Health category, Page 114
Study: ‘Medicare for All’ not only way to universal coverageVideo
WASHINGTON — Health care memo to Democrats: There’s more than one way to get to coverage for all. A study out Wednesday finds that an approach similar to the plan from former Vice President Joe Bide n can deliver about the same level of coverage as the government-run “Medicare for...
Pennsylvania exceeds national rate of rising STD cases
The number of sexually transmitted diseases climbed again last year in the United States, with Pennsylvania’s rate of increase exceeding the national average. It was the fifth consecutive year that gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis cases went up, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual surveillance report. The...
France to legalize in vitro fertilization for lesbians, single women
PARIS — France’s lower house of parliament is expected to approve a bill that would give single women and lesbian couples legal access to in vitro fertilization, egg freezing and fertility medication. The assisted reproduction measures are part of a broader bioethics bill scheduled for a vote Tuesday at the...
Your energy-efficient washing machine could be full of bacteria
You fill it with soap and water about 300 times a year, so it must be clean. Right? A case out of Germany, published by the American Society for Microbiology, says no. After babies in a German hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit were found to have multidrug-resistant pathogens on their...
Mayo Clinic Q&A: Treating osteoarthritis with corticosteroid injections
Dear Mayo Clinic: I have osteoarthritis in my knee that continues to worsen. Would a steroid injection help my knee pain? How long does the treatment last, and how often can it be repeated, if necessary? Answer: Corticosteroid medications are powerful drugs that can be useful in decreasing pain and...
Diabetes stress high among college students, study finds
Nathan Reilly has had Type 1 diabetes since he was a baby. And until he began college this semester, the 19-year-old always had his mother to help remind him of the litany of tasks people with diabetes must do. Check blood sugar. Adjust insulin pump. Watch what you eat. Be...
Health happenings week of Oct. 14
Blood drives • American Red Cross will host these blood drives: — 1:30-7 p.m. Thursday, Community United Methodist Church, Route 130, Irwin — Noon-5:30 p.m. Oct. 23, St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, 300 W. Main St., Ligonier Appointments: 800-733-2767 or redcrossblood.org; walk-ins welcome Classes/programs • Tours of the Family Additions...
Obesity rate for Pennsylvania kids remains among highest in U.S.
Pennsylvania has 185,400 young people between the ages of 10 and 17 who are obese, according to newly released data. That amounts to 17.4 percent — the same as in recent years, but still the ninth highest rate in the United States, according a new report from the Robert Wood...
Hold the liquor: Sober bars growing in PittsburghVideo
Before social media dramatically changed the way Americans interact, the local bar was where people gathered to unload about the day’s events and get together with friends. These days, though, a growing number of people are looking for an alternative to a mid-week hangover. “The younger generation is choosing to...
Southwestern Pennsylvania residents renew calls for research on possible health impact of frackingVideo
As calls for better science on the health impact of unconventional natural gas drilling grew last week, the Pennsylvania Department of Health revealed that a new study found a slight increase in the expected number of cases of Ewing sarcoma, a rare bone cancer, among girls in Fayette, Greene, Washington...
Pennsylvania hospitals struggle under demand for mental health beds
More than 300 Pennsylvanians a day were hospitalized for mental illness in 2018, leaving mental health professionals in many instances struggling to find beds for them in a system plagued by limited resources. The numbers, detailed in a new report by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, found the...
California hospital chain going to court over high prices
SAN FRANCISCO — One of California’s largest hospital systems is facing a trial over accusations that it has used its market dominance to snuff out competition and overcharge patients for medical bills. The antitrust lawsuit against Sutter Health, which operates 24 hospitals with 5,500 doctors across Northern California, was first...
CDC awards Carnegie Mellon University $3 million for flu forecastingVideo
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University said this flu season has the potential to be severe. They should know. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week named CMU as an Influenza Forecasting Center of Excellence, a five-year designation that includes $3 million in research funding. Its Delphi Research Group,...
Johnson & Johnson, Risperdal maker hit with $8B verdict
PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia jury on Tuesday awarded $8 billion in punitive damages against Johnson & Johnson and one if its subsidiaries over a drug the companies made that the plaintiff’s attorneys say is linked to the abnormal growth of female breast tissue in boys. Johnson and Johnson immediately denounced...
Get the full nutritional benefits of olive oil
Italians call it “olio d’oliva” — oil of the olive. And their rich use of olive oil may be one of the secrets to the renowned health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. One stop on our recent trip to Italy was at the Santa Tea Olive Mill in Reggello, a...
When to use and not use antibiotics
For parents and caregivers, it can be hard to tell whether your child’s illness requires antibiotics or if there are other ways to effectively treat his or her symptoms. To prevent overuse of these drugs, it’s important to know when home remedies can be used instead of antibiotics. “If your...
‘Faith & Gratitude’ offers cancer patients empowerment, guidanceVideo
When Lori Ball was diagnosed with ovarian cancer shortly before Christmas 2015, it rocked her and her family’s world. The North Huntingdon resident recalls preparing herself to do battle with her illness, and anticipating a hospital team providing a “holistic approach.” Following surgery, and throughout 18 weeks of chemotherapy, Ball,...
Health Happenings: Week of Oct. 8
Blood drives • American Red Cross will host a blood drive noon- 4:30 p.m. Oct. 11, Export Italian American Club, 5930 Kennedy Ave. Appointments: 800-733-2767 or redcrossblood.org; walk-ins welcome Classes/programs • WCCC is partnering with APPRISE, the Pennsylvania Health Insurance Assistance Program, to sponsor a free Medicare presentation about the basics...
3 get Nobel Medicine prize for learning how cells use oxygen
LONDON — Two Americans and a British scientist won the 2019 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discovering how the body’s cells sense and react to oxygen levels, work that has paved the way for new strategies to fight anemia, cancer and other diseases, the Nobel Committee said. Drs....
Clampdown on vaping could send users back toward cigarettes
WASHINGTON — Only two years ago, electronic cigarettes were viewed as a small industry with big potential to improve public health by offering a path to steer millions of smokers away from deadly cigarettes. That promise led U.S. regulators to take a hands-off approach to e-cigarette makers, including a Silicon...
Pennsylvania reports vaping death, investigating injuries
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Health Department says one person in the state has died from lung injuries associated with vaping and it’s investigating dozens of other suspected or confirmed cases. The state’s health secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine, announced the death Friday and said Pennsylvania has also reported nine confirmed cases...
Maker of shingles vaccine working to overcome shortfall
Kathie Geary waited 10 months for a shingles vaccine. It was five months longer than her husband, who got the in-demand shot series through the VA. “The last time, you could go right in and they had it,” said Geary, 69, of East Deer. “Right now, it doesn’t seem like...
U.S. vaping illnesses top 1,000, death count is up to 18
NEW YORK — The number of vaping-related illnesses has surpassed 1,000, and there’s no sign the outbreak is fading, U.S. health officials said Thursday. Doctors say the illnesses, which first appeared in March, resemble an inhalation injury. Symptoms include severe, shortness of breath, fatigue, and chest pain. Most who got...
Twin births in U.S. now going down, at lowest level in decade
Fewer U.S. families are seeing double, according to a government report that finds a drop in new twins. Twin births steadily increased for more than three decades, driven largely by older white moms undergoing fertility treatments. But the rate of twin births apparently peaked in 2014 and has fallen 4%...
Study highlights prevalence of ticks in Pittsburgh parks
Ticks infected with Lyme disease are just as prevalent in Pittsburgh’s city parks as they are in residential or recreational areas outside of the city, according to a study conducted by researchers at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. “The big take-home message is just because you are going out and using...
