What to know about chronic venous insufficiency — President Trump’s health diagnosis
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, or CVI, after he noted mild swelling in his lower legs. White House physician Dr. Sean P. Barbabella in a memo July 17 said the swelling prompted a full medical evaluation, including ultrasound tests and bloodwork. Those confirmed...
Juul can continue selling its tobacco and menthol e-cigarettes, FDA says
The Food and Drug Administration is allowing vaping brand Juul to keep its e-cigarettes on the market, providing relief to a company that has struggled for years after being widely blamed for sparking the teen vaping trend. FDA regulators said Thursday that Juul’s studies show its e-cigarettes are less harmful...
Puerto Rico bans hormone therapy and gender surgery for transgender youth
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico’s governor has signed a bill that prohibits hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgeries for transgender youth, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from activists in the largely conservative U.S. territory. The law approved late Wednesday applies to those younger than 21 and calls...
Keeping animals of all sizes — from cats to horses — cool during record heat
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — With record temperatures hitting the U.S., pet owners have to protect their four-legged family members from dangers like heat stroke and dehydration. But keeping an animal the size of a small car cool isn’t as easy as bringing it inside to the air conditioning. That’s...
U.S. ice cream makers say they’ll stop using artificial dyes by 2028
Ice cream makers representing about 90% of the U.S. supply of the frozen treat have pledged to remove artificial dyes from their products in less than three years, federal health officials said Monday. The move is the latest voluntary effort by food manufacturers to heed calls from the Trump administration...
New York clerk again refuses to enforce Texas judgment against doctor who provided abortion pills
A county clerk in New York on Monday again refused to file a more than $100,000 civil judgment from Texas against a doctor accused of prescribing abortion pills to a Dallas-area woman. New York is among eight states with shield laws that protect providers from other states’ reach. Abortion opponents...
Nursing homes struggle with Trump’s immigration crackdown
NEW YORK — Nursing homes already struggling to recruit staff are now grappling with President Donald Trump’s attack on one of their few reliable sources of workers: immigration. Facilities for older adults and disabled people are reporting the sporadic loss of employees who have had their legal status revoked by...
More elderly Americans are choking to death. Are these devices the answer?
NEW YORK — It was the scariest choking incident David Palumbo had ever seen. The 88-year-old man had been dining at a Providence, Rhode Island, Italian restaurant in September 2019. Now he was unconscious, with a piece of bread lodged in his windpipe. Precious minutes went by as first responders...
AI opens new worlds for the blind
When Chris Donahue opens the door to let his dog out, he is unable to see where the animal runs. The Brighton Heights resident is blind, but he can find his dog outside via the Ray-Ban AI (artificial intelligence) Glasses he’s wearing. “Meta, I am blind,” says Donahue, 48. “Do...
AI-powered heart scans transform care at Allegheny Valley Hospital
Cardiovascular analysis that used to take hours can now be done with the click of a button at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison. As artificial intelligence seeps into almost every aspect of life, the technology is helping to revolutionize medical care at the Allegheny Health Network community hospital. “When you...
Northern Arizona resident dies from plague
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A resident of northern Arizona has died from pneumonic plague, health officials said Friday. Plague is rare to humans, with on average about seven cases reported annually in the U.S., most of them in the western states, according to federal health officials. The death in Coconino County,...
VA insists veterans services remain robust in Pittsburgh despite staff departures nationwide
Pittsburgh-area veterans won’t see any interruption to their care or benefits, the Department of Veterans Affairs claims, even as thousands of its employees head for the exits nationwide. The department is on pace to lose nearly 30,000 employees, or about 6% of its workforce, by the end of September. Already,...
CDC finds nearly 1 in 3 U.S. youth have prediabetes, but experts question scant data
A new federal estimate shows a rise in prediabetes among American adolescents, a finding that is spurring concerns about the health of U.S. children — and the way Trump administration health officials are conducting research and communicating information, experts said. In 2023, nearly 1 in 3 U.S. youngsters ages 12...
