Health category, Page 111
Ohio wants to put Lake Erie on a new, strict pollution diet
TOLEDO, Ohio — Ohio wants to put Lake Erie on a new, stricter pollution diet to fight back against the toxic algae blooms that have flourished for more than a decade, environmental regulators said Thursday. The state intends to establish a plan to reduce runoff that’s feeding the outbreaks by...
Newlonsburg students will transform into ‘Kids of Steel’ for Pittsburgh marathon weekendVideo
Newlonsburg Elementary kindergarten student Penny Ryan is really just excited to see her father’s office in Downtown Pittsburgh on May 2. That she and her brother will run with the Kids of Steel group in the Chick-fil-A Pittsburgh Kids Marathon during the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon weekend is more...
Hopeful Hearts Gala in Pittsburgh helps heart failure patients and families
There’s a reason to think of hearts all year long, not just Feb. 14. On Valentine’s Day, the Joe Beretta Foundation will present its inaugural Hopeful Hearts Valentine’s Gala at the Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh. It features live entertainment by No Bad Juju, a three-course meal and a...
Survey finds smaller decline in medical bill worries
The proportion of people in families struggling to pay medical bills is down, but the number isn’t dropping like it used to, according to a big government study. In a 2018 national survey, just over 14% of people said they belonged to a family struggling with those bills, the Centers...
CDC to send University of Pittsburgh coronavirus samples for vaccine research
A University of Pittsburgh laboratory soon will tackle researching a possible vaccine against COVID-19 — the newly named disease caused by the coronavirus outbreak that surfaced in Wuhan, China, late last year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the University of Pittsburgh’s requests to be among U.S. academic...
Disease warriors tasked to fight misinformation about coronavirus
A global storm of online posts about the coronavirus virus prompted public health experts to fight a war on two fronts — one against the respiratory virus that surfaced in Wuhan, China, late last year, and a second one against a sea of misinformation about it. Officials from the World...
UPMC, Paris Cleaners settle with 6 families of fungal infection victims
UPMC and its linen supplier, Paris Cleaners Inc., have finalized a settlement agreement with six plaintiffs in a yearslong lawsuit in connection with a fatal mold crisis in 2014 and 2015 that prompted a federal investigation. Documents filed with the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on Tuesday indicate that...
Flu deaths climb to 47 in Pennsylvania this season
The flu contributed to another seven deaths in the past week of a flu season that shows no signs of letting up, according to data the state Department of Health released Tuesday. Through Saturday, 47 flu-associated deaths had been reported this flu season, up from 40 the week before. It’s...
UN meeting ponders fast-track drugs, vaccines for new virusVideo
GENEVA — The World Health Organization convened outside experts Tuesday to fast-track promising tests, drugs and vaccines to help slow the outbreak of a new virus that emerged in China that has killed more than 1,000 people and spread to two dozen other countries. The new coronavirus was only identified...
Quinn on Nutrition: Treats for your sweet — not all are bad
February brings us to Valentine’s Day. And it’s also American Heart Month. Quick, it’s time to give something special to someone you love this week. And surprise, some of our favorite Valentine treats can also be good to our hearts. Chocolate: There is room for chocolate in a healthy diet,...
Older adults susceptible to pertussis, vaccine may be warranted
Dear Mayo Clinic: Why is my health care provider recommending that I get the Tdap vaccine now to prevent whooping cough, even though I am in my late 70s? Doesn’t whooping cough usually affect young children? Answer: While it’s true that babies are most at risk of pertussis infection and...
What to do if your home health care agency ditches you
Craig Holly was determined to fight when the home health agency caring for his wife decided to cut off services. The reason he was given by an agency nurse? His wife was disabled but stable, and Medicare was changing its payment system for home health. Euphrosyne “Effie” Costas- Holly, 67, has...
Health Happenings: Week of Feb. 10
Blood drives • American Red Cross will host these blood drives: — Noon-5:30 p.m. today, Saint Vincent College, 300 Fraser Purchase Road, Unity — 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Thursday , Seton Hill University McKenna Center, Seton Hill Drive, Greensburg Appointments: 800-733-2767 or redcrossblood.org; walk-ins welcome Classes/programs • Tours of the Family...
