2021

Mason researchers studying flexible ultrasound imaging patch

Parag Chitnis, Associate Professor, Bioengineering, Pilgyu Kang, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Siddhartha Sikdar, Professor, Bioengineering, and Qi Wei, Associate Professor, Bioengineering, received $499,977 from the U.S. Department of Defense for the project: “Training and Recovery Augmented with Ultrasound Myography and Assessment (TRAUMA) Using a Flexible Ultrasound-Imaging Patch.” This funding began in March 2021 and will…

Interdisciplinary consults can help primary care docs treat patients with chronic pain

Between 11% to 40% of adults in the United States experience chronic pain, and primary care physicians may feel ill-equipped to effectively and safely care for patients with chronic pain, addiction or both. Researchers from Tufts University conducted a study to evaluate the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary consultation service that supports primary care physicians who…

Patient expectations, doctors’ prescribing habits, and antimicrobial resistance

Antibiotics: Patient Expectations and Doctors’ Prescribing Habits May Contribute to Antimicrobial Resistance Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for upper respiratory tract infections contributes to antibiotic resistance, making some bacterial infections difficult to treat. This often leads to higher medical costs, prolonged hospital stays and increased mortality. Still, many physicians report prescribing antibiotics at their patients’ request.…

Study examines connection between oral and general health in patients with diabetes

Individuals with diabetes are at greater risk of developing oral health issues, like gum disease, yet care for these linked health issues are usually disconnected, split between primary care and dental care. A research team from the University of Amsterdam developed an intervention that provided primary care-based oral health information and dental referrals for patients…

This stinks: New research finds sense of smell and pneumonia linked

EAST LANSING, Mich. – An acute loss of smell is one of the most common symptoms of COVID-19, but for two decades it has been linked to other maladies among them Parkinson’s disease and dementia. Now, a poor sense of smell may signify a higher risk of pneumonia in older adults, says a team of…

Understanding SARS-COV-2 proteins is key to improve therapeutic options for COVID-19

COVID-19 has had a significant impact since the pandemic was declared by WHO in 2020, with over 3 million deaths and counting, Researchers and medical teams have been hard at work at developing strategies to control the spread of the infection, caused by SARS-COV-2 virus and treat affected patients. Of special interest to the global…

Improving smoking cessation counseling and blood pressure quality metrics in primary care

In order to make meaningful gains in cardiovascular disease care, primary care medical practices should adopt a set of care improvements specific to their practice size and type, according to a new study from the national primary care quality improvement initiative EvidenceNOW. High blood pressure and smoking are among the biggest risk factors associated with…

Multiple factors influence family physicians’ practice scope

Although new family medicine graduates intend to provide a broader scope of practice than their senior counterparts, individual family physicians’ scope of practice has been decreasing, with fewer family physicians providing basic primary care services, such pediatric and prenatal care. Russell et al conducted a study to explore family medicine graduates’ attitudes and perspectives on…

Pregnant women hospitalized for COVID-19 infection do not face increased risk of death

Pregnant women who develop severe COVID-19 infections that require hospitalization for pneumonia and other complications may not be more likely to die from these infections than non-pregnant women. In fact, they may have significantly lower death rates than their non-pregnant counterparts. That is the finding of a new study published today in the Annals of…

FDA Authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine for Children 12 to 15

Vaccinating children is crucial to building up population levels of immunity and curtailing the spread of the coronavirus. Though children spread the virus less efficiently than adults do, they make up about 23 percent of the population. Experts have said that the country is unlikely to reach the “herd immunity” threshold — the point at…