Health
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Glimpsing the future at gargantuan health technology showcase
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Imagine going to the doctor and finding out before you leave the exam room how much your prescribed drug will cost, avoiding sticker shock at the pharmacy.
Or what if you could wear a tiny device at the top of your back that would gently nudge you to sit up straight whenever you slump.
How about not having to sign by hand a ...Read more
He'll be the oldest player in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game. Why is Dr. Oz doing this?
Mehmet Oz was still in his forties the first (and only other) time he's suited up to play in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, in Dallas in 2010, opposite former pros like Chris Mullin and Robert Horry. But although that was nearly a decade ago, the man better known as Dr. Oz can remember how many points he scored that night like it was yesterday...Read more
UnitedHealth Group employment hits 300,000
Employment at Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group has hit the 300,000 mark with about 40,000 workers added to the payroll during 2018 alone.
The new employment figure comes from a regulatory filing this week and covers worldwide operations. The Minnesota workforce is a small fraction of the total at about 18,000 people.
Of the new hires...Read more
Frozen dinners, other 'ultraprocessed' foods linked to risk of early death, study says
It's no secret ultra-processed foods can be detrimental to your health, but they can also increase your risk of early death, according to a new report.
Researchers from health institutions in France recently conducted a study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, to determine the relationship between overall mortality risk and the consumption ...Read more
Mayo Clinic minute: What you need to know about wet macular degeneration
Millions of people deal with age-related macular degeneration as they get older, but many don't understand the difference between types of the condition or what they can do to lessen the effects. Dr. Sophie Bakri, a Mayo Clinic ophthalmologist and retina specialist, explains the differences between wet macular degeneration and dry macular ...Read more
Nonprofit that helps people with disabilities finds dream home, but zoning laws could get in the way
WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. -- The only reason Robby Fisher can live at home with his parents is because they have somewhere safe to take him if an emergency strikes.
Fisher, 28, has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. He lives in the Affton area with his father, Robert Fisher, 63, and stepmother, Deanna Fisher, 51, who are his caregivers.
When ...Read more
The heartbreak and heroism of being the X-Men in Alzheimer's disease
They lovingly call each other X-Men, named after the comic book team of mutant superheroes.
They have a rare genetic form of Alzheimer's disease that makes up just 1 percent of cases. It strikes early -- in their 30s and 40s -- and decimates families.
Those with the genetic mutation have a near certainty they will develop the disease and a 50 ...Read more
No new HIV cases by 2030? Advocates in Chicago applaud Trump's goal but question how it will be carried out.
After state and national leaders announced efforts to eliminate the spread of HIV over the next decade, those involved in prevention efforts in Chicago applauded the plan but questioned how it would be carried out, particularly when it comes to reaching those who are disproportionately affected by the disease.
Days after Illinois Gov. J.B. ...Read more
Not a morning person? These genes may be to blame
Perhaps you are one of those peppy people who spring into action with the sunrise.
Or perhaps you find that sort of person exhausting, and you do your best work in the evening.
As with so many other human traits, genes seem to play a key role in the answer.
In a new study of 450,000 people, researchers identified 351 genetic variants that ...Read more
Mayo Clinic Q&A: Understanding secondary headache disorder
Dear Mayo Clinic: How can you tell when a headache requires additional diagnostic testing?
A: Headaches come with a wide range of accompanying symptoms and severity. Most often, they are due to a primary headache disorder, such as a tension-type headache or migraine. In older adults, most headaches are still primary in nature.
However, older ...Read more
Amid concussion fears, Minnesota couple's invention aims to change youth football
Brigid Ling remembers being the only girl at Minnesota Vikings camps growing up. Yet Ling and her husband, Jeremy, a fellow football lover, faced a difficult moment with their two oldest children as they reached their preteen years and told their parents that flag football was too "baby" for them and they wanted to move up to tackle football.
...Read more
Here's what happens when you get goose bumps out of nowhere
Everyone has experienced "the chills" at some point. Your skin gets goose bumps and your body shivers uncontrollably. But why does it happen?
HuffPost consulted Hadley King, a dermatologist, to find the answer.
King said there are two types of chills that cause a physical response. The first a physical input, like feeling cold. The second is a...Read more
Diabetes advocacy group calls UnitedHealthcare policy 'unacceptable step backward'
An advocacy group for patients with Type 1 diabetes is calling out a new UnitedHealthcare policy that expands an existing agreement with Medtronic and makes the manufacturer's medical devices the "preferred" insulin pumps for children with the autoimmune condition.
On Friday, Minnetonka-based UnitedHealthcare published a bulletin to health care...Read more
Immigrants find health — and home — in Philly's Buddhist centers
PHILADELPHIA -- The red-brick apartments on South Sixth Street squat side by side, braced against the wind and snow. An overturned blue armchair, missing two wooden legs, has crashed against a metal grate. A wind-blown plastic bag sends two sparrows flitting to the curb.
But one step through the door of the red and gold temple on the corner of ...Read more
In Illinois, medical marijuana can now replace opioids
An old photo popped up on Tashena Altman's Facebook profile recently, showing her a memory from three years ago.
"I had maybe 15 pill bottles in the picture, just to do my daily life," said Altman, who has pain from sickle cell anemia.
Altman, 31, has been using marijuana bought on the black market to wean her off the pills, many of them ...Read more
With mom's green card on the line, family forgoes autism services for citizen child
AUSTIN, Texas -- As U.S. immigration enforcement becomes stricter under the Trump administration, more immigrant families are cutting ties with health care services and other critical government programs, according to child advocates who work with such families.
In Texas, researchers studying the issue say it's a major reason why more children ...Read more
Anti-cancer gene might actually fuel a tumor's growth, study finds
A cancer-fighting gene known as the "guardian of the genome" actually promotes certain tumors, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego. That means drugs that affect its activity may backfire in some cases, fueling a tumor's growth.
The gene, called p53, makes a protein that causes abnormal cells to self-...Read more
Judge dismisses Maryland suit to preserve Affordable Care Act, saying there's no firm evidence of impending harm
BALTIMORE -- A federal judge on Friday dismissed Maryland's attempt to protect the Affordable Care Act, known as "Obamacare," from any Trump administration efforts to dismantle it.
The Maryland attorney general's office had sought a declaration that the national health care act is constitutional.
But U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in ...Read more
Obesity, climate change and hunger must be fought as one, health experts declare
Maybe, when it comes to finding a way out of a global crisis of obesity, we're just thinking too small.
Maybe the steps needed to reverse a pandemic of unhealthy weight gain are the same as those needed to solve two other crises of human health: malnutrition and climate change.
So instead of trying to tackle each of these problems individually...Read more
Sixers move past short-handed setback to Nuggets, focus on getting healthy for Tuesday's tilt with Lakers
LOS ANGELES -- A lot of things had to go right for the 76ers to beat the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
The Nuggets (33-15) entered the game with the NBA's second-best home record (now 22-4), while the Sixers entered the contest without their starting front court of two-time NBA All-Star game starter Joel Embiid, swingman Jimmy Butler, and power ...Read more
Popular Stories
- Mayo Clinic minute: What you need to know about wet macular degeneration
- Nonprofit that helps people with disabilities finds dream home, but zoning laws could get in the way
- He'll be the oldest player in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game. Why is Dr. Oz doing this?
- Glimpsing the future at gargantuan health technology showcase
- The heartbreak and heroism of being the X-Men in Alzheimer's disease
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