ST. LOUIS — Missouri healthcare advocate Leslie Ortbals and her husband want to start a family, but she worries they can’t afford it. The 27-year-old said she takes 10 medications daily to manage multiple chronic illnesses.

Now she worries the cost of those drugs could rise — not because of price increases, but because of a tax system ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I've seen emergency defibrillators in public places, but I've also heard that some people need to wear them or have them implanted for heart rhythm problems. Can you explain the differences?

ANSWER: Pacemakers and defibrillators are devices that help manage heart rhythm problems, but they work differently.

A pacemaker helps ...Read more

Alice Thornton has spent more than two decades treating people living with HIV in Lexington, Kentucky.

Her team tends to “cringe” anytime they hear about patients having to fill out lots of paperwork, like when applying for Social Security Disability payments, because it can be a difficult, burdensome process.

Thornton tries to support her...Read more

The number of former servicemembers enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs system who have had traumatic brain injuries spiked considerably in the last four years on record, new data from the department shows.

The figures, which were posted on the VA website last week, demonstrate that the number of reported TBI instances in the VA’s ...Read more

Updated statewide data shows the total confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis in Virginia have more than doubled the number of cases identified previously, but the state is still not experiencing an “outbreak,” according to the Virginia Department of Health.

Virginia has 79 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis, the illness stemming from a ...Read more

A recent sample of lettuce from Taylor Farms that detected the cyclosporiasis parasite was a false positive, federal officials say, but there is still "overwhelming" data to support the California-based company's current recall of produce amid the outbreak.

On X, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stated, "To clarify, this false positive lab...Read more

Federal regulators and the parent company of global salad producer Taylor Farms made headlines — and sowed confusion — this week after announcing that a mistake was made and that a lettuce sample from the supplier had not actually tested positive for the parasite that’s sending thousands of people to the bathroom with explosive diarrhea.

...Read more

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved a new daily pill that lowers levels of dangerous cholesterol. The pill is expected to boost compliance rates compared to previously used medications, according to a Thursday news release from the University of Maryland Medical System.

About a quarter of adults in the United States have ...Read more

Every year, the global pharmaceutical industry produces trillions of doses of medications. Manufacturing these drugs involves several stages, and the chance of contamination increases with every step.

Thus, before a single drop of any drug can be given to a patient, it must be sterilized. In my work as a researcher in pharmaceutical ...Read more

Megan (not her real name) had always taken pride in her ability to meet someone once and remember their name. Then came a breast cancer diagnosis in her 40s, chemotherapy, and the brain fog that followed. She struggled to focus. She couldn’t remember names, or where she placed her keys or phone. Long, wordy instructions were a nightmare....Read more

The tiniest menace of summer doesn’t care if you’re hiking through the woods, walking the dog or pulling weeds in your backyard.

It just wants a ride and a meal.

As ticks spread into new parts of the country and emergency room visits for tick bites climb higher than usual, states are scrambling to monitor where the pests are showing up, ...Read more

Whether your child plays organized sports or just loves being active outdoors, hot weather can pose serious health concerns. As temperatures in all parts of the U.S. trend upward, kids face a rising risk of weather-related illness, such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke. This includes exertional heat stroke (EHS), linked with intense exercise ...Read more

The only retail lettuce products recalled by Taylor Farms around ongoing investigations into cyclospora were on the shelves of the grocery seller with 20 to 25% of the U.S. market.

Late Friday, Taylor Farms de Mexico announced it was recalling 12-oz and 24-oz packs of Walmart’s Marketside Iceberg Salad and 8-ounce and 16-ounce packs of ...Read more

Walmart Inc. said it has removed four bagged iceberg lettuce salad products manufactured by Taylor Farms as recalls tied to a cyclosporiasis outbreak expand.

The retailer said Saturday there have been no confirmed illnesses associated with the items, which are sold under its Marketside store brand at select locations.

A Walmart spokeswoman ...Read more

Walmart Inc. said it has removed four bagged iceberg lettuce salad products manufactured by Taylor Farms as recalls tied to a cyclosporiasis outbreak expand.

The retailer said Saturday there have been no confirmed illnesses associated with the items, which are sold under its Marketside store brand at select locations.

A Walmart spokeswoman ...Read more

CHICAGO — It’s been more than a week since Jackie Gonzalez ate the bag of prepackaged salad mix she suspects left her tied to the bathroom and doubled over with debilitating stomach pain.

As the infection leaves her system, the physical symptoms of the illness her doctor told her to assume was cyclosporiasis are fading. What’s left is a ...Read more

Taylor Farms, the California company that is being investigated for the cyclosporiasis outbreak, according to multiple news outlets, has responded to concerns about the safety of its lettuce and announced it is taking the produce in question off the market.

The outbreak has been caused by a food and waterborne parasite and has made thousands of...Read more

The number of cyclosporiasis cases in Michigan topped 5,000 on Friday, a 16% increase over figures a day earlier.

The reporting of new cases follows Thursday's news that the outbreak of the parasitic illness has been traced to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied to Taco Bell by Taylor Farms, a worldwide fresh food provider, according to a ...Read more

Public health officials are investigating a major California-based producer of pre-packaged salads, Taylor Farms, that supplied iceberg lettuce to Taco Bell as a potential source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak, sources have told multiple news outlets.

The parasitic disease has made thousands of people sick with debilitating bouts of diarrhea ...Read more

As federal officials consider whether to reclassify marijuana under federal drug law, a new study has found that more American teenagers seeking treatment for cannabis use disorder, known as CUD, are facing longer wait times before receiving care.

The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, analyzed national data from ...Read more