Sticker Shock in the Pharmacy

When Caiti Derenze, a lawyer in Jersey City, N.J., went to Walgreens to refill her insulin prescription in July, she was met with a nearly $300 bill. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, I only paid like $50 last month. What happened?’” Ms. Derenze said. “It feels like a punch in the gut, to be…

BrainHealth’s SMART methodology helps patients make more informed treatment decisions

DALLAS (September 23, 2020) – Researchers at Center for BrainHealth, part of The University of Texas at Dallas, collaborated with scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to examine whether the Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Training (SMART) program affects people’s abilities to make informed decisions about their medical treatment options. Patients with…

COVID-19 antibody studies across Brazil reveal Amazon region badly affected, with poorer Indigenous communities hit hardest

Two nationwide COVID-19 antibody seroprevalence studies from Brazil show that many cities along the Amazon were hit hardest at the beginning of the epidemic in May and June, along with poorer and Indigenous communities. The research is presented at this week’s ESCMID Conference on Coronavirus Disease (ECCVID, held online 23-25 September) and published in The…

Study suggests elderly care home outbreaks in England were caused by multiple indepedent infections and also within-home spread

New research presented at this week’s ESCMID Congress on Coronavirus Disease (ECCVID, held online 23-25 September) shows that outbreaks of COVID-19 in elderly care homes were caused by multiple independent infections from outside, plus within care home spread. There is also evidence of transmission between residents and healthcare workers, including paramedics, possibily linking care home…

Large study confirms men have 62% increased risk of COVID-19 associated death, possibly related to higher degree of inflammation

New research presented at this week’s ESCMID Conference on Coronavirus Disease (ECCVID, online 23-25 September) confirms that men with COVID-19 have worse outcomes than women, possibly related to them experiencing higher levels of inflammation. The study is by Dr Frank Hanses, University Hospital Regensburg, Germany, and colleagues, and shows that men have a 62% increased…