Philadelphia’s street opioid supply – or “dope” market – is constantly changing. As health care workers and researchers who care for people who use drugs in our community, we have witnessed these shifts firsthand.

New adulterants are frequently added to the mix. They bring additional and often uncertain risks for people who ...Read more

Berberine is a bioactive compound from a range of plants grown throughout the globe.

Overview

Berberine has proposed benefits ranging from relieving canker sores to managing blood glucose levels in type 2 diabetes. This supplement also has a history of use in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Special functions

Berberine has a well-documented ...Read more

At the end of the day, your long-awaited dinner is probably the only priority you’re focused on. You might scarf down a cheesy bowl of pasta or grab a fast-food sandwich on your way home. What’s hard to anticipate is your body’s reaction after you’ve finished eating — although you're done with dinner, your body is just getting started ...Read more

For neuroscientist Sara Lazar, a form of meditation called open awareness is as fundamental to her day as breathing.

“I just become aware that I am aware, with no particular thing that I focus on,” explains Lazar, an associate researcher in the psychiatry department at Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant professor of psychology at ...Read more

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: My husband and I want to expand our family and are trying to get pregnant with our first baby. I’ve read about family planning couples can do before conceiving and learned about carrier screening. We don’t have a family history of genetic conditions, but we want to know if there is a chance of passing a genetic disorder to ...Read more

Most people probably would not connect seasonal allergies with their hearts. Itchy, watery eyes and stuffy noses, sure – but not cardiovascular issues.

Researchers are finding signs of just such a link between allergies, asthma and heart health. And while nobody is saying your next sneeze is cause for alarm, experts say the connection is ...Read more

BOULDER, Colo. — Colorado regulators are issuing licenses for providing psychedelic mushrooms and are planning to authorize the state’s first “healing centers,” where the mushrooms can be ingested under supervision, in late spring or early summer.

The dawn of state-regulated psychedelic mushrooms has arrived in Colorado, nearly two ...Read more

WASHINGTON — As the largest measles outbreak in the U.S. in 25 years spreads, health experts warn that more people choosing to be unvaccinated for infectious diseases will make it harder to replicate past successful responses to outbreaks.

Measles, a respiratory virus, was effectively eliminated in 2000, when the U.S. only saw 86 cases. ...Read more

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Alaska State Medical Board is asking the Legislature to ban hormonal and surgical treatments for minors seeking to transition from one gender to another.

The board — whose members were chosen by Gov. Mike Dunleavy — on Thursday agreed to state that it “opposes hormonal and surgical treatments for gender dysphoria...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Monday was World Tuberculosis Day and, as usual, Americans had reason to celebrate, with incidence rates that are among the best anywhere, according to the World Health Organization. But that does not mean there is not room for further improvement, especially in San Diego County.

In a recent announcement calling for greater ...Read more

Colorectal cancer is one of the most treatable cancers, especially when detected early. For those in advanced stages, significant advancements in therapies are providing renewed hope.

Dr. Umair Majeed, a Mayo Clinic oncologist, says improved treatment options mean better outcomes for patients, even for those with late-stage colorectal cancer.

...Read more

The Trump administration’s crackdown on DEI programs could exacerbate an unexpectedly steep drop in diversity among medical school students, even in states like California, where public universities have been navigating bans on affirmative action for decades. Education and health experts warn that, ultimately, this could harm patient care.

...Read more

A sarcoma is a term for a broad group of cancers that start in the bones or soft tissue, such as muscle, fat, blood vessels, nerves, tendons and joints. One of the signs of a sarcoma is a lump that can be felt through the skin that may or may not be painful. So if you feel one of these lumps, what should you do?

"Many patients will wonder: 'I ...Read more

DENVER -- Coloradans will soon have legal access to psychedelic-assisted therapy with the first licensed psilocybin businesses expected to open this spring. This novel type of mental health treatment involves ingesting large doses of “magic mushrooms” under the supervision of a licensed guide.

People who are interested in trying a ...Read more

Living in a disadvantaged neighborhood contributes to a rare form of heart failure known as peripartum cardiomyopathy, a potentially deadly disease that disproportionately affects Black mothers.

That’s the key finding of my recent study, published in February 2025 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Peripartum ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is canceling dozens of National Institutes of Health grants funding health equity research, including work studying Black maternal and fetal health and HIV.

Grantees were told in termination notices delivered over the last several days that their project “no longer effectuates agency priorities” and ...Read more

With spring in Connecticut comes the persistent whine and pungent exhaust fumes of gas-powered leaf blowers as they prepare pristine lawns for fresh mulch and flowers.

But a ban on the ubiquitous landscaping machines is back before state lawmakers. HB 6263 was the subject of a recent public hearing before the legislature’s Environment ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Five years after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, registered nurse Nicole Baca still visits an infusion center every week to have a mixture of water and other nutrients injected into her bloodstream.

“The treatments help increase my blood volume, and that’s what helps keep me from passing out,” the El Cajon resident ...Read more

After a twitching pinky finger led to a diagnosis of young-onset Parkinson’s disease, Keith Krehbiel, then 42, stopped at a bookstore on the way home to learn more about the progressive neurological disorder before telling his wife Amy the shocking news.

“I remember sitting in a parking lot and hearing this sad piece by Miles Davis,” he ...Read more