The condition is usually brought on by the stress of an event like losing a loved one.

After a traumatic event like a divorce or the death of a loved one, some people may experience chest pain and shortness of breath — the result of a condition known colloquially as “broken heart syndrome.”

The syndrome, which doctors formally call takotsubo cardiomyopathy, is thought to be triggered by physical or emotional stress, which releases bursts of stress hormones like adrenaline that prevent people’s hearts from contracting properly. Most patients recover quickly, but a small minority suffer heart failure. 

Although broken heart syndrome is most common in women, men die from it at more than twice the rate, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Nearly 19 million children in the United States have at least one parent with a substance use disorder, according to a new study published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics. And a significant number of those children have a parent whose addiction is moderate or severe as opposed to mild, the study finds.

The number amounts to 1 in 4 children with a parent who has addiction.

"I'm an addiction doc, and so I think about this issue all the time," says Dr. Scott Hadland, chief of adolescent medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, who wasn't involved in the new study. "Even still, I was surprised at how high that percentage was. It's just an enormous number of kids that are affected."

Bioplastics, heralded for supposedly breaking down more quickly, can cause similar health problems to other plastics

Starch-based bioplastic that is said to be biodegradable and sustainable is potentially as toxic as petroleum-based plastic, and can cause similar health problems, new peer-reviewed research finds.

Bioplastics have been heralded as the future of plastic because it breaks down quicker than petroleum-based plastic, and is often made from plant-based material such as corn starch, rice starch or sugar.

The material is often used in fast fashion clothing, wet wipes, straws, cutlery and a range of other products. The new research found damage to organs, changes to the metabolism, gut microbe imbalances that can lead to cardiovascular disease, and changes to glucose levels, among other health issues.

The authors say their study is the first to confirm “adverse effects of long-term exposure” in mice.

Titanium dioxide is the most widely used whitening pigment in the world and has been linked to adverse health effects, particularly genotoxicity and intestinal inflammation. It is applied as food coloring and a whitening agent to a wide variety of foods, including chewing gum, cakes, candies, breads and ice cream.

Because of health risks, France banned titanium dioxide as a food additive in 2020. Two years later the European Union also banned titanium dioxide as a food additive.

But in the U.S., titanium dioxide is found all over the grocery shelves. Candy like Skittles, Starbursts, and Jell-O, gum like Trident White peppermint gum and Mentos Freshmint Gum, cake products like Duncan Hines Creamy Vanilla Frosting, and Nabisco Chips Ahoy! cookies are just a few of the myriad food items that contain the additive.

A significant body of research, mostly from rodent models and in vitro studies, has linked titanium dioxide with health risks related to the gut, including intestinal inflammation, alterations to the gut microbiota, and more. It is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Group 2B, as possibly carcinogenic to humans.

As a food additive, titanium dioxide and its nanoparticles in particular have been associated with DNA damage and cell mutations, which in turn, have potential to cause cancer. When used as a food coloring, it is known as E171.

With the rise of nanotechnology, research in recent years has also shown the dangers of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, and their genotoxicity, which refers to a chemical agent’s ability to harm or damage DNA in cells, thus potentially causing cancer.

The Food and Drug administration has approved the U.S.'s first at-home alternative to the Pap smear, a procedure generations of women have dreaded and often found painful.

The new device by Teal Health will offer a "much preferred experience," the company said in its announcement, and also aims to increase screening rates by making the procedure more convenient.

Traditionally, gynecologists have inserted a cold metal speculum deep into a woman's vagina to scrape cells from the cervix.

The Teal Wand — "built with empathy," the company said — uses a swab to collect a vaginal sample. Women will then mail the sample to a lab that will screen for HPV (human papillomavirus), the virus that causes nearly all cervical cancers. A growing body of research has found HPV testing to be highly accurate.

Key programs from child-support services to HIV treatment also gutted, leaving global populations vulnerable

Mass terminations and billions of dollars’ worth of cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have gutted key programs – from child support services to HIV treatment abroad – and created a “real danger” that disease outbreaks will be missed, according to former workers.

Workers at the HHS, now led by RFK Jr, and in public health warned in interviews that chaotic, flawed and sweeping reductions would have broad, negative effects across the US and beyond.

While Donald Trump’s administration is cutting the HHS workforce from 82,000 to 62,000 through firings and buyouts, grant cuts by Elon Musk’s DOGE have also had a stark impact on state governments – and resulted in firings at state public health agencies.

As the outbreak in West Texas slows, other states are reporting multiple cases.

The U.S. surpassed 1,000 measles cases Friday, even as Texas posted one of its lowest counts of newly confirmed cases since its large outbreak began three months ago.

Texas still accounts for the vast majority of cases in the U.S., with 709 confirmed as of Friday in an outbreak that also spread measles to New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas. Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children died from measles-related illnesses in the epicenter in West Texas, and an adult in New Mexico who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness.

