PHILADELPHIA -- Denise Fitzsimmons knew that removing the fast-growing lump above her eyebrow in 2024 didn’t eliminate the possibility that her melanoma could return.

But a clinical trial at Penn Medicine offered the 63-year-old grandmother from Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, hope of a more enduring remission. It tested a novel vaccine, based on ...Read more

Teens in southeast Michigan go to school carrying with them far more than backpacks, books and water bottles.

Many are shouldering economic hardship, exposure to adversity and discrimination, family responsibilities, uncertainty about the future and social pressures.

These sentiments were shared with our research teams ...Read more

For many southwestern Pennsylvania students, this school year has already included days away from the classroom because of the buildings themselves. Mold has closed schools in at least four districts, and early September heat pushed 35 Pittsburgh Public Schools buildings to remote learning.

The problems aren’t limited to the region:...Read more

Is Kansas City bat country? Recent guidance from local health departments says you should be prepared as exposure to bats has increased.

The Kansas City, Missouri Health Department and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment are urging residents to take extra precautions as the region reports that more residents have encountered the ...Read more

BALTIMORE — University of Maryland Medical System saw a spike in rabies-related encounters this summer as state animal bite cases hit their highest point in August since 2018, according to data from UMMS and the Maryland Department of Health.

UMMS saw 493 rabies-related encounters across its 14 emergency departments from June to August this ...Read more

At least a quarter of Americans suffer from high levels of cholesterol or fatty acids in their bloodstream, a condition called dyslipidemia. Uncontrolled cholesterol levels increase the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, or ASCVD: a group of diseases that result from the buildup of plaque in the blood vessels, preventing blood ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — Joshua and Ashley Durham run a family medicine practice, and for the first time in their lives, they have no health insurance.

When the Durhams began their practice at the end of 2023 — he as a primary care physician and she as a pharmacist who handles the billing — the couple bought coverage for themselves and their two ...Read more

If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing or texting “988.”

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Paul Nestadt is about as steeped in suicide prevention as a person can be.

He treats suicidal patients as a psychiatrist, has co-authored scores of research papers on how and why people kill ...Read more

A blood test to detect multiple forms of cancer received support Wednesday from a federal health panel, one day after a Mayo Clinic-led study showed it discovered undiagnosed cases of lung, breast, colon and other cancers.

The results raise hopes that a single test could one day replace multiple tests, such as mammograms for breast cancer and ...Read more

“Families are messy, aren’t they?” a daughter commented during a series of focus groups I ran with caregivers of older adults with memory issues.

Many people would agree with that sentiment. The complexity can be compounded when caring for someone who has a disease such as Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia that impairs ...Read more

The numbers are clear: Americans aren’t getting enough fiber.

Research has consistently shown that high-fiber diets are linked to significant health benefits, including a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer, as well as improved arthritis symptoms.

Despite these benefits, there remains a significant ...Read more

The Ebola virus is still spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo and threatening neighboring countries, according to the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While there’s been some relief in Congo’s Ituri province where the outbreak began, cases are spreading along the nation’s borders with Uganda, Rwanda,...Read more

Medicare covers the bulk of your health care expenses after you turn 65. But Medicare’s rules can be confusing and mistakes are costly. If you don't make the right choices to fill in the gaps, you could end up with high premiums and high out-of-pocket costs. Worse, if you miss key deadlines when signing up for Medicare, you could have a ...Read more

Q: Should you try microgreens?

A: You may have noticed the trend toward smaller, more delicate produce. Microgreens are young vegetables and herbs — like radish, kale and broccoli — harvested early in their growth. At this stage, they’ve developed just their first leaves (called cotyledons) and are only a few inches tall. Despite their ...Read more

If we’re naming things that speed up looking and feeling older, factors such as sun exposure, stress, or smoking may come to mind. But here’s something you might not have considered: worrying about aging may actually leave its mark on the body in a similar way.

Anxiety about the aging process — especially fears about declining health — ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I know that drinking too much alcohol can harm the liver, but I don’t really understand why. What have Mayo Clinic researchers learned about the link between alcohol and fatty liver disease?

ANSWER: A new study conducted by Mayo Clinic researchers found that exposure to excessive alcohol alters an important enzyme that ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My older sister was recently diagnosed with thickened heart muscle, and her doctor recommended a procedure called a "septal myectomy." I’ve never heard of it before. What does this surgery do, and how do doctors know when it's the right treatment?

ANSWER: Hearing that someone you love may need heart surgery can be scary, ...Read more

The Trump administration’s announced Tuesday it would remove roughly 760,000 enrollees from Affordable Care Act coverage. But the move is unlikely to affect many people — if any at all — in California.

Vice President JD Vance, alongside other top officials, said the effort was part of the administration’s crackdown on fraud and would ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Southern California's unprecedented humidity fueled by El Niño conditions is giving a boost to mosquitoes and helping spread West Nile virus, experts say.

West Nile virus cases in Los Angeles County are the highest they've been in more than a decade, records show.

The spike is thanks in part to Southern California's ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The White House is working with Senate leadership to get health care fraud legislation over the finish line before the end of the congressional session, Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday during an announcement about cracking down on health care fraud.

As part of that announcement, Vance said the Trump administration has ...Read more