Peptides are everywhere in health and beauty, but does the science actually back up the claims?

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 6/30 6:07A Scripps News Group

Have you heard of peptides? They're the newest buzzword in health and beauty, promising to fix everything from wrinkles to torn ligaments. But does the science back them up? Most of the compounds are sold in vials labeled "for research only"...

Medicare will start covering weight-loss drugs on July 1 for the first time

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 6/29 7:11A Tami Luhby

Millions of Medicare enrollees will gain their first-ever coverage for drugs for weight loss under a temporary pilot program that launches July 1. Mary Abrahamson hopes to be one of them. The rural Washington resident was tired of carrying extra...

Former NFL running back Chris Johnson reveals he has been diagnosed with ALS

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 6/29 5:44A AP via Scripps News Group

Chris Johnson, a former running back with the Tennessee Titans, New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals who once rushed for more than 2,000 yards in a single season, revealed in a television interview Monday that he has been diagnosed with ALS. The...

Kenya's health minister orders suspension of construction on a US-backed Ebola facility

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 6/23 7:25A AP via Scripps News Group

Kenya's health minister on Tuesday ordered the suspension of the construction of an Ebola quarantine center for Americans, a day after he was held in contempt by a court that had halted the project. Trump administration officials had said that...

Judge rules government can't stop SNAP dollars from buying candy and sugary drinks

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 6/23 5:48A AP via Scripps News Group

The federal government can't block benefits from the nation's largest food aid program from being used to buy candy, soda and other sugary drinks, a judge ruled. Monday's ruling scuttles restrictions now in place or planned for the federally...

Hantavirus threat from cruise ship outbreak ends in US, official say

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 6/23 5:13A Scripps News Group

Federal officials say the threat tied to a hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship is over. The announcement comes after the last exposed American passengers from the M/V Hondius completed a 42-day monitoring period. No cases of hantavirus were...

Pain patients caught in the crossfire of US opioid policies, experts say

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 6/18 7:38A Heather Olinger

Government rules meant to curb opioid abuse are leaving some chronic pain patients without the relief they need, according to doctors and advocates. In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued prescribing guidelines that have...

FDA panel backs first-of-its-kind flu vaccine using mRNA technology

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 6/18 1:10A By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MATTHEW

WASHINGTON (AP) A new kind of flu vaccine moved a step closer to the U.S. market Thursday as federal health advisers recommended approval of the first made with the same mRNA technology that was key to ending the COVID-19 pandemic. The Food and...

RFK Jr. orders cruise passenger held in quarantine despite CDC recommendation

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 6/16 11:25A Deidre McPhillips

A woman who was exposed to hantavirus on the MV Hondius cruise has been ordered by US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to stay in federal quarantine, despite being cleared to return home to Florida by a federal health...

How to stay healthy while traveling this summer

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 6/15 12:27P Tomeka Jones

As Americans head out for summer vacations, staying healthy while traveling should be just as much a priority as booking flights and packing suitcases. From soaring temperatures to unexpected illnesses and injuries, travelers may encounter a...

Congo reports large daily jump in Ebola cases a month after outbreak

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 6/15 7:37A AP via Scripps News Group

Congolese authorities have reported one of the highest daily increases in Ebola cases in a month-old outbreak as the virus spreads quickly in a remote region whose shifting population challenges efforts to find those exposed. Congo's Ministry of...

Scientists say GLP-1s improved male testosterone levels and sperm count

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 6/15 6:50A Madeline Holcombe

Fertility may not be a reason for men to avoid GLP-1 medications. In fact, they could see an improvement. After 24 weeks of treatment with GLP-1s, a class of medications that treats diabetes and is prescribed widely for weight loss, men ages 18 to...

Nara Organics recalls baby formula after infant botulism outbreak

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 6/15 5:30A AP via Scripps News Group

Nara Organics recalled its organic baby formula sold nationwide in Target stores and online Saturday after a multistate outbreak of infant botulism, federal authorities said. Three babies between 2 and 5 months became ill in April and May in...

OB-GYN group makes vaccine recommendations for the first time

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 6/11 5:21A AP via Scripps News Group

A prominent OB-GYN group announced vaccine recommendations on Wednesday that differ from what the U.S. government advises. The immunization schedule is specifically for pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women. It aligns with prior...

2 more screwworm infections found in animals hundreds of miles apart in Texas, USDA says

News 5 Cleveland (Your Health Matters) 6/8 4:33A AP via Scripps News Group

Two more cases of the New World screwworm have been confirmed in Texas, demonstrating the difficulty of stopping the spread of a pest that could potentially devastate the nation's cattle industry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced...