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Off-label drug helps one boy with autism speak, parents say. But experts want more data

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Caroline Connor’s concerns about her son’s development began around his first birthday, when she noticed he wasn’t talking or using any words. Their pediatrician didn’t seem worried, but the speech delay persisted. At 2½, Mason was diagnosed with autism.

The Connors went on a mission, searching for anything that would help.

“We just...Read more

Elena Elisseeva/Dreamstime.com/TNS

On Nutrition: You can be too thin

Health Advice / Nutrition /

On our recent horse camping trip, we watched a couple unload their two horses near our site. When these beautiful animals stepped out of the trailer, we were shocked to see their prominent ribs and protruding hip bones.

I hesitated to jump to conclusions, especially as we later observed the good care and plentiful feed given these animals. ...Read more

Who Should Get Vaccinated For Covid Based On CDC Guidance

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: I read that there is updated advice on who should get the COVID vaccine based on age and risk factors. How many Americans were hospitalized for COVID who did not have these latest qualifying risk factors? -- N.R.

ANSWER: Although the most recent update on the licensing of the COVID vaccines from the Food and Drug Adminstration ...Read more

The lowdown on LDL and HLD

LDL is often called bad or lousy cholesterol -- for good reason. If you have too much floating in your bloodstream and sticking to the walls of your blood vessels and arteries, your arteries stiffen, and you can end up with blockages that cause a heart attack, stroke, peripheral artery or kidney disease, dementia and/or depression.

Lowering LDL...Read more

Staff Photographer/The Dallas Morning News/TNS

'Kissing bug' disease is now endemic in the South. What should you do?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Chagas disease, also known as “kissing bug disease,” is now considered endemic in the United States, with the insects that transmit it established in 32 states, according to a new report from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The potentially fatal condition caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi is typically ...Read more

Tom Williams/ZUMA Press/TNS

Health insurance marketplace rate hikes top 20% in most states, Cantwell says

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

WASHINGTON — People who receive insurance through the top marketplace plan in most states can expect sticker shock this fall, according to data compiled by the office of Sen. Maria Cantwell.

Cantwell, D-Wash., who’s urging congressional leadership and President Donald Trump to find a way to extend expiring health care subsidies, on Thursday...Read more

Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

FDA Tylenol label change could bolster autism lawsuits, says law firm

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

BALTIMORE — A change in the safety labels on Tylenol and other acetaminophen products could be a game changer for people claiming they weren’t properly warned about possible links between the pain reliever and autism, according to the law firm of the late Peter Angelos.

The Baltimore firm of the longtime Orioles owner, who was known for ...Read more

(Alessandra Fabrello)/KFF HEALTH NEWS/TNS

States are cutting Medicaid provider payments long before Trump cuts hit

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Every day for nearly 18 years, Alessandra Fabrello has been a medical caregiver for her son, on top of being his mom.

“It is almost impossible to explain what it takes to keep a child alive who should be dead,” said Fabrello, whose son, Ysadore Maklakoff, experienced a rare brain condition called acute necrotizing encephalopathy at 9 months...Read more

Pa. Amish families experience autism and take Tylenol, experts say

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

PHILADELPHIA -- Braxton Mitchell has worked with the Amish for 30 years as co-director of the Amish Research Clinic in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He can say for a fact that autism exists in the community, contrary to President Donald J. Trump’s statement Monday that the Amish have “essentially no autism.”

Trump’s remarks perpetuate a ...Read more

Claudio Fichera/Dreamstime.com/TNS

Mayo Clinic's AI tools help predict severe asthma risks in young children

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic researchers have developed artificial intelligence tools that help identify which children with asthma face the highest risk of serious asthma exacerbation and acute respiratory infections. The study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, found the tools can detect those risks as early as ...Read more

Craig Barritt/Getty Images North America/TNS

CAR-T pioneer Carl June talks about the future of his award-winning work to train the body to fight cancer

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia’s pioneering cancer scientist, Carl June, has been honored with two awards in the last month for his seminal work engineering the body’s immune system to fight cancer.

June has spent decades researching CAR-T, an immunotherapy in which regular immune cells are genetically modified to become cancer-killing super ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

As the Trump administration and states push health data sharing, familiar challenges surface

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

The Northeast Valley Health Corp. in Los Angeles County could be a poster child for the benefits of sharing health data electronically.

Through a data network connecting its records system with other providers, the health center receives not just X-ray and lab results but real-time alerts when hospitals on the network admit or discharge its ...Read more

Look For These High-Calcium Food Options To Reduce Bone Loss

Health Advice / Keith Roach /

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 78-year-old male who is in pretty good health. I keep my blood pressure under control and exercise five days a week at a gym, doing 30 minutes of cardio and lifting light weights. However, I have osteoporosis. As I have declined to take medications such as Fosamax due to their potential side effects, my doctor has ...Read more

Salt's assault on your brain

Pizza, cold cuts and cured meats, burritos, tacos, chips, bacon, frankfurters and sausages are major sources of excess salt in the American diet. And the salt in those foods doesn't just impact how the heart and kidney function, leading to high blood pressure (HBP). It also activates immune cells in the brain, triggering inflammation that then ...Read more

SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Fact check: Trump claims 'no downside' to avoiding Tylenol during pregnancy. He's wrong

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

“There’s no downside” to avoiding Tylenol or acetaminophen use while pregnant.

President Donald Trump on Sept. 22, 2025, in a press conference

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Obstetricians have long advised their pregnant patients that Tylenol is the safest option to reduce fever or pain. President Donald Trump stood before a national audience on Sept. 22 and ...Read more

Joe Raedle/Getty Images North America/TNS

Amid confusion over US vaccine recommendations, states try to 'restore trust'

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

When the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices met last week, confusion filled the room.

Members admitted they didn’t know what they were voting on, first rejecting a combined measles-mumps-rubella-chickenpox vaccine for young toddlers, then voting to keep it funded minutes later. The next day, they reversed themselves on the ...Read more

Florida docs can turn away unvaccinated patients. Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to change that

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In Florida, you can’t turn away a patient on the basis of their race, color, sex, religion or national origin. But a doctor can turn someone away if they’re unvaccinated.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo want to end that. In a news conference earlier this month, where they discussed a plan to make ...Read more

Should you try tai chi for healthy aging?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

​​​​If you’re getting older, martial arts may not be on your radar as an activity you should take up. In fact, when most people think about how they want to spend their days in retirement, activities like golf or gardening are more likely to come to mind.

Maybe that’s a mistake, though.

In fact, research from Harvard suggests that ...Read more

Environmental Nutrition: Ready to eat more plants?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

If you’ve considered transitioning to a more plant-based way of eating, there has never been a better time to start. Evidence from registered dietitians, scientists, and other experts supports the health benefits of eating more plants. Research shows cutting back on the amount of meat we consume can significantly impact the health of the ...Read more

Should you steam or boil vegetables?

Health Advice / Health & Fitness /

Vegetables are among the healthiest foods. Due to their concentration of protective plant compounds, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, vegetables have been linked to several benefits, from supporting healthy body weight to lowering the risk of common conditions like heart disease and certain cancers.

Eating vegetables is most important, but the ...Read more