Category: YOUR HEALTH
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Breakthrough drugs for targeted diseases work wonders, but are very expensive; some see a trend to worry about
Drugs focusing on narrow subsets of broader diseases are now being developed for individuals with specific genetic makeups. This trend prompts questions about who covers the cost, who gets the...
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Smoking increases risk of getting lung cancer by up to 20%, but add other carcinogens and it can go up as much as 300%
If you smoke, your risk of getting lung cancer is as much as 20 times greater than if you don’t. But if you smoke and are exposed to other carcinogens...
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UK researchers work to improve identification of lung cancer patients eligible for participation in clinical trials for new treatments
At the University of Kentucky, researchers are developing better strategies to identify lung cancer patients who could participate in clinical trials for new treatments. Lung cancer causes more deaths than...
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Prescribing antibiotics for viral infections must stop; overuse of antibiotics causes antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’
Bronchitis is a viral infection, and antibiotics are not effective for treating viral infections. Doctors know this, yet they continue to prescribe antibiotics to patients with bronchitis and other viral...
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Louisville ranks next to last in fitness among 50 largest metros
The Louisville metropolitan area ranks 49th for fitness among the nation’s 50 largest metro areas in the newly released 2014 American Fitness Index, reports Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal. The ranking is published...
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Obamacare navigator program in Georgia, overseen by former UK Extension official, is ended by state legislature
By Melissa Landon Kentucky Health News Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has signed into law two bills aimed at thwarting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. One will prevent the...
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Can e-cigarettes help you quit smoking? That’s unproven
The notion that electronic cigarettes can help smokers cut back or quit smoking is uproven, says an article in the June issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific...
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New rule allows Medicare to drop doctors for irresponsible prescribing
Medicare physicians who prescribe drugs in abusive ways can now be expelled by the federal government, Charles Ornstein reports for ProPublica. This increased oversight of Medicare Part D prescribers could help decrease...
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Ashland hospital agrees to pay $40.9 million to settle charges it defrauded Medicare and Medicaid for six years
“King’s Daughters Medical Center in Ashland has agreed to pay $40.9 million to settle allegations that it fraudulently billed federally-funded health care programs for hundreds of unnecessary heart procedures” from...
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Tobacco heritage blocks smoking bans in rural Kentucky
“A mural showing a tobacco harvest has been on display high in the second-floor rotunda of the Bourbon County Courthouse for than 100 years,” Mary Meehan writes. (Herald-Leader photo) Bourbon County’s strong...