A Stroke at 30,000 Feet? For One Lucky Passenger, It Wasn't

A flight attendant on a recent commercial flight sent out the message: "Is there a doctor on board?"

An otherwise young, fit male passenger had suddenly lost the ability to move the muscles on the right side of his face, including the ability to close his right eye. He was drooling and had slurred speech.

Dr. Alan Hunter, who...

Could a Common Diuretic Med Help Ease Autism Symptoms?

A prescription drug that's long been used to treat the buildup of fluid in the body might do double duty as a means of easing autism symptoms in young children, new research shows.

If replicated in future trials, the drug treatment might be a breakthrough, since current treatments for autism in preschool kids are mainly behavioral -- t...

Losing Sense of Smell Can Worsen Life in Many Ways: Study

Could you imagine not being able to smell bacon frying, or freshly cut grass, or the presence of smoke?

People who lose their sense of smell face difficulties that can affect their daily lives and put their health and safety at risk, a new British study suggests.

It included 71 patients, ages 31 to 80, who lost their sense of...

Gene Test Might Spot Soccer Players at High Risk for Brain Trouble

A gene mutation implicated in the risk for Alzheimer's disease might also impair memory in soccer players who head the ball a lot, a new study suggests.

The finding could have implications for young athletes in contact sports where the head can take hits during play.

Among soccer players who headed the ball the most, those w...

Poverty Could Drive Up Youth Suicide Risk

New research shows that children and teens in U.S. areas with greater levels of poverty face a higher risk of suicide.

"Our findings suggest that community poverty is a serious risk factor for youth suicide, which should help target prevention efforts," said lead study author Dr. Jennifer Hoffmann. She is a pediatric emergency medicine...

At the Barbershop, a Trim -- and a Diabetes Screening

Hundreds of black men recently discovered they could get more than a trim at their local barbershops. They were offered diabetes testing, too.

A new study offered customers diabetes screenings at eight New York City barbershops. Among those who took the test, 10 percent learned they had average blood sugar levels that indicated type 2...

Does Size Matter? Volume of Brain Area Not Always Tied to Memory, Thinking

When it comes to parts of your brain, bigger isn't necessarily better.

Experts long believed that a bigger hippocampus meant better memory. But new research finds that the size of this seahorse-shaped structure deep in the brain doesn't always predict learning and memory abilities.

Researchers looked at more than 330 older ad...

Colon Cancer Hits Poor, City Dwellers Hardest: Study

Young Americans who live in urban areas or live with low income or low education levels are more likely to die if they get colon cancer, a new study finds.

"There are a lot of disparities in health care," said lead investigator Dr. Ashley Matusz-Fisher, an internist at the Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte, N.C. "It is important to ...

AHA News: These Doctors Want to Write 'Farmacy' Prescriptions

Doctors are used to writing prescriptions for medicine. But three Boston-area cardiologists are working on a federal program that would focus on writing prescriptions for food.

Varanda, which stands for Veterans Administration Repurposing Agriculture for Nutrition and Diet Awareness, would create a network of sustainable food gardens ...

Coronavirus Cases Top 2,700 in China, While 5th U.S. Case Is Confirmed

Chinese officials extended the New Lunar Year holiday on Sunday, as the number of cases of a new coronavirus climbed past 2,700 and the death toll reached 81.

Meanwhile, the United States reported on Sunday that its latest case count for the 2019-nCoV virus has climbed to five.

"To date, we have 110 of what we call persons un...

Could You Save a Life From Opioid Overdose?

As the United States grapples with an opioid abuse crisis, Americans are being urged to learn how to recognize and respond to overdoses from these and other drugs.

A populace better prepared to spot and respond to opioid ODs could help reduce the nearly 200 U.S. deaths per day linked to drugs and alcohol, the American Society of Anesth...

Is Suppressing Puberty the Right Course When a Child Questions Their Gender?

Suppressing puberty in a child who's questioning their gender identity might seem extreme, but the therapy is relatively safe and could significantly lower their risk of suicide, a new study reports.

Adolescents who wanted and received puberty suppression were 60% less likely to have considered suicide within the past year and 30&#...

Healthy Living Helps Keep the Flu at Bay

This flu season arrived early and hit children hard, but experts say you can dodge the flu by boosting your immune system.

How? By living a healthy lifestyle and getting sufficient sleep, according to experts from Purdue University's School of Nursing, in West Lafayette, Ind.

So far, nearly 13 million flu cases have been diag...

Psychedelics May Boost Mood Even After Their High Wears Off

Psychedelic drugs like LSD and psilocybin -- also known as "magic mushrooms" -- can elevate mood and make one feel close to others, and those feelings may last after the high is gone, new research shows.

The findings, from more than 1,200 art and music festival-goers, echo lab work that showed psychedelics enhance feelings of social c...

Even Female Bosses Face Sexual Harrassment: Study

When most people think of sexual harassment of females on the job, they assume it's happening to lower-level staffers. But surprisingly, women supervisors actually encounter more of it than other female workers, a new study finds.

Researchers examined workplace sexual harassment in the United States, Japan and Sweden. They found that f...

Chicago Woman Is 2nd U.S. Case of Wuhan Virus

A Chicago woman in her 60s has been identified as the second U.S. patient to be diagnosed with a new Chinese coronavirus, health officials announced Friday.

The woman visited China in late December and returned to Chicago from Wuhan on Jan. 13, days before the CDC started screening incoming passengers for coronavirus.

A few d...

First Clinical Studies Find Wuhan Virus Closely Resembles SARS

The new coronavirus rapidly spreading in China and nearby countries seems to trigger symptoms similar to those seen in the severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (SARS) coronavirus outbreak in 2003, two new studies show.

Published Jan. 24 in The Lancet journal, these are the first clinical studies conducted on patients struc...

Making the Mummy Speak -- Or at Least Make a Sound

Nesyamun, an Egyptian priest who chanted hymns at the grand temple of Karnak in Thebes 3,000 years ago, has been allowed to speak once more.

Well, maybe not speak in full sentences: A British team has re-created the mummified Nesyamun's throat using 3-D technology, allowing it to utter a vowel they believe mimics how the priest sounded...

Low-Dose Aspirin Might Help Prevent Preterm Births

A daily baby aspirin helped first-time mothers lower their chances of delivering too soon in a new clinical trial, though it's not clear the practice should become routine everywhere.

The trial, which was run in six lower-income countries, found that giving first-time mothers a daily low-dose aspirin reduced their risk of preterm birt...

Faulty Immune System May Lead to Lung Cancer

An immune system that's not functioning normally may lead to lung cancer in patients who don't smoke, a new study suggests.

"A strong immune system helps to keep inflammation under control and chronic inflammation is known to promote cancer," said co-author Rayjean Hung.

"Our research suggests that it's underlying dysfunctio...