Other states with active outbreaks — which the CDC defines as three or more related cases — include Indiana, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

Summary

Revlimid, a cancer drug derived from thalidomide, has generated over $100 billion in sales and extended thousands of lives, but its nearly $1,000-per-pill price has pushed many patients into debt.

Celgene, the original maker, exploited regulatory loopholes to block generics and inflate prices 26 times since 2005.

Despite costing just 25 cents to produce, Revlimid’s high price fueled lavish executive pay and Wall Street gains.

Even after generic entry, prices remain exorbitant. Critics, including patients and lawmakers, decry the drug’s pricing as exploitative and harmful.

For James Antaki, a biomedical engineering professor at Cornell University, the $6.7 million government grant meant babies would be saved. Awarded by the Department of Defense on March 30, it would allow his team at Cornell to ramp up production and testing of PediaFlow, a device that boosts blood flow in infants with heart defects.

A week later, that all changed.

The Defense Department sent Antaki a stop-work order on April 8 informing him that his team wouldn’t get the money, intended to be distributed over four years. Three decades of research is now at risk, and Antaki said he has no idea why the government cut off funding.

Action item at the end:

“Avoid plastics as much as you can. Reducing your use of ultraprocessed foods can reduce the levels of the chemical exposures you come in contact with,” Trasande said. “Never put plastic containers in the microwave or dishwasher, where the heat can break down the linings so they might be absorbed more readily.”

Here are other tips to reduce exposure:

· Use unscented lotions and laundry detergents.

· Use cleaning supplies without scents.

· Use glass, stainless steel, ceramic or wood to hold and store foods.

· Buy fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables instead of canned and processed versions.

· Encourage frequent handwashing to remove chemicals from hands.

· Avoid air fresheners and all plastics labeled as No. 3, No. 6 and No. 7.

It's the pesticides in the grass...

A combination shot would make it easier for people to get vaccinated against Covid and the flu at the same time.

Moderna’s combined Covid and flu shot outperformed the existing standalone vaccines for both viruses, according to the results of a phase 3 clinical trial published Wednesday in theJournal of the American Medical Association. 

The vaccine uses the same messenger RNA technology as Moderna’s approved Covid vaccine.(There are no approved mRNA-based flu shots.)

The trial, funded by Moderna, included more than 8,000 adults ages 50 and older who were enrolled in October and November 2023. For people ages 50 to 64, the new vaccine was compared to Moderna’s Covid vaccine and the flu shot Fluarix. For people 65 and older, it was compared to the Covid vaccine and a different flu shot, called Fluzone, which is a stronger dose typically given to older adults. The trial participants either got the existing shots, or the new combination vaccine plus a placebo shot. (This way, both groups got two injections.)

My doctor prescribed me lipitor (well the generic equivalent) for high cholesterol. It feels that im just at the level where he would prescribe it and I told him Im not sure I want to take it. Im looking over side effects and that even more makes me think forget this. That being said I know that most medicines have side effects and not everyone gets them but heck the ones that are more than 1 in 100 seem annoying enough. Anyway im not looking for advice so much as experiences people have had with it or someone they know you have taken it.

Four members said they were informed of the termination Friday, but it had already taken effect in late March, according to a CDC letter.

The Trump administration has terminated a federal advisory committee that issued guidance about preventing the spread of infections in health care facilities.

The Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) crafted national standards for hand-washing, mask-wearing and isolating sick patients that most U.S. hospitals follow.

Four committee members said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention delivered the news about HICPAC’s termination to members Friday.

The deaths surpassed last year's total of 207 and are the most since the 2009-10 swine flu pandemic.

More U.S. children have died this flu season than at any time since the swine flu pandemic 15 years ago, according to a federal report released Friday.

The 216 pediatric deaths reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eclipse the 207 reported last year. It’s the most since the 2009-2010 H1N1 global flu pandemic.

It’s startling that the number already is this high, given that the flu season is still going on. The final pediatric death tally for the 2023-2024 flu season wasn’t counted until autumn.

A Montreal woman who was told by health-care professionals that she was too young for breast cancer but later diagnosed with it, has died from the disease. Valerie Buchanan was 32 when she died at the end of February.

“I keep asking myself why anyone, but selfishly, why her?” Chris Scheepers, Buchanan’s husband told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview. “She was a beautiful person. She was extremely driven, talented and positive. What really breaks me is our son won’t know the truly remarkable woman she was.”

Throughout 2020, Buchanan sought answers for a lump in her chest but had said she was reassured by multiple health-care professionals in Ottawa and Montreal that it was a benign cyst without sending her for imaging to confirm.

After 13 months, Buchanan eventually went to a private clinic and was diagnosed with Stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer – a biologically aggressive subtype of breast cancer. Just a few months later, she learned it was Stage 4.