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Study participants who reported frequent use of hair-straightening products, defined as more than four times in the previous year, were more than twice as likely to go on to develop uterine cancer as those who did not use the products. The findings were published October 17 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. “This doubling rate is concerning,” said the lead author, Alexandra White, PhD, the head of the NIEHS Environment and Cancer Epidemiology group in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, in a press release....

Research published in December in the Journal of the American Heart Association gives a clearer picture of how excessive drinking can weaken the heart. The study shows how ingesting excessive amounts of booze damages the structure and function of the heart — even before symptoms occur. This heart tissue damage may be identified through changes in specific blood biomarkers, according to the investigation results. “Even though you may not experience symptoms right away, heavy drinking increases the risk of heart problems in the future,” says one of the study’s authors, Olena Iakunchykova, a PhD candidate in community medicine at the University in Tromsø, the Arctic University of Norway....

“[People with the flu] should stay home from work or school. But most will not need to go see the doctor, and most will recover in a few days,” says Dan Jernigan, the director of the influenza division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Still, in the 2017–2018 season, more than 14,600 people have been hospitalized for influenza-related illnesses so far, according to the CDC. Are You at High Risk for a Flu Emergency?...

But diagnosing lupus can be very challenging, says Stacy Ardoin, MD, a rheumatologist at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. Signs can range from a mild rash and arthritis to kidney failure and seizures — “with a whole spectrum in between,” she says. Symptoms can also mimic other diseases, including infections and cancer. Here’s what you need to know about the warning signs, when to see your doc, and tests you can expect that help your healthcare team make a lupus diagnosis....

There are five types of meningitis, each caused by different factors. The two most common forms of the disease are viral meningitis and bacterial meningitis. Viral meningitis often resolves on its own without treatment. But if you have bacterial meningitis, early diagnosis and treatment is vital. If treatment is delayed because symptoms are mistaken for the flu, there can be devastating consequences. Symptoms such as sudden fever, severe headache, and a stiff neck are possible indications of meningitis....

Your doctor may recommend this treatment if you have metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) — a type of skin cancer that starts in the squamous cells of the skin and has spread to other areas of the body. Depending on the situation, radiation therapy may be used alone or along with other treatments. RELATED: What Are the Different Types of Skin Cancer? When Is Radiation Therapy Used for CSCC and Metastatic CSCC?...

Places like airports, hotel rooms, restaurants, and popular tourist destinations that draw hundreds of visitors a day can be germ magnets. According to one study published in August 2018 in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases, which was conducted at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport in Finland, the plastic trays at the security checkpoint were crawling with more germs than even the bathroom doorknobs and toilet flush buttons. And, while whether COVID-19 can be transmitted from surfaces is still being debated, an analysis of 18 studies, published in the journal Science of The Total Environment in July 2021, found the virus could survive on money, steel, and glass surfaces for up to 21 days....

Certain foods tend to encourage symptoms of GERD. You may be advised to eat these foods less often or to cut them out of your diet completely. If your esophagus is damaged from GERD, it’s also important to avoid foods that can irritate this more sensitive tissue and damage it further. The way you eat may also be a factor in your symptoms. Changing the size and timing of your meals can significantly reduce heartburn, regurgitation, and other symptoms of GERD....

“Individuals with ADHD thrive with structure, predictability, and well-established routines, which during the holiday season can be easily disrupted. This can result in low tolerance, increased irritability, and frustration,” explains Barbara Nosal, PhD, a licensed family and marriage therapist, licensed alcohol and drug counselor, and chief clinical officer at Newport Healthcare, a mental health treatment center for teens and young adults. Planning holiday meals or gatherings can add pressure, too, says Meghan Marcum, PsyD, the chief psychologist at a Mission for Michael Healthcare, an intensive mental health treatment center in San Juan Capistrano, California....

These periods of feeling worse are known as lupus flares. Although there is no way you or your doctor can completely predict or prevent a lupus flare, you can identify and try to avoid known triggers to reduce your risk for flares. Making appropriate lifestyle changes can also help reduce your risk for a lupus flare. “Some of the common triggers in systemic lupus are sunlight, infections, and stress,” says Amita Bishnoi, MD, a rheumatologist at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit....

The study looked at nearly 90,000 survey results from patients who sought medical help for gastrointestinal (GI) issues. Researchers found that bloating is highly prevalent, affects women more frequently than men, and is a common side effect in people who deal with other digestive conditions like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or chronic constipation. And yet, nearly 60 percent of people who had recent bloating did not seek medical care for it....

