Did you get covid but never feel sick? New study hints at why
As the coronavirus emerged, so did a mystery: Why did some who got infected never develop symptoms? One likely explanation is it may be a person’s lucky genes. A new study published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature suggests people with a specific version of a gene were far more...
Maine governor expands access to abortion later in pregnancy
AUGUSTA, Maine — Democratic Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill into law Wednesday that expands access to abortions later in pregnancy in Maine, joining a half-dozen states that leave it to doctors and patients to make the decision without restrictions on timing. The new law allows abortions at any time...
Pittsburgh moving ahead with plan for medical debt relief
Pittsburgh officials are moving ahead with plans to alleviate medical debt for some city residents. Councilman Bobby Wilson, D-North Side, introduced a measure last year that would use $1 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars to contract with a company that will buy dischargeable health care debt from...
Fitch downgrades Heritage Valley’s rating
Fitch Ratings has downgraded its rating that assesses Heritage Valley Health System’s vulnerability of default to A+ from AA-. The downgrade of the hospital system’s reflects “several years of sizeable operating losses” and ongoing challenges that emerged before the covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020. The report cited pressures due to...
New drug to protect babies and toddlers from RSV gets FDA approval ahead of cold season
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials on Monday approved the first long-acting drug to protect babies and toddlers against a respiratory virus that sends tens of thousands of American children to the hospital each year. RSV is a cold-like nuisance for most healthy people, but it can be life-threatening in the very...
2nd Alzheimer’s drug in pipeline can slow the disease by a few months but with safety risk
WASHINGTON — Another experimental Alzheimer’s drug can modestly slow patients’ inevitable worsening — by about four to seven months, researchers reported Monday. Eli Lilly and Co. is seeking Food and Drug Administration approval of donanemab. If cleared, it would be only the second Alzheimer’s treatment convincingly shown to delay the...
Law says Pa. autopsy reports should be public. Why aren’t they?
From coast to coast, officials have tried to block Terence Keel from getting autopsy reports as he studies jail and police-custody deaths. But after clashing with recalcitrant civil servants in California, Illinois, Maryland and Texas, the UCLA professor said no state has vexed him like Pennsylvania. In his quest for...
The term ‘unalive’ is a way that kids can safely discuss and understand serious matters
When Emily Litman was in middle school, kids whose parents grounded them would blithely lament: “I just want to die.” Now she’s a middle school teacher in New Jersey, and when her students’ phones and TikTok access are taken away, their out-loud whining has a 21st-century digital twist: “I feel...
Soda sweetener aspartame now listed as possible cancer cause. But it’s still considered safe
The World Health Organization’s cancer agency has deemed the sweetener aspartame — found in diet soda and countless other foods — as a “possible” cause of cancer, while a separate expert group looking at the same evidence said it still considers the sugar substitute safe in limited quantities. The differing...
First over-the-counter birth control pill gets FDA approvalVideo
U.S. officials have approved the first over-the-counter birth control pill, which will let American women and girls buy contraceptive medication from the same aisle as aspirin and eyedrops. The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it cleared Perrigo’s once-a-day Opill to be sold without a prescription, making it the first...
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh gets approval to expand Heart Institute
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh has received approval from the city’s Planning Commission to build an addition at its Lawrenceville site to expand its Heart Institute. Plans call for a 50,000-square-foot addition atop an existing parking structure. The addition will accommodate the growing Heart Institute and create space for new...
AGH nurses urge call for staffing, safety improvements as negotiations loom
Citing an ongoing shortage of nurses and concerns for patient safety, the unionized registered nurses of Allegheny General Hospital urged health care workers throughout the region to demand improvements to staffing levels. At a news conference Wednesday at Allegheny Commons Park North in Pittsburgh, the RNs represented by SEIU Healthcare...
