Maternal Mortality Rose Significantly in 2021, CDC Says
Maternal mortality in the U.S. significantly increased in 2021 compared with the previous year, the CDC reported Thursday. A total of 1,205 women died of maternal causes in 2021, compared with 861 in 2020 and 754 in 2019, according to the report from Donna Hoyert, PhD, of the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. The […]
AAP Guidelines: ‘Watchful Waiting’ No Longer the Right Call for Child Obesity
In contrast to previous recommendations, pediatricians and other pediatric healthcare providers are advised to provide “immediate, intensive obesity treatment to each patient” as soon as they receive a diagnosis, according to new guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The guidance, published in Pediatrics, marks the AAP’s first clinical practice guideline outlining evidence-based evaluation […]
Parkinson’s Incidence 50% Higher Than Previously Thought
The annual incidence of Parkinson’s disease was 50% higher than previous estimates in data from five epidemiological cohorts in the U.S. and Canada. The new incidence rate was nearly 90,000 cases annually for people 65 and older, reported Allison Willis, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and co-authors. This contrasted sharply with the […]
Not Just a Miner’s Problem: Workplace Fumes, Dust Tied to RA
Adding to previous studies implicating on-the-job exposure to silica dust as a risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), new research now finds dozens of other occupational inhalants that also appear to contribute to RA development. Comparison of 4,033 cases of new-onset RA with 6,485 matched controls in Swedish registries indicated that exposure to any of […]
Twelve-Month Data Back Pegloticase-Methotrexate Gout Combo
PHILADELPHIA — Previous findings that adding methotrexate to pegloticase (Krystexxa) in patients with gout was more effective than pegloticase alone have now been extended to a full year of treatment. At month 12 in the randomized, 152-patient MIRROR RCT trial, 60% of patients receiving the combination had serum urate levels below the target of 6 […]
Popular dietary supplement causes cancer risk, brain metastasis, study finds
While previous studies have linked commercial dietary supplements like nicotinamide riboside (NR), a form of vitamin B3, to benefits related to cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological health, new research from the University of Missouri has found NR could actually increase the risk of serious disease, including developing cancer. The international team of researchers led by Elena […]
Lubricant Shots for Knee OA: No, They Really Don’t Help
Researchers analyzing previous trials of hyaluronic acid injections for knee osteoarthritis (OA) found that, although measurable benefit was demonstrated, it was too small to be clinically relevant. Pooled data from 24 large placebo-controlled studies comprising a total of 8,997 participants with knee OA indicated that, relative to placebo injections, hyaluronic acid reduced patients’ pain with […]
Drug Eases Migraine Days for Patients Who Failed Prior Treatments
Eptinezumab (Vyepti) reduced the number of monthly migraine days for people who had two to four previous migraine prevention treatment failures, the phase IIIb DELIVER trial showed. Changes in mean monthly migraine days were -4.8 for eptinezumab 100 mg, -5.3 eptinezumab for 300 mg, and -2.1 for placebo from baseline to weeks 1 to 12, […]
New research bites holes into theories about Megalodons: Extinct shark’s shape swims back out of focus
A new study leaves large tooth marks in previous conclusions about the body shape of the Megalodon, one of the largest sharks that ever lived. The study, which makes use of a pioneering technique for analyzing sharks, has now been published in the international journal Historical Biology. Megalodons swam the Earth roughly 15 to 3.6-million […]
Omicron Resists Pfizer Vaccine But Causes Less Severe Disease: Study
Latest Coronavirus News TUESDAY, Dec. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) Compared to previous coronavirus variants, Omicron appears to cause less severe illness, but is more resistant to the Pfizer vaccine, researchers at South Africa’s largest health insurer report. The team at Discovery Health analyzed 211,000 positive coronavirus cases during the country’s fourth wave, including […]