Health Roundup: Louisiana's abortion ban; decline in prostate cancer; adults depression

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Louisiana lawmakers pass the bill to ban abortions as early as six weeks

The Louisiana House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to prohibit abortion after the detection of an embryonic heartbeat, which can occur as early as six weeks from conception, often before a woman even realizes she is pregnant. The 79-23 vote by the Republican-controlled House sends the bill to the state's Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards, who has indicated that he would sign it.

Race disparity in U.S. prostate cancer deaths disappears with equal care

Black men are more likely to die of prostate cancer than white men in the U.S., but a new study suggests this racial disparity may be largely due to differences in the medical care men receive. Black men are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, more apt to have advanced disease at the time of diagnosis, and more than twice as likely to die of the disease than white men in the U.S., researchers note in JAMA Oncology.

Seniors with vision loss experience discrimination, depression

Seniors with declining vision are more likely than peers with good eyesight to experience discrimination as well as depression that may result from this bias, a new study from the UK suggests. After surveying more than 7,000 men and women aged 50 and older, researchers determined that visual impairment was often met with disrespect and discrimination, according to the results published in JAMA Ophthalmology.

Louisiana governor to sign 'heartbeat' ban, latest move to curb U.S. abortion rights

Louisiana's Democratic governor said on Wednesday he would sign a bill passed earlier in the day to ban abortion when a fetal heartbeat is detected, the latest legislation in a movement in mostly Southern and Midwest states to curb abortion rights. Earlier on Wednesday, Missouri's governor renewed his intention to close a Planned Parenthood clinic and become the first state without a medical facility that performs abortions.

Major Hollywood studios may reconsider Georgia business over abortion law

The producer of the hit television series "The Walking Dead" and other major Hollywood film and TV studios said on Thursday they would reconsider locating productions in Georgia if a new state law restricting abortions takes effect. WarnerMedia, CBS Corp, Viacom Inc, NBCUniversal and "Walking Dead" producer AMC Networks Inc weighed in a day after Walt Disney Co's chief executive, Bob Iger, told Reuters that many people will not want to work in Georgia if the law is implemented, making it "very difficult" for the company to film there.

Congo's Ebola epidemic inflicts a heavy toll on children

BUTEMBO, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Eight-year-old Kennedy Muhindo was running a high fever and racked by stomach pain and diarrhoea. Health workers told him he had Ebola but his first thought was for his sister who had been battling the virus.

U.S. measles cases in 2019 highest since 1992

The United States recorded 971 cases of measles in the first five months of 2019, surpassing the total for any year since 1992, which was before the disease was declared eradicated in the country, federal officials said on Thursday. The United States declared measles eradicated from the country in 2000, but officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Thursday that the country risks losing its measles elimination status.

Knee injuries tied to increased risk of arthritis

Osteoarthritis of the knee is more common in people who've had injuries to the ligament or the cartilage that help stabilize the knee joint, a research review suggests. Compared to people without knee injuries, individuals with injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) were more than four times as likely to develop knee osteoarthritis, the study found. People with injuries to the meniscus cartilage alone or in combination with an ACL injury were more than six times as prone to osteoarthritis, researchers note in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Many older adults fall at home in well-lit rooms

Elderly people who fall may not always be stumbling over things in the dark. A new study suggests most of these falls at home happen when there's plenty of light. Falls are a leading cause of disability and diminished quality of life among older adults, but much of the research to date on the underlying causes of these incidents has relied on medical records that don't illuminate exactly what led to the accident, researchers note in the Journals of Gerontology: Series A.

Paediatricians don't always get adequate suicide-prevention training

Although experts supervising new paediatricians and teaching trainee doctors agree that preventing child and teen suicide is important, most also say current training isn't adequate, according to a new U.S. study. The training isn't always mandatory, for instance, and it isn't standardized, the study authors write in the Journal of Adolescent Health.