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(Blake Farmer/WPLN News)/KFF HEALTH NEWS/TNS

Nurse convicted in patient's death turns fatal drug error into a cautionary tale

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

When RaDonda Vaught got her first speaking request, it had been a year since that day in a Nashville courtroom, when she listened as a jury read her guilty verdict for negligent homicide and neglect of an impaired adult.

That was in 2022. Vaught was sentenced to three years of probation for administering the wrong medication and killing a ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

Another B vitamin linked to worse outcomes for cancer

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Too little vitamin B12 can damage genetic material and increase cancer risk, though some studies implicate high levels of the crucial vitamin with certain cancers and poorer outcomes in cancer patients.

A 2025 study from Vietnam found increased cancer risk for both low and excessively high B12 consumption, indicating that balance matters. An ...Read more

Kate Wells/KFF Health News/TNS

Michigan found a way to reduce school vaccine waivers. Until it backfired

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

PORT HURON, Mich. — State health officials urged parents in several counties to vaccinate babies against measles ahead of schedule this spring as cases multiplied in Michigan. The outbreaks of the highly contagious virus — which can lead to brain swelling, deafness, and death — came as parents are opting school-age kids out of vaccinations...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

Mayo Clinic study shows AI can reveal brain tumor risks without costly genetic testing

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic researchers and collaborators have shown that artificial intelligence can analyze routine pathology slides to help classify meningiomas, the most common primary brain tumor in adults, and predict a patient's risk of tumor recurrence.

The study, published in The Lancet Digital Health, demonstrates that deep ...Read more

Constipation Persists After A Colonoscopy From Six Months Ago

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm a 66-year-old male in good health. I've always had very regular bowel movements, usually spending less than 5 minutes in the bathroom daily. About six months ago, I had a colonoscopy. Since then, I've been constipated with very hard stools. My doctor recommended fiber supplements three times a day and Colace. I've been ...Read more

Understanding and managing Lewy Body Dementia

Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) affects around a million folks in the U.S. -- only Alzheimer's disease is more prevalent. But many folks don't understand what it is or what signs to look for.

LBD is caused by deposits in the brain of a protein called alpha-synuclein and that can lead to either dementia with Lewy bodies (first you develop dementia, ...Read more

Bang Showbiz / MGK got sick while getting his blackout tattoo

Machine Gun Kelly 'turned yellow' having blackout tattoo

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Machine Gun Kelly turned yellow after getting "really sick" due to his blackout tattoo.

The Lonely Road hitmaker debuted his dramatic body art back in 2024, but has now revealed it had a huge impact on his health after ignoring tattoo artist ROXX's advice to spend two years working on the look.

He told Billboard Canada: "She warned me that it ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

Vitamin D shows promise for hard-to-treat pancreatic cancers

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Patients receiving a type of vitamin D lived longer after chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer in a small study run by researchers with the Salk Institute.

Among 36 patients with previously untreated pancreatic cancer that had metastasized or spread, those taking a type of vitamin D called paricalcitol experienced a significant survival boost one...Read more

Teens experience newfound freedoms as they enter college. FatCamera/E+ via Getty Images

Summer between high school graduation and college is a critical time for preventing risky behaviors – here’s how parents can play a key role

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Early summer is a valuable time for parents and young people to prepare for the transition to college in the fall.

As first-year college students arrive on campus every fall, a predictable pattern unfolds. Rates of heavy drinking spike, social pressures intensify, and the risk of sexual assault, injury and other harms increases.

...Read more

Candice Evers/WPLN and KFF Health News/TNS

Focused on work, needed at home: A federal caregiving policy might help

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Jill Woodrow reached a tipping point as a caregiver when her mom began struggling to communicate information about her latest doctor appointments.

