‘This will be a game-changer’: Duquesne University opens medical college
Students in the inaugural class of Duquesne University’s medical college will learn the intricacies of human anatomy through the time-tested method of dissecting cadavers. But they also will slip on a high-tech headset with eyewear and instantly see before them a hologram of the human body. They can walk around...
North Side woman advocates for more education and access to menstrual products
Tamara Abney recalled going into the restroom and realizing her period started. She searched her purse multiple times — nothing. She looked through bags she was carrying and pants and jacket pockets — still nothing. “If you don’t have a tampon or a pad (when your period starts), it can...
Recovery community adapts to help addicts kick fentanyl
Stephanie Taylor’s path to sobriety was more well-worn than winding. She was first arrested in 2015, at age 25, after selling cocaine to a police informant out of her mother’s Vandergrift home. Taylor went to jail, rehab and a halfway house — what she calls an “insane cycle” — three...
Fentanyl’s deadly rise: Pervasive opioid becomes symbol of America’s drug problem
Fentanyl arrived right on time for Stephanie Taylor. “My tolerance was so high, it was taking more and more (heroin) to get my fix, to get me to that feel-good feeling I was searching for,” she said. Taylor, 35, a Vandergrift native who today is more than four years into...
Fundraiser underway to help Brookline boy with special needs get new wheelchair
There is a beep outside. Tracey Mozeyko peers out the window. “Timmy’s home,” she said, referring to her 14-year-old son. An aide assists the boy out of his seat. Timmy gives the aide a hug and then turns toward his mother. He reaches for her hand and they walk into...
Doctors advise caution, watchfulness for Singulair side effects
Despite concerns about its possible side effects, Western Pennsylvania doctors say some patients can remain on Singulair to relieve asthma or allergy symptoms. But in most cases, the doctors say they aren’t prescribing the pill as a first-line, or first-time, medication. The asthma and allergy medicine, also known by its...
Ohio woman who miscarried at home won’t be charged with corpse abuse, grand jury decides
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio woman facing a criminal charge for her handling of a home miscarriage will not be charged, a grand jury decided Thursday. The Trumbull County prosecutor’s office said grand jurors declined to return an indictment for abuse of a corpse against Brittany Watts, 34, of Warren,...
NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan’s 19-year-old daughter is fighting cancerVideo
The 19-year-old daughter of NFL Hall of Famer and “Good Morning America” co-anchor Michael Strahan is undergoing treatment for brain cancer. Isabella Strahan appeared on a prerecorded videotape segment sitting next to her father while discussing her diagnosis of medulloblastoma, a cancerous brain tumor, with fellow GMA co-anchor Robin Roberts....
Efforts to restrict transgender health care endure in 2024, with more adults targeted
Republican-led state legislatures are considering a new round of bills restricting medical care for transgender youths — and in some cases, adults — returning to the issue the year after a wave of high-profile bills became law and sparked lawsuits. As legislatures begin their work for the year, lawmakers in...
Do I really need supplemental insurance (Medigap) with Medicare?
About 41% of Original Medicare beneficiaries had Medicare Supplement Insurance, or Medigap, in 2021, according to a February 2023 report summarizing enrollment data from AHIP, a national health insurance trade association. For the other 59%, Medicare has some “gaps” that could be costly. “There are many gaps in Medicare that...
Pitt names Ken Gabriel as BioForge CEO
The University of Pittsburgh‘s expansive BioForge initiative has hired its inaugural chief executive officer. Kaigham (Ken) J. Gabriel was appointed to the job, Anantha Shekhar, Pitt senior vice chancellor for the health sciences and medical school dean, announced Monday. Gabriel who already has begun his duties also will serve as...
Looking to stay fit in 2024? Consider local rec departments, nonprofits
If you’re hoping to get fit and stay active in 2024, you’re not alone. A survey from Forbes Health/OnePoll from October found that “improved fitness” is the No. 1 New Year’s resolution, with just under half of the 1,000 U.S. survey respondents saying it is a priority. Finding ways to...
