News

Prompt diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is essential to reduce mortality, and improving education of primary care providers can help, suggests a new white paper. The nonspecific nature of the symptoms of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) especially in early stages, and the relative rarity of IPF compared with other conditions that have similar symptoms, may

Obesity continues to be a problem in the United States and many parts of the world. New data shows that the number of U.S. states with high rates of adult obesity has even more than doubled since 2018. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the updated adult obesity prevalence map Tuesday, and it

When it comes to long COVID in children, physicians should focus on mitigating symptoms and encouraging multidisciplinary rehabilitation designed to improve age-appropriate development, according to new clinical guidance from the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R). Long COVID can present differently in children, so standard practices for managing the condition in adults should

Nightmares May Predict Dementia Healthy middle-aged adults who have nightmares once a week or more were four times more likely to develop dementia within a decade, new research suggests. The results were reported in a study published in The Lancet journal eClinicalMedicine. The large cohort study also showed that older adults were twice as likely

From big biceps to six-pack abs, the fitness industry is full of insane physiques. Many nowadays idealize the “filter bodies” seen on social media and dream of living the Instagram way of life. In the quest of achieving their ideal physique and with little knowledge of how to do it right, many do hours of cardio, eliminate

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. New COVID-19 cases and hospital admissions in children continue to decline, while the slow pace of vaccinations has not deterred manufacturers from seeking new emergency authorizations. There were just over 55,000 new cases reported during the week of Sept. 16-22, marking

Stress can affect how people behave in a relationship, but how does it impact the way individuals see their significant others? Stressful life experiences may make someone more attuned to their partner’s negative behaviors, researchers have found. For their new study, published Monday in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, the researchers looked at the impact

Advancing health equity continues to be a key initiative for the executive branch, as the Biden administration recently evidenced through initiation of its Equity Action Plans, which outline over 300 strategies for addressing systemic barriers that negatively impact underrepresented communities. Prioritizing effective change to include consideration of equitable healthcare for minorities is also a goal

Why Patients Prefer Same-Sex Doctors Research suggests that men and women are both more likely to ask for a primary care physician of the same gender.Why? A bad experience with a physician of the opposite gender, a patient’s comfort level, a religious belief, or outright bias can lead to the preference. Knowing the reason a

Australia’s season just ended, causing 300 deaths and around 1,700 hospitalizations. Because of this, doctors in the U.S. are worried about a more challenging flu season in the country this fall.  For Kencee Graves, an associate professor of internal medicine and chief medical officer for inpatient health at the University of Utah Health, there’s much

A look at the top cardiovascular disease (CVD) diagnoses in US emergency departments (EDs) suggests that many heart-related emergencies are due to poorly controlled high blood pressure. In a study of more than 20 million ED visits, about one third of CVD-related ED visits in the United States were for hypertension-related conditions. Overall, 13% of ED

ealth experts expect another surge of COVID-19 cases to come this fall as new subvariants of the virus spread, but will people need to mask up to protect themselves? Mask mandates have eased around the country since the height of the pandemic when they were a requirement in most states in public settings. Now, the

So, how are we doing? At a recent meeting, we had a report out from one of the groups that reviews the feedback from patients across the spectrum of care we provide at our practices. Select patients receive these questionnaires from our institution’s practices after they visit, either through the mail or online, where they

Risks Arise When Physicians Befriend Patients Physicians sometimes befriend patients, socialize with them, and become close. But professionals caution that such relationships raise ethical issues and could affect patient care. Friendships between physicians and patients are not unusual: 29% of 1600 physician respondents to Medscape’s 2022 Physician Friendships: The Joys and Challenges survey said that they

There’s been growing concern on how COVID-19 could have significantly increased the risk of children developing type 1 diabetes.  Based on new research that analyzed electronic health records of over 1 million patients aged 18 and below, children infected with SARS-CoV-2 showed a higher risk for type 1 diabetes.  “Incidence of new-onset type 1 diabetes

The study covered in this summary was published on medRxiv.org as a preprint and has not yet been peer reviewed. Key Takeaway Why This Matters Study Design Participants were older adults from two ongoing community-based cohort studies of aging and dementia: the Rush Memory and Aging Project (MAP) (n = 1179), and the Religious Orders

“Some nursing homes and chains will hire medical directors to just do what I call the three S’s: Sit down. Shut up and sign. Don’t make waves.” — Karl Steinberg, MD, immediate past president of the Society for Post-Acute and Long Term Care Medicine, on a proposed bill requiring all 15,000 Medicare-approved nursing homes to

Despite a promising start, extended follow-up from the SUGAR trial found that the Cre8 EVO drug-eluting stent could not maintain superiority over the Resolute Onyx DES at 2 years in patients with diabetes undergoing revascularization for coronary artery disease. The Cre8 EVO stent (Alvimedica) is not available in the US but, as previously reported, caused

Multiple drug companies have recently withdrawn their respective PARP inhibitors for heavily pretreated ovarian cancer patients, citing data showing an increased risk for death. In a September 14 letter to healthcare professionals, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced the voluntary withdrawal of niraparib (Zejula) for fourth-line treatment in adults with advanced ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer

TTHealthWatch is a weekly podcast from Texas Tech. In it, Elizabeth Tracey, director of electronic media for Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, and Rick Lange, MD, president of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso, look at the top medical stories of the week. This week’s topics include the impact of genetics

An important message for former smokers: You can overcome a history of vice through virtue. People with a history of smoking who exercise regularly, eat nutritious foods, and maintain a healthy weight can reduce their risk for premature death by almost 30% compared with those who don’t adopt such good habits, researchers have found.  “Engaging

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said this week that based on the latest data on pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S., about 80% of the cases were actually preventable.  The public health agency published Monday the data on 1,018 pregnancy-related deaths among residents of 36 states from 2017-2019 collected through the Maternal Mortality

The study covered in this summary was published on medRxiv.org as a preprint and has not yet been peer reviewed. Key Takeaways High tCr and low glutamate+glutamine (Glx) metabolite levels in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) correlate with greater PPA disease severity. Brain tCr levels varied among PPA subtypes; tCr levels were lowest among

An oncologist wonders whether the will to live or deciding to let go has more to do with survival than all that modern treatment has to offer. (JCO Art of Oncology) An unhealthy mix of gut microbiota may play a role in breast cancer metastasis. (UVA Health) Exercise-induced increases in HDL cholesterol helped reduce frailty

People who had COVID-19 are at higher risk for a host of brain injuries a year later compared with people who were never infected by the coronavirus, a finding that could affect millions of Americans, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday. The year-long study, published in Nature Medicine, assessed brain health across 44 different disorders using

The Pandemic Is Over. Or Is It? President Joe Biden told 60 Minutes that the COVID-19 pandemic is over ­— before he walked back on it twice. But the pushback was immediate, with many critics pointing out that the US averages more than 71,000 new cases and more than 400 deaths per day. Worldwide, each day

The negative effects of consuming alcohol have been studied and proven many times over, but this has not deterred people from indulging in excessive drinking. Scientists have now found an effective way to get people to lower their alcohol intake. The study, published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, has found that using concepts like “why

Using artificial intelligence (AI), researchers have developed an algorithm that can help improve the prediction of colorectal cancer (CRC) recurrence. The QuantCRC algorithm can identify patients with CRC who might be able to skip chemotherapy, given a low probability of recurrence, and identify those patients at high risk for recurrence who may benefit from more