Health

The flu is a serious problem this season.

At its peak in early February, about 7 percent of all visits to health clinics in Sedgwick County were for flu-like symptoms. Now, the rate is at 3 percent.

Newly-published research from the University of Kansas shows prenatal supplements of the omega-3 fatty acid called DHA reduce the risk of severely-premature birth and low birth weight.

Babies who are born before 34 weeks of gestation are typically very tiny, and are at elevated risk of death or disability. A five-year study by University of Kansas researchers Susan Carlson and John Colombo says those outcomes are much less likely when mothers-to-be take DHA supplements. 

March of Dimes Medical Director Edward McCabe says the study is highly credible.

A new poll done for the Kansas Hospital Association shows that 60 percent of Kansans support expanding Medicaid to more low-income adults. Association CEO Tom Bell said that support increases to 70 percent when Kansans learn that saying "no" to expansion would cost the state $800 million in increased federal funding.

"Regardless of whether or not we take advantage of this opportunity, our folks in Kansas are going to continue to pay taxes to the federal government, and those tax moneys are going to go to fund Medicaid expansion in some other state," Bell said.

At least 50,000 people in America are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease each year and that number is expected to increase as the population ages.

Parkinson's disease is a neurological disorder caused by the death of dopamine producing cells in the brain. The symptoms include impaired movement, rigid muscles and impaired posture.

Wichita State University biochemistry professor Kandatege Wimalesena is leading a research effort to find some answers.

The new online health insurance marketplace going into effect next year in Kansas as part of the Affordable Care Act will be operated by federal, not state, officials.

That is because Gov. Sam Brownback refused to have any role in implementing what he calls "Obamacare."

Last Friday was the final deadline for states to notify federal officials of their interest in creating a federal-state partnership model for the new health insurance exchange. The deadline came and went with no action by Gov. Brownback.