Dr. Robert L. Ruxin, MD

12/07/2025

Republican-Controlled States with Vaccine Exemptions Account for 73% of Measles; CT Has None
CT CAPITOL DISPATCH
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DEC 4
Republican-Controlled States with Vaccine Exemptions Account for 73% of Measles; CT Has None
Could staying healthy really be influenced by something as simple as what political party controls your state legislature and sets public policy?

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11/23/2025

we have to rethink Long-Term Use of Melatonin Linked to Heart Failure Risk

Nearly 27% of American adults take melatonin supplements to ease short-term insomnia, overcome jet lag and make it easier to sleep after shift work. Melatonin supplements are considered generally safe but should be taken on a short-term basis. However, many people use them long-term, which has been linked to health issues, including heart failure. In fact, long-term use of Melatonin is linked to a 90% greater heart failure risk, according to the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2025. sleep aides

11/22/2025

Connecticut Reports First Flu Death Of 2025-26
Connecticut health officials confirm the season's first flu death and urge residents to get vaccinated ahead of holiday gatherings.

CONNECTICUT — Connecticut health officials on Thursday confirmed the first influenza death of the 2025–26 season, an adult between 80 and 89 from Hartford County.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health said the death occurred during the week of Oct. 25. Commissioner Manisha Juthani called the loss “a tragic reminder” that respiratory viruses are already circulating as residents prepare for holiday gatherings.

“As we approach Thanksgiving and the holidays, more people gather together and spend more time indoors,” Juthani said. “If you haven’t gotten your seasonal shots, it’s not too late to protect yourself from potential serious complications and protect our most vulnerable.”

Health officials emphasized that vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent severe illness, particularly for infants, older adults, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems. Broader vaccination also helps limit transmission in the community and reduces strain on health systems during peak months, the department said.

Current state guidance recommends that everyone 6 months and older receive both an annual flu shot and the updated COVID-19 vaccine. Adults 60 and older and pregnant people may receive the RSV vaccine, while infants younger than 8 months are eligible for the monoclonal antibody nirsevimab. Vaccines are available through health care providers, pharmacies and vaccinefinder.org.

COVID-19 remains the most active respiratory virus circulating in Connecticut but has stabilized after a rise earlier in the fall. State officials said flu and RSV levels are still low but are expected to increase in the weeks following Thanksgiving. There have been seven COVID-19 deaths reported this season and no RSV deaths.

DPH also urged residents to follow basic prevention measures, including handwashing, staying home when sick, disinfecting surfaces and masking when experiencing respiratory symptoms.

12/06/2024

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended a second dose of the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine, administered 6 months after the first dose, for people aged 65 years or older and individuals who are immunocompromised.

06/27/2024

There is No Evidence To Support Daily Multivitamin Use To Improve Life Expectancy Among Healthy Adults, Researchers Say
HealthDay reports, “A full third of American adults take multivitamins, despite prior studies suggesting they do little to boost health.” And a new “study involving almost 400,000 people finds zero benefit from multivitamin use in helping folks live longer.” The researchers said they “did not find evidence to support improved longevity among healthy adults who regularly take multivitamins” in JAMA Network Open.
MedPage Today (6/26, Fiore) reports that in fact, “daily multivitamin use was actually associated with a slightly increased risk of death in the first half of follow-up compared with taking no multivitamin (HR 1.04, 95% CI 1.02-1.07), according to” researchers. Additionally, there was “no mortality benefit in the second half of follow-up (HR 1.04, 95% CI 0.99-1.08), nor for any individual cause of death including heart disease, cancer, and cerebrovascular disease, the researchers reported.

06/13/2024

MORE WARNINGS ABOUT DRINKING ALCOHOL

Regular Alcohol Use Associated With Heightened Risk Of Hypertension, Study Finds
Cardiovascular Business: “Drinking alcohol on a regular basis is associated with a heightened risk of hypertension, according to a new meta-analysis published in Hypertension.” In the study, “overall, the team’s analysis revealed a ‘positive and almost linear association’ between alcohol consumption and hypertension. Risk ratios were 0.89 for individuals who drank no alcohol, 1.11 for those who drank at least 24 g/d, 1.22 for those who drank at least 36 g/d and 1.33 for those who drank at least 48 g/d.

05/15/2024

BE CAREFULL THIS SUMMER WHEN SWIMMING

Accidental Drowning Deaths On The Rise In US, CDC Says
CNN says, “After decades of decline, accidental drowning rates are rising in the US, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported.” Every “year, on average, about 4,000 Americans died from accidental drowning, a number that changed little from 2011 to 2020.” However, “that number has been about 10% higher the last few years, adding 500 to 600 more deaths each year to the annual tally. It’s the first uptick in drowning rates in the US for at least two decades.” The data was released in the CDC’s Vital Signs report Tuesday.

