Midwestern state reports first measles case since 2011

North Dakota has reported its first case of measles in over a decade.

This case — the state's first since 2011 — involves an unvaccinated child, who, according to North Dakota Health and Human Services, may have contracted the virus from an out-of-state visitor.

The infected person is currently isolating at home to avoid spreading measles to others, according to the press release.

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"HHS is contacting those who may have been exposed and advising unvaccinated individuals [on] how long to quarantine," reads the statement. "Because the majority of North Dakotans are vaccinated, the risk to the general public is low."

"Anyone with symptoms consistent with measles should call ahead before visiting a clinic to avoid exposing others," said Molly Howell, HHS immunization director, in a statement.

"Vaccination remains the most effective defense against measles. Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccination is safer than risking measles illness."

Measles cases continue to spread throughout the U.S., with 12 states reporting official outbreaks, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

There are a total of 935 confirmed measles cases in 30 U.S. jurisdictions, per the same source.

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Fox News' senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel previously told Fox News Digital that measles is highly contagious.

"There is a 90% chance you will get it if you are unvaccinated and step into a room where someone with measles was two hours before," he cautioned.

Siegel has suggested that high exemption rates for childhood vaccines, which are now under 85% compliance, are to blame for the spread.

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Many cases in the current U.S. outbreak have occurred in unvaccinated individuals, mostly school-aged children. 

ANOTHER STATE CONFIRMS MEASLES CASE WITH INFECTED CHILD ITS FIRST OF YEAR

Children under the age of 5 are most vulnerable to measles, health experts confirm.

The CDC recommends that children receive two doses of the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine, starting with the first dose at 12 to 15 months of age, and a second dose at 4 through 6 years of age.

Allison Croucher, a pediatrician and doctor of osteopathic medicine with Duly Health and Care in Illinois, previously spoke to Fox News Digital about the most frequent questions she receives from parents.

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"If your infant is too young for the vaccine, it's important to take extra precautions to limit their exposure to others who are or might be ill," she advised. 

"Don't be afraid to decline travel or gatherings — you have every right to protect your child's health."

Croucher recommends that parents contact a doctor right away if they think their child may have measles.

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Terminal colon cancer patient saved by breakthrough treatment

Two years ago, Emma Dimery was told her stage 4 colon cancer was incurable. Today, she is healthy and cancer-free — and she says a last-resort clinical trial saved her life.

Dimery, who lives in Minnesota, was just 23 when she was diagnosed with colon cancer, which has been rising sharply among teens and young adults in recent years.

After experiencing abdominal pain and having abnormal blood work, Dimery underwent a colonoscopy, which revealed a "softball-sized" tumor and another "golf ball-sized" one, she told Fox News Digital. 

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Despite multiple surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation and some combination therapies, Dimery’s treatment-resistant cancer spread throughout her body over the years, leading to what she described as a "low point."

"I was basically treading water, doing immunotherapy every other week for probably four years or so," she told Fox News Digital during an on-camera interview, adding that she was "out of options." (See the video at the top of the article.)

"I had been waiting for a clinical trial," recalled Dimery, now 35. "I had exhausted every other standard of treatment, and even some not-so-standard ones."

When Dimery heard about a new trial at the University of Minnesota, she said it "wasn’t a tough decision."

"I was on board pretty much from day one," she said.

The trial, led by Dr. Emil Lou, tested an experimental genetic therapy that the researcher described as the "next frontier of immunotherapy."

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While most immunotherapies have targets that are on the outside of cells, this one targeted the insides of cells.

"Some of the targets inside the cell are preventing the immune system from activating against the cancer," Lou, a medical oncologist and scientist who had previously treated Dimery, told Fox News Digital in an on-camera interview. "It’s kind of like a shield that protects the cancer cell from the body’s immune system."

In the trial, cancer cells were retrieved from the participants, then were altered in a lab using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology, which Lou described as "genetic scissors." The process programmed the cells to have a more effective anti-tumor response.

The altered cells were then reintroduced into the patients’ bodies via infusion.

"They trained the cells to be able to fight my cancer specifically when they were reintroduced into my body," Dimery noted.

It was a long process that was grueling at times, she shared, with some challenging side effects.

"You just get through it and try to focus on the good," Dimery said. "And I had a lot of good around me. I had really amazing support team."

A total of 12 patients participated in the study — but Dimery had by far the best results.

The vast majority of advanced colorectal cancers are not considered to be curable, Lou confirmed to Fox News Digital.

