Skip to Content

CNN – Health

Trump’s pick to lead FDA tells senators he’d look into food, abortion pill, vaccine advisers

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the US Food and Drug Administration told senators in a tense confirmation hearing Thursday that, if confirmed as FDA commissioner, he plans to evaluate school lunches, the abortion pill mifepristone and agency advisory committees. Dr. Marty Makary, a surgeon and researcher at Johns

Continue Reading

Trump’s NIH pick grilled on research funding cuts and vaccine views in Senate hearing

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the National Institutes of Health answered sharp questions in a confirmation hearing Wednesday about his views on vaccines, research funding and the role scientists should play in a pandemic. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a health economist and professor at Stanford University, well-known for his

Continue Reading

Resistance training is the right way to tire your brain and body for better sleep, according to a study

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN (CNN) — Want better sleep in your older years? Time to grab some weights. Exercise, but particularly those workouts that incorporate resistance to improve muscular strength, can be helpful for older adults with insomnia, according to a new study. Insomnia can be a big problem, especially as you get older. “Between

Continue Reading

‘Irresponsible and reckless:’ Warren demands RFK Jr. clarify vaccine stance amid deadly measles outbreak

By Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — In the 18 days since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, his department has postponed or canceled two major vaccine advisory committee meetings, he’s pledged to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule and he downplayed the seriousness

Continue Reading

Vaccination rates are declining and measles cases are climbing. More preventable diseases could re-emerge next

By Neha Mukherjee, CNN (CNN) — The measles outbreak is surging in West Texas, especially in under-vaccinated communities, but it’s not just coverage with the measles vaccine that is lagging behind. The use of other key vaccines in the childhood immunization schedule has decreased too. With lower vaccination rates, experts worry about what vaccine preventable

Continue Reading

RFK Jr. said measles outbreaks are ‘not unusual’ in the US. Doctors say he’s wrong

By Neha Mukherjee, CNN (CNN) — When Health and Human Services Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy answered questions during the first cabinet meeting of the new Trump administration, he incorrectly described the number of people who died in a West Texas measles outbreak and the reason people were hospitalized. Measles outbreaks are “not unusual,”

Continue Reading

Early research suggests why exercise is so protective against brain disease

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN (CNN) — Upping your physical activity level may lower your risk of developing neuropsychiatric diseases such as anxiety, depression and dementia, according to new preliminary research. And the protection for your brain applies no matter how intense your exercise is, “highlighting the importance of regular movement in promoting mental health,” said

Continue Reading

The causes of Alzheimer’s disease are in doubt. The first Black psychiatrist challenged consensus over 100 years ago

By Kristen Rogers, CNN (CNN) — Alzheimer’s disease is increasingly widespread, affecting more than 55 million people worldwide — a figure that’s expected to nearly triple by 2050. Despite the disease’s prevalence, few know the history of research on Alzheimer’s and the role played by an important yet long-overlooked figure: Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller, the

Continue Reading

What to know about measles

CNN, KCBD, POOL, CDC By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — As a measles outbreak causes dozens of illnesses in West Texas, it’s important to know how to identify signs of the illness – especially in young children. Measles, one of the world’s most contagious infectious diseases, can cause serious complications – such as blindness, pneumonia

Continue Reading

CDC investigating hospitalizations of five people who recently received chikungunya vaccine

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently investigating five hospitalizations that occurred in people who had recently received a vaccine that prevents disease caused by the chikungunya virus. In a notice posted Tuesday on a vaccine information page for health-care providers, the CDC said that the

Continue Reading

Zepbound maker Eli Lilly announces $27 billion investment in US drug manufacturing as Trump threatens tariffs

By Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — Eli Lilly, the maker of blockbuster weight loss and diabetes drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro, said it will invest an additional $27 billion to build four new manufacturing plants in the United States, shoring up domestic manufacturing as President Donald Trump threatens new tariffs on pharmaceuticals. Three of the sites

Continue Reading

Antidepressants may hasten decline from dementia, study says. Experts are unconvinced