As more Pa. residents rack up medical debt, hope hinges on a state solution
An innovative plan to help Pennsylvanians with crippling medical debt is delayed but not dead, supporters say. The plan calls for using state funds to buy unpaid medical bills from hospitals and health care providers, which are commonly sold at a steep discount. A $10 to $15 million investment by...
Hospitals seeing ‘exponential’ rise in flu cases in Western Pa.
After a holiday season filled with travel, family gatherings and relatives breathing on each other, respiratory illnesses are on the rise in Western Pennsylvania — with flu cases spiking the fastest. Area hospitals are seeing an “exponential increase” in flu diagnoses, said Dr. Graham Snyder, medical director of infection prevention...
More hospitals requiring masks as flu and covid-19 cases surge
NEW YORK — More U.S. hospitals are requiring masks and limiting visitors as health officials face an expected but still nasty post-holiday spike in flu, covid-19 and other illnesses. While many experts say this season likely won’t prove to be as deadly as some other recent winters, it still could...
Florida surgeon general has safety concerns with covid vaccines. FDA disagrees
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, once again at odds with federal officials, is urging people to stop getting Pfizer’s and Moderna’s mRNA covid vaccines over safety concerns that the shots could possibly deliver DNA contaminants into human cells. Ladapo’s call to halt the use of the mRNA vaccines comes a...
Alzheimer’s drugs might get into brain faster with new ultrasound tool
WASHINGTON — Scientists have found a way to help Alzheimer’s drugs seep inside the brain faster by temporarily breaching its protective shield. The novel experiment was a first attempt in just three patients. But in spots in the brain where the new technology took aim, it enhanced removal of Alzheimer’s...
U.S. women are stocking up on abortion pills, especially when there is news about restrictions
Thousands of women stocked up on abortion pills just in case they needed them, new research shows, with demand peaking in the past couple years at times when it looked like the medications might become harder to get. Medication abortion accounts for more than half of all abortions in the...
Millennial Money: I saved $800 in 5 months by eating more plants
I tried going vegetarian once when I was in high school. My best friend was a vegetarian, and I was curious. I lasted only about four days. My downfall: a buffalo chicken sandwich. Since that ill-fated attempt, I’ve never tried to curb my meat consumption. It’s just too dang tasty....
‘A true mitzvah:’ Westmoreland doctor volunteers in Israel to help civilians
Dr. Sharon Goldstein has spent the last few weeks of 2023 in Israel, riding long distances in an ambulance, treating patients impacted by war. “The other day, I started in Jerusalem and ended up in Tel Aviv,” she said. “They cover a large area. It’s hard work. Mostly, we’re on...
Popular inhaler Flovent to be discontinued, replaced with generic; doctors expect confusion
The new year is a time for fresh starts — and it certainly will be one for people who rely on the asthma inhaler Flovent. The widely used maintenance prescription inhaler is being discontinued in January, and it will be replaced with an authorized generic — a medicine that is...
Flu shots during pregnancy help shield babies from severe illness, study finds
If you’re pregnant, getting your flu shot will help protect you and your baby from ending up in the hospital with a severe case of the flu, according to a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics. Pediatricians from UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh were part of the study, which found...
Covid, flu, RSV on the rise amid holiday gatherings
Covid-19 struck Beth Green just in time for Christmas, upending her annual holiday gatherings. She planned on hosting her extended family at her Derry Township home on Dec. 23. She was especially excited because it’s difficult to get two of her adult sons together with their hectic schedules. Green, an...
Social media companies made $11 billion in U.S. ad revenue from minors, Harvard study finds
Social media companies collectively made over $11 billion in U.S. advertising revenue from minors last year, according to a study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health published on Wednesday. The researchers say the findings show a need for government regulation of social media since the companies that...
After recalls and infections, experts say safer eyedrops will require new FDA powers
WASHINGTON — When you buy eyedrops at a U.S. store, you might assume you’re getting a product made in a clean, well-maintained factory that’s passed muster with health regulators. But repeated recalls involving over-the-counter drops are drawing new attention to just how little U.S. officials know about the conditions at...