"The chemotherapies or whatever other treatments we have available, while there are a number of them, are palliative — meaning they don't have the capability to induce a cure in patients with metastatic stage 4 colorectal cancers," he said. 

"Emma was in that category until she came onto our trial."

Lou described Dimery’s response to the experimental immunotherapy as "remarkable." After just one infusion of the engineered cells, she was pronounced cancer-free — an outcome that is "almost unheard-of" with advanced colorectal cancer.

"We term this in oncology as a ‘clinical complete response,’ which is something that you see in 10% or less of all patients," Lou said. "And it’s less than 10% for stage 4 colorectal cancers." 

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"What we saw in Emma was a magnificent and unprecedented level of response, going from a metastatic stage for an otherwise incurable cancer … where now we don’t see any cancer."

Two years after the trial, Dimery said she’s doing "really well."

"The trial worked almost immediately — and I've had no evidence of disease since," she told Fox News Digital. 

While she’s hesitant to use "the C-word," or "cure," she said the trial has changed the way she thinks of cancer.

"Until now, the best I could hope for was remission to the point of no evidence of disease … and had to accept that it could rear its head again at any point, even if they can't detect it on a scan," Dimery said.

"All of my scans have just been coming back better and better." 

Dimery’s story was unveiled last week at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in Chicago.

"Emma is exceptional in many ways, but what we learned from her case, we hope to replicate and decipher how we can achieve this on a more consistent basis across the board for more patients like her," Lou added.

Studies have shown that in 2023, one in 10 colorectal cancer diagnoses were considered early-onset, or affecting patients under 50 years of age.

The American College of Surgeons predicts that early-onset cases will double by 2030.

"Colorectal cancer remains one of the few cancers for which we have validated screening tools," Lou noted.

Those include blood-based tests, stool-based tests and colonoscopies.

In 2018, the American Cancer Society changed its colorectal screening recommendation from age 50 to age 45. Other medical organizations followed suit in ensuing years.

Even so, Lou said he is seeing patients diagnosed well ahead of the age 45 benchmark.

"I'm seeing something in the last five or six years that I really did not see earlier in my career — teenagers, people in their 20s, 30s and 40s," he shared. 

"Just last week, I saw someone in their early 40s with widely metastatic stage 4 colorectal cancer."

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What’s "striking and alarming," Lou said, is that about half of the cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed at stage 4.

"A lot of times, they don't even have symptoms, or they have symptoms that were construed as something else." 

Dimery said she is encouraged by early-onset colon cancer coming to the "forefront of public consciousness."

The more people who are aware, the better. I think it's really important to not panic, but to stay informed and connected to the community."

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Genetic testing is also important to gauge the availability of clinical trials, she noted.

"That can tell you a lot about your individual type of cancer," Dimery said. "Luckily for me, I had just the right kind of cancer for this treatment."

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Cancer deaths and tax rates linked in surprising new study: Here's how

People who pay more in taxes could be less likely to die from cancer.

The link was revealed in a new study published in JAMA Network Open, which aimed to explore how state-level tax revenue impacts cancer screenings and mortality in the U.S.

Researchers from The Ohio State University, Emory University in Georgia and the University of Verona in Italy analyzed 1,150 state-years of tax data over a 23-year period, between 1997 and 2019. (A state-year refers to one year of data from one state.)

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They also reviewed population-level cancer screening rates and cancer-related deaths from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) databases.

The states with higher tax income were found to have increased cancer screening rates and decreased cancer mortality rates, the researchers found.

For each $1,000 increase in tax revenue per capita, the population had a 1.61% increase in colorectal cancer screening, a 2.17% increase in breast cancer screening and a 0.72% increase in cervical cancer screening rate, the research showed. 

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Among those who had cancerous tumors, each $1,000 increase in tax revenue per capita was linked to up to 4% decreased death rates among White patients. The same reduced risk was not found for racial and ethnic minority populations, according to the study.

"State-level tax policy is an underappreciated social determinant of health that may improve cancer screening and mortality rates," the researchers wrote.

"These findings suggest that state-level tax revenue may serve as one aspect of a multifaceted approach to improve cancer-related outcomes in the U.S. and help bridge cancer care gaps, particularly in more progressive tax policy settings."

Prior studies have identified tax policy as a predictor of public health, particularly for infant mortality risk and overall healthcare outcomes.

"Tax revenue may serve as funding that promotes the common good by ensuring access to safe, healthy environments and quality healthcare, while progressive taxes can substantially increase the disposable income of working-class households, thus enhancing their living standards and improving their health and cancer outcomes," the study stated.

