Concussion effects on women highlighted at symposium in Pittsburgh
While the medical field has made strides in recognizing sex-specific norms and risk factors in concussion recovery, it still falls short in tailoring treatment for high-risk women, according to Alicia Trbovich, a neuropsychologist with the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program. At the Chuck Noll Foundation for Brain Injury Research symposium...
Nearly 90,000 bottles of children’s liquid pain medication recalled
WASHINGTON — Nearly 90,000 bottles of a children’s pain reliever have been recalled due to reports of black specs and other contaminants, according to federal regulators. The Food and Drug Administration posted an online notice about the recall of Taro Pharmaceuticals’ Children’s Ibuprofen Oral Suspension. The company’s website states that...
Judge rules U.S. government overreached with transgender health care declaration
PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal judge said the government overreached by issuing a declaration that called treatments like puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries unsafe and ineffective for young people experiencing gender dysphoria, according to a ruling Thursday in Oregon. Judge Mustafa Kasubhai ruled that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy...
RFK Jr. makes food sound like a miracle drug. Researchers say he often overstates the science
In the Trump administration’s campaign to promote healthy eating, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has not stopped at his slogan urging people to “eat real food” to prevent disease. In recent speeches and podcast appearances, the nation’s health secretary also has claimed that diet can “cure” schizophrenia and diabetes and allow...
Ozempic is about to go generic for billions of people
The blockbuster weight loss drug sold as Ozempic and Wegovy will soon go generic in countries that are home to 40% of the world’s population, significantly lowering the price of a costly medicine that had been largely unaffordable to nearly all but the wealthiest people. On Saturday, Novo Nordisk, the...
March Madness vasectomy surge turns Western Pa. into SnipsburghVideo
It’s been almost 20 years since a marketing master stroke by the Oregon Urology Institute established March Madness as one of the most popular times to book a vasectomy. The pitch went something like this: For men looking to park themselves on the couch during the tournament’s jam-packed early rounds,...
Can the keto diet really improve mental health?
Maya Schumer, 32, a neuroscientist in Belmont, Massachusetts, was living with bipolar disorder for more than a decade. She had tried nearly every treatment — therapy, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, anticonvulsants — to help control her symptoms. But her panic attacks, mania, depression and brain fog still lingered. By 2024, she...
Pittsburgh faces longer allergy seasons, study findsVideo
Allergy season in Pittsburgh kicks off in spring, but symptoms like sneezing, itchy eyes and congestion are starting sooner and lingering longer, a study shows, as warmer temperatures extend the pollen season. Climate Central, a nonprofit organization that researches climate science, released a study that showed Pittsburgh’s freeze-free season, which...
Costco adds fertility treatments to its discount services
Costco, the membership warehouse club known for selling bulk items at discount, is now offering lower prices for fertility treatments. Costco members will be able to save up to 80% on certain fertility medications like Follistim through the big-box store’s pharmacy programs, People reported. Some medications can cost thousands of...
Can you prevent or reverse gray hair?Video
For something universal, graying remains oddly mysterious. Each strand of hair starts out nearly translucent, and its color is determined by melanin, essentially pigment dust. If it’s packed densely, you get dark hair. Leave only a few black and brown specks, and it appears blond. Over time, the pigment-producing cells...
Judge blocks U.S. government from slimming down vaccine recommendations
A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked federal health officials from cutting the number of vaccines recommended for every child, and said U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. likely violated federal procedures in revamping a key vaccine advisory committee. The decision halted an order by Kennedy — announced in...
UPMC warns embattled data exchange Health Gorilla may have improperly pulled patient records
UPMC says its medical records may have been improperly accessed by Health Gorilla, a patient data gatekeeper accused in federal court of mismanaging sensitive information. Health Gorilla requested data “under the pretext of providing treatment to shared UPMC patients and claimed it had permission to do so,” according to a...
