Maternal opioid use is growing nationally. A new study reflects this, its impact on babies and regional disparities. As a result, babies are suffering withdrawal at alarming rates. Our directives must address the symbiotic relationships that perpetuate the current and intergenerational struggles of families. 

The U.S. Supreme Court decided not to revisit a challenge to the NFL's class-action lawsuit brought by former players. The high court's refusal, which ends a landmark case that began in July 2011, allows for payments approaching $1 billion to start being made this spring to more than 20,000 former players.

To kick off our "12 Days of Christmas" holiday list, highlighting the top stories that we've debunked this year, we start with ... the perennial nuisance, the National Resources Defense Council. Those folks made our 2016 list because they just love scaring people over nothing. Here are a few examples.

OK, America. Time to finally but down that second burger and that extra-large soda. A new CDC report shows that for the first time in 22 years, life expectancy for the average American has dropped. Heart disease, which remains the leading cause of death, is directly linked to nation's ubiquitous overeating epidemic.
 

Ah yes, holiday time is here — so is egg nog, Christmas cookies and Hanukkah latkes — all designed to pack on the pounds. So how to best prevent or treat the resulting overweight or obesity? Science tells us there's no best way. But as we've thought for a while, there are many ways to take the weight off. And if one doesn't work another just might.

Your noggin is not as special as you think. That is, in terms of losing heat in the winter. Here's why you can skip the hat and not be entirely doomed.

When you need some serious medicine for an asthma attack or an autoimmune disease flare-up, prednisone is your drug of choice. But the stuff is also nasty. Here's why.

There's an ever-growing body of evidence that reinforces the health benefits of being with animals. A new study published in BMC Psychiatry explores the role pets had with those suffering from bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other significant, long-term mental illnesses.

A speaker at a recent Alzheimer's conference said that the Alzheimer's-Amyloid Plaque hypothesis shouldn't be shown the door quite yet. That's despite one failure after another to dissolve the plaques and slow the progression of the disease. Not so sure I agree. 

Even with the hot-button topic of abortion, there's one thing that nearly everyone can agree upon: having as few abortions as possible. And recent data from the Centers for Disease and Control states that the abortion rate in America has fallen by roughly one fifth from 2004 to 2013.