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North Carolina health plan discriminates against transgender workers, federal appeals court rules
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A divided federal appeals court ruled that North Carolina’s state health insurance plan discriminated against transgender patients by not covering gender-affirming care.
Transgender state workers sued the state in 2019 over a coverage exclusion in the State Health Plan for treatments for gender dysphoria, the medical term ...Read more
How LA County is trying to remake addiction treatment -- no more 'business as usual'
LOS ANGELES -- Gary Horejsi wrestled with the decision before him, knowing a life could be in his hands.
It was the third time that the woman had used drugs or alcohol since coming to CRI-Help, which runs a 135-bed residential facility in North Hollywood where people are treated for substance use disorder.
CRI-Help needed to be a safe place ...Read more
Ask the Pediatrician: How to help your child avoid the pitfalls of perfectionism
Every parent wants their child to be successful in life. But young people sometimes set excessively high standards for themselves. If something they do isn't flawless, they may become overly self-critical. Their pursuit of perfection can become unhealthy and actually interfere with what they want to accomplish.
As adolescents face the ...Read more
What do you know about malaria?
Malaria is caused by a single-celled parasite of the genus Plasmodium. The parasite is transmitted to humans most commonly through mosquito bites. The malaria parasites enter the bloodstream and travel to the liver. When the parasites mature, they leave the liver and infect red blood cells. This is when people typically develop malaria symptoms....Read more
Pathfinders for Autism helps people with autism, families navigate diagnosis
BALTIMORE -- One of Rebecca Rienzi’s favorite stories to tell about Pathfinders for Autism – the Baltimore County nonprofit where she has been executive director since 2010 – happened at the National Aquarium in the Inner Harbor.
Every year, the organization rents out the aquarium to give people with autism and their families the chance ...Read more
Unsheltered people are losing Medicaid in redetermination mix-ups
KALISPELL, Mont. — On a cold February morning at the Flathead Warming Center, Tashya Evans waited for help with her Medicaid application as others at the shelter got ready for the day in this northwestern Montana city.
Evans said she lost Medicaid coverage in September because she hadn’t received paperwork after moving from Great Falls, ...Read more
This multiple sclerosis discovery could be a breakthrough
We’ve made significant progress in developing better treatments for multiple sclerosis over the last two decades. Yet the medical community still struggles to diagnose the neurological condition, let alone intervene or study it in its earliest stages, before damage has been done. What we need is a simple test that can definitively tell a ...Read more
The path to a better tuberculosis vaccine runs through Montana
A team of Montana researchers is playing a key role in the development of a more effective vaccine against tuberculosis, an infectious disease that has killed more people than any other.
The BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guérin) vaccine, created in 1921, remains the sole TB vaccine. While it is 40% to 80% effective in young children, its efficacy is ...Read more
Bird flu confirmed in Colorado dairy cows as outbreak spreads
The U.S. Department of Agriculture found bird flu in northeast Colorado dairy cows this week, according to state officials.
This is the first time avian flu has been diagnosed in Colorado cattle, the state Department of Agriculture said in its announcement.
Bird flu in dairy cows has been confirmed in eight other states, the USDA said. Those ...Read more
Tick-borne Powassan virus reported in Massachusetts: 'The virus can invade the central nervous system'
BOSTON — A confirmed case of the tick-borne Powassan virus has been reported in the Bay State, according to officials who are warning residents to take precautions against the disease.
The Sharon Health Department has confirmed the town’s first case of Powassan virus — which like Lyme disease, is transmitted through infected ticks.
...Read more
Mental health problems come with an added ‘cost’ of poorer cognitive function – a neuropsychologist explains
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.
All types of mental disorders come with a hidden cost in the form of cognitive dysfunction, including deficits in memory, attention, executive functions and processing speed, according to a comprehensive study that my colleagues and I published in June 2021 in the ...Read more
Know the signs of irritable bowel syndrome
April is IBS Awareness Month, which makes this a good time to learn about the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS.
Research suggests that about 12% of people in the U.S. have irritable bowel syndrome, and it's more common among women than men and in people younger than 50, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive ...Read more
Recognizing symptoms of Parkinson's disease
April is Parkinson's Disease Awareness Month, which make this a good time to learn about the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
An estimated 1 million people in the U.S. and more than 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson's disease, according to the American Parkinson Disease Association.
Parkinson's disease is a progressive ...Read more
Cancer cases in younger people are on the rise
ATLANTA — In the United States this year alone, there will be an anticipated 2,001,140 new cancer cases — leading to an estimated 611,720 related deaths. That’s 5,480 new cases and 1,680 deaths every day. And, according to a recent CNN report, cancer cases among younger people are rising sharply.
The American Cancer Society reported ...Read more
How worrying is bird flu's jump to dairy cows? Here's what experts say
ATLANTA -- Since 2022, a highly contagious strain of bird flu has spread across the U.S. at an unprecedented rate, resulting in the deaths of more than 90 million birds in commercial and backyard poultry flocks, plus thousands more in the wild.
Then, in late March, the virus made a jump to another species that surprised many scientists: cows.
...Read more
TikTok to crack down on content that promotes disordered eating and dangerous weight-loss habits
Saying it does not want to promote negative body comparisons, TikTok is cracking down on posts about disordered eating, dangerous weight-loss habits and potentially harmful weight-management products.
The wildly popular social media app updated its community guidelines last week, introducing a slate of new rules that it hopes will make the ...Read more
Holdout states consider expanding Medicaid -- with work requirements
In Humphreys County, Mississippi — about 70 miles north of the state capital, in the heart of the fertile Delta region — a third of the residents live in poverty. In Belzoni, the county seat, there are just a handful of health care clinics. The town’s only major hospital closed more than a decade ago, around the same time its catfish ...Read more
He thinks his wife died in an understaffed hospital. Now he's trying to change the industry
For the past year, police Detective Tim Lillard has spent most of his waking hours unofficially investigating his wife’s death.
The question has never been exactly how Ann Picha-Lillard died on Nov. 19, 2022: She succumbed to respiratory failure after an infection put too much strain on her weakened lungs. She was 65.
For Tim Lillard, the ...Read more
Rural jails turn to community health workers to help the newly released succeed
MANTI, Utah — Garrett Clark estimates he has spent about six years in the Sanpete County Jail, a plain concrete building perched on a dusty hill just outside this small, rural town where he grew up.
He blames his addiction. He started using in middle school, and by the time he was an adult he was addicted to meth and heroin. At various points...Read more
Want to lower your dementia risk? Becoming a teacher is a good start
From your 30s to well into your 60s, a new study proposes working a mentally challenging job can pay off in more ways than one. It can even help maintain your cognitive health while preventing dementia later in life.
“Our results show the value of having an occupation that requires more complex thinking as a way to maintain memory and ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Ask the Pediatrician: How to help your child avoid the pitfalls of perfectionism
- How LA County is trying to remake addiction treatment -- no more 'business as usual'
- Tick-borne Powassan virus reported in Massachusetts: 'The virus can invade the central nervous system'
- This multiple sclerosis discovery could be a breakthrough
- What do you know about malaria?