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Could High-Fructose Corn Syrup in Foods Help Speed Cancer?

The sugar known as fructose could be a kind of rocket fuel for cancer cells, and lowering fructose intake could be one way to fight the disease, new research suggests.

Fructose is already ubiquitous in American diets, due to the heavy use of super-sweet high-fructose corn syrup in products folks eat every day.

“If you go throug...

As 'Teletherapy' Takes Hold, Nearly 12% of Young Adults Now Undergo Psychotherapy

Access to psychotherapy has increased substantially among Americans, particularly young adults, a new study has found.

About 12% of young adults received psychotherapy in 2021, followed by 8% of the middle-aged and 5% of seniors, researchers found.

Overall, the percentage of U.S. adults receiving psychotherapy rose from about 7% in 2...

Zepbound Bests Wegovy for Weight Loss in New Trial

Zepbound, the new GLP-1 weight-loss drug from Eli Lilly & Co., has outperformed its main competitor, Wegovy, in a clinical trial funded by Lilly.

"Given the increased interest around obesity medications, we conducted this study to help health care providers and patients make informed decisions about treatment choice," Dr. Leonard Glass...

E. Coli Outbreak Linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders Declared Over

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 4, 2024 (Healtday News) -- An investigation into an E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders has officially been closed, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday.

In total, 104 people from 14 states were sickened and 34 were hospitalized during the outbreak, while one older person in Colorado di...

Almost a Third of U.S. Retail Pharmacies Have Closed Since 2010

About a third of America’s pharmacies have closed since 2010, amounting to an “unprecedented decline” in neighborhood drug stores, a new study finds.

The drop began in 2018, primarily driven by store closures among chain pharmacies during a period of consolidation in the industry, researchers found.

This has made it...

American Seniors Struggle to Pay Medical Bills More Than Peers in Other Wealthy Countries

American seniors still pay more for health care than their counterparts in most other wealthy countries do, despite coverage by Medicare, a new study finds.

They are also more likely to postpone or skip needed care because of cost concerns.

“In the U.S., nearly all older adults are covered by Medicare and can access, at minimum...

20th Century Lead Exposures Took Grim Toll on Americans' Health

Decades of lead exposure from car exhaust altered the mental health of millions of Americans, making them more prone to depression, anxiety and ADHD, a new study claims.

Lead was first added to gasoline in 1923 to help keep car engines healthy, researchers said.

But lead is toxic to brain cells, and there’s no safe level of exp...

Even Minutes-Long Exercise 'Bursts' Can Help Women's Hearts

Take the stairs. Tote heavy shopping bags. Walk up that hill. Play tag with a kid or a pet.

Weaving these tiny bursts of vigorous physical activity into everyday life can halve a woman’s risk of a heart attack, a new study shows.

An average of four daily minutes of this sort of activity appears to protect the heart health of wo...

Smoking/Vaping Combo Lowers Odds for Quitting Nicotine

People who smoke and vape are less able to break free of their nicotine addiction than folks who only have one of those habits, a new review concludes.

Instead, these “dual users” are more likely to eventually drop vaping and continue smoking tobacco, results show.

The findings point to the insidious pull of nicotine and ...

High-Dose Vitamin D Supplements Won't Prevent Diabetes in Healthy Seniors

Taking even high doses of supplementary vitamin D won't lower an older person's odds for type 2 diabetes, new research confirms.

Vitamin D supplements may have other benefits, but in otherwise healthy folks with sufficient levels of the nutrient, "our findings do not suggest benefits of long-term moderate- or high-dose vitamin D₃

Genes Highlight Who'll Benefit From Multiple Myeloma Therapy

Genetic tests can show which patients with the blood cancer multiple myeloma should respond to targeted therapy, a new study finds.

A special six-gene pattern can help predict who are more likely to respond well to Venclexta (venetoclax), a pill that promotes natural cell death among cancer cells, researchers said.

“By knowing ...

New Weight-Loss Advance: A Gastric Balloon You Control to Feel Full or Not

GLP-1 meds are all the rage for weight loss nowadays, but not everyone can safely take the drugs to shed pounds. Invasive weight-loss surgeries can often be a tough sell, too.

Now, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say they've developed an alternative: A small, implanted gastric balloon that people can inflate...

Deep Belly Fat May Help Spur Alzheimer's Decades Before Symptoms Begin

An accumulation of fat lurking around the organs of obese people is strongly linked to a buildup of Alzheimer's-linked proteins in the brain, new research finds.

Buildup of this visceral fat in middle age may boost levels of the two damaging brain proteins, called amyloid and tau, explained a team led by Dr. Mahsa Dolatshahi, of Washington...

Elton John Says He Has Lost His Sight

Pop music legend Elton John says that he can no longer see following an eye infection he battled last summer.

The prolific singer-songwriter made the announcement Sunday at a charity gala performance of "The Devil Wears Prada: The Musical," a theater production he scored.

"I haven't been able to come to many of the previews, bec...

Need Some 'Alone Time'? It's Vital to Mental Health for Many

The hectic holidays play havoc on people’s nerves, not the least because they aren’t able to have any time to themselves.

Nearly half (46%) of Americans say they don’t get the alone time they need during the holidays, according to a new national survey by the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

What’s...

Maintain Muscle as You Age to Keep Brain Sharp

Maintaining muscle might be one way to help prevent dementia, new research suggests.

“We found that older adults with smaller skeletal muscles are about 60% more likely to develop dementia when adjusted for other known risk factors,” said study co-senior author Marilyn Albert. She's a professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins Uni...

Temporary Scalp Tattoo Can Track Your Brainwaves

Folks soon might have their brain activity scanned using a temporary tattoo, a new study suggests.

This temporary scalp tattoo allowed researchers to track electrical brain activity much more easily than with conventional electrodes, researchers reported Dec. 2 in the journal Cell Biomaterials.

Electronic tattoos, or e-tatto...

Deep Brain Stimulation Helps Two Patients Walk After Spinal Cord Injury

In 2006, Wolfgang Jäger was in his 30s when a skiing accident left the young Austrian wheelchair-bound from a spinal cord injury.

Fast-forward to today, where an innovative deep-brain stimulation technique is helping the 54-year-old Jäger walk and move again.

“Last year on vacation, it was no problem to walk a couple ...

Crisis Pregnancy Centers Offer Dubious Advice on 'Abortion Pill Reversal'

So-called crisis pregnancy centers, often created with an anti-abortion agenda, are providing pregnant women some questionable medical advice alongside potentially helpful services, a new study finds.

Nearly a third (30%) of crisis pregnancy centers promote “abortion pill reversal,” researchers reported Dec. 3 in the journal

Artery Procedure May Offer Surgery-Free Way to Ease Knee Arthritis

Blocking blood flow to the site of knee arthritis can reduce pain and potentially prevent the need for knee replacement surgery, a new study says.

The procedure, called genicular artery embolization (GAE), improved patients’ quality of life by 87% and their pain by 71% at a one-year follow-up, researchers report.

“Our stu...