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — Doctors often use antidepressants to manage the depression, anxiety and agitation that accompanies a diagnosis of dementia. Now, a new study suggests the use of antidepressants may hasten the cognitive decline of people with dementia. It’s a conclusion that some experts consider unwarranted. “We found that patients with dementia

Continue Reading

Self-hatred isn’t the same as depression. A psychiatrist explains how to treat it in teens

By Matt Villano, CNN (CNN) — Psychiatrist Dr. Blaise Aguirre has become an expert in self-loathing. No, it’s not because he experiences self-hatred. It’s because he has spent decades studying what he considers an epidemic of adolescents who do. Aguirre, a longtime child and adolescent psychiatrist at Mass General Brigham’s McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts,

Continue Reading

Narcissists are significantly more likely to feel excluded, new study finds

By Julianna Bragg, CNN (CNN) — If you don’t personally know a narcissist, you can likely think of a few celebrities or politicians who display entitlement, lack empathy and crave constant admiration. Grandiose narcissists, also known as overt narcissists, are particularly notorious for their inflated sense of self-importance and relentless need for attention — traits

Continue Reading

What to know about measles

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — As a measles outbreak causes dozens of illnesses in West Texas, it’s important to know how to identify signs of the illness – especially in young children. Measles, one of the world’s most contagious infectious diseases, can cause serious complications – such as blindness, pneumonia or encephalitis, swelling of

Continue Reading

Pope Francis in hospital: How to reduce the chances of contracting pneumonia and other respiratory infections

By Katia Hetter, CNN (CNN) — After Pope Francis was hospitalized last week for bronchitis, the Vatican announced that he remains in “critical” condition and suffered an “asthmatic respiratory crisis” on Saturday. Earlier, the Vatican had said the 88-year-old had a “polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract” and pneumonia in both lungs, with tests indicating

Continue Reading

Company says it received conditional approval for bird flu vaccine from US Department of Agriculture

By Dakin Andone, CNN (CNN) — The US Department of Agriculture last week issued a conditional license for an avian flu vaccine for use in chickens, amid an outbreak ravaging poultry flocks, contributing to the sky-high price of eggs. Zoetis, the manufacturer behind the vaccine, announced the conditional approval Friday, saying in a news release

Continue Reading

Anxiety can be debilitating. Controlling it starts with this simple step, Martha Beck says

By Jessica DuLong, CNN (CNN) — Gun violence, the climate crisis, political division and brain-hijacking technology make today’s society a breeding ground for anxiety. Disrupting the cycle of constant worry requires big shifts in how we relate to the world, argues Martha Beck. Searching for ways to curb her own off-the-charts anxiety led the sociologist

Continue Reading

Louisiana Department of Health says it will no longer promote mass vaccination

By Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — The Louisiana Department of Health will no longer promote mass vaccination, the state’s surgeon general, Dr. Ralph Abraham, told state health workers Thursday. “The State of Louisiana and LDH have historically promoted vaccines for vaccine preventable illnesses through our parish health units, community health fairs, partnerships and media campaigns,”

Continue Reading

Abortion bans in US led to more births and infant deaths, especially among vulnerable groups

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — Abortion bans in the United States are exacerbating existing health disparities as births increase in high-risk populations and infant mortality rises disproportionately, new research suggests. In 14 states that implemented complete or 6-week abortion bans after the Supreme Court Dobbs decision revoked the federal right to abortion, the fertility

Continue Reading

Georgia lifts suspension of poultry activities after extensive bird flu testing finds no additional cases

By Rebekah Riess, CNN (CNN) — The Georgia Department of Agriculture has lifted the suspension of poultry activities in Georgia, one of the country’s top poultry-producing states, after bird flu testing, depopulation, cleaning and disinfecting were done in the area and no new cases were found. In January, all poultry exhibitions, shows, swaps, meets and

Continue Reading

FDA’s plan to propose ban on formaldehyde in hair-straightening products remains in limbo under Trump administration

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — A plan for the US Food and Drug Administration to propose banning formaldehyde and certain formaldehyde-releasing chemicals from being used in hair-straightening products remains in limbo under President Donald Trump. Due to concerns about these chemicals’ links to cancer risks, the FDA under the Biden administration considered proposing a

Continue Reading