Mysterious Paralyzing Illness in Kids Is Set to Return, CDC Warns

A new outbreak of a mysterious, potentially fatal polio-like illness could strike hundreds of American children within the next few months, U.S. health officials warned Tuesday.

Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) outbreaks have occurred every two years in the United States since 2014, peaking between August and November, the U.S. Centers for...

Say What? Like Animals, People Perk Up Their Ears to Hear

Like many other animals, people can move their ears to focus on a specific sound, researchers say.

However, this movement of ears is subtle and the ability to do it hasn't been known until now.

By measuring electrical signals in ear muscles as volunteers tried to detect sounds, researchers found that people make tiny, unconsc...

Cancer Diagnoses Plunge as Americans Avoid Screening During Pandemic

As COVID-19 continues to impact nearly all aspects of American health care, researchers warn that the United States has seen a troubling drop in cancer diagnoses since the pandemic began.

The drop is not being attributed to a downturn in cancer incidence, but rather a COVID-driven reluctance to get screened.

"Our research fou...

Many COVID-19 Patients Given Useless Antibiotics: Study

Early in the U.S. coronavirus pandemic, many people landing in the hospital may have been given unnecessary antibiotics, a new study suggests.

The findings come from one of the hard-hit hospitals in New York City, the initial epicenter of the U.S. pandemic. Researchers there found that of COVID-19 patients admitted between March and Ma...

Brush With Common Cold Might Help Protect Against COVID-19

Since the pandemic began, it's been known that the severity of coronavirus illness varies widely between people. Could the common cold be the reason why?

It's still just a theory, but researchers in California suspect that if you've recently had a cold -- many of which are also caused by coronaviruses -- your immune system's T-cells mi...

COVID-19 Fears Had Sick, Injured Americans Avoiding ERs

Visits to hospital emergency rooms fell off sharply in March when the COVID-19 pandemic started keeping people at home -- and a new study reports they never returned to normal.

"This is a case where public messaging appears to have worked too well," said researcher Dr. Edward Melnick, associate professor of emergency medicine at Yale ...

Study Casts Doubt on Value of Cholesterol Drugs

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide take cholesterol-lowering drugs, like statins, but now a new review suggests that many folks don't benefit from these medications.

The researchers said the review of 35 randomized controlled trials failed to show a consistent benefit in lowering the risk of heart attack or stroke, or for preven...

U.S. Grandparents Are Raising Millions of Kids, and It's Tough

Nearly 3 million children in the United States are being raised by grandparents, and life has placed these kids on a rocky road toward adulthood, a new study reports.

These children are much more likely to have experienced traumatic events that will influence their development, according to the report published online Aug. 3 in the jou...

Vitamin D Won't Reduce Risk of Depression

For those battling debilitating depression, a new study delivers some bad news: Vitamin D supplements won't make a dent in improving mood.

While the "sunshine vitamin" is often touted as an alternative way to protect against depression, vitamin D's efficacy has remained unknown, the researchers said.

But "there was no signif...

AHA News: 12-Year-Old Is on Pacemaker No. 3

Jennifer and Patrick Tallquist were resting peacefully with their 1-day-old daughter, Abrielle, when a nurse entered their hospital room to give the newborn a test.

The nurse hooked up 6-pound "Abbi" to a monitor that checked her heartbeat. Minutes later, the lab called the nurse.

"You can see that already?" she said into t...

Coronavirus Cases Now Climbing in the Midwest

Midwestern states are starting to see surges in coronavirus cases, just as Southern and Western states are scrambling to contain their own outbreaks of COVID-19.

Missouri, Montana and Oklahoma are among those witnessing the largest percentage surge of infections over the past week, the Washington Post reported. At the same time,...

Aggressive Cancer Diagnosed for First Time in a Dinosaur

Scientists for the first time have identified an aggressive bone cancer in a dinosaur that lived nearly 77 million years ago.

The cancerous lower leg bone (fibula) is from a horned dinosaur called a Centrosaurus apertus. At first, researchers thought the bone had been broken and was healing when the animal died, but state-of-...

Many Older Americans Staying Strong in the Pandemic

Older Americans are feeling stressed by COVID-19 and prolonged social isolation, but they're also showing their resiliency, a new study finds.

Most of these adults have turned to a range of tools to stay in touch, researchers report.

"Many of the social venues that help older adults stay engaged are effectively cut off now ...

Schools Can Reopen Safely If Precautions in Place, Australian Study Shows

Safeguards such as contact tracing and swift isolation of cases of COVID-19 could be the key to reopening U.S. schools safely this September, a study from Australia shows.

In the study, which involved thousands of schools or preschools, a total of 27 kids or teachers were determined to have been present in schools while they were infec...

November Election Can Be Held Safely, Experts Contend

With the 2020 presidential election just three months away, new research suggests an election can be held safely if stringent steps are taken to lower COVID-19 infection risk.

The conclusion follows a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigation that looked at what happened in the city of Milwaukee this past Apr...

In Rare Cases, Diabetes & Cholesterol Drug Combo Could Be Toxic

Taking the statin Crestor in combination with the diabetes drug canagliflozin (Invokana) may have the potential to trigger statin toxicity, a new case report suggests.

Although this report details the problem in just one woman, the researchers noted concern because these drugs are taken by millions of people worldwide. These drugs are...

Could the First Drug That Slows Arthritis Be Here?

There are currently no medications that can slow down the common form of arthritis that strikes aging knees and hips. But a new study suggests a powerful, and expensive, anti-inflammatory drug could potentially do just that.

The drug, called canakinumab (Ilaris), is used for certain rare rheumatic conditions marked by widespread inflam...

Breastfeeding OK After Mom Has Anesthesia, Experts Say

It's perfectly safe to breastfeed after a mom receives anesthesia, new British medical guidelines say.

And she can start as soon as she's alert and able to do so, according to just-published guidelines from the U.K. Association of Anaesthetists.

"The guidelines say there is no need to discard any breast milk due to fear of c...

The Fitter Do Better After an A-Fib Treatment

Physically fit patients with the irregular heartbeat atrial fibrillation (AF) are most likely to benefit from ablation, a new study finds.

Patients who are less fit are hospitalized more often, continue to use anti-arrhythmic drugs longer and have higher death rates, researchers say.

"AF does not occur in a vacuum but rathe...

AHA News: This 'Actions-Speak-Louder-Than-Words' Student Puts Public Policy Studies to Work

Alana Barr had just started college at Georgia Tech in Atlanta when health advocate Cornelia King came to her class.

"After she started talking about health care disparities among minorities in Atlanta and all the adverse outcomes, like diabetes and high cholesterol, I knew I wanted to do something about it," Barr said. "I already kne...