03/19/2024

be wary of intermittent fastingIntermittent

Fasting Is Associated With Higher Risk Of Fatal Cardiovascular Disease, Analysis Finds
NBC News reports that an analysis presented at the American Heart Association’s scientific sessions “challenges the notion that intermittent fasting is good for heart health.”
“The analysis...found that people who limit eating food to less than eight hours per day had a 91 percent higher risk of fatal cardiovascular disease when compared with people who eat across 12 to 16 hours a day.”

02/29/2024

COVID BOOSTERS COMING SOON
Older Americans Should Get A Spring COVID-19 Vaccine, CDC Panel Says
The New York Times reports, “Americans ages 65 and older should receive an additional dose of the latest Covid vaccine this spring, scientific advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.” The spring vaccine “would be a second dose of the most recent iteration of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Novavax vaccines introduced in the fall.”
NBC News reports, “Over the past four years, there’s tended to be both a winter and a summer wave of Covid, with cases peaking in January and August, respectively, according to the CDC.” As a result, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices “said that the approach to Covid vaccination is still different from the strategy used for the flu, which typically only peaks during the winter.”

02/28/2024

Published in Diabetes
News · February 27, 2024

FDA Warns of Smartwatches That Claim to Measure Glucose Levels
Many companies are illegally marketing smartwatch or smart ring devices that claim to measure blood glucose without piercing the skin

HealthDay

THURSDAY, Feb. 22, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an advisory regarding smartwatches and smart rings that claim to track blood glucose levels.

"Sellers of these smartwatches and smart rings claim their devices measure blood glucose levels without requiring people to prick their finger or pierce the skin. They claim to use noninvasive techniques," the agency said. "These smartwatches and smart rings do not directly test blood glucose levels." No such devices have ever been approved by the agency, and trusting them can be hazardous.

"For people with diabetes, inaccurate blood glucose measurements can lead to errors in diabetes management," the agency warned. Those errors include taking the wrong doses of a drug that might send blood glucose plummeting to dangerous lows. In other cases, "taking too much of these medications can quickly lead to dangerously low glucose, leading to mental confusion, coma, or death within hours of the error," the FDA warned.

The agency said consumers are able to buy these unapproved devices easily online. "These smartwatches and smart rings are manufactured by dozens of companies and sold under multiple brand names," according to the FDA.

The FDA is asking the nation's health care providers to warn patients of this danger. "This safety communication applies to any smartwatch or smart ring that claims to measure blood glucose without piercing the skin, regardless of manufacturer or brand," the agency said.

The FDA added that it is working to prevent the illegal marketing of these devices throughout the United States.

02/20/2024

Women See Greater Health Benefits From Regular Exercise Than Men Do, Study Finds
NBC News (2/19, Bendix) reports, “Women generally exercise less than men do, but new research suggests they see greater health benefits from it.” The research “found that women who exercised regularly – at least 2½ hours of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week – had a 24% lower risk of dying over the study period compared with women who didn’t exercise.” Meanwhile, “men who exercised regularly were 15% less likely to die than men who didn’t exercise.” The results “were published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.”
Healio (2/19, Schaffer) reports, “The study, an analysis of participant-reported physical activity data from more than 400,000 U.S. adults linked to death records data, show that both sexes achieved a peak survival benefit at 300 minutes of weekly aerobic physical activity.” Further, the “sex-specific findings were similar for CV death and were consistent across all measures of aerobic activity as well as muscle strengthening activity.”
HealthDay (2/19, Thompson) reports the study was conducted over a period of two decades.

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10/10/2023

Researchers Find Evidence Of “Long Cold” Syndrome Following Infection With Variety Of Common Respiratory Viruses
NBC News (10/6, Carroll) reported, “The coronavirus isn’t the only pathogen that can cause symptoms that last months, or even years, after an initial infection is overcome, a...study published Friday in The Lancet’s eClinicalMedicine suggests.” According to “an analysis of data from 10,171 U.K. adults, the researchers found evidence of a ‘long cold’ syndrome that can follow infection with a variety of common respiratory viruses, including common cold viruses and influenza.” Although “some of the symptoms of long COVID and long colds overlapped, the study noted that people with long COVID were more likely to continue to experience lightheadedness, dizziness and problems with taste and smell; lingering long cold symptoms were more likely to include coughing, stomach pain and diarrhea.”
The Hill (10/6, Robertson) reported, “‘Long cold’ symptoms could linger for up to four weeks in some cases, much like ‘long COVID,’ the UK-based researchers said.” Furthermore, “long-term symptoms were more likely to occur with more severe illnesses, the researchers said.”