But sometimes the same bloating and pain can be symptoms of a health condition, in which case a doctor’s visit is in order, says Abdullah Shatnawei, MD, a gastroenterologist and hepatologist, and medical director of the Center for Gut Rehabilitation and Transplantation at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Usually other signs will indicate when stomach gas isn’t to blame. You feel the urge to pass gas or to belch.You get relief from the bloating and pain when you pass gas....

The answers to these common diabetes questions aren’t so straightforward. “Generally speaking, sugar-free candy will have less of an effect on blood glucose than its sugar-containing counterpart,” says Jo-Anne M. Rizzotto, RD, a certified diabetes care and education specialist at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. That said, “Sugar-free does not mean calorie-free or carbohydrate-free,” Rizzotto adds. “While sugar-free candy is made with artificial sweeteners, and those sweeteners have fewer calories and carbohydrates, when eaten in certain amounts they still may have an impact on glucose levels and can sabotage one’s weight loss efforts....

All three medications are JAK inhibitors and are approved for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) alone or in combination; Xeljanz and Xeljanz XR are also approved for psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ulcerative colitis, and an oral solution of Xeljanz is approved to treat polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). RELATED: Getting a Third Dose of the COVID-19 Vaccine When You Have Rheumatoid Arthritis Xeljanz, Xeljanz XR, Oluminant, and Rinvoq already had a box warning, but the FDA will now require those to be revised to include information about the risks of serious cardiovascular-related events, malignancy, thrombosis, and death....

A case study published September 2, 2019, in the Annals of Internal Medicine describes a case of nutritional optic neuropathy, a dysfunction of the optic nerve caused by improper diet, that led to permanent vision loss in a 17-year-old boy. The condition is usually associated with a folic acid and vitamin B complex deficiency, according to the National Institutes of Health. It’s surprising that his nerve damage was not reversible, even after he was treated with vitamin B12, according to Elizabeth Bradley, MD, the medical director of the Cleveland Clinic’s center for functional medicine in Ohio, who was not an author of the paper....

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a mammogram can sometimes detect breast cancer up to three years before it can be felt by touch. If anything looks suspicious, your doctor may recommend an additional mammogram or other tests to take a closer look at the abnormality. A suspicious lump in your breast may be caused by cancer or by fatty cells, cysts, or other conditions....

Previous research has shown that people with an IBD like Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis have reduced sexual function and that certain drugs can play a role in that. But there’s hope: New research shows that biologic, or small molecule, therapy may reduce disease burden and improve sexual dysfunction in all genders. In an abstract presented on October 26, 2021, at the American College of Gastroenterology Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course, Gabriel Castillo, MD, a gastroenterology and hepatology fellow at New York University Langone Medical Center in New York City, outlined the preliminary results of the first study to include both men and women, but only those who were treating IBD with biologics....

When your doctor is considering which arthritis medicine might be best for your pain, she has many options to choose from. Here, you’ll find information on common classes of arthritis medicines, what their potential side effects are, and how they can help you to manage joint pain and other arthritis symptoms. Acetaminophen for Arthritis Sold over-the-counter under the brand name Tylenol and others, acetaminophen is often one of the first medications recommended to manage pain, including joint pain caused by arthritis....

Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) can prevent acute MS attacks, or relapses, and slow the progression of the disease, thereby preventing physical and cognitive disability. Other drugs, primarily corticosteroids, are used to help control severe symptoms during relapses. There are also numerous drug treatments for managing ongoing symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis, such as pain, tremors, walking difficulty, and muscle spasticity. RELATED: Early, Aggressive MS Treatment Superior to Escalation Approach, Study Shows Disease-modifying therapies also reduce the development of new lesions (areas of damage, or scarring, in the brain and sometimes spinal cord), as seen on MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans....

One approach that may give you your rhythm back is music therapy — a type of therapy that uses music to address physical, emotional, cognitive, or social needs of individuals. How can music help with MS? Barbara Seebacher, PhD, a physiotherapist based in Innsbruck, Austria, explains: “There are three different brain centers responsible for the timing of movement: the motor cortex, the basal ganglia, and the cerebellum. One or another of these can be damaged by stroke, Parkinson’s disease, or multiple sclerosis....