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Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News senior medical analyst, shared his external reaction to the study.

"One possible association could be that the higher your taxes, the more money you would have to buy healthier food and more luxury for relaxation and exercise," he told Fox News Digital. 

"Having more money to pay for extra treatment, earlier diagnosis and better care can also help prevent cancer death."

The study did have some limitations, the researchers acknowledged — chiefly that the results show an association but do not prove that the high tax rates caused the decreased mortality. 

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Cancer screening rates were also based on patient questionnaires, which could have some level of bias.

There is also the possibility of measurement errors in the data, the researchers cautioned.

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Man’s blood used to create antivenom for 19 deadly snakes

Scientists have developed what they believe is the most widely effective antivenom ever — and the secret ingredient came from one man’s blood.

In the course of their research, the team found a man, Tim Friede, who had been bitten hundreds of times by 16 species of deadly snakes — the poison lethal enough to kill a horse, according to the scientists — over an 18-year period.

Friede had received the bites intentionally as part of a self-immunization process using escalating doses. As a result, he had become "hyper-immune" to the effects of snake neurotoxins, the researchers stated.

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"After being introduced to Tim Friede and his incredible journey and immune history, we decided there was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study his blood and isolate the basis of a universal antivenom," lead study author Jacob Glanville, CEO of Centivax, a San Francisco biotechnology company, told Fox News Digital. 

Friede agreed to participate in a study in which he donated two blood samples. 

The researchers isolated target antibodies from Friede’s blood that reacted with neurotoxins found within 19 of the world’s deadliest snakes.

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They combined two of the antibodies with another molecule to create a new antivenom. In mouse trials, the antidote was found to be protective against venom from the black mamba, king cobra, coral snakes and tiger snakes, among others.

The results were published on May 2 in the journal Cell Press.

Friede said that by participating in the study, he is "helping humanity."

"I know I am helping someone possibly 8,000 miles away, and that makes me feel really good," he said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

"I realize what I've been doing over the years hasn't been in vain with this research."

"The reason I have been bitten so many times is to get more comfortable with it," he added. "It became a lifestyle for me, almost like an addiction."

The hope is that Friede’s "once-in-a-lifetime, unique immune history" could result in a "broad-spectrum" or universal antivenom, according to Glanville.

"If formulated for intramuscular delivery in a ‘venom EpiPen’ form, which is our preference, it could then be deployed more broadly without any IV requirement, including very rural settings or hiker’s backpacks," he told Fox News Digital.

The researchers now plan to expand the trials to treat dogs that have been brought to veterinary clinics after receiving snake bites, according to the release. 

They will also work to create another antivenom to protect against viper bites. 

Prior to this research, the process for making antivenom has been more or less the same over the past century, according to the researchers.

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"Typically, it involves immunizing horses or sheep with venom from single snake species and collecting the antibodies produced," they wrote. "While effective, this process could result in adverse reactions to the non-human antibodies, and treatments tend to be species and region-specific."

Approximately 5.4 million people are bitten by snakes each year globally, according to the World Health Organization. Among those, 2.7 million are poisoned by venom, which can cause death or permanent disability.

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The research was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, the National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovation Research program, and the U.S. Department of Energy.

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Why gossiping could be good for you, according to experts

Gossiping gets a bad rap, but psychology experts say it could actually benefit our mental health.

The activity can help "make meaning of our world and situations," according to Thea Gallagher, PsyD, director of wellness programs at NYU Langone Health.

"It can also help us be more informed about the intentions of others when we are sharing true information about what someone did or didn’t do," she said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

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Gossiping can be helpful in terms of exposing certain behaviors of others so that people can protect themselves, Gallagher noted.

"Or if it’s something that someone is struggling with, like an ill parent, it can actually give us more empathy [so we can] be more compassionate."

Gossip can also help people process their feelings before reacting, Gallagher suggested.

"If you’re irritated at a friend and talk to another friend about it, you might actually be able to see the situation more clearly after you process it with someone," she said. 

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The activity also offers a sense of bonding and connection with others, according to the expert.

"Human connection through shared information and communication is core to who we are and connects us to each other," she said. "We might feel closer to someone when we know they are confiding in us with information and vice versa."

"Just be careful not to jump to conclusions with little information," she cautioned. 

Janet Bayramyan, licensed clinical social worker in Los Angeles, also weighed in on the mental health impact of gossip, noting that it’s regarded as "inherently negative."

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"In some cases, it certainly can be, but gossiping can also serve as a form of venting or emotional regulation," she told Fox News Digital.

"If someone has been wronged or is feeling confused by a social interaction, discussing it with a friend helps them process what happened, gain validation and potentially re-frame the experience."

Dr. Brian Licuanan, a board-certified clinical psychologist in California, agreed that gossiping can be beneficial by providing a "safe place to talk and connect."

"If someone is feeling alone, sad, rejected or mistreated, gossiping with others can create a commiseration that can help mitigate some of these emotions," he told Fox News Digital.

The act can create a "level of unity" among certain groups who may "feel like outsiders," Licuanan noted.

Experts also warned that gossiping can sometimes backfire.

"People may lose trust in the person who gossips, because the belief could be that if this person is gossiping about others, they are likely to be gossiping about you," Licuanan said. 

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Overall, Licuanan said he considers gossip "unhealthy for the mind and spirit."

"This behavior can typically perpetuate emotions such as anger and resentment," he said. "The more a person engages in these behaviors outside of these emotions, the higher levels of stress they harbor — and, if done too much, this behavior can actually isolate them from others rather than bring them together."

For kids and teens in particular, gossiping can sometimes be used as a form of bullying, especially if the information is not true and is meant to hurt someone, Gallagher noted.

Those who initiate gossip that could have a malicious outcome should explore the motivation for gossiping in the first place, she suggested.

LiveCareer’s recent Office Gossip Survey of 1,000 U.S. workers revealed that workplace gossip is "widespread," as 58% of employees reported witnessing it weekly and one in three heard it daily.

Forty-seven percent of respondents said office gossip creates "tension and distrust." The same percentage said they don't trust anyone at work with confidential information.

The survey also found that 43% of respondents had been the subject of workplace gossip, and 20% admitted to spreading gossip that turned out to be false.

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In an interview with Fox News Digital, career expert Jasmine Escalera commented that gossip in the workplace is driving company culture in a "negative direction."

"Workplace gossip is running rampant and taking a serious toll on office culture," said the Florida-based expert. "In a time of increased layoffs, burnt-out and disengaged employees, and increased economic uncertainty, we don’t need to add extra stressors to the mix."

"Gossip has a direct effect on workplace morale, erodes trust among coworkers, and can quickly lead to the onset of a toxic work environment," she added.

Bayramyan suggested that in uncertain social environments, including the workplace, gossip can "sometimes help people make sense of complex dynamics, which can provide a feeling of control and predictability."

"It's mainly important to make sure that gossip is not mean-spirited," she advised, warning that "chronic negative gossiping" can cause stress and impact mental health.

Licuanan echoed that workplace gossip can be problematic and sometimes job-threatening — "especially if [gossiping] is viewed as slander or is damaging to one’s reputation."

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Michael Bolton had strange symptoms before brain cancer diagnosis: ‘Something’s wrong’

A Grammy-winning singer and his family have revealed the surprising early symptoms of his brain cancer.

Michael Bolton, who was diagnosed in December 2023 with glioblastoma — the most aggressive and fastest-growing form of brain cancer — first exhibited signs that something was amiss the month prior, according to his daughters.

During a family night at the bowling alley, Bolton, 72, bowled out of turn several times, they told People during a recent interview.

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That same night, the singer had also fallen out of his chair, which was "very unusual," Taryn, 45, told the outlet.

"He’s super athletic, and he doesn’t drink," she said. "So he fell, and we were like, ‘What just happened?’"

"That was when we were like, ‘Something’s wrong with his brain."

Looking back now, Bolton’s daughters recognize "so many things" they missed. 

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Earlier that fall, the Grammy winner had struggled to keep his balance and experienced nausea while performing at a charity event.

His daughters had assumed the strange symptoms were due to lack of sleep or excess stress, they said.

"He’d been working nonstop that whole time," Taryn recalled while speaking to People. 

"Traveling, doing shows, doing all of these things. We were like, he’s getting older, he’s tired, he’s stressed out. All of these things we sort of explained in a way, one by one."

Following the strange symptoms while bowling, Bolton began experiencing headaches, his daughters shared.

The following Monday, he received an MRI that detected a brain tumor, which was removed surgically and found to be glioblastoma.

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While rare, glioblastoma is known for affecting people across all ages and for its fast, aggressive development, according to Michael Canney Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Carthera, a Colorado health tech company that develops medical devices to treat severe brain disorders.

"Although glioblastoma’s cause isn’t fully known, the disease begins when genetic changes in brain cells cause them to grow out of control," Canney, who was not involved in Bolton’s care, told Fox News Digital.

"These cancerous cells rapidly invade surrounding brain tissue, making the tumor especially aggressive and hard to treat."

