their heart to return to a normal rhythm.

“The heart’s response to exe...

Gun Violence Leads To Skipped Dental Visits, Lost Teeth

Gun violence is bad for dental health, a new study says.

More specifically, people are less likely to go to the dentist in neighborhoods with higher levels of firearm violence, researchers report in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

These neighborhoods subsequently experience higher rates of tooth loss.

And ...

ERs Treat A Gunshot Wound Every Half-Hour

U.S. emergency room doctors treat a gunshot wound every half-hour, a new study has found.

What’s more, firearm injuries appear to follow specific patterns throughout the year, with gun violence occurring more often at certain times, according to research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Firearm in...