Researchers looking for root causes of long COVID work in the autopsy suite inside the Clinical Center at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
On Disabilities On Disabilities
On Disabilities
A precisely timed pulse to a brain area just behind the ear can help reduce memory deficits in patients suffering moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries. Malte Mueller/Getty Images/fStop hide caption
When a brain injury impairs memory, a pulse of electricity may help
Shaimaa Ali Ahmed, 12, lost her leg at age 6 after happening upon an unexploded rocket. Yemeni children like her bear an outsized burden from the civil war, where land mines and ordnance litter the landscape. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption
She's 12. A rocket took her leg. She defines the pain and resilience of Yemen
John Shambroom and Loose Ends volunteer Jan Rohwetter examine the rug Shambroom's wife, Donna Savastio, couldn't finish due to symptoms of Alzheimer's. Jesse Costa/WBUR hide caption
Reddit's updates will include access to moderation tools, messaging, and control settings for user approval and bans. The Reddit app icon is pictured on a smartphone. Matt Slocum/AP hide caption
Michael J. Fox in the new documentary, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie. Courtesy of Apple hide caption
Parkinson's Threatened To Tear Michael J. Fox Down, But He Keeps On Getting Up
Millions of people have long COVID brain fog — and there's a shortage of answers
Ventorina Aculu of northern Uganda sits next to her adult son, Omac Alfred, who has a rare neurological disease known as nodding syndrome. Pat Robert Larubi/Undark hide caption
For some with disabilities, the pandemic raised fears that they couldn't get medical care they need. Now, groups are saying California's assisted suicide law also devalues their lives, and they have filed a lawsuit. Fanatic Studio / Gary Waters via Getty Images hide caption
Disability groups claim California's assisted suicide law discriminates against them
Teen with life-threatening depression finally found hope. Then insurance cut her off
Long COVID — lingering symptoms that can follow a COVID diagnosis — plagues millions of Americans. It may be less likely after a second bout of COVID than after a first. For those living with it, it can be debilitating. Judy Schafer, 58, met with a group of other women with long COVID via Zoom, at her home in Seattle, Wash., in January. Jovelle Tamayo/The Washington Post via Getty Images hide caption
You're less likely to get long COVID after a second infection than a first
In London to address a gene-editing summit last week, Victoria Gray took a break to visit Sir John Soane's Museum. In 2019, Gray became the first patient to be treated for sickle cell disease using CRISPR, an experimental gene-editing technique. She was invited to talk about her experiences at the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing. Orlando Gili for NPR hide caption
Sickle cell patient's success with gene editing raises hopes and questions
Researchers meeting in London this week concluded that techniques that have made it easier to manipulate DNA still produce too many mistakes for scientists to be confident any children born from edited embryos (such as these, photographed in 2018) would be healthy. Mark Schiefelbein/AP hide caption
Ethical concerns temper optimism about gene-editing for human diseases
Biophysicist He Jiankui addressed the last international summit on human genome editing in Hong Kong in 2018. His experiments in altering the genetic makeup of human embryos was widely condemned by scientists and ethicists at the time, and still casts a long shadow over this week's summit in London. Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Experts weigh medical advances in gene-editing with ethical dilemmas
Judy Heumann was a major American civil rights activist who remained little-known until a flurry of attention in the last three years of her life. Joseph Shapiro/NPR hide caption
Activist Judy Heumann led a reimagining of what it means to be disabled
John Buettner (front), a 5th grader at Glen Lake Elementary School in Hopkins, Minn., looks at drawings of playground designs while on a tour at Landscape Structures with his classmates in Delano, Minn. Caroline Yang for NPR hide caption
These students raised hundreds of thousands to make their playground accessible
Idaho removed nearly 10,000 people from Medicaid in the pandemic's first years when enrollees couldn't be reached. The episode previews what could occur in other states after April 1, when a COVID-era coverage mandate ends. Eric Harkleroad/KHN hide caption
When he was in prison, Lee Reed was in agonizing back pain. His doctors told him he needed back surgery, because he was close to his release date, they said he'd have to get it done on the outside. Amy Osborne for Tradeoffs hide caption
Red and blue states look to Medicaid to improve the health of people leaving prison
This hole was made in a Bronze Age man's skull shortly before he died, archaeologists say, based on several clues. It's the result of a surgical procedure called a trephination. Kalisher et al., 2023/PLOS ONE hide caption
Jimmy Dee Stout outside his brother's home in Round Rock, Texas. Stout had served about half of his 15-year sentence for a drug conviction when he was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer last year. Julia Robinson for KHN hide caption
Research participant Heather Rendulic prepares to grasp and move a can of tomato soup at Rehab Neural Engineering Labs at the University of Pittsburgh. Tim Betler/UPMC and University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences hide caption
Spinal stimulation can improve arm and hand movement years after a stroke
Paul Davis is a retired physician in Findlay, Ohio, who gets weekly treatments of the drug Kimmtrak to help stave off the progression of his rare cancer — uveal melanoma. He worries the accumulating cost of the drug — nearly $50,000/week if he has to pay it out of pocket — could saddle his family with crushing medical debt after he's gone. Maddie McGarvey for KHN hide caption
Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick believes offering medical explanations in clear, everyday language from trusted messengers can help shrink health disparities. Her video company, Grapevine Health, is built on that idea — and some health insurers are buying in. Ryan Levi/Tradeoffs hide caption