Today: October 06, 2024
Today: October 06, 2024

Latest From The Los Angeles Post

Health

Extreme heat is particularly hard on older adults – an aging population and climate change put ever more people at risk

Without home cooling, Phoenix’s weeks with temperatures over 110 F in July 2023 became dangerous. Brandon Bell/Getty Images Scorching temperatures have put millions of Americans in danger this summer, with heat extremes stretching from coast to coast in the Southern U.S. Phoenix hit 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius) or higher every day for over three weeks in July. Other major cities, from Las Vegas to Miami, experienced relentless high temperatures, which residents described as “hell on earth.” While the evening news runs footage of miserable sunbathers on Miami Beach and joggers in Austin, Texas, dousing themselves with water, these images

Extreme heat is particularly hard on older adults – an aging population and climate change put ever more people at risk
Health

As suicides rise in the US, the 988 hotline offers hope – but most Americans aren't aware of it

You can call 988 for yourself, or for a friend or family member. Flashpop/Stone via Getty Images July 2023 marks the one-year anniversary of the national launch of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Currently, more than 200 call centers throughout the U.S. are responding to 988 calls. But few people know it exists. SciLine interviewed Dr. Emmy Betz, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado, who discussed the critical need to raise awareness about 988, the increasing numbers of suicide deaths in the U.S. and the signs that someone is thinking about suicide. Emmy Betz discusses

As suicides rise in the US, the 988 hotline offers hope – but most Americans aren't aware of it
Health

Fixing the global childhood obesity epidemic begins with making healthy choices the easier choices – and that requires new laws and policies

Clean and safe city parks can be important factors in supporting kids’ health and well-being. paci77/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images The global childhood obesity epidemic has exploded. Over the past four decades, the world has witnessed a tenfold increase in obesity in children and adolescents between 5 and 19 years old. More than 124 million children across the world are currently considered to be obese. In children under age 5, obesity used to be nearly unheard of. Now, more than 38 million young children live with this condition. Researchers now estimate that there are more obese children than underweight children

Fixing the global childhood obesity epidemic begins with making healthy choices the easier choices – and that requires new laws and policies
Health

Unlocking a Pain-Free Future: Research Reveals Strategies to Mitigate Low Back Pain

Worldwide, close to twice as many women as men report low back pain. RealPeopleGroup/E+ via Getty Images The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Low back pain is the leading cause of disability in the world, with over 600 million people living with the condition. This is one of the key takeaways of our June 2023 study published in the journal The Lancet Rheumatology. Our systematic analysis synthesizes data from approximately 500 studies throughout the world over 30 years to estimate the global burden of low back pain, broken down by country, year,

Unlocking a Pain-Free Future: Research Reveals Strategies to Mitigate Low Back Pain
Health

Trans youth are significantly more likely to attempt suicide when gender dysphoria is met with conversion therapy than with hormone treatment

Trans teens living in a supportive family environment have a lower risk of attempting suicide or running away from home. Eoneren/E+ via Getty Images As states continue to introduce laws that restrict access to gender-affirming care or limit protections against conversion therapy, questions have arisen about the effectiveness of interventions intended to help transgender youth. In this political climate, gold-standard evidence is more important than ever. Prior research has been unable to tease out cause and effect between health outcomes and gender-affirming care like hormone therapy or gender-denying interventions like conversion therapy, largely because of a lack of longitudinal data

Trans youth are significantly more likely to attempt suicide when gender dysphoria is met with conversion therapy than with hormone treatment
Health

Sesame is being newly added to some foods. The FDA says it doesn't violate a allergy law

Food manufacturers who deliberately add sesame to products and include the ingredient on labels are not violating a new federal food allergy law, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a food safety advocacy group, had petitioned the FDA to halt an unintended consequence of the January law — more companies adding sesame to foods that didn’t have it before. But the agency denied the advocacy group’s request. More than 1.6 million people in the U.S. are allergic to sesame, food allergy experts say. Food allergies can lead to serious, even

Sesame is being newly added to some foods. The FDA says it doesn't violate a allergy law
Health

GOP nominee says he would renew push for Medicaid work requirement if elected governor in Kentucky

