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More Data Suggests New Coronavirus Variants Weaken Vaccines, Treatments

There's new evidence that fast-spreading variants of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 are more resistant to antibody treatments and vaccines.

Researchers assessed variants first identified in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Brazil and found that they can evade antibodies that work well against the original version of the coronavir...

Moderna COVID Vaccine Can Sometimes Trigger Delayed Skin Reactions

Some people given the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine may develop a reaction at the injection site that can first appear more than a week after they get the shot, research shows.

A minority of patients may experience a large, red, sometimes raised, itchy or painful skin reaction, according to researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in...

American Indians Face the Highest Odds for Stroke

THURSDAY, March 4, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- While strokes strike many Americans, a new study shows the risk is particularly high among American Indians.

Researchers already knew that American Indians had the highest risk of atrial fibrillation, which is an irregular heartbeat ("arrhythmia") that can increase the risk of ...

COVID Leaves Most Pro Athletes With No Lasting Heart Damage: Study

THURSDAY, March 4, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- In some reassuring news for professional athletes, a new study finds very few develop inflammatory heart disease after being infected with COVID-19, and most can safely return to play.

In fact, of nearly 800 professional athletes who had tested positive, less than 1% were barre...

AHA News: Bypass Surgery Turned Doctor From Couch Potato Into Mountain Climber

Because of the lack of oxygen at such lofty altitudes, Dr. Akil Taherbhai needed four hours to climb the last mile to the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest freestanding mountain in the world.

Savoring the sense of triumph as he finally reached the summit, the family physician who is known as Dr. Taher to his patients in Gadsden, Alaba...

U.S. Hispanics at High Heart Disease Risk and Many Go Untreated: Report

THURSDAY, March 4, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Even after suffering a stroke, many Hispanic Americans still have uncontrolled diabetes, high blood pressure or other conditions that raise their risk of a repeat one, a new study finds.

The study involved 404 Hispanic adults with a history of stroke or "mini-stroke," which is ...

Catnip Might Be Your Next Mosquito Repellent

A common herb that makes your favorite feline high may hold the key to a mosquito-free summer in your backyard.

Researchers say catnip is as effective as synthetic insect repellents, including DEET, and they report why this common member of the mint family drives bugs positively buggy.

The active ingredient in catnip -- nepetalacton...

COVID Death Rates 10 Times Higher in Countries Where Most Are Overweight: Report

THURSDAY, March 4, 2021 (Healthday News) -- In a finding that suggests overweight people should be prioritized for COVID-19 vaccines, a new report released Thursday shows the risk of death from coronavirus infection is about 10 times higher in countries where most of the population is overweight.

The World Obesity Federation report fo...

She Barely Survived a Severe Form of COVID-19 Hitting Kids

THURSDAY, March 4, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Like many people this past year, teenager Tyona Montgomery began experiencing a sore throat and a loss of sense of smell and taste in November that suggested she might have COVID-19.

A positive test confirmed it, but she quickly felt better.

Then, just two weeks later, n...

Add Sleep Woes to Long-Term Effects of Concussions

Concussions can increase the long-term risk of a wide range of sleep disorders, a new study indicates.

Researchers looked at more than 98,700 U.S. veterans diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the same number of veterans with no history of TBI. The brain injuries ranged from mild TBI (concussion) to severe.

None of the p...

Opioid Addiction Relapse May Be Different for Men, Women

Who is more likely to relapse after opioid addiction treatment — women or men?

A new study that followed 1,100 recovering opioid users reveals that their risks are different.

The researchers followed the men and women for one year after treatment at more than 100 substance-use treatment facilities across the United States. During t...

Is Your Teen Unmotivated at School? That Might Change

If your teen seems disinterested in school, new research suggests there's a good chance that things will get better over time.

"Our results point to a more hopeful picture for students who start out with lower levels of motivation," said study senior author Kui Xie, a professor of educational studies at Ohio State University in Columbus

Women With Type 1 Diabetes May Have Fewer Childbearing Years: Study

Women with type 1 diabetes may have a shorter length of time to conceive and bear children compared to those without the disease, new research suggests.

The hormone insulin plays an important part in regulating female reproductive function, and people with type 1 diabetes don't make enough insulin on their own. But little was known about h...

Could Taking a Swing at Golf Help Parkinson's Patients?

WEDNESDAY, March 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- For helping Parkinson's patients improve their balance and mobility, golf may beat the martial art exercise tai chi, a new, small study reveals.

"Exercise is well-known to treat the symptoms of Parkinson's disease," said study author Dr. Anne-Marie Wills, noting it helps to im...

Vaping Pot Worse Than Vaping Tobacco for Teens' Lungs: Study

Teenagers who vape pot are more likely to wheeze and cough than those who smoke or vape nicotine, new survey data reveals.

Reports from U.S. kids 12 to 17 show they have a higher risk of wheezing, suffering from a dry cough, and having their sleep, speech or exercise impeded by wheezing if they vape marijuana products, according to re...

New Coronavirus Variant Out of Brazil Now in 5 U.S. States

WEDNESDAY, March 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The first U.S. case of a Brazilian COVID-19 variant that doctors fear can re-infect the previously sick surfaced in Minnesota in early January 2021, and the more infectious variant has since been found in four other states, a new government report says.

Known as the P.1 varian...

Scientists Discover Why Blood Type May Matter for COVID Infection

A new study provides further evidence that people with certain blood types may be more likely to contract COVID-19.

Specifically, it found that the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is particularly attracted to the blood group A antigen found on respiratory cells.

The researchers focused on a protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 vir...

College Students With ADHD Have Lower Grades, Higher Dropout Rates

College students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a harder time making it to graduation than their peers do, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that of 400 students they followed, those with ADHD had a lower grade-point average (GPA) -- about half a grade lower -- than students without the disorder. The gap em...

AHA News: Calming Us Down or Revving Us Up, Music Can Be Good for the Heart

Stuck in traffic, with a nasty storm making a stressful commute even worse, Joanne Loewy reached for the car radio.

"I felt my heartbeat rise," said Loewy, director of the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel in New York City. "So I switched to the Bach cello suite in my 'traffic burden' playlist. I just...

Talking Points: People Rarely End Conversations When They Want To

Ever been caught in small-talk you secretly wanted to end?

So has nearly everyone else, according to new research that finds that both partners in a conversation often want it to end sooner than it does.

The flip side is often true, as well. Study author Adam Mastroianni said that his team was "surprised to find that convers...