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Common illnesses & Prevention news

Calcium heart scans sharpen risk estimates mainly for borderline-risk adults

It's an increasingly popular scan that measures calcium in the heart's arteries and helps predict the risk of future heart disease. But according to a new Northwestern Medicine study, the quick and inexpensive test—known ...

New clues about the causes of severe headaches

Cluster headache is a rare neurological disorder characterized by sudden, severe headache attacks. Due to the extreme pain, it is sometimes referred to as "suicide headache," and the underlying causes remain largely unknown. ...

Sugar tax could improve oral health

Millions of cases of tooth decay could be prevented if Australia introduced a 20% tax on sugar, new Griffith University research has found.

Tips for avoiding potentially serious mosquito-borne illnesses

West Nile virus is the most common mosquito-borne disease in the United States—and this summer, cases are rising unusually early. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the country has recorded ...

Contagious measles case reported at California theme park

Recent visitors to the popular Universal Studios theme park in California may have been exposed to measles, the local health department said, as cases of the once-eradicated disease soar in the United States.

Mammography use has dropped among some groups, study finds

Researchers at WashU Medicine have found a significant decline in mammography use among certain groups of women. A recent study, led by Adetunji Toriola, MD, Ph.D., a professor of surgery and a William H. Danforth Washington ...

Hantavirus detected in France tourist now isolated in Spain

A case of hantavirus, which recently sparked international alarm, has been detected in a Franco-Argentine national who vacationed in France in July before being placed in isolation in Spain, the French Health Ministry said ...

US regulators approve Moderna flu vaccine

Vaccine manufacturer Moderna said Wednesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved its new influenza vaccine, nearly six months after the regulator briefly rejected an application for review.

Night shift work linked to a higher risk of long COVID

The first evidence that night work and chronic insomnia may increase the risk of developing long COVID comes from a new study led by ISGlobal, a center supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, in collaboration with the Germans ...