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Vaping Rates Hit Record Lows for U.S. High School Students

Is vaping finally losing its coolness for American teens?

The latest tally of federal data finds that 550,000 school kids, mostly high schoolers, quit using e-cigarettes in 2024.

Vaping rates fell from 10% of high school students in 2023 to 7.8% this year, "reaching the lowest level ever measured" by the National Youth Tobacco Survey...

New Drug Regimen Extends Survival for Cervical Cancer Patients

In some good news for women battling locally advanced cervical cancer, new research shows that adding six weeks of chemotherapy to standard treatment cuts the risk of death by 40 percent.

“This is the biggest improvement in outcome in this disease in over 20 years,” lead investigator Dr. Mary McCormack, from University College ...

Listeria Recall Expands to Include Nearly 12 Million Pounds of Meat, Poultry

A national recall of meat and poultry has been expanded to include close to 12 million pounds of products that may have been contaminated with listeria, U.S. health officials announced.

In addition, the updated recall noted that some of the affected products "were distributed to schools. A school distribution list is not available at ...

Weight-Loss Meds Like Wegovy Could Battle Alcoholism

Weight-loss and diabetes drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro or Zepbound appear to help people battle alcoholism and opioid addiction, a new study finds.

People taking this class of drugs, called glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1), have a 50% lower rate of drunkenness than people with addiction disorders not on the meds, re...

Older People More Prone to Relocating After Dementia Diagnosis

A new diagnosis of Alzheimer's or other dementia often spurs a person to move from their home, new research shows.

“One possible explanation is that individuals with dementia and their caregivers may choose to move closer to family or informal caregivers, either with independent housing arrangements or entering formal long-term care ...

Dad's Use of Diabetes Med Metformin Won't Raise Birth Defect Risk

A new, reassuring study finds that men can take the diabetes drug metformin without worrying that their offspring will suffer from birth defects.

Recent research raised concerns that metformin could promote birth defects in children by damaging the quality of a man’s sperm.

But this study of more than 3 million pregnancies, pu...

Are Stroke Survivors Getting Too Many Sedatives Like Xanax, Valium?

Doctors might be overprescribing sedatives to stroke survivors, a new study warns.

About 5% of people are prescribed a benzodiazepine following a stroke, to help calm anxiety and improve sleep, researchers found. Benzodiazepine meds include Valium, Ativan and Xanax.

But these prescriptions often are for pills that last longer than a ...

Silent Damage First: Alzheimer's Disease Could Have Two Phases

Alzheimer’s disease might damage the brain in two distinct phases, a new study suggests.

An early phase that occurs slowly and silently appears to lay the groundwork for a second, more widely destructive phase of Alzheimer’s, according to sophisticated brain scans.

“The results fundamentally alter scientists’ ...

What's the Best Clot-Buster Med After Stroke?

An off-label clot-busting drug appears to work slightly better in treating stroke patients than an approved medication, a new review finds.

The clot-buster tenecteplase is associated with a slightly higher likelihood of excellent recovery and reduced disability three months following a stroke, compared to the drug alteplase, researchers re...

Oct. 7 Tragedy Spurs Israeli Researcher to Study Grief Over Sibling Loss

A young Israeli researcher who lost a sibling in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israeli civilians said the tragedy has spurred her to study the unique aspects of grief at the sudden loss of a brother or sister.

The research by Master of Arts student Masada Buchris, of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, hasn't yet been published in a peer-re...

The Right Time is Now to Get Your Flu Vaccine

Folks who want solid protection during the cold and flu season should get the influenza vaccine now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says.

The ideal time to get the flu vaccine is by the end of October, the FDA said in a news release.

“Flu viruses typically spread in fall and winter, with activity peaking between December...

Just Standing More Probably Won't Help Your Heart

Got yourself a standing desk because you know sitting is unhealthy? It might be the wrong move, new research suggests.

The study of over 83,000 British adults who wore special movement monitors on their wrists found no benefit to exchanging sitting for standing, in the absence of actual movement or exercise.

In fact, prolonged stan...

Kidney Transplants Safe When Donor, Recipient Both HIV-Positive

People living with HIV who need a kidney can rest assured that outcomes are similar whether their kidney donor was also HIV-positive or not, a new study finds.

One- and three-year survival was the same, regardless of the donor's HIV status, as were the rate of serious side effects, such as infection, fever and organ rejection, said a team ...

New Combo Drug Therapy Halves Death Risk From Advanced Hodgkin Lymphoma

Jenna Cottrell is a young sports reporter working for a TV station in the Rochester, N.Y., area.

She's also a survivor of advanced Hodgkin lymphoma, who first got diagnosed at the age of 25 back in 2017.

After 12 rounds of the then standard-of-care treatment chemotherapy, "I've been in remission since 2017," Cottrell said in an inte...

Serena Williams Has Large Benign Cyst Removed From Neck

Retired tennis legend Serena Williams has had a cyst on her neck "the size of a grapefruit" surgically removed and is in recovery, she announced Wednesday on social media.

In May, "I found this big mass on my neck," Williams, 43, said. "I was mortified by it and I got tests done -- everything you can imagine. Everything was negative, ...

When Complications Strike After Heart Surgery, Women More Likely to Die Than Men

Women and men experience similar rates of dangerous complications after a major heart surgery.

So why are women dying at higher rates than men when these complications strike?

That's the main question raised by a new study that involved more than 850,000 cases of Medicare beneficiaries who underwent high-risk heart surgeries.

...

Most Older Americans Don't Trust AI-Generated Health Info, Survey Finds

Most Americans 50 and older don’t place much trust in health advice generated by artificial intelligence, a new survey finds.

About 74% of middle-aged and senior Americans would have very little to no trust in health info generated by AI, the University of Michigan poll found.

At the same time, these older adults have a lot of ...

Biden Administration Uses Wartime Powers to Help Restart IV Fluid Plant in North Carolina

Following hurricane damage that shuttered a North Carolina plant that makes 60% of the country's IV fluids, U.S. health officials have invoked the Defense Production Act to hasten rebuilding of the factory.

A nationwide shortage of IV fluids has only worsened since Hurricane Helene wrecked the plant run by Baxter International Inc. late la...

More Kids Having Seizures After Swallowing Rx Painkillers, Synthetic Pot

The number of U.S. children who suffer seizures after swallowing prescription medications or illicit drugs has doubled in recent years, a new study finds.

Drug poisonings among kids resulting in seizures increased from 1,418 in 2009 to 2,749 in 2023, steadily rising about 5% each year, results showed.

These cases doubled among childr...

Poll Finds Public Fears Over RSV Have Eased, Although It Remains a Threat

Public concerns about contracting RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) have significantly declined during the past year, a new survey shows.

About 1 in 4 people (26%) are now worried that they or a family member will get RSV during the next three months, the Annenberg Public Policy Center survey shows.

That’s less than the 1 in 3 ...