Republican candidate Daniel Cameron said Wednesday that he would move quickly as Kentucky’s governor to revive a push to require some able-bodied adults to work in exchange for health care coverage through Medicaid. If he succeeds in unseating Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear later this year, Cameron said his administration would seek federal permission to impose the Medicaid work requirement. The proposed rule would exclude able-bodied adults who are “truly vulnerable,” including those with children or who are pregnant, his campaign said in a follow-up statement. Cameron declared that connecting Medicaid coverage to work for some Kentuckians

GOP nominee says he would renew push for Medicaid work requirement if elected governor in Kentucky
Health

Extreme heat is particularly hard on older adults, and an aging population and climate change are putting ever more people at risk

Without home cooling, Phoenix’s weeks with temperatures over 110 F in July 2023 became dangerous. Brandon Bell/Getty Images Scorching temperatures have put millions of Americans in danger this summer, with heat extremes stretching from coast to coast in the Southern U.S. Phoenix hit 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius) or higher every day for over three weeks in July. Other major cities, from Las Vegas to Miami, experienced relentless high temperatures, which residents described as “hell on earth.” While the evening news runs footage of miserable sunbathers on Miami Beach and joggers in Austin, Texas, dousing themselves with water, these images

Extreme heat is particularly hard on older adults, and an aging population and climate change are putting ever more people at risk
Health

Where the government draws the line for Medicaid coverage leaves out many older Americans who may need help paying for medical and long-term care bills – new research

Many older people with health insurance coverage through Medicare still can’t afford the care they need. RichLegg/E+ via Getty Images The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Medicaid, which provides low-income Americans with health insurance coverage, currently excludes large numbers of adults over 65 with social, health and financial profiles similar to those of people the program does cover. Based on a study we conducted, we determined that if strict eligibility rules for Medicaid were changed to help cover such people, from 700,000 to 11.5 million people over 65 would be newly eligible

Where the government draws the line for Medicaid coverage leaves out many older Americans who may need help paying for medical and long-term care bills – new research
Health

Cigna health giant accused of improperly rejecting thousands of patient claims using an algorithm

A federal lawsuit alleges that health insurance giant Cigna used a computer algorithm to automatically reject hundreds of thousands of patient claims without examining them individually as required by California law. The class-action lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in Sacramento, says Cigna Corp. and Cigna Health and Life Insurance Co. rejected more than 300,000 payment claims in just two months last year. The company used an algorithm called PXDX, shorthand for ”procedure-to-diagnosis,” to identify whether claims met certain requirements, spending an average of just 1.2 seconds on each review, according to the lawsuit. Huge batches

Cigna health giant accused of improperly rejecting thousands of patient claims using an algorithm
Health

Salmonella in ground beef sickens 16, hospitalizing 6, in 4 states, CDC says

Ground beef contaminated with salmonella has sickened at least 16 people, including six hospitalized, in four Northeastern states, federal health officials said Tuesday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said illnesses have been reported in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Ground beef is the only common food reported in the outbreak. People who recalled what they ate and where they bought it reported eating 80% lean ground beef purchased from ShopRite stores in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. No recall has been issued, and an investigation is continuing, the agency said. The true number of people

Salmonella in ground beef sickens 16, hospitalizing 6, in 4 states, CDC says
Health

Transgender patients sue the hospital that provided their records to Tennessee's attorney general

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is being sued by its transgender clinic patients, who accuse the hospital of violating their privacy by turning their records over to Tennessee’s attorney general. Two patients sued Monday in Nashville Chancery Court, saying they were among more than 100 people whose records were sent by Vanderbilt to Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. His office has said it is examining medical billing in a “run of the mill” fraud investigation that isn’t directed at patients or their families. Vanderbilt has said it was required by law to comply. The patients say Vanderbilt was

Transgender patients sue the hospital that provided their records to Tennessee's attorney general
Health

Court says OxyContin maker's bankruptcy and protections for Sackler family members can move ahead

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma can start executing a settlement that protects members of the Sackler family who own the company from civil lawsuits over the toll of opioids, a court ruled Tuesday. The ruling from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York allows the company’s transformation to start. Under a deal reached last year with thousands of state and local government entities, the company is to become a new entity with its profits being used to fight the opioid epidemic. And Sackler family members are to pay up to $6 billion over time. The Purdue deal is

