COVID-19 alert: Heart and kidney patients should keep taking their medicines

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, inaccurate medical information has flooded social media and other channels. One potentially lethal example is that patients who take renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockers, particularly angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockers (ARBs), may be more susceptible to the virus. However, in an article published in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension,…

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A plant-based diet helps to prevent and manage asthma, according to new review

WASHINGTON–A plant-based diet can help prevent and manage asthma, while dairy products and high-fat foods raise the risk, according to a new review published in Nutrition Reviews. Asthma is a common chronic condition in which the airways become narrow and inflamed–sometimes leading to difficulty with breathing, coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. “Asthma is a…

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Gene mutation enhances cognitive flexibility in mice, NIH study suggests

WHAT: Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered in mice what they believe is the first known genetic mutation to improve cognitive flexibility–the ability to adapt to changing situations. The gene, KCND2, codes for a protein that regulates potassium channels, which control electrical signals that travel along neurons. The electrical signals stimulate chemical…

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Cancer care in the time of COVID-19

Below please find link(s) to new coronavirus-related content published today in Annals of Internal Medicine. All coronavirus-related content published in Annals of Internal Medicine is free to the public. A complete collection is available at https://annals.org/aim/pages/coronavirus-content. A War on Two Fronts: Cancer Care in the Time of COVID-19 Alexander Kutikov MD; David S. Weinberg…

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‘The Other Option Is Death’: New York Starts Sharing of Ventilators

A New York hospital system has begun treating two patients instead of one on some ventilators, a desperate measure that could help alleviate a shortage of the critical breathing machines and help hospitals around the country respond to the surge of coronavirus patients expected in the coming weeks. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, began “ventilator sharing” this week,…

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