Darrell Lee has lost almost all control over his body as he grapples with the relentless grip of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Lying in his daughter Ashley Lee’s Winter Garden home, the 72-year-old is kept alive by a series of medical marvels: a ventilator, feeding tube and a catheter. ...Read more

Epilepsy is one of the more common neurologic disorders in children. About 1 in 26 people have epilepsy, and 1 in 10 people will have at least one seizure in their lifetime.

Dr. Anthony Fine, a pediatric neurologist and epileptologist at Mayo Clinic, says even though it's fairly common in children, there are a few misconceptions when it comes ...Read more

Autumn is the season of change, with green leaves turning color and temperatures cooling. It's also the season of hay fever, or allergic rhinitis.

So how can people with fall allergies get relief? Dr. James Li, a Mayo Clinic allergist has more in this Mayo Clinic Minute.

"Fall is a very common season for seasonal allergies to kick in," says Dr...Read more

The powerful anti-seizure drug the 5-year-old boy had been taking for more than a year made him “almost catatonic,” his new foster mom from Florida’s Pinellas County worried.

And there was no paperwork showing that the boy’s biological mother or a judge had authorized the psychotropic medication, Keppra, as required by state law.

“I ...Read more

UPS announced it is acquiring Long Beach, California-based MNX Global Logistics as it seeks to grow its health care logistics unit and other specialized lines of business.

UPS has been increasingly focused on growing specialized and lucrative types of shipments and logistics services, especially with its UPS Healthcare unit.

Kate Gutman, ...Read more

From the start of the second Republican presidential primary debate of the 2024 campaign, the seven candidates on stage were boisterous and unruly.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris ...Read more

Over the last decade, smartphones have become ubiquitous not just for sending texts and staying abreast of news, but also for monitoring daily activity levels.

Among the most common, and arguably the most meaningful, tracking method for daily physical activity is step counting.

Counting steps is far more than a fad: The U.S. ...Read more

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Cicely Wilson’s work doesn’t end when she leaves her day job as a lactation consultant, doula and child care expert.

Wilson founded a nonprofit called Sunnyside Up Youth Pregnancy Services, which connects girls ages 13 to 19 with resources they need to care for their babies. After-hours, she looks for affordable ...Read more

Influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and COVID-19 are all part of the seasonal respiratory virus lineup. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the upcoming fall and winter are expected to have a similar number of hospitalizations for respiratory diseases as last year. However, they say it's important to note...Read more

You might need supplemental screenings if you've been diagnosed with dense breast tissue. Women with dense breast tissue have less fat and more glandular and connective tissue. They are also at a higher risk of developing cancer.

Dense breast tissue refers to the way breast tissue appears on a mammogram. According to the Centers for Disease ...Read more

For the first time since 2019, congressional gridlock is poised to at least temporarily shut down big parts of the federal government — including many health programs.

If it happens, some government functions would stop completely and some in part, while others wouldn’t be immediately affected — including Medicare, Medicaid, and health ...Read more

CHICAGO -- The many months Josh Burton was in the hospital, dinosaurs kept him company.

They were there when his lungs failed, comforting him while he awaited the miracle of new lungs, just as his first dinosaur, a stuffed animal purple Barney, buoyed him as a small child.

And when those lungs also failed and his family faced the impossible, ...Read more

When three teenagers died of fentanyl overdoses last year in Larimer County, Colorado, it shocked the community and “flipped families upside down,” said Tom Gonzales, the county’s public health director.

Several schools began stocking naloxone, a medication that reverses opioid overdoses. Community organizations trained teens to use it. ...Read more

DALLAS CENTER, Iowa — “COVID is not pretty in a nursing home,” said Deb Wityk, a 70-year-old retired massage therapist who lives in one called Spurgeon Manor, in rural Iowa. She twice contracted the disease and is eager to get the newly approved vaccine because she has chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which weakens her immune system.

The ...Read more

Kaiser Permanente and union representatives pledged to continue negotiating a new contract up until the last minute as the threat of the nation’s latest large-scale strike looms next month.

Unless a deal is struck, more than 75,000 health workers will walk out for three days from Oct. 4-7, disrupting care for KP patients in California, ...Read more

Q: What is coffeefruit and is it healthful to consume?

A: Coffee beans are one of the world’s most widely traded and most valuable crops, and the U.S. is the world’s largest consumer. The coffee bean is technically not a bean at all, but a seed. Like other seeds, it originates from a fruit; in this case the Coffea flowering plants in the ...Read more

If you feel run-down and exhausted, you may be tempted to turn to sugar and/or caffeine to bolster flagging energy reserves.

Bad idea, says Dina Aronson, RD: “Fatigue breaks us down physically and emotionally and wreaks havoc on the immune system, making us more susceptible to illness, depression and even chronic conditions like heart disease...Read more

Be honest: just how much television are you watching? One study has estimated that half of American adults spend two to three hours each day watching television, with some watching as much as eight hours per day.

Is time spent on TV a good thing or a bad thing? Let’s look at some of the data in relation to your risks for cognitive decline and...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma last year after I went to the doctor due to more frequent headaches. I read that surgery often is needed for these tumors, but my physician said I did not need to be treated. He suggested we reevaluate after imaging in a few months. Why would I not need to be treated?

ANSWER: An ...Read more

I vividly remember that late Friday afternoon when my eye pressure spiked and I staggered on foot to my ophthalmologist’s office as the rapidly thickening fog in my field of vision shrouded passing cars and traffic lights.

The office was already closed, but the whole eye care team was there waiting for me. One of them pricked my eyeballs with...Read more