Category: Health News

Health has always been affected by climate and weather, but is increasingly clear that the change in climate is a significant threat to human health. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 24% of global deaths are linked to environmental factors. Climate change and pollution can lead to undernutrition, mental disorders, and noncommunicable diseases including

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Even as most states are trying to make it harder to get an abortion, California could make it free for more people. State lawmakers are debating a bill to eliminate out-of-pocket expenses like copays and payments toward deductibles for abortions and related services, such as counseling. The measure, approved by the Senate

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A meta-analysis of SARS-CoV-2 epitopes targeted by T cells in convalescent patients identified 20 that are prevalent in multiple cohorts, and potentially relevant to vaccine development and diagnostics, researchers say. “Increasing evidence suggests T-cell immunity to be an important factor in protecting against severe COVID-19 disease,” Drs. Matthew McKay and

LONDON (Reuters) – Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations must donate COVID-19 shots urgently to avoid an outcome akin to the 1918 flu which killed 50 million people, the head of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) told Reuters. The coronavirus pandemic has killed nearly 3.7 million people globally and infected

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden’s centre-left, minority government failed in several aspects of its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, parliament’s constitutional committee said on Thursday. The government was slow to put in place a testing and tracing system, failed to protect the elderly, and there was a lack of clear lines of responsibility between national and

In an analysis of patients on hemodialysis in New York City, there were substantial racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 rates that were not explained by neighborhood social vulnerability. The findings appear in an upcoming issue of JASN. The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected socially disadvantaged groups, including Black and Hispanic individuals, those with limited English proficiency,

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic, progressive disease that causes persistent lung infections and impacts the most basic physical processes. While recent breakthroughs have significantly extended the lifespan of patients with CF, the disease presents patients and their caregivers with significant, lifelong daily challenges. The primary purpose of cystic fibrosis clinics is to treat the physical

One challenge as society reopens is identifying who has been vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. A team of Johns Hopkins researchers has developed a rapid blood test that could confirm a person has been vaccinated while they wait to board a plane or enter a sporting event. Their COVID-19 antibody test is

New annual infections with HIV fell by 73 percent from its peak in the mid-1980s to 2019, according to a new analysis by US health authorities released Thursday. But the proportion of infected minority Black and Latino people has risen, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which published its first report

Throughout the covid-19 vaccination effort, public health officials and politicians have insisted that providing shots equitably across racial and ethnic groups is a top priority. But it’s been left up to states to decide how to do that and to collect racial and ethnic data on vaccinated individuals so states can track how well they’re

FILE PHOTO: A nurse holds a box of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine made by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products, a unit of Sinopharm subsidiary China National Biotec Group (CNBG), at a vaccination center during a government-organized visit, in Beijing, China, April 15, 2021. REUTERS/Thomas PeterHANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam has approved China’s Sinopharm vaccine

Type 2 diabetes can be a 'devastating diagnosis' says expert When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at

After a 2020 Vanderbilt University Medical Center study showed women have a difficult time accessing treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), investigators analyzed comments received from the study’s participants to further shed light on barriers to care, which included everything from long on-hold times to difficult interactions with clinic receptionists during phone calls seeking appointments.

Shortage of hematologists or specialists to treat blood disorders in Africa requires urgent action, experts say. The acute shortage of hematologists in Sub-Saharan Africa has given rise to an urgent need for training to help address increasing cases of blood disorders, scientists say. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends one clinical hematologist per 100,000 people

Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door. Find an accurate, completely noninvasive method for colorectal cancer screening and you’ll probably win the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology. But until then, we’ll have to make do with colonoscopy, fecal immunochemical testing (FIT), and other messy but necessary means

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Hyperpolarized xenon-129 MRI (XeMRI) can detect lung abnormalities in patients with breathlessness following COVID-19 pneumonia that are not evident on routine tests, according to a preliminary report from researchers in the U.K. In nine patients evaluated at three months or longer after hospital discharge for COVID-19, XeMRI showed alveolar-capillary diffusion

Researchers at the University of Turku, Finland, showed that the antibody treatment reactivates the immune defense in patients with advanced-stage cancer. The treatment alters the function of the body's phagocytes and facilitates extensive activation of the immune system. The immune defense is the body's own defense system equipped to combat cancer. However, cancer learns to

A team of researchers from the Broad Institute, Harvard University and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has used a base editing technique in a novel way to treat sickle cell disease (SCD) in mice. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes their new technique and how well it worked when tested

Every tumor is different, every patient is different. So how do we know which treatment will work best for the patient and eradicate the cancer? In order to offer a personalised treatment that best suits the case being treated, a team of scientists led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, had already developed a

Autistic people’s ability to accurately identify facial expressions is affected by the speed at which the expression is produced and its intensity, according to new research at the University of Birmingham. In particular, autistic people tend to be less able to accurately identify anger from facial expressions produced at a normal ‘real world’ speed. The