BioMedWire Stocks Archives - Page 12 of 72

ThursdayJan 30, 2025 10:00 am

New Study to Explore the Link Between Sleep Disorder and Parkinson’s

Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, a new study will be conducted to examine why individuals, especially veterans, who suffer from a certain sleep disorder often end up developing Parkinson’s disease. The DoD awarded $4 million to researchers at Oregon Health and Science University (OSHU), the VA Healthcare System at Portland, the VA Sound Healthcare System at Puget, and the University of Washington to conduct this study. The research aims to establish why most people who develop a sleep disorder that causes them to thrash in their sleep later develop Parkinson’s. The team wants to know why this happens…

TuesdayJan 28, 2025 10:00 am

How Technology Can Ease Medicare Enrollment

With the ever-increasing pace at which the healthcare landscape is evolving, digital tools are playing a bigger role in the enrollment for and selection of plans in Medicare. Phone consultations and traditional brochures are slowly being relegated as technology takes center stage. We explore how tech tools are helping qualifying individuals to enroll for and select appropriate coverage plans under Medicare. The Plan Finder at Medicare.gov This tool helps beneficiaries in their bid to compare different MA plans and the prescription drug plans available under Part D. A user is required to input their prescription medications, the doctors they prefer…

FridayJan 24, 2025 10:00 am

US Announces Plan to Combat Parkinson’s Disease Across the Country

Last week, the National Institutes of Health announced that it had begun the process of implementing the Dr. Emmanuel Bilirakis and Honorable Jennifer Wexton National Plan to End Parkinson's Act, with support from the Health and Human Services department. This legislation was signed into law on July 2nd, 2024, and directs that the Secretary of Health and Human Services conduct a project to prevent, diagnose, treat and cure Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative illness that causes issues with movement, coordination and balance. Common symptoms include painful muscle contractions, tremors in one’s arms and legs, muscle stiffness, impaired coordination…

ThursdayJan 23, 2025 10:00 am

New Trump Admin Could Drastically Change Research on Infectious Diseases

For decades now, the National Institutes of Health has funded a lot of research on illnesses and vaccines, allowing researchers to run different clinical trials and develop treatments to save millions of lives. Grants from this agency are awarded to almost every state, supporting thousands of jobs countrywide. In 2023, almost $5 billion of the agency’s budget was awarded to organizations outside the institute in America to advance careers in science as well as medicine. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, a major division of this agency, has seen cures for hepatitis C being developed, a vaccine for…

FridayJan 17, 2025 10:00 am

Autism: What You Need to Know

Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental and neurological disorder that influences how an individual communicates, interacts with others, behaves, and learns. Since the start of the new millennium, autism diagnoses have risen significantly, with data from the CDC showing that the autism rate in America as of 2022 was 2.77%. This is a significant increase from the 0.66% recorded in 2000. Estimates from WHO show that the global prevalence of the disorder stands at 1%, an increase from the 0.62% recorded over a decade ago. Researchers attribute the increase in diagnoses to more screening. The inclusion of a range of…

ThursdayJan 16, 2025 10:00 am

Gale Unveils New Integration to Ease Healthcare e-Commerce Payments

Health savings accounts are basically savings accounts that allow people to allocate funds for future healthcare expenses, like physician visits and prescription medications. A recent analysis found that millions of Americans have access to these tax-advantaged accounts but aren’t well-informed on how to utilize them. Tom Griffiths, founder of Gale, explains that these funds aren’t used a lot because of confusion surrounding their products and services. To reduce this confusion, the firm focuses on allowing merchants to accept payments from consumers who are well-informed of what products they can purchase with their flexible spending account and health savings account cards.…

FridayJan 10, 2025 10:00 am

Chinese Research Team Suggests Common Drug for Blood Pressure Could Treat Invasive Brain Tumor

A team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Scientists has discovered that a common high blood pressure medication may be useful in treating a certain brain tumor. The tumor, a craniopharyngioma, is a non-cancerous growth that usually develops near the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. There are two sub-types of craniopharyngioma; papillary and adamantinomatous, with papillary craniopharyngiomas being more likely to develop in grownups. Despite being benign, it may cause complications as it grows, resulting in hormone dysfunction and metabolic disorders like hypothyroidism and diabetes. Other symptoms include headaches, mood swings, issues with balance, nausea and vomiting, vision problems, and…

TuesdayJan 07, 2025 10:00 am

Study Sheds Light on How Mitochondrial Changes Contribute to Muscle Aging

As an individual grows older, they experience continued loss of strength and skeletal muscle mass. Once an adult reaches 40, they start losing roughly 8% of their muscle mass every 10 years. By age 70, this often rises to 15% loss in muscle mass every 10 years. Muscle loss, commonly referred to as sarcopenia, is linked to a heightened risk of disability and mortality in the elderly. It causes frailty, which significantly reduces an individual’s quality of life. While the main cause of sarcopenia isn’t known, researchers posit that mitochondrial dysfunction could help explain its development. Prior studies have determined…

FridayJan 03, 2025 10:00 am

Analysis Reveals Many MA Plans Offer Inadequate Dental Coverage

Traditional Medicare doesn’t cover most dental care, which leaves consumers with the option to enroll in Medicare Advantage that provides dental care as a supplemental benefit. Previous studies have observed high out-of-pocket costs and low dental utilization rates for beneficiaries under traditional Medicare as well as Medicare Advantage. A recent analysis has determined that Medicare Advantage offers poor-quality dental coverage. Only about 8% of plans under this privatized form of Medicare provided dental benefits that met the study's quality standards. A team of researchers from Mass General Brigham conducted the analysis. For their study, the researchers assessed Medicare data from…

ThursdayJan 02, 2025 10:00 am

Study Uncovers Link Between Gut Infection and Alzheimer’s Disease

Cytomegalovirus is a type of herpes virus that most humans are exposed to in their lives. This virus is normally spread from one individual to another through bodily fluids but isn’t considered a sexually transmitted illness. Prior studies have determined that the virus may remain active in the gut, sometimes travelling to the brain through the vagus nerve. Once there, the virus can alter the immune system and contribute to changes linked to Alzheimer’s. One study found that brains of Alzheimer’s patients were likely to have CD83 microglia, with the researchers noting that antibodies found in the intestines of these…