Wellness

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…

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…

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…

Oncotarget: A comprehensive analysis of clinical trials in pancreatic cancer

The cover for issue 38 of Oncotarget features Figure 3, “Summary of the time and cost for drug development (modified from DiMasi et al [2016],” by Katayama, et al. which reported that Pancreatic cancer is the most aggressive common cancer and is desperately in need of novel therapies. In this study, the Oncotarget authors perform…

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…

UofA lab uncovers new mechanism of action against SARS-CoV-2 by antiviral drug remdesivir

Researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered a novel, second mechanism of action by the antiviral drug remdesivir against SARS-CoV-2, according to findings published today in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The research team previously demonstrated how remdesivir inhibits the COVID-19 virus’s polymerase or replication machinery in a test tube.  Matthias Götte, chair of…

Over 200,000 People Have Died in the US: Live Covid-19 Updates

Here’s what you need to know: ImageVanessa Acosta gives a lecture using an online platform from her empty classroom in Miami Lakes, Fla., on Aug. 31.Credit…Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich/EPA, via Shutterstock Miami-Dade County, Fla., one of the largest school districts in the U.S., will reopen classrooms to students next month. Students in Miami-Dade County, the fourth-largest district…

F.D.A. to Release Stricter Guidelines for Emergency Vaccine Authorization

The Food and Drug Administration plans to soon issue stricter guidelines for the emergency authorization of any new coronavirus vaccine, adding a new layer of caution to the vetting process even as President Trump continues to contradict his own scientific experts and promise that a vaccine will be available as early as next month. The…

Despite Claims, Trump Rarely Uses Wartime Law in Battle Against Covid

As schools reopen and cold weather heightens the likelihood of a spike in coronavirus cases, nurses and doctors fear that shortages of the respirator masks, surgical gowns and disposable gloves needed to shield them from infection will return with a vengeance. President Trump has sweeping powers to compel companies to produce protective gear and to…

‘I Had Heart Surgery in the Middle of a Coronavirus Hot Spot’

MIAMI — I really did not want to have heart surgery. Who wants their chest sliced open and carved like a turkey in the middle of a pandemic hot zone? But that’s what I did in August. An unruptured aneurysm quietly bulged in my aorta, the main artery of the body. For more than a…