In a tense meeting, Dr. Oz pressed medical societies on trans care for teens
Over the winter, Dr. Mehmet Oz, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, summoned the leaders of the country’s major medical societies to his office for what he called a “grand rounds” — a hospital term for a meeting where doctors discuss complex cases. The topic was...
Stair climbers love their exercise, even when security guards act like they’re up to something
NEW YORK — Tom McGee began climbing stairs for exercise 20 years ago as part of an effort to stay off cigarettes. It hasn’t always been easy: His climbs in hotel stairwells sometimes draw the attention of security guards. “I’ve gotten kicked out of about every hotel in the city,”...
Confidential report calls for sweeping changes to track covid vaccine harms
Citing a survey called “Killer Jab?,” which found that nearly 1 out of 4 Americans reported knowing someone who died from a covid vaccine, a federal work group is calling for sweeping changes to how the medical establishment tracks and treats injuries from the shots. The changes are proposed in...
Do you really need a water filter? Here’s what experts say
U.S. tap water is generally safe and high quality. But that doesn’t mean every glass tastes the same, or that every building’s plumbing delivers identical water to the faucet. That uncertainty has fueled a booming market for water filters, from simple pitcher models to multi-thousand-dollar reverse osmosis systems. Yet experts...
The shifting guidelines for blood pressure control
The patient initially came to see Dr. Mark Supiano in 2017 because her family was concerned about her short-term memory loss. While taking her history and vital signs, Supiano, a geriatrician at the University of Utah, saw one disturbing signal: Her blood pressure was 148/86, above normal despite her taking...
WVU Medicine goes all in on AI medical transcription software Abridge
West Virginia University Medicine is accelerating its rollout of an artificial intelligence transcription software developed by Pittsburgh-based startup Abridge. A small pilot program started last May has grown to more than 1,200 doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants adopting Abridge to fill out charts while they talk to patients, WVU...
AI chatbots want your health records. Tread carefully.
SAN FRANCISCO — For the last few years, the tech industry has convinced people that their artificially intelligent chatbots get better the more data you feed them. The next step is to get users to share their most sensitive information: their health records. What could go wrong? Microsoft this week...
Report estimates 82M Americans skimp on food, gas, utilities to afford health care
You have nothing without your health, the saying goes, and some Americans are taking that to heart by slashing basic spending to afford medical care. A report released Thursday estimated a third of U.S. adults recently pulled back on necessities like food, gas and utilities to keep up with health...
Colorectal cancer rates skyrocketing in younger people
Intuition is what prompted Colleen McGarrity to get a colonoscopy at age 41. The preventative screening probably saved her life. The Ford City resident experienced spotty symptoms but had no family history of colon cancer. A nurse at ACMH Hospital, she considered herself generally healthy. “My diagnosis came out of...
Yale report warns Independence Health takeover could prove costly for patients
West Virginia University Medicine’s pending takeover of Independence Health System would reduce competition and likely drive up patient costs, according to the Health Care Affordability Lab at Yale. A report released Monday by the lab found the acquisition would make parts of Fayette and Westmoreland counties even more severe “red...
Dr. Oz, who runs Medicare and Medicaid, meets with UPMC’s CEO to discuss collaboration
UPMC CEO Leslie Davis recently met with Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, bringing together leadership from Western Pennsylvania’s largest health system and the agency overseeing critical government insurance programs. The two discussed UPMC’s efforts to roll out new technology, fast-track medical innovations and...
Labor pains: Union nurses, UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital spar over staffing in 1st contract
Unionized nurses at Allegheny General Hospital spent more than two decades successfully fighting for caps on their number of assigned patients. The young UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital nurses unions hope to secure them in their first contracts. When the Allegheny General Hospital union formed in 1999, “nobody had staffing standards in...
FDA finds little evidence that a generic drug could help many people with autism
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a generic medication for a rare brain disorder, while walking back suggestions by President Donald Trump and other administration officials that the drug showed great promise for people with autism. The agency said it approved leucovorin for children and adults...