West Virginia state health officer to join board overseeing opioid fund distribution
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s state health officer was selected Wednesday to represent one of the hardest-hit regions of the state for drug overdoses on the board of a private foundation that will be distributing the majority of the state’s more than $1 billion in opioid settlements. Dr. Matthew Christiansen,...
Few U.S. adults support full abortion bans, even in states that have them, an AP-NORC poll finds
The majority of U.S. adults, including those living in states with the strictest limits on abortion, want it to be legal at least through the initial stages of pregnancy, a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds. The poll was conducted in late June, one...
Families with transgender kids are increasingly forced to travel out of state for the care they need
CHICAGO — On an early morning in June, Flower Nichols and her mother set off on an expedition to Chicago from their home in Indianapolis. The family was determined to make it feel like an adventure in the city, though that wasn’t the primary purpose of the trip. The following...
The FDA is being asked to look into Logan Paul’s energy drink, which has the caffeine of 6 Coke cans
NEW YORK — An influencer-backed energy drink that has earned viral popularity among children is facing scrutiny from lawmakers and health experts over its potentially dangerous levels of caffeine. On Sunday, Sen. Charles Schumer called on the Food and Drug Administration to investigate PRIME, a beverage brand founded by the...
Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi has full FDA approval now and that means Medicare will pay for it
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials granted full approval to a closely watched Alzheimer’s drug on Thursday, clearing the way for Medicare and other insurance plans to begin covering the treatment for people with the brain-robbing disease. The Food and Drug Administration endorsed the IV drug, Leqembi, for patients with mild dementia...
Study: Drinking water from nearly half of U.S. faucets contains potentially harmful chemicals
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Drinking water from nearly half of U.S. faucets likely contains “forever chemicals” that may cause cancer and other health problems, according to a government study released Wednesday. The synthetic compounds known collectively as PFAS are contaminating drinking water to varying extents in large cities and small...
Maternal deaths in the U.S. more than doubled over two decades. Black mothers died at the highest rate
Maternal deaths across the U.S. more than doubled over the course of two decades, and the tragedy unfolded unequally. Black mothers died at the nation’s highest rates, while the largest increases in deaths were found in American Indian and Native Alaskan mothers. And some states — and racial or ethnic...
Allegheny County overdose deaths dropped 5% last year, data show
Drug overdose deaths in Allegheny County dropped 5% last year compared to the year before, according to data released by the medical examiner’s officer. Overdoses killed 689 people in 2022, down from 719 in 2021, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Karl Williams said. Deaths in 2020 also totaled 689, the county...
New study finds that night owls’ unhealthy habits may lead to early deaths
According to a May 2023 study published in Chronobiology International, night owls — people who go to bed later and wake up later — possibly die earlier than those who operate during the earlier portions of the day. That mainly because those who are up late are more at risk...
Are you confronting a big medical bill? Attack it with a plan — and these tips
An enormous medical bill can trigger a wave of panic, but try to resist. That startling invoice that arrived in the mail may not be what you wind up paying. Errors or slow insurance payments may have inflated the total. Even if it’s accurate, financial aid or other assistance might...
Anthrocon attendees have added concerns with heat and smoke combination
Wearing a 30- to 50-
pound fur suit in temperatures in the mid-80s
with high humidity can
be uncomfortable enough.
Add in the smoke from the Canadian wildfires, and breathing can be a challenge. “There is always a concern about inclement weather of every type,” said John “KP” Cole of Orlando,...
Independence Health System lays off 53 employees
Independence Health System laid off 53 employees this week, bringing the total number of positions eliminated this year to 226. The changes come in the wake of significant financial losses and a financial credit rating downgrade for part of the health system. Formed by the merger of Butler Health System...
Credit rating agency says Butler Health System is backsliding further financially
Butler Health System’s credit rating was downgraded this week. The system, which combined with Greensburg-based Excela Health at the beginning of the year to form Independence Health System, had its rating downgraded three notches from A to BBB on June 26. Excela and Butler Health are rated separately. Fitch previously...