Stretch Zone opens in Sewickley
Stretch Zone Sewickley, an assisted stretching brand, is now open. There, certified professional stretch practitioners help clients one-on-one to improve range of motion and mobility through a series of proprietary stretch protocols, relieving stiffness and soreness, as well as improving mobility. “It is different than massage because you are out...
Safe to splash? State parks, watershed associations monitor rivers for E. coli contamination
When it rains, it pours E. coli. That’s what water quality testers across Western Pennsylvania might tell you right now. Every week during the summer months, volunteers and employees monitor the region’s public waterways for E. coli, which can flow into lakes and streams from agricultural and sewer systems overwhelmed...
Deluzio skewers Medicaid cuts as Dems seek winning message on Trump megabill
With cuts to Medicaid and food stamps now law, Democrats are looking to minimize their impact and punish Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections for what they frame as an attack on vulnerable people. “I’m going to do everything I can between now and 2026 to remind voters, Democrat and...
Mattel launches new Barbie with Type 1 diabetes
Barbie’s latest look includes a glucose monitor — Mattel’s newest doll is living with Type 1 diabetes. Mattel, Inc. said this week in the announcement that the new Barbie, which is part of the Barbie Fashionistas line, will enable more kids to see themselves reflected in Barbie, as well as...
Indiana Township cancer survivor raises $700,000 for research while state senate weighs expanded testing access
Astrid Bitzer was diagnosed with lobular breast cancer in 2022 and after 13 biopsies, ultimately decided on a full mastectomy. Though clinically in remission, the Indiana Township woman is hedging her bets to keep the disease at bay. “Cancer is a funny thing,” she said. “What you can be sure...
The U.S. is having its worst year for measles in more than 3 decades
The United States is having its worst year for measles spread in more than three decades, with a total of 1,288 cases nationally and another six months to go in 2025. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that the national case count surpassed 2019, when there...
Ticky business: How Pitt researchers track the 8-legged bloodsuckers
There’s nothing fancy about tick hunting. When University of Pittsburgh professor Danielle Tufts and her team of public health students go out, they bring just a few things: A white jumpsuit, a pair of tweezers, some tiny vials to store specimens and a meter-long piece of white corduroy. The cloth...
Doctors, public health organizations sue Kennedy over vaccine policy change
NEW YORK — A coalition of doctors’ groups and public health organizations sued the U.S. government on Monday over the decision to stop recommending covid-19 vaccinations for most children and pregnant women. The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association and four other groups — along with an unnamed...
RFK Jr. promoted a food company he says will make Americans healthy. Their meals are ultraprocessed
WASHINGTON — Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday praised a company that makes $7-a-pop meals that are delivered directly to the homes of Medicaid and Medicare enrollees. He even thanked Mom’s Meals for sending taxpayer-funded meals “without additives” to the homes of sick or elderly Americans. The spreads...
Wegovy and Zepbound prices fall, but access to the obesity drugs still isn’t guaranteed
Prices are falling for the popular obesity treatments Wegovy and Zepbound, but steady access to the drugs remains challenging. The medications still amount to around $500 per month for those without insurance — out of reach for many patients. And even for people with insurance, coverage remains uneven. “The medications...
American kids have become increasingly unhealthy over nearly 2 decades, new study finds
The health of U.S. children has deteriorated over the past 17 years, with kids today more likely to have obesity, chronic diseases and mental health problems like depression, a new study says. Much of what researchers found was already known, but the study paints a comprehensive picture by examining various...
Rural hospitals brace for financial hits or even closure under Republicans’ $1 trillion Medicaid cut
OMAHA, Neb. — Tyler Sherman, a nurse at a rural Nebraska hospital, is used to the area’s aging farmers delaying care until they end up in his emergency room. Now, with Congress planning around $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts over 10 years, he fears those farmers and the more than...
