CNN – Health

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN Do you believe in the holiday food coma? Many people do. A mainstay on the dinner table at this time of year, turkey contains tryptophan, which is widely believed to be responsible for the uncontrollable yawns and sudden snoozes common after huge family feasts. “Tryptophan is an essential amino acid needed

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN The US Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved Hemgenix, a new drug to treat hemophilia. Manufacturer CSL Behring set the price at $3.5 million per treatment, making it the most expensive drug in the world. Hemgenix is a gene therapy to treat adults with hemophilia B, a genetic bleeding disorder

By Katherine Dillinger Both the number and rate of abortions reported in the US fell 2% from 2019 to 2020, according to new data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC requests abortion data each year from all 50 states and other jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia and New York

By Amanda Sealy Measles vaccination rates dropped throughout the pandemic and hit the lowest coverage rate in more than a decade, says a new study published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although global measles vaccinations mostly improved from 2000 to 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic presented a setback in the efforts to

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN Holidays and stress seem to go hand in hand. To cope, many people often steal hours from their sleep to pack in all the cooking, shopping, gift wrapping, parties and family time. “Even a night or two of short sleep can have short term effects on your health, mood and wellbeing,”

By Brenda Goodman, CNN Updated Covid-19 boosters that carry instructions to arm the body against currently circulating Omicron subvariants offer some protection against infections, according to the first study to look at how the boosters are performing in the real world. However, the protection is not as high as that provided by the original vaccine

By Brenda Goodman and Raenu Charles, CNN Shortages of key medications used to treat common childhood illnesses like flu, ear infections and sore throats are adding to the misery of this year’s early and severe respiratory virus season. “Right now, we are having severe shortages of medications. There’s no Tamiflu for children. There’s barely any

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN High-density lipoprotein, or HDL, cholesterol — often referred to as the “good” cholesterol — may not be as useful in predicting the risk of heart disease and protecting against it as previously thought, according to new researched funded by the National Institutes of Health. A study from the 1970s found that

By Jen Christensen and Nadia Kounang, CNN In April 1992, Vanessa Williams’ “Save the Best for Last” topped the Billboard 100, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton was running for the White House, “Who’s the Boss?” aired its final episode, and the babies born to Rachel and Philip Ridgeway a couple of weeks ago were frozen as

By Katie Hurley, CNN “I have a couple of spots for anyone who wants to lose 20 pounds by the holidays! No diets, exercise, or cravings!” Ads for dieting and exercise programs like this started appearing in my social media feeds in early October, often accompanied by photos of women pushing shopping carts full of

By Christina Zdanowicz, CNN As Abhishesh Pokharel carried his 3-week-old daughter into the emergency department, her fingers and toes were turning blue. Other parts of her tiny body were yellow. Something was very wrong. The triage nurse at Greater Baltimore Medical Center knew it, too. She took one look at baby Ayra and gave her

By Susan Puckett, CNN For most Americans, planning the Thanksgiving menu is easy. It’s a given that turkey — whether purchased raw or fully cooked — will be the centerpiece, even if half the guests have gone vegetarian. Certain family-approved sides and desserts are required to avoid a revolt. And overly generous invitees can be

By Faith Karimi, CNN When Jennifer Aniston opened up recently about her struggle with IVF treatments while trying to start a family, she gave a voice to people who’ve undergone arduous infertility journeys that ended with no biological children. In vitro fertilization, or IVF, is a method of assisted reproduction that involves removing eggs from

By Brenda Goodman, CNN Over the past 50 years, human sperm counts appear to have fallen by more than 50% around the globe, according to an updated review of medical literature. If the findings are confirmed and the decline continues, it could have important implications for human reproduction. Researchers say it would also be a

By Melanie Radzicki McManus, CNN When people think about improving their physical fitness, they often overlook the issue of balance. That’s a critical oversight. Good balance is an integral part of being physically fit and key to living a long life, according to research. It’s an important issue for everyone, no matter your age. Older

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN Seasonal flu activity is “elevated across the country,” with “high” or “very high” respiratory virus activity in more than half of US states, according to an update published Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And health care systems nationwide continue to feel the strain of a respiratory