Canney confirmed that the symptoms Bolton experienced — confusion, sudden falls and severe headaches — are consistent with glioblastoma warning signs. 

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"Other potential red flags include nausea, memory loss, personality changes, speech difficulties and vision changes," he added.

"While the symptoms of glioblastoma are not unique to this disease, anytime you or a loved one experience an unexplained change in behavior, mental awareness or motor control, it’s important to see a medical professional."

After surgery, Bolton completed radiation and chemotherapy, which have so far kept cancer at bay, the report noted.

He receives ongoing MRIs every two months to ensure that he is still clear of tumors.

Glioblastoma is among the deadliest cancers, with patients living for an average of just over a year after diagnosis. The five-year survival rate is less than 5%.

"It is truly among the most tragic diseases," Canney said.

Part of what makes glioblastoma so severe is its resistance to treatment, according to the expert.

"Around your brain, there’s a natural protective barrier called the blood-brain barrier," he told Fox News Digital. 

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"While this barrier keeps the brain safe from toxins and other harmful substances, it also blocks the life-saving chemotherapy drugs used in treating most cancers."

In some cases, including Bolton’s, glioblastoma treatment can begin with surgery to remove the tumor, provided it has not grown too deeply into the brain, Canney said.

Other treatment options include radiation and chemotherapy, which can "modestly extend survival," he noted.

"Although current treatment options are limited, a number of clinical trials are underway that give us an immense sense of hope," Canney said, pointing out a new form of ultrasound-based technology that is showing promise. 

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"If approved, this technology will enable doctors to safely and temporarily open the blood-brain barrier for the first time ever — allowing a greater number of potentially more effective chemotherapy drugs into the brain."

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Semaglutide found to have shocking benefit for liver disease patients in new study

Using semaglutide injections, scientists were able to reverse life-threatening cases of liver disease in a new clinical trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Semaglutide, which is traditionally a treatment for type 2 diabetes, was given to participants who had been diagnosed with a life-threatening form of liver disease called metabolic dysfunction associated steatohepatitis (MASH).

"This is a major step forward in the field," said Arun Sanyal, M.D., director of the VCU Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health, in a video from VCU. "It provides patients with additional choices when we think about treating fatty liver disease."

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MASH is a severe form of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), which was previously known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, according to WebMD.

Both MASH and MASLD are marked by excessive fat in the liver, which can be dangerous.

"Over time, the buildup of fat in the liver can lead to inflammation, liver fibrosis, cirrhosis and liver cancer," stated a press release about the study.

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Researchers chose to investigate semaglutide as a potential treatment because this class of drug has previously been shown to reduce fat and liver scarring for people with MASH.

Between 2021 and 2023, 800 randomly selected participants across 37 countries received once-weekly injections of either semaglutide or a placebo, the press release stated. More than half had type 2 diabetes and around 75% were obese.

After 72 weeks of treatment, 62.9% of participants had less inflammation and fat accumulation in their livers.

In the placebo group, only 34.3% of participants experienced a decrease in symptoms.

"The liver actually starts looking substantially better under the microscope in these patients," noted Sanyal.

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The researchers also found that 36.8% of the semaglutide group saw improvements in their liver fibrosis, versus 22.4% in the placebo group.

Participants treated with semaglutide also saw improvements in liver enzymes and blood measures of liver fibrosis, as well as 10.5% weight loss. 

Some adverse experiences were more common in the semaglutide group, including nausea, diarrhea, constipation and vomiting.

"Novo Nordisk continues to explore semaglutide across metabolic and cardiovascular health, including MASH, a condition with limited treatment options for patients and healthcare professionals," said Anna Windle, PhD, senior vice president of clinical development, medical and regulatory affairs at Novo Nordisk, maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, in a press release provided to Fox News Digital.

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"We are encouraged by these published findings in the NEJM and what this could mean for patients. Based on these data, we look forward to working with regulatory authorities to bring this potential new treatment option to patients."

"While these results must be treated with caution, the analysis shows semaglutide can be an effective tool to treat this advanced liver disease," said lead researcher Professor Philip Newsome, director of the Roger Williams Institute of Liver Studies at King's College London, in the release.

"I've been working with GLP-1 treatments for 16 years and these results are hugely exciting," he added.

Sanyal noted that semaglutide had previously been shown to be beneficial for obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

"Now we can add liver disease to that list."

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Looking ahead, the research team plans to gather data from nearly 1,200 participants in 37 countries for up to five years to determine semaglutide's impact on long-term liver complications.

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