FRIDAY, Aug. 16, 2024 (HealthDay News) — As syphilis cases surge throughout the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first diagnostic at-home test to spot the bacterial disease. “This is the first at-home, over-the-counter test to detect Treponema pallidum [syphilis] antibodies in human blood,”Continue Reading
FRIDAY, Aug. 16, 2024 (HealthDay News) — As an outbreak of a new strain of mpox continues in Africa, Sweden announced Thursday that it has confirmed the first case in that country. Known as the clade I strain, this latest iteration of mpox appears to be spread more easily andContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Aug. 15, 2024 (HealthDay News) — The World Health Organization on Wednesday made the rare move of declaring an ongoing African outbreak of mpox a global health emergency. A new clade (strain) of the virus, plus its troubling spread throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and nearby countriesContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 14, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Older Americans already dread shingles, and they may now have one more reason to do so: A painful episode could raise their odds for cognitive decline. A new study found a 20% higher risk that an older person would experience “subjective cognitive decline”Continue Reading
FRIDAY, July 26, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Older people who avail themselves of the newest shingles vaccine could reap a hidden benefit: A significant drop in their odds of developing dementia. One expert applauded the new findings. “Dementia isn’t an inevitable part of aging; it’s caused by diseases like Alzheimer’s,”Continue Reading
FRIDAY, July 19, 2024 (HealthDay News) — It’s long been known that popping the antibiotic doxycycline within 72 hours of a risky sexual encounter can greatly reduce a person’s risk for a sexually transmitted infection (STI). In fact, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention formally recommended this typeContinue Reading
TUESDAY, July 2, 2024 (HealthDay News) — A girl’s genetics can indirectly influence the age when she has her first period, by accelerating her weight gain in childhood, a new study finds. A number of other genes also can directly affect the age of puberty, some with profound effects, researchersContinue Reading
MONDAY, July 1, 2024 (HealthDay News) — People largely date and marry people in their own “league,” as far as beauty is concerned, a new review finds. Men and women are fairly accurate at rating their own physical attractiveness, and they tend to choose mates who have similar views ofContinue Reading
THURSDAY, June 27, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Many sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise in the United States, and a nationwide poll indicates that ignorance about how they’re transmitted could be fueling their spread. About a third of Americans (34%) falsely believe sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can only beContinue Reading
FRIDAY, June 7, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Only about half of people with a sexually transmitted disease would tell a new partner about their infection before having sex, a new review finds. Fear prevents many people from revealing their STD to a new sex partner, according to the combined resultsContinue Reading
THURSDAY, June 6, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Though not at numbers seen in the 2022 outbreak, mpox cases are still circulating in the United States, largely among gay and bisexual men, new government data shows. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the outbreak of mpox (formerly knownContinue Reading
THURSDAY, June 6, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Teenagers who are part of close-knit neighborhoods and families are less likely to have sex at a young age, a new study has found. On the other hand, teens’ schools have less influence on their sexual behavior, researchers report. “Our results echo otherContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, June 5, 2024 (HealthDay News) — In new guidelines released Tuesday, U.S. health officials now recommend that certain people take the antibiotic doxycycline as a morning-after pill to lower the risk of some sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The latest recommendations only apply to gay and bisexual men and transgenderContinue Reading
FRIDAY, May 24, 2024 (HealthDay News) — For decades, the responsibility for birth control has fallen largely on women, but new research suggests a birth control pill for men might one day become a reality. How does it work? It targets a protein required for fertility, scientists report. The protein,Continue Reading