Wellness

Report: Disparities limiting access to healthcare services in PA’s underserved communities

A new report by AARP Pennsylvania and Drexel University’s College of Nursing and Health Professions highlights how geographic, racial/ethnic and economic factors are combining to restrict access to health care services for many Pennsylvanians, creating disparities that have become more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Disrupting Disparities in Pennsylvania: Retooling for Geographic, Racial and Ethnic…

Surgical technique may reduce positive margin rate in breast cancer patients with DCIS

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – April 5, 2021 – According to the American Cancer Society, a noninvasive breast cancer called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) accounts for approximately one of every four new breast cancer cases in the United States. If left untreated, DCIS has the potential to evolve into invasive cancer, so many patients choose to…

Anxiety among fathers is higher than recently reported, new study suggests

New research suggests anxiety among men transitioning into parenthood is significantly higher than reported by the global World Health Organization (WHO) regional prevalence rates. In a new study published in The Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology, researchers from the Colorado School of Public Health on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus studied the…

Public trust in the CDC falls during coronavirus pandemic

Public trust in the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has fallen during the coronavirus pandemic, with the decline bringing overall population-level trust in the agency to the same lower level of trust long held by Black Americans about the agency, according to a new RAND Corporation study. Surveys done among a representative group…

USC study projects significant savings from potential Alzheimer’s disease treatment

Alzheimer’s disease treatments that slow progression of the disease could significantly reduce the financial burden to U.S. state budgets, according to a new USC study. The study outlines how states — which have been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic — would see relief: Medicare would cover the costs of treating the disease, while…

Going deep: Artificial intelligence improves accuracy of breast ultrasound diagnoses

In 2020, the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization stated that breast cancer accounts for most cancer morbidities and mortalities in women worldwide. This alarming statistic not only necessitates newer methods for the early diagnosis of breast cancer, but also brings to light the importance of risk prediction of the…

Phase 1 clinical trial of WRAIR-developed COVID-19 vaccine begins

SILVER SPRING, Md. – A unique vaccine to protect against COVID-19 begins clinical testing Tuesday, 6 April, at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), part of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command. Scientists developed a nanoparticle vaccine, based on a ferritin platform, which offers a flexible approach to targeting multiple variants…

Reopen and regenerate: Exosome-coated stent heals vascular injury, repairs damaged tissue

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed an exosome-coated stent with a “smart-release” trigger that could both prevent reopened blood vessels from narrowing and deliver regenerative stem cell-derived therapy to blood-starved, or ischemic, tissue. Angioplasty – a procedure that opens blocked arteries – often involves placing a metal stent to reinforce arterial walls and…

Women had ‘alarmingly high rates’ of mental health problems during start of the pandemic

A study at the University of Chicago Medicine found U.S. women experienced increased incidence of health-related socioeconomic risks (HRSRs), such as food insecurity and interpersonal violence, early in the COVID-19 pandemic. This was associated with “alarmingly high rates” of mental health problems, including depression and anxiety. The research was published April 5 in the Journal…

Salmonella Outbreak Is Linked to Wild Birds and Feeders, C.D.C. Says

A salmonella outbreak linked to contact with wild songbirds and bird feeders has sickened 19 people across eight states, eight of whom have been hospitalized, federal health authorities said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was investigating salmonella infections in California, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington State in…