More high school students than ever are coming out, but their despair remains acute
PHILADELPHIA — The proportion of high school students who identify as a sexual minority — lesbian, gay, bisexual or questioning— doubled in the past several years, according to a new study published Monday. Yet those greater numbers have not necessarily meant they have found greater acceptance or peace. The study,...
Drugs fail to slow decline in inherited Alzheimer’s disease
Two experimental drugs failed to prevent or slow mental decline in a study of people who are virtually destined to develop Alzheimer’s disease at a relatively young age because they inherited rare gene flaws. The results announced Monday are another disappointment for the approach that scientists have focused on for...
Drugs fail to slow decline in inherited Alzheimer’s disease
Two experimental drugs failed to prevent or slow mental decline in a study of people who are virtually destined to develop Alzheimer’s disease at a relatively young age because of rare gene flaws. The results announced Monday are another disappointment for the approach that scientists have focused on for years...
Hempfield baby first to benefit from breathing aid, donated milk at Greensburg hospitalVideo
Newborn Ayla Wirth’s arrival early Tuesday and continued presence at Excela Westmoreland Hospital was a blessing for her parents and a major advance on more than one front for the Greensburg facility’s Special Care Nursery. Ayla weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces when she was delivered just before 5 a.m. —...
Utah sends employees to Mexico for lower prescription prices
SALT LAKE CITY — Ann Lovell had never owned a passport before last year. Now, the 62-year-old teacher is a frequent flier, traveling every few months to Tijuana, Mexico, to buy medication for rheumatoid arthritis — with tickets paid for by the state of Utah’s public insurer. Lovell is one...
Doctor’s death unleashes mourning, fury at Chinese officialsVideo
BEIJING — The death of a doctor who was reprimanded for warning about China’s new virus triggered an outpouring Friday of praise for him and fury that communist authorities put politics above public safety. In death, Dr. Li Wenliang became the face of simmering anger at the ruling Communist Party’s...
Beyond burnout: Doctors decry ‘moral injury’ from financial pressures of health care
Dr. Keith Corl was working in a Las Vegas emergency room when a patient arrived with chest pain. The patient, wearing his street clothes, had a two-minute exam in the triage area with a doctor, who ordered an X-ray and several other tests. But later, in the treatment area, when...
Pittsburgh’s Chinese population postpones parade to focus on helping coronavirus victims
The Chinese community in Pittsburgh would normally be celebrating this time of year, but the outbreak of the coronavirus in parts of China has spurred officials with the area’s Asian Pacific American advocacy group to postpone a planned Lunar New Year Parade. It was set for Sunday in the city’s...
FDA crackdown on vaping flavors has blind spot: disposables
WASHINGTON — The federal government Thursday began enforcing restrictions on flavored electronic cigarettes aimed at curbing underage vaping. But some teenagers may be one step ahead of the rules. Parents, researchers and students warn that some young people have already moved on to a newer kind of vape that isn’t...
Senators urge rapid implementation of measures to combat tick-borne illness
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is urging the nation’s Department of Health & Human Services to quickly implement measures in the Kay Hagan Tick Act, aimed at improving research, prevention, diagnostics and treatment of tick-borne illnesses. The legislation is named in honor of former Sen. Kay Hagan, who died...
China opens new hospitals for virus patients, deaths top 560Video
BEIJING — China on Thursday finished building a second new hospital to isolate and treat patients of a virus that has killed more than 560 people and continues to spread, disrupting travel and people’s lives and fueling economic fears. A first group of patients was expected to start testing a...
American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women encourages wearing of red
Days before she was to board a Walt Disney Cruise Line with her family two years ago, Rachel Brecht was told she couldn’t go. She needed heart surgery. “I said to my cardiologist, I am leaving for a cruise,” said Brecht, 44, from Bethel Park. “And he said, ‘No you’re...
