Health Advice
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Inside the high-stakes corporate fight over feeding preterm babies
In 2013, a scientist at Abbott Laboratories saw study results with potentially big implications for the company’s profits and the lives of some of the world’s most fragile people: preterm infants.
The upshot, she wrote in an email: Babies fed rival Mead Johnson Nutrition’s acidified liquid human milk fortifier — a nutritional supplement...Read more
Bill of the Month: She owed her insurer a nickel, so it canceled her coverage
Last summer, Lorena Alvarado Hill received a series of unexpected medical bills.
A teacher’s aide in Melbourne, Florida, Hill is a single mom who works shifts at J.Crew on the weekends to send her daughter to college. Hill and her mother, who lives with her, had been enrolled in an insurance plan through HealthFirst.
Hill paid nothing toward...Read more
Trump's hunt for undocumented Medicaid enrollees yields few violators
Last August, as part of the federal government’s crackdown on people in the country illegally, the Trump administration sent states the names of hundreds of thousands of Medicaid enrollees with orders to determine whether they were ineligible based on immigration status.
But seven months later, findings from five states shared with KFF Health...Read more
Once-daily pill could help teens with common genetic heart disease, study finds
PHILADELPHIA — A once-daily pill could change how doctors treat teens with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a genetic heart condition that can block blood flow, a Philadelphia researcher has found.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia cardiologist Joseph Rossano led an international trial involving 44 patients ages 12 to 17 that studied a drug ...Read more
Trump team claims successes against ACA fraud while pushing for more controls
Complaints about enrollment fraud in Affordable Care Act health insurance coverage have bedeviled the federal marketplace for years.
Now, the Trump administration is claiming wins in reducing the problem while simultaneously saying more controls are needed.
It has proposed a sweeping set of ACA regulations for next year, including stepped-up ...Read more
Roseanne Barr reveals 'damaged heart,' fears dying in surgery
Roseanne Barr provided an update about her health, revealing to fans she may have to undergo surgery soon for a “damaged heart.”
Barr opened up about her fears and concerns during a recent episode of her podcast, the “Roseanne Barr Podcast.”
“This doctor says I have to go get my heart checked out because it’s damaged,” she ...Read more
How long young cancer patients survive often depends on the insurance they have
Cancer is becoming increasingly common among young people, with cases slowly and steadily rising every year for the past decade. And what type of insurance adolescents and young adults have affects at what stage of cancer they’re diagnosed and how long they survive.
As researchers who study cancer disparities in young adults, we ...Read more
Environmental Nutrition: Spotlight on supplements: MCT Oil
MCT is a type of fat called medium chain triglycerides found naturally in coconut oil and palm kernel oil and offered as supplements. MCTs were developed in the 1950s from coconut and palm kernel oil, and were first used medically for mal- absorption disorders, and more recently they have been promoted for weight loss and enhanced athletic ...Read more
Does exercising in the evening affect sleep?
Q: I’ve heard that you shouldn’t exercise in the evening because it can interfere with restful sleep. Is this true?
A: Traditional sleep hygiene guidelines include the recommendation to avoid exercising late in the day. However, research suggests that many people can exercise in the evening without it affecting their sleep as long as it’s...Read more
Mayo Clinic Q&A: Do children with scoliosis need treatment?
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My 10-year-old daughter was just diagnosed with scoliosis. The curve is 19 degrees, and I have read that it could worsen with time. Will she need to wear a brace? Or is surgery in her future?
ANSWER: While scoliosis is often stable in adults, it’s important that children and teenagers with scoliosis be followed closely, ...Read more
How to choose the healthiest plant-based meat
Whether you’re trying to eat less meat or you’re a vegetarian or vegan, having a plant-based meal once (or a few times) a week is always a good thing. Research shows that eating a mostly plant-based diet can help reduce inflammation, boost immunity, and benefit your overall health in so many ways, including lowering your risk of heart ...Read more
Demoralized CDC workforce reels from year of firings, funding cuts, and a shooting
On the coffee table at her home in Atlanta, Sarah Boim has a pile of documents from her old job at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They are printouts of her employment records.
Boim lost her job in the first big wave of CDC firings — more than 1,000 people were suddenly let go last February.
“This is the termination letter....Read more
Revolutionary toe-to-thumb surgery restores hand function after devastating injuries
BALTIMORE — Scott Price was working with a wood splitter when it kicked out a fragment of a log, pinning his left hand against a metal plate and severing his thumb and forefinger. After his local hospital in Poconos, Pennsylvania, failed to reattach the digits, Price came to MedStar Health’s Curtis National Hand Center at Union Memorial ...Read more
Ticks are the backyard threat southwestern Pennsylvania homeowners keep ignoring
As spring unfolds, new research highlights an issue for southwestern Pennsylvania residents: Most people know ticks are in their backyard, but few believe they’re actually at risk of contracting tick-borne illnesses.
Every year in the United States, an estimated 500,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease. The illness, caused by ...Read more
Benefits of mindfulness meditation go far beyond relaxation – here’s what it is and how to practice it
Imagine being asked to sit alone in a quiet room for 15 minutes with nothing to do – no phone, no music, no external distraction. In a well-known 2014 study, many participants found that task so challenging that they chose to press a button to give themselves an unpleasant electric shock instead of continuing to sit with their thoughts and ...Read more
Mayo Clinic study demonstrates safety, feasibility of delivering chemotherapy at home
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In a study published in NEJM Catalyst, Mayo Clinic researchers have demonstrated that chemotherapy can be safely delivered in patients' homes.
The study evaluated Mayo Clinic's Cancer CARE Beyond Walls (Connected Access and Remote Expertise), a model that combines virtual care, remote patient monitoring and in-home ...Read more
Nightmares, flashbacks, addiction: What human trafficking survivors face
PONTIAC, Mich. — By the time women arrive at the doorstep of Hope Against Trafficking, a nonprofit long-term recovery program for victims of human trafficking in Oakland County, their needs are extreme.
Some have not seen doctors for years and suffer from internal injuries, dental neglect and physical ailments, including sexually transmitted ...Read more
Minnesota risks rankling Trump by prioritizing diversity in federal health grants
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota risked irking President Donald Trump’s administration this month by prioritizing diversity in the use of nearly $200 million in new federal rural health grants
Hospitals applying for the funding were urged in the state’s application to “intentionally identify how the grant serves diverse populations, especially ...Read more
Scientific review finds e-cigarettes likely cause lung and oral cancer
E-cigarettes are likely to cause cancer, including in the lungs and mouth, according to a sweeping review of scientific evidence that challenges their positioning as a safer alternative to smoking.
Published Monday in the journal Carcinogenesis, the review concludes that nicotine-based vapes are “likely to be carcinogenic to humans,” even ...Read more
Mayo Clinic Q&A: What are the different types of pacemakers?
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I have a slow heart rate, and my cardiologist has recommended that I have a pacemaker implanted. Can you tell me what a pacemaker does and what I should consider when I make this decision?
ANSWER: A heart rate slower than 50 beats per minute is called bradycardia. When the heart beats too slowly, it may not pump ...Read more
Popular Stories
- How long young cancer patients survive often depends on the insurance they have
- Revolutionary toe-to-thumb surgery restores hand function after devastating injuries
- Bill of the Month: She owed her insurer a nickel, so it canceled her coverage
- Once-daily pill could help teens with common genetic heart disease, study finds
- Roseanne Barr reveals 'damaged heart,' fears dying in surgery








