Living longer can mean more dementia but there are ways to reduce the risk
WASHINGTON — About a million Americans a year are expected to develop dementia by 2060, roughly double today’s toll, researchers reported Monday. That estimate is based on a new study that found a higher lifetime risk than previously thought: After age 55, people have up to a 4 in 10...
2050 look-ahead: Same diseases, new approaches mostly ahead for health care sector
Editor’s note: Almost one-fourth of the way through this century, TribLive is looking ahead to the next 25 years, using the events of the past 25 as a road map of what possibly is to come. This installment of the occasional series looks at health. Pam Surano knew it would...
California man says 2 of his cats died after drinking raw milk recalled for bird flu
A California man whose two cats died after drinking raw milk recalled for bird flu risk says he meant to keep his beloved pets healthy, but his efforts tragically backfired. “It’s horrible when you realize that you’re the one that actually gave them the milk that killed them,” said Joseph...
Here’s how to protect yourself from norovirus, covid-19, flu and RSV
In the winter months, it seems few are safe from some kind of illness — flu, covid-19, norovirus, colds. While many of the germs that cause this misery can circulate throughout the year, scientists think that the winter surge of flu and cold activity may be because we spend more...
Independence Health looks to cut losses, crunch data to improve bottom line, patient care as 3rd year begins
Independence Health cut its operating losses by close to 50% in 2024, but those losses remain in the eight-figure range, prompting leaders of the regional health system to further reduce expenses. Excela and Butler health systems combined in 2023 to create a third, albeit smaller, health care giant in a...
Affordable Care Act insurance coverage hits record enrollment but an uncertain future awaits under Trump
WASHINGTON — A record 24 million people have signed up for insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obama’s landmark health legislation, as the program awaits an uncertain future under a Republican-controlled White House and Congress. Never have so many people enrolled in health care coverage through...
What a new study does — and doesn’t — say about fluoride and its link to IQ
A new report linking fluoridated drinking water to lower IQ scores in children is sure to ratchet up the debate over a practice that’s considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. The report published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics synthesizes the results of dozens of research...
Louisiana person is 1st U.S. bird flu death, health officials say
NEW YORK — The first U.S. bird flu death has been reported — a person in Louisiana who had been hospitalized with severe respiratory symptoms. Louisiana health officials announced the death on Monday. Health officials have said the person was older than 65, had underlying medical problems and had been...
Sick season is in full force. What the latest CDC figures show
The holidays came with a side of flu for many Americans, with 40 states reporting high or very high levels of illness last week, according to the latest government health data. “A lot of flu out there,” said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Carrie Reed. Of course, there...
Western Pennsylvanians react to U.S. Surgeon General’s call for cancer warning on alcohol
On Friday, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said that because alcohol is a leading cause of cancer, warning labels should be on all alcoholic beverages. Murthy said in an Associated Press article that Americans should be better informed about the link between alcohol and cancer, in particular, noting alcohol consumption...
Surgeon General calls for new label on drinks to warn Americans of alcohol’s cancer risk
WASHINGTON — Alcohol is a leading cause of cancer, a risk that should be clearly labeled on drinks Americans consume, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy proposed on Friday. Murthy’s advisory comes as research and evidence mounts about the bad effects that alcohol has on human health. Americans should be better...
AHN Cancer Institute Hempfield moves radiation services to Monroeville
Cancer patients of Allegheny Health Network undergoing radiation therapy will no longer be served at AHN Cancer Institute Hempfield. The move, effective Tuesday, means patients will be directed to the cancer center at AHN Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, according to a statement from the health care system. The Hempfield location,...
Nasty norovirus is back in full force with U.S. cases of the stomach virus surging
Cases of a wretched stomach bug are surging in parts of the United States this winter, according to government data. The most recent numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show there were 91 outbreaks of norovirus reported during the week of Dec. 5, up from 69...
Abortions are up in the U.S. It’s a complicated picture as women turn to pills, travel
Abortion has become slightly more common despite bans or deep restrictions in most Republican-controlled states, and the legal and political fights over its future are not over yet. It’s now been two and a half years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the door for...
CDC: Bird flu virus likely mutated within Louisiana patient
A genetic analysis suggests the bird flu virus mutated inside a Louisiana patient who contracted the nation’s first severe case of the illness, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week. Scientists believe the mutations might allow the virus to better bind to receptors in the upper...
Breakthrough technology sees how cholesterol causes heart attacks
ATLANTA — The U.S. government’s premier research body has made an important discovery that could help create new drugs to lower “bad” cholesterol and hopefully prevent heart attacks and stroke. But the interesting part of that story isn’t just the discovery itself but the technology responsible for it: a relatively...
FDA proposes new testing rules to ensure cosmetics are asbestos-free
WASHINGTON — Cosmetic companies would have to take extra steps to ensure that any products containing talc are free of asbestos under a federal rule proposed Thursday. The proposal from the Food and Drug Administration and mandated by Congress is intended to reassure consumers about the safety of makeup, baby...
Scrutiny, secrecy defined Pa. debates over how to spend opioid settlement billions in 2024
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — This was a crucial year for opioid settlement money in Pennsylvania. For the first time, counties across the state faced serious accountability from...
FDA says decongestant in many cold medicines doesn’t work. So what does?
WASHINGTON — Changes are coming to the cold and cough aisle of your local pharmacy: U.S. officials are moving to phase out the leading decongestant found in hundreds of over-the-counter medicines, concluding that it doesn’t actually relieve nasal congestion. Phenylephrine is used in popular versions of Sudafed, Dayquil and other...
Pittsburgh-area dry cleaners react to EPA chemicals ban
David Pratt felt relieved upon learning that the Environmental Protection Agency banned two known carcinogens used in consumer products and dry cleaning. Environmental advocates pushed for the banning of some of the chemicals for over 30 years, he said. Both have been used since the early 1900s. “It means that...
Sewickley doctor returns to care for hearts in the community
Dr. Chad Kosanovich knows some of his newest patients from his childhood. “Some of the people who come in are parents of my friends,” said Kosanovich, a cardiologist practicing medicine in his hometown of Sewickley. “There is some added stress there because I know them. But the goal has always...
Russia announces development of free cancer vaccine amid skepticism
Russia said it has developed a cancer vaccine that will be distributed to Russian patients for free starting in early 2025 — but the news has drawn skepticism. Andrey Kaprin, the general director of the Radiology Medical Research Center of the Russian Ministry of Health, announced the development on Dec....
Gov. Gavin Newsom declares emergency in California after CDC confirms severe case of bird flu in Louisiana
LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency as the H5N1 bird flu virus moves from the Central valley to Southern California herds and federal officials confirmed flu in a Louisiana patient hospitalized with severe illness. This is the first case of severe illness caused by bird...
What Americans think of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his health stances
WASHINGTON — The kids seen by Dolores Mejia around suburban Phoenix have been growing heavier in recent years. Their parents too, she says. Mejia, a 75-year-old retiree, says she’s also had her own weight struggles on the scale. That’s why Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s pledge to “Make America Healthy Again”...
Community rallies around Penn-Trafford junior diagnosed with leukemia
Nicole Cianciotti had driven only about 4½ miles from UPMC Children’s East when she got the call that her son Braeden’s left lung collapsed. The 17-year-old Penn-Trafford junior — Nicole’s oldest of six children — sat next to her in the passenger seat Nov. 22, seemingly unaware of the battle...
