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Cut to the Science
Cross off another speculative cause of autism recently voiced by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who claimed infant circumcision doubles the rate of autism, speculating without proof that the use of post-procedure acetaminophen (Tylenol) as a painkiller was part of the reason.
Kennedy alluded to a pair of ...Read more
Elderly Friend Gets Diagnosed With A Zenker's Diverticulum
DEAR DR. ROACH: What's a Zenker's diverticulum? My 74-year-old friend was diagnosed with it, along with "cricopharyngeal achalasia." I've never noticed any swallowing difficulties before. -- S.W.
ANSWER: A Zenker's diverticulum is an outpouching of the esophagus that extends posteriorly toward the spine, at about the level of the thyroid. The...Read more
Keeping your brain younger by getting to the heart of brain drain
You may think slowing the increase of lousy LDL level doesn't indicate you're at risk for chronic conditions associated with unhealthy aging. Well, think again -- if you can.
We've known for a while that if you're diagnosed with lower cardiac output (from plaque buildup in veins and arteries or altered heart rhythm), you may experience ...Read more
'Nearly 100% fatal' disease on the rise across US. What are risks in California?
A “nearly 100% fatal” disease is the rise across the United States, prompting federal officials to issue a nationwide health alert.
Since July, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has seen a sharp increase in the number of people exposed to rabies.
Meanwhile, officials in several California counties have reported ...Read more
Pennsylvania health officials confirm 2 new measles-associated deaths, bringing total to 4 as state outbreak grows
PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania health officials on Tuesday confirmed two more deaths associated with measles involving a resident of Jefferson County and a resident of Mifflin County.
The state has now reported four measles-related deaths amid a growing outbreak that has sickened nearly 700 people this year. The deaths mark the state’s first ...Read more
Pittsburgh’s kindergartners fall below the measles safety threshold, testing the city’s vaccine legacy
It takes a lot to knock football out of the headlines in Pittsburgh. But reports of measles cases, exposure alerts and calls for residents to double-check their vaccination status have dominated local news since August 2026.
My office at Allegheny College, where I am an epidemiologist, is within a few steps of a classroom dedicated to...Read more
How South Korea is tackling its super-aging problem – and what other aging nations can learn from its experience
In December 2024, the share of South Koreans ages 65 and older surpassed 20% for the first time, making it what demographers like us call a “super-aged society.” By August 2026 that share had risen further, to 22.1%.
That label can sound like a diagnosis, but population aging is not inherently a problem. In part, it reflects ...Read more
Dengue-carrying mosquitoes expand their reach into new territories – including Florida
The Tampa Bay Times reported the death of an elderly woman on Sept. 8, 2026. Her family says local doctors attributed her death to dengue fever, although the Florida Department of Health has not yet confirmed that.
This death was likely part of a larger dengue outbreak in Hillsborough County, where there have been 95 documented cases ...Read more
Indigenous groups are exempt from Medicaid work rules, but native Hawaiians aren't
WAIANAE, Hawai‘i — Native Hawaiians will need to comply with new work requirements to qualify for Medicaid after being excluded from exemptions carved out for other Indigenous groups, an omission that clinicians fear will exacerbate the challenges the marginalized population already faces in getting healthcare.
In 43 states and the District...Read more
HEPA, HEPA Hooray!
On August 5th, Portland, Oregon, topped the list of IQAir's 10 cities with the worst air pollution. And in mid-July 2026, extensive areas of the Midwest had air quality readings ranging from unhealthy to hazardous (100-500). Between global warming and wildfires, highly polluted air is forcing folks to limit outdoor activity, wear masks outside, ...Read more
Understanding The Part That The Spleen Plays In Leukemia
DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm 80. Over the past 26 years, I've had low blood platelet counts. (In 1998, one reading was 168,000, and in 2026, the reading was 117,000.) I have an enlarged spleen (16.1 centimeters), and I understand that this could account for my low platelet count. I do have tiny red dots on my chest. However, my doctor thinks that I ...Read more
Colorado has 6th-lowest rate of kindergarteners vaccinated against measles
DENVER — Colorado had one of the lowest measles vaccination rates in the country for kindergarteners during the last school year, but that appears to reflect a large number of kids arriving at school without records, rather than an unusually high opt-out rate.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated about 87.7% of ...Read more
Why so few older Americans get counseling – and how it could help
People are living longer, reshaping what it means to grow old.
By the late 2060s, an estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide will be age 60 or older – more than the number of people under 18. The population age 80 and older is expected to grow even faster, more than tripling between 2023 and 2060 to about 545 million.
Living ...Read more
Portugal decriminalized drugs 25 years ago, but the real lesson is what it built around this policy
Nearly 70,000 Americans died of a drug overdose in 2025. While that is a decline from the nearly 108,000 deaths recorded in 2022, these grim figures distinguish the U.S. from other high-income countries. At the peak of the opioid crisis, the U.S. overdose death rate was 68% higher than Canada’s and nearly five times that of Australia.
...Read more
Shingles can cause severe chronic pain – new research on how exosomes alter neurons offers pathways to treatment
Shingles can cause pain that is notoriously difficult to manage and can last for months to years for some people. The pain can be so severe that it causes a significant decline in quality of life and can be accompanied by suicidal thoughts and emotional distress.
If the pain lasts longer than three months, doctors call the condition ...Read more
Ask the Pediatrician: Healthy relationship tips for teens
A relationship is a social connection we share with others. Our relationships can include friends, family, dating partners, classmates, teammates and more. Relationships of any type can occur on a spectrum, from healthy to unhealthy to abusive. Knowing how to recognize healthy, unhealthy and abusive relationships is an important skill.
What ...Read more
Do you have cannabis use disorder?
In the pot-loving late 1960s, a Gallup poll found that only around 4% of Americans over age 18 had ever tried smoking marijuana. Things have changed. In 2024, 26% of men and 21% of women said they used cannabis sometime that year. And that number jumps to 30% of guys and gals who are 21 to 34 years old. One survey even revealed that more than 30...Read more
Explaining Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia And Its Treatments
DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm about to turn 70. A month ago, I was diagnosed with autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) that's idiopathic. Two CT scans and many blood tests have cleared me of all tumors; however, my spleen's enlarged. My hematologist put me on prednisone, which is working very well. I don't know how long I'll have to take prednisone, which...Read more
H. pylori linked to 1 in 5 bowel cancer cases, study finds
A new report found that Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium best known for causing stomach ulcers, may be associated with one in five cases of bowel cancer worldwide.
Although H. pylori infects nearly half of adults, the authors cautioned that their findings do not prove the bacterium causes bowel cancer. Also known as colorectal cancer, the ...Read more
Another Pennsylvanian has died from measles-related complications, officials say
As the measles outbreak continues to spread across Pennsylvania, a 40-year-old Jefferson County woman died on Saturday from complications of the disease, officials said.
The woman, whose identity has not been released by the Jefferson County coroner, is the third person to die in the state this year after contracting the illness in what’s now...Read more
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