Woodrow’s mother, a uterine cancer survivor, was seeing specialists to get to the bottom of several new, concerning symptoms. “When she would try to tell us about what happened or what the ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Is America's most popular cooking oil harming your gut?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

More than half of the oil consumed in the United States is heavy soybean oil, but studies link the ingredient to changes in gut bacteria, a weakened intestinal lining and issues such as ulcerative colitis.

For one study in Gut Microbes, researchers from the University of California, Riverside, fed mice a diet high in soybean oil for up to 24 ...Read more

Getting a grip on your muscle strength and stroke risk

Sarcopenia is a muscle-wasting disease, first recognized in 2016, that's associated with premature aging, inactivity, taking GLP-1s without doing resistance exercise, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, smoking and excessive alcohol. (Before that, medical science thought it was just something that happened to folks as they aged.)

It develops when...Read more

Coronary Artery Score Continues To Raise Amid Statin Treatment

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: I'm an 80-year-old male who doesn't drink or smoke, exercises regularly, and takes telmisartan for blood pressure and rosuvastatin for cholesterol. I've never had any heart issues except for a diagnosis of arteriosclerosis. Five years ago, my calcium score resulted in a left anterior descending artery at 92.9 Agatston units, ...Read more

A 2023 CDC report tracked more than 200 pool-associated outbreaks over a four-year period. But a few basic precautions can ward off these dangers. Maria Korneeva/Moment via Getty Images

How germy is the public pool? An infectious disease expert weighs in on poop, pee and perspiration – and the deceptive smell of chlorine

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

On hot summer days, few things are more refreshing than a dip in the pool. But have you ever wondered if the pool is as clean as that crystal blue water appears?

As an immunologist and infectious disease specialist, I study how germs spread in public spaces and how to prevent the spread. I even teach a course called “The Infections ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

Recognize the sudden warning signs of stroke -- and BE FAST

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Stroke remains a leading cause of serious disability and death in the U.S., but recognizing symptoms quickly and seeking immediate medical attention can dramatically improve outcomes. Mayo Clinic experts emphasize that knowing the warning signs of stroke and acting fast can save brain function and lives.

"Time is brain ...Read more

(Arielle Weenonia Gray for KFF Health News)/KFF Health News/TNS

Telehealth booms as demand for GLP-1s surges and questions mount about safety, oversight

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Within 24 hours of injecting the first dose of a weight loss medication she received following a visit with a telehealth doctor, Karleigh McClain was admitted to the hospital, she said.

The 31-year-old compliance consultant from Hendersonville, Tennessee, said she couldn't stop vomiting.

"Sunday morning, it all hits," McClain recalled, as she ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Black midwives are suing Southern states, claiming regulations make it harder to help patients

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Black midwives in the South, a region rife with racial disparities in maternal health access and maternal mortality, are leading lawsuits over state regulations that they say limit their ability to provide care.

Women behind the litigation say midwives can help improve birthing outcomes in Southern states, where maternal mortality rates are ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

Ask the Pediatrician: Finding mental healthcare for your child

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Healthy mental and emotional development is vital for a healthy childhood. Today, children and teens are dealing with sources of stress that most parents never imagined.

Over the past few years, they've had to adjust to ever-changing routines and expectations at home, at school, and in their real-life and online interactions. It has become even...Read more

Do you have the fiber it takes to live longer and stronger?

Here's good news for the more than 86 million U.S. adults with elevated lousy LDL cholesterol. You can reduce your risk of dying from heart disease -- or any other cause -- by upping your fiber intake.

A new study in Lipids in Health and Disease looked at around eight years of data on more than 1,700 adults. It showed that for every 10 grams of...Read more

Daily Productive Cough Causes Patient to Wonder About COPD

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR ROACH: I decided to practice using an inhalation spirometer, partly because I have a daily productive cough (small amounts three to four times a day). I smoked a pack of filtered cigarettes a day from ages 17-29. I smoke marijuana now.

My scoliosis is quite complex and has taken over 4 inches off my height. But at age 75, I volunteer as...Read more