Court says OxyContin maker's bankruptcy and protections for Sackler family members can move ahead
Health

Block on Iowa's strict abortion law can be appealed, state Supreme Court says

Gov. Kim Reynolds can proceed with an appeal on a temporary block on the state’s new, restrictive abortion law, the Iowa Supreme Court said Tuesday. Reynolds announced her intentions to appeal last week and said it was “just a matter of time” before lawyers for the state filed the request, which they did Friday. The Iowa Supreme Court had to say whether the request could move forward. The Republican-controlled Legislature approved the measure to ban most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy during a July 11 special session, and the law went into effect

Block on Iowa's strict abortion law can be appealed, state Supreme Court says
Health

Abortion rights amendment cleared for Ohio’s November ballot, promising expensive fight this fall

A proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing access to abortion made Ohio’s fall ballot Tuesday, setting up what promises to be a volatile and expensive fight rife with emotional messaging and competing factual claims. The ballot measure would establish “a fundamental right to reproductive freedom” with “reasonable limits.” In language similar to a constitutional amendment that Michigan voters approved last November, it would require restrictions imposed past a fetus’ viability outside the womb, which is typically around the 24th week of pregnancy and was the standard under Roe v. Wade, to be based on evidence of patient health

Abortion rights amendment cleared for Ohio’s November ballot, promising expensive fight this fall
Health

Gynecologist who sexually abused dozens of patients is sentenced to 20 years in prison

A gynecologist who sexually abused dozens of vulnerable and trusting patients for over two decades at prestigious New York hospitals cried before he was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison by a federal judge who called his crimes shocking and unprecedented. The sentence for Robert Hadden, 64, came nearly a month after he heard nine victims describe how the doctor abused them during gynecology treatments from the late 1980s until 2012 at prominent hospitals, including Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Given his chance to speak Tuesday, Hadden stood with his hands folded

Gynecologist who sexually abused dozens of patients is sentenced to 20 years in prison
Health

Millions of Americans believe aromatherapy works – but for many doctors, it still doesn't pass the smell test

Public acceptance of aromatherapy is high, but that doesn’t mean it works. Huizeng Hu/Moment via Getty Images The history of using essential oils and their aromas to improve health and well-being dates back thousands of years. Like today, patients would inhale or topically apply these oils, which were typically extracted from plants – from leaves to flowers to roots to bark. But not until the 1930s was this form of therapy considered to have true potential in mainstream health care. That was when Rene Maurice Gattefossé, a French chemist who coined the word aromatherapie, wrote extensively about the properties of

Millions of Americans believe aromatherapy works – but for many doctors, it still doesn't pass the smell test
Health

Covering the heat wave in sizzling Phoenix, an AP photographer recounts a scare from heat exhaustion

Heat never scared me before. I’ve spent 23 years covering Phoenix as a photographer for The Associated Press, shooting golf tournaments, baseball games and other outdoor sporting events, the city’s growing homeless population, immigration and crime. And, of course, heat. Like most people around here, I talk about temperatures being in the teens as if it’s a given that people know to always put a one in front of that number. But this summer’s record-shattering heat wave has been like no other. No amount of water or Gatorade can keep you going in these conditions without adequate

Covering the heat wave in sizzling Phoenix, an AP photographer recounts a scare from heat exhaustion
Health

Judge orders Montana health clinic to pay nearly $6 million over false asbestos claims

A health clinic in a Montana town plagued by deadly asbestos contamination must pay the government almost $6 million in penalties and damages after it submitted hundreds of false asbestos claims, a judge ruled. The 337 false claims made patients eligible for Medicare and other benefits they shouldn’t have received. The federally funded clinic has been at the forefront of the medical response to deadly pollution from mining near Libby, Montana The judgement against the Center for Asbestos Related Disease clinic comes in a federal case filed by BNSF Railway in 2019 under the False Claims

Judge orders Montana health clinic to pay nearly $6 million over false asbestos claims
Health

Tornado damage to Pfizer plant unlikely to cause major drug supply shortages, FDA says

Most of the destruction from a tornado that tore through eastern North Carolina Wednesday and struck a large Pfizer pharmaceutical plant affected its storage facility, rather than its medicine production areas, the company said Friday. The drugmaker’s ability to salvage production equipment and other essential materials could mitigate what experts feared would be a major blow to an already strained system as the United States grapples with existing drug shortages. “We do not expect there to be any immediate significant impacts on supply given the products are currently at hospitals and in the distribution system,” U.S.

