Inmates want to quit smoking but don’t have access to smoking cessation programs in state prisons, increasing the risk – especially among black male inmates — of cancer, heart disease, stroke and other smoking-related diseases, according to Rutgers researchers. In a study published in Health Psychology Open, researchers examined smoking behaviors and characteristics of 169…
New research published in Arthritis & Rheumatology, an official journal of the American College of Rheumatology, reveals that prescription opioids are commonly used long-term to treat pain in older patients with severe osteoarthritis. The study also found substantial statewide variation in rates of treatment with long-term opioid therapy for osteoarthritis, which was not fully explained…
Freestanding emergency departments (FSEDs) may charge more than urgent care centers (UCCs) to provide care for fewer patients who have similar characteristics and conditions, according to a study released in the Journal of Emergency Medicine. FSEDs are Emergency Departments that are not attached to an acute care hospital and may either be independent or affiliated…
IMAGE: This is Kavita Parikh, M.D., a pediatric hospitalist at Children’s National Health System, and senior author of the invited commentary; Lead Author Shilpa J. Patel M.D., MPH, emergency medicine specialist;… view more Paradoxically, as overall firearm ownership decreased in U.S. households with young children from 1976 to 2016, the proportion of these families who owned…
A new type of sensor could lead to artificial skin that someday helps burn victims ‘feel’ and safeguards the rest of us, University of Connecticut researchers suggest in a paper in Advanced Materials. Our skin’s ability to perceive pressure, heat, cold, and vibration is a critical safety function that most people take for granted. But…
New research today published in the European Journal of Neurology has found that women are twice as likely to suffer from severe depression following a stroke than men. The team of researchers from King’s College London followed the progress of symptoms over five years after stroke onset in 2,313 people (1,275 men and 1,038 women).…
New research suggests that optimism may have a protective effect against type 2 diabetes in postmenopausal women. In addition to lifestyle factors such as physical activity, optimistic personality traits may lower diabetes risk. A range of factors can raise the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Some of these factors — such as diet, physical…
Hedgehog owners should refrain from kissing their small, spiky friends, health officials said on Friday. Since October, 11 people across eight states have been infected with a particular strain of salmonella, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported, and all but one of those infected said they had contact with a hedgehog. “Don’t kiss…
New research finds that a structural analog of a compound found in an endangered Chinese fir tree has cancer-fighting properties when combined with an existing cancer drug. Scientists devised a chemical analog of a compound from a rare Chinese tree that, combined with another drug, has cancer-fighting properties. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimate that…
Scientists have long known what causes sickle-cell disease and its devastating effects: a single mutation in one errant gene. But for decades, there has been only modest progress against an inherited condition that mainly afflicts people of African descent. With advances in gene therapy, that is quickly changing — so much so that scientists have…