Neurologic Conditions Now Leading Cause of Disability Worldwide
Disorders affecting the nervous system were the leading cause of ill health and disability globally, affecting 3.4 billion people worldwide, a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study showed. Neurologic conditions affected 43.1% of the world’s population and were the top contributor to the global disease burden in 2021, ahead of cardiovascular […]
Obesity Associated With Faster MS Disease Progression
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Obesity in multiple sclerosis (MS) was tied to faster worsening of disability and an increased risk of physical, psychological, and cognitive decline, a prospective cohort study showed. Compared with normal weight, obesity was associated with a faster increase in scores on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), which ranges from […]
Racial, Ethnic Disparities Persist in OUD Treatment
Black and Hispanic patients with a disability had a tougher time getting medication to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) despite frequent contact with healthcare providers, Medicare claims data showed. Within 180 days of an index OUD-related event, Black patients received a prescription for buprenorphine 12.7% of the time, Hispanic patients 18.7% of the time, and […]
Some Private Companies Charge Hefty Fees to Help Veterans With Disability Claims
When Glenn Janssen decided to file a claim for disability benefits with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) last year, he dreaded the prospect of dealing with federal bureaucracy and paperwork. Janssen, 57, lives in Portugal with his wife and has worked as a government contractor since leaving the Army in 2004. The Gulf War […]
Can You Fix Asperger’s?
What is Asperger’s syndrome? Asperger’s syndrome is a developmental disability that affects a person’s behavior and way of communicating. While there isn’t a cure for Asperger’s or any other Autism Spectrum Disorder, there are ways to manage it. People with Asperger’s have normal intelligence and language development levels, but they often find it challenging to […]
Tangled messages: Tracing neural circuits to chemotherapy’s ‘constellation of side effects’: Neural pathways behind complex sensory and motor side effects of chemotherapy
Severe and persistent disability often undermines the life-saving benefits of cancer treatment. Pain and fatigue — together with sensory, motor, and cognitive disorders — are chief among the constellation of side effects that occur with the platinum-based agents used widely in chemotherapy treatments worldwide. A new study by Georgia Tech researchers in the lab of […]
What’s Behind the Racial Differences in Women’s Cancer Screening?
When it comes to racial disparities in cancer screening for women, factors such as disability, medical comorbidities, and insurance status may be playing an outsized role, a cross-sectional survey based in Chicago found. While women who identified as Black, Hispanic, or another race or ethnicity were significantly less likely than white women to be up […]