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...

New Hope Against a Tough-to-Treat Leukemia in Adults

A newly approved immunotherapy can help adults with a difficult-to-treat form of leukemia, clinical trial results show.

Aucatzyl (obecabtagene autoleucel) worked on more than three-quarters (76%) of patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and more than half (55%) went into remission, according to results published recently...

Salmonella Outbreak Triggers Recall of Cucumbers in 26 States

Sixty-eight people have been sickened and 18 have been hospitalized in a salmonella outbreak linked to whole cucumbers sold in 26 states and parts of Canada.

"Epidemiologic and traceback information shows that cucumbers grown by Agrotato, S.A. de C.V. in Sonora, Mexico, including recalled cucumbers from SunFed Produce LLC, may be contamina...

Switch From Animal to Plant Proteins Greatly Boosts Heart Health

Moving away from meat to plants as a main source of protein will do wonders for your heart, new research finds.

The 30-year study found that folks with the highest ratio of plant-based protein to animal-based protein cut their odds of developing cardiovascular disease by 19%. They also had a 27% lower risk for coronary heart disease.

Workers Who Make Kitchen Countertops Face Big Lung Hazards

The workers who cut and finished your sleek stone countertop may be paying a price in poor lung health, new research shows.

Breathing in dust created by the manufacture of countertops can cause the lung disease silicosis, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chica...

When's Best Time for Your COVID Booster? That May Depend on You

Folks might want to try timing their COVID-19 booster vaccine to coincide with a period of increased transmission in their area, a new study suggests.

Doing so can improve protection against COVID infection as much as fourfold compared to getting the jab when the coronavirus isn’t spreading as much, researchers report in the journal ...

Cervical Cancer Deaths Fell Dramatically After Advent of HPV Vaccine

A new study provides good evidence that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine may be achieving its goal of slashing rates of cervical cancer.

“We observed a … 62% drop in cervical cancer deaths over the last decade, likely due to HPV vaccination,” said study senior author Ashish Deshmukh. “We cannot think of any o...

Antibiotics or Surgery: What's Best for Child Appendicitis?

For decades, surgery to remove an inflamed appendix has been a rite of childhood for many.

But a new study says treating appendicitis with antibiotics, rather than surgery, is the best way to address most cases.

Using antibiotics to treat uncomplicated cases of appendicitis resulted in less pain and fewer days off from school for kid...

Newer Epilepsy Meds Safe During Pregnancy, Won't Affect Kids' Neurodevelopment

For decades, it's been known that certain older medications women use to control epilepsy seizures can pose risks to a fetus.  

However, data now suggests that no such risk exists for newer-generation anti-seizure meds.

“We need to balance making sure there is enough medicine on board to protect the mother and her developi...

CTE Plus Family History of Mental Illness Raises Odds for Aggression

Concussion-related brain damage can combine with a family history of mental illness to make some athletes and military personnel prone to aggression and violence in middle age, a new study says. 

People with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) are at higher risk of mood changes and dementia, but this study shows that aggression is ...

Over 100,000 U.S. Youth Battle Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Cases of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are rising at an alarming rate among young Americans, a new study reveals.

"Prevalence rates [are] among the highest reported worldwide," said researcher Dr. Michael Kappelman, a professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

The study -- pu...

Smoker or Former Smoker? Here Are 4 Key Things You Need to Know

MONDAY, Dec.2, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Doctors have potent new weapons against the deadliest cancer in America and they want to make sure they're on the radar of current and former smokers.

"Lung cancer screening is the most powerful tool we have to lower cancer [deaths]," said Dr. Timothy Mullett, medical director of the Markey Canc...