As communities across the U.S. have struggled to cope with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, many have focused on the lack of widespread testing as a major barrier to safely reopening the country. As progress has been made on this front, concern has shifted to testing accuracy, predominantly with antibody tests, which are designed…
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Disrupted nightly sleep and clogged arteries tend to sneak up on us as we age. And while both disorders may seem unrelated, a new study from the University of California, Berkeley, helps explain why they are, in fact, pathologically intertwined. UC Berkeley sleep scientists have begun to reveal what it is about fragmented nightly sleep…
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Early data from a clinical study suggest that blocking the Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) protein provided clinical benefit to a small group of patients with severe COVID-19. Researchers observed that the off-label use of the cancer drug acalabrutinib, a BTK inhibitor that is approved to treat several blood cancers, was associated with reduced respiratory distress…
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The drug acalabrutinib, FDA-approved for the treatment of several types of B cell cancers, improved the oxygenation levels and decreased molecular markers of inflammation in a majority of 19 patients hospitalized for the treatment of severe COVID-19, according to a new study by Mark Roschewski and colleagues. The drug was administered to 11 patients on…
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Researchers from North Carolina State University have found per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in every step of the Yadkin-Pee Dee River food chain, even though the river does not have a known industrial input of these compounds. The study examined the entire aquatic ecosystem for PFAS compounds and identified strong links between ecosystem groups that…
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WASHINGTON, DC – The National Pharmaceutical Association and 13 national pharmacy associations have issued a joint statement in support of the ongoing fight against racism and discrimination: The recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and too many others have ignited strong emotions and continue to shed a glaring light on the day-to-day…
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WASHINGTON — Education appears to protect older adults, especially women, against memory loss, according to a study by investigators at Georgetown University Medical Center, published in the journal Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition. The results suggest that children–especially girls–who attend school for longer will have better memory abilities in old age. This may have implications for…
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BOSTON – Long-term care facilities (LTCFs) are a major driver of total COVID-19 deaths. Reported today in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) geriatricians Rossana Lau-Ng, Lisa Caruso and Thomas Perls studied the past month’s case and death data reported by the Massachusetts…
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Cost model data published in U.S. Endocrinology show for commercially-insured people with diabetes on intensive insulin therapy, using FreeStyle Libre technology costs 60% less compared to traditional blood glucose monitoring This cost-savings includes costs associated with severe hypoglycemia, including hospitalizations, which were approximately 50% less for FreeStyle Libre 14 day system users versus testing with…
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Telephone interventions could be used to successfully treat symptoms of cancer such as fatigue, depression and anxiety, new research in the Cochrane Library reports. This could help patients receive the care they need during the current Covid-19 pandemic when face- to- face access with medical professionals is limited. During this unique study researchers from the…
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