Tornado damage to Pfizer plant unlikely to cause major drug supply shortages, FDA says
Health

WHO expert cancer group states that the sweetener aspartame is a possible carcinogen, but evidence is limited – 6 questions answered

Research on possible links between aspartame consumption and cancer is ongoing and far from conclusive. celsopupo/iStock via Getty Images Plus The World Health Organization declared on July 14, 2023, that the widely used synthetic sweetener aspartame could be a “possible” carcinogen, or cancer-causing agent, on the basis of “limited evidence for cancer in humans.” But the agency also concluded that the currently available data does not warrant a change of the acceptable daily intake of aspartame at this time. The Conversation asked chronic disease epidemiologist Paul D. Terry, public health scholar Jiangang Chen and nutrition expert Ling Zhao, all from

WHO expert cancer group states that the sweetener aspartame is a possible carcinogen, but evidence is limited – 6 questions answered
Health

A woman who investigators say burned a Wyoming abortion clinic pleads guilty to arson

An abortion opponent who told investigators that anxiety and nightmares about plans for Wyoming’s first full-service abortion clinic in years led her to break into and burn the facility pleaded guilty to a federal arson charge Thursday. U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson accepted Lorna Roxanne Green’s agreement with prosecutors at a change-of-plea hearing. Green, 22, will face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when she’s sentenced. “While I deeply regret my actions, I accept complete responsibility for what I have done,” Green told the judge. The fire happened at the Wellspring Health

A woman who investigators say burned a Wyoming abortion clinic pleads guilty to arson
Health

Homes become 'air fryers' in Phoenix heat, people sacrifice on AC for fear of cost

Temperatures have peaked at or above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) the entire month of July in Phoenix. Air conditioning, which made modern Phoenix even possible, is a lifeline. When a cloudless sky combines with outdoor temperatures over 100 F, your house turns into an “air fryer” or “broiler,” as the roof absorbs powerful heat and radiates it downward, said Jonathan Bean, co-director of the Institute for Energy Solutions at the University of Arizona. Bean knows this not only from his research, he also experienced it firsthand this weekend when his air conditioner broke. “This level of heat that

Homes become 'air fryers' in Phoenix heat, people sacrifice on AC for fear of cost
Health

Tornado damage to Pfizer plant will probably create long-term shortages of some drugs hospitals need

The fallout from a Pfizer factory being damaged by a tornado could put even more pressure on already-strained drug supplies at U.S. hospitals, experts say. Wednesday’s tornado touched down near Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and ripped up the roof of a Pfizer factory that makes nearly 25% of all sterile injectable medicines used in U.S. hospitals, according to the drugmaker. Pfizer said all employees were safely evacuated and accounted for, and that it is still assessing damage. Here’s a closer look at the possible effects. WHAT ARE STERILE INJECTABLES? The North Carolina plant produces injectables — like drugs used in

Tornado damage to Pfizer plant will probably create long-term shortages of some drugs hospitals need
Health

A feline virus mutation in Cyprus caused far fewer cat deaths than claimed, veterinary leader says

The head of the Cyprus veterinarians association on Wednesday dismissed as greatly exaggerated the claims that a local mutation of a feline virus has killed as many as 300,000 cats on the small Mediterranean island. The director of the Pancyprian Veterinary Association, Nektaria Ioannou Arsenoglou, said the group’s survey of 35 veterinary clinics indicate an island-wide total of only about 8,000 deaths. Arsenoglou said numbers that have been presented by local animal activists and amplified by foreign media outlets “simply don’t add up.” Arsenoglou told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the local mutation of a

A feline virus mutation in Cyprus caused far fewer cat deaths than claimed, veterinary leader says

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