Health category, Page 121
Study: Untreated high blood pressure could lead to poor brain health
High blood pressure can lead to diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses. It can also cause cognitive decline, according to a new report. Researchers from Columbia University recently conducted an observational study, presented at a recent American Heart Association session, to explore the association between brain health and hypertension. To...
New Pa. program aims to help opioid-dependent patients avoid black market
A week after Gov. Tom Wolf renewed his opioid disaster declaration for the seventh time since 2018, Secretary of Health Rachel Levine spoke about the successes against the ongoing crisis and a program that will assist dependent patients cut off by their doctors. Speaking Monday at “Opioids: The Fight Continues,”...
$2M in grants from Lemieux Foundation, Highmark for AFib researchVideo
The Mario Lemieux Foundation delivered a $1 million grant Monday to the Allegheny Health Network that will be used along with $1 million in matching funds from Highmark Health for research and therapies into heart rhythm disorders. Dr. Amit Thosani, director of AHN’s Cardiac Electrophysiology Department, said the money would...
No new measles cases reported in fading U.S. outbreak
NEW YORK — The nation’s worst measles epidemic in 27 years could be in its final stages as a week went by with no new reported cases. “To get to zero is tremendously encouraging,” said Jason Schwartz, a Yale University expert on vaccination policy. The current epidemic emerged about a...
Excela launches program for grieving children
Dale Cordial knows the kind of grief young children experience with the loss of a parent. He saw it in his granddaughter’s eyes. Chloe Hall, who will be 5 next month, lost her mother, Jamie Cordial Hall, 16 months ago. Cordial’s daughter and the vibrant 38-year-old mother of two died...
Pitt Greensburg to gather data for national health research project
A big data research project that experts say may change the face of medicine in the next decade is headed to Westmoreland County. The National Institutes of Health project dubbed “All of Us” seeks to collect health data from one million Americans over the next five years. It is coming...
Pesticide criticized in bee deaths could also kill birds
PORTLAND, Maine — Scientists studying a widely used pesticide say even small doses of the chemical can have crippling health effects on migrating birds, and it might be contributing to declines in their overall populations. The researchers with the University of Saskatchewan are set to publish their research about the...
Allegheny County to receive about $15 million to fight opioid crisis
A grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will help the Allegheny County Health Department expand staff and resources dedicated to tackling the opioid crisis, officials announced Wednesday. The county will receive about $15 million over three years through the Overdose Data to Action grant. “Although overdose deaths...
Allegheny County Board of Health continues search for new director
A search committee tasked with finding a new director for the Allegheny County Health Department could present a recommendation this fall, committee co-chair Edith Shapira, M.D., told the county Board of Health on Wednesday. “We’ve received a large number of applications, some of which are from highly qualified individuals,” said...
New iPhone 11 Pro triggering trypophobia in some
The iPhone 11 Pro isn’t available yet but it’s already making some people uncomfortable. Apple’s latest flagship mobile device has a cluster of three cameras on the back side. While these represent the cutting edge of pocket camera gear, they also form a miniature constellation of trouble. Trypophobia is the...
What we know so far about the nation’s vaping illness outbreak
U.S. health officials are investigating what might be causing hundreds of serious breathing illnesses in people who use e-cigarettes and other vaping devices. They have identified about 450 possible cases in 33 states, including six deaths. A look at what we know so far about the outbreak as the investigation...
Research targeting vision loss topic of Latrobe Lions program
The CEO of the Eye and Ear Foundation of Pittsburgh will visit Latrobe later this month to provide an update on local research that is under way to combat macular degeneration and other conditions that can lead to vision loss. Lawton Snyder, who is originally from Greensburg, will present a...
Step it up? In the battle of fitness trackers, the most steps might not win
Many benefits Studies show that 150 minutes a week of moderate activity, such as walking, can lower the risk of heart disease and stroke, improve sleep, help reduce weight gain and improve bone health. Perhaps no one knows that better than Tom Holland, an exercise physiologist and sports nutritionist who...
Progress in understanding Alzheimer’s disease genetics
What is happening with Alzheimer’s disease research and treatment? We heard from Maria Carrillo, chief science officer of the nationwide Alzheimer’s Association, during a recent visit to San Diego. Here are some questions and answers from the interview, edited for space and clarity. Question: There have been several failed clinical...
Abused kids are texting hotline for help, support
Pegged as the digital generation, children use technology frequently to communicate with others — including in times of crisis. Instead of having a conversation with a trusted adult when they need support, many minors turn to social media. But when it comes to verbalizing experiences of maltreatment — neglect or...
Health happenings
Blood drives • American Red Cross will host these blood drives: — 1:30-7 p.m. Friday, St. Bruno’s Church, 1707 S. Poplar St., Greensburg — 9-2:30 p.m. Saturday , Our Lady of Grace, 1011 Mt. Pleasant Road, Hempfield Appointments: 800-733-2767 or red crossblood.org; walk-ins welcome Classes/programs • Your Changing Body for Girls...
CDC: Stop kissing, snuggling your chickens
Poultry owners are being advised to avoid infection during moments of affection. The Centers for Disease Control is recommending various methods to limit the spread of salmonella from backyard poultry to humans. The agency says proper hygiene is the key, such as washing hands with soap and water after handling...
Ball caps become wearable works of art for cancer patientsVideo
The trials and tribulations that come with a cancer fight are daunting. A few crafters are doing their part to make it just a bit brighter for those doing battle. Manning work stations inside a meeting room at Excela Square at Latrobe, volunteers select bright, freshly washed silk flowers, attaching...
U.S. health officials report 3rd vaping death, repeat warning
NEW YORK — U.S. health officials are again urging people to stop vaping until they figure out why some are coming down with serious breathing illnesses. Officials on Friday said they had identified 450 possible illnesses, including at least three deaths, in 33 states. The count includes a newly reported...
Pennsylvania gets $75M more in federal aid for opioid fight
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania will receive another $75 million in federal aid to fight the opioid-addiction crisis, money that Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration says will help with treatment, prevention and education. Wolf’s administration said Friday that about $56 million will go to the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs. The money...
Officials target Vitamin E as cause for vaping illnesses
The security of safeness of vaping has taken another hit. Federal and state health officials have targeted Vitamin E as the cause of vaping-related illnesses that have affected people across the country. Public health officials said a person who recently died of a severe respiratory illness had used an e-cigarette...
All soda — even diet — linked to risk of early death, study says
In researchers’ continuing mission to ruin everything fun, a new expansive study shows that sodas — even diet ones — could be deadly. And it’s not like the study was quick and dirty. Published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers looked at more than 450,000 people in 10 European...
Michigan moves to be 1st state to ban flavored e-cigarettes
LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is moving to make Michigan the first state to ban flavored e-cigarettes. The Democrat announced Wednesday that she ordered the state health department to issue emergency rules. They will prohibit the sale and misleading marketing of flavored nicotine vaping products. Whitmer says in a...
British teen goes blind by living mostly on junk food, study says
A teenage boy who subsisted primarily on junk food went blind from his poor diet, according to a new study. The 17-year-old, who lives in the United Kingdom, first went to the doctor at age 14 complaining of tiredness, the Annals of Internal Medicine wrote in the study abstract. By...
CDC awards Pennsylvania $2.25 million grant to study maternal mortality
Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration announced Tuesday it has received a $2.25 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the cause of maternal deaths in the state after an increase in recent years. Officials said the state Department of Health will receive the grant over five...
