Health

WASHINGTON — Children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome, a rare condition linked to the virus that causes COVID-19, have biochemical indicators that are distinct from other kids suffering from the virus and that could lead to new means of diagnosis and... Read More

At age 93, struggling with the effects of a stroke, heart failure and recurrent cancer, Teri Sheridan was ready to end her life using New Jersey's law that allows medically assisted suicide -- but she was bedbound, too sick to... Read More

WASHINGTON — A pair of conservative House members on Thursday said the GOP needs to wake up to the fact that the legalization of cannabis could be a winning issue for the party in 2024 and beyond. The setting for... Read More

North Dakota’s Republican Gov. Doug Burgum signed a bill into law that restricts transgender health care in the state, immediately making it a crime to give gender-affirming care to people younger than 18. Gender-affirming care for minors has been available... Read More

REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft Corp. and Epic on Monday are expanding their long-standing strategic collaboration to develop and integrate generative AI into health care. According to a joint announcement from the companies, they will do so by combining the scale... Read More

WASHINGTON — Music superstar Sir Elton John testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday morning. Appearing remotely from the United Kingdom at the “PEPFAR at 20: Achieving and Sustaining Epidemic Control” hearing, he urged the committee to continue to... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended its order blocking restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone until at least Friday, meaning they'll be available to women who want them at least through the end of the week. The decision,... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed an executive order during a Rose Garden ceremony dramatically expanding access to child care and long-term care for the elderly and others that need it. “We’re here today to take action on... Read More

ORLANDO, Fla. — A personalized mRNA-based cancer vaccine, when combined with Merck cancer therapy Keytruda, resulted in a statistically significant improvement in recurrence-free survival in people who had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor, compared with using Keytruda alone. That... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday simplified its recommended COVID-19 vaccination schedule, announcing that a single dose of the bivalent vaccine specific to the BA.4 and BA.5 strains of the omicron variant is enough to protect most... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs and National Institutes of Health have launched a joint study to gain a better understanding of the chronic symptoms of Gulf War Illness. The disease is known to affect about one-third of the... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice and drug company Danco Laboratories asked the Supreme Court on Friday to continue to afford women access to a popular abortion drug, while the legal battle rages on concerning its use. Mifepristone was approved... Read More

COLUMBIA. Mo. (AP) — Missouri's attorney general announced new restrictions Thursday on gender-affirming care for adults in addition to minors in a move that is believed to be a first nationally and has advocacy groups threatening to sue. Attorney General... Read More

DENVER (AP) — Cindy Powers was driven into bankruptcy by 19 life-saving abdominal operations. Medical debt started stacking up for Lindsey Vance after she crashed her skateboard and had to get nine stitches in her chin. And for Misty Castaneda,... Read More

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled that the abortion pill mifepristone can still be used for now but reduced the period of pregnancy when the drug can be taken and said it could not be dispensed by mail. The... Read More

WASHINGTON — The White House’s drug policy czar on Wednesday designated fentanyl adulterated with the non-opioid tranquilizer xylazine as an emerging threat to the United States. The decision by Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National... Read More

NEW YORK — Juul Labs Inc. has agreed to pay $462 million to six states and the District of Columbia to end litigation over claims it deliberately marketed its e-cigarette products to adolescents, fueling the nation’s vaping crisis. The settlement,... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Texas case that could cut off access to the most commonly used abortion medication has started on a path through the legal system that could quickly lead to the Supreme Court. The drug, mifepristone, was approved... Read More

WASHINGTON — Taking a daily statin medication has been found to reduce the increased risk of cardiovascular disease among those living with HIV, the National Institutes of Health announced Tuesday. The positive outcome was identified during an interim analysis of... Read More

CHICAGO (AP) — The first openly gay person to lead the American Medical Association takes the reins at a fractious time for U.S. health care. Transgender patients and those seeking abortion care face restrictions in many places. The medical judgment of physicians is being overridden... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has appealed a Texas court ruling that would block the sale of the abortion medication mifepristone, the most commonly used method of abortion in the United States. In a filing before the 5th U.S. Circuit... Read More

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Kansas approved a plan early Friday to end gender-affirming care for transgender youth, capping a week of intensifying efforts to roll back LGBTQ rights. The Kansas House voted 70-52 to pass a bill requiring the state's medical... Read More

WASHINGTON — In 2021, the United States declared child and adolescent mental health a national emergency. COVID-19 was a factor, but a decline in mental health had been documented for at least a decade. In 2018, suicide was the second... Read More

MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., hosted a Facebook Live discussion this past week to discuss disparities in treatment and health outcomes for women suffering from cardiovascular disease and during cardiac events.  Joining Sherrill in conversation was Dr. Linda... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday issued an emergency use authorization for Gohibic (vilobelimab) injections to be used to treat COVID-19 in hospitalized adults. The authorization allows for the use of the injection within 48 hours of... Read More

WASHINGTON — House Democrats have introduced a bill that would create a national right for women to have an abortion and safeguard their decision-making process. Reps. Judy Chu, D-Calif., Lois Frankel, D-Fla., Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, introduced... Read More

On Thursday, March 30, 2023 — "a date which will live in infamy," to borrow a phrase from President Franklin D. Roosevelt — millions of Americans’ lives were put at risk by 57-year-old Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District... Read More

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan bill in the House aims to permanently expand access to emergency medical care for Medicare, Tricare and Medicaid beneficiaries.  Introduced by Reps. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, and Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, the Emergency Care Improvement Act would head... Read More

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, announced this week that the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley, will receive two grants, worth $2,238,994, over a period of five years to train school-based mental health service providers. The grants, which... Read More

WASHINGTON — A bill introduced by Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, aims to ensure that rural Americans and senior citizens have access to information about their prescription medications — even without internet access. “Many rural Mainers and seniors don’t have reliable... Read More