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To stop fentanyl deaths in Philadelphia, knocking on doors and handing out overdose kits

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

PHILADELPHIA -- On a narrow street lined with row houses and an auto body shop in the Kensington neighborhood of North Philadelphia, Marsella Elie climbs a home’s front steps and knocks hard on the door.

A middle-aged man appears with a wary look on his face.

“Hello, sir, how are you doing today?” asked Elie, wearing a royal-blue jacket ...Read more

Luis Santana/Tampa Bay Times/TNS

What Florida's new 6-week abortion ban means for the South, and traveling patients

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Monica Kelly was thrilled to learn she was expecting her second child.

The Tennessee mother was around 13 weeks pregnant when, according to a lawsuit filed against the state of Tennessee, doctors gave her the devastating news that her baby had Patau syndrome.

The genetic disorder causes serious developmental defects and often results in ...Read more

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Mayo Clinic Minute: Treatment and research of glioblastoma

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Considered the most aggressive type of brain cancer, glioblastoma grows rapidly, destroying healthy tissue. Globally, approximately 300,000 people are diagnosed each year with glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma is a type of cancer affecting glial cells, which connect nerve cells and support brain function.

"It tends to be a tumor that also tends to ...Read more

Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group/TNS

California strikes deal for cheaper overdose-reversing medication

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

California struck up a new deal with Amneal Pharmaceuticals on Monday to bolster the state’s supply of the opioid overdose-reversing medication naloxone at a much lower price for schools, police departments and others trying to ease the toll of fentanyl.

The deal would put the price tag for a two-dosage pack of FDA approved naloxone, often ...Read more

North Carolina health plan discriminates against transgender workers, federal appeals court rules

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

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

Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

How LA County is trying to remake addiction treatment -- no more 'business as usual'

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

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

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Ask the Pediatrician: How to help your child avoid the pitfalls of perfectionism

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

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

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What do you know about malaria?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

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

Barbara Haddock Taylor/The Baltimore Sun/TNS

Pathfinders for Autism helps people with autism, families navigate diagnosis

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

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

Katheryn Houghton/KFF Health News/TNS

Unsheltered people are losing Medicaid in redetermination mix-ups

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

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

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This multiple sclerosis discovery could be a breakthrough

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

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

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The path to a better tuberculosis vaccine runs through Montana

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

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

Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post/TNS

Bird flu confirmed in Colorado dairy cows as outbreak spreads

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

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

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Tick-borne Powassan virus reported in Massachusetts: 'The virus can invade the central nervous system'

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

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

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

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

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Know the signs of irritable bowel syndrome

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

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

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Recognizing symptoms of Parkinson's disease

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

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

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Cancer cases in younger people are on the rise

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

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

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How worrying is bird flu's jump to dairy cows? Here's what experts say

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

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

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TikTok to crack down on content that promotes disordered eating and dangerous weight-loss habits

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

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