Childhood obesity is a major public health problem, and has been for some time. Almost 20 percent of American children are affected by obesity, as well as about 40 percent of adults. Over all, this costs the United States around $150 billion in health care spending each year. Pediatricians like me, and many other health…
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The It bag may be more like an old hat these days — at least when it comes to fashion’s front row. But exclusivity is not exactly out of style; it’s just no longer symbolized by something you can swing from your arm. In 2020, partying with Prada is what counts. And it’s an experience…
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Just when I needed it most, I learned a valuable life lesson from Lynda Wolters, who has a cancer that is currently incurable, diagnosed just after her 49th birthday. As an Idaho farm girl used to hard work, Ms. Wolters led a healthy life, enjoying ballroom dancing, horseback riding, rafting and hiking when not at…
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SHANGHAI — We sat in toddler-size wooden chairs around an orderly circle of Chinese 2-year-olds, busy with circle time. As a parent of three children who collectively spent 15 years in American day care, I am very familiar with circle time. But I was in this Shanghai classroom as a professor, with college students from…
DetailsAs probiotics grow in popularity, a recent study investigates the reliability of online information. They find that the majority of “top” websites provide information that lacks scientific evidence. As scientists have become increasingly interested in the role of gut bacteria, so have the public. In parallel with the microbiome’s rise to fame, probiotics have grown…
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(Jan. 20) Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) today welcomed the American College of Physicians’ (ACP) endorsement of single-payer Medicare for All. The ACP, a national organization of 159,000 internists, is the largest medical specialty society and second-largest physician group in the U.S. after the American Medical Association (AMA). The ACP announced its endorsement…
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A bone marrow transplant can be a lifesaving treatment, but it can come with life-threatening risks. The encouraging news for patients: Those risks have been plummeting for years. The overall risk of death after transplant dropped 34% between 2003-2007 and 2013-2017, according to an analysis published in the Jan. 21 issue of the Annals of…
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A technique that enables patients suffering from heart conditions to hold their breath safely for over 5 minutes could have potential as part of a new treatment for cardiac arrhythmias, say researchers at the University of Birmingham. In a new study, published in Frontiers in Physiology, researchers initially proposed the technique as a new means…
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Breast cancer progression can vary significantly between patients. Even within the same tumor, different areas may be composed of different types of cells and characterized by different tumor structures. This heterogeneity makes it challenging to ascertain the severity of a tumor and assess its molecular subtype, thereby affecting the precision of diagnosis and the choice…
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Drugs for diabetes, inflammation, alcoholism — and even for treating arthritis in dogs — can also kill cancer cells in the lab, according to a study by scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The researchers systematically analyzed thousands of already developed drug compounds and found nearly 50 that…
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