Jason Lee

New modelling from Te Pūnaha Matatini has suggested that public health measures will need to remain in place for the entire duration of Aotearoa New Zealand's vaccine rollout to avoid hospitalisations and fatalities from COVID-19 outbreaks. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-kiwis-covid-jab-herd-immunity.html

The occurrence of 'slow waves', a pattern of neural activity commonly associated with the transition to sleep, could predict whether someone is about to daydream or mind blank, and how they will respond to the environment. The study, published in Nature Communications, suggests this neural activity may be important in understanding different conscious states. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-daydreaming-mind-blanking.html

The MindStep telehealth service offers cognitive behavioural coaching to complement the care people receive from their GP, psychologist or psychiatrist. Delivered over the phone by trained mental health coaches, the confidential program uses evidence-based techniques that improve mental health and wellbeing. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-mindstep-people-anxiety.html

A large cohort study from the national IVF registry of Sweden, which included almost 125,000 treatments carried out between 2007 and 2017, has concluded that the steady rise in birth rates can be attributed to two emerging clinical trends in IVF: the transfer of embryos at the blastocyst stage of their development and the increasing use of embryo freezing (with the fast-freeze technology of vitrification). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-emerging-trends-treatment-steady-ivf.html

Scientists from EPFL and University of Bern have successfully implanted—in vivo—their first artificial tubular muscle that augments the aorta and assists cardiac function in pumping blood. Based on these results, the Werner Siemens Foundation has provided the green-light for granting an extra 8 million CHF over 8 years to develop artificial muscles for human disorders. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-heart-artificial-aorta.html

Using the full pseudonymised GP records of 57.9 million patients in England, researchers at Oxford University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have found that formally recorded diagnoses of long COVID are substantially lower than previous survey estimates for the same condition. This finding raises important questions about how long COVID is diagnosed, recorded, and managed in the NHS. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-covid-cases-under-reported-nhs-gp.html

Regularly eating a Southern-style diet may increase the risk of sudden cardiac death, while routinely consuming a Mediterranean diet may reduce that risk, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-southern-dietfried-foods-sugary-drinksmay.html

China was certified as malaria-free on Wednesday by the World Health Organization, following a 70-year effort to eradicate the mosquito-borne disease. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-china-certified-malaria-free-year.html

The outback town of Alice Springs became the latest Australian population centre to lockdown Wednesday, as anger mounts over the country's slow coronavirus vaccine rollout. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-australia-outback-hub-lockdown.html

After two suicidal crises during pandemic isolation, 16-year-old Zach Sampson feels stronger but worries his social skills have gone stale. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-mental-health-toll-isolation-affecting.html

Gray market care represents a substantial proportion of paid, long-term care for older adults, according to a study published online June 11 in the Journal of Applied Gerontology. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-one-third-elderly-caregivers-gray.html

Components of nonpharmacologic interventions may be effective for treating pediatric migraine, according to a review recently published in Pediatrics. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-nonpharmacologic-interventions-effective-pediatric-migraine.html

Neither the threat of dying from COVID nor an array of inducements from lottery tickets to guns and marijuana have been enough to sway America's staunchest vaccine holdouts. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-experts-case-vaccine-mandates.html

For Pelagia Bvukura, who lives in a rural part of north-central Zimbabwe, COVID-19 had always been a "city disease," affecting those in the capital, Harare, or other, distant big towns. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-virus-infections-surging-africa-vulnerable.html

In a state-run hospital near Bangladesh's border with India, Shahinul Islam prays his father does not become one of the facility's more than 300 patients who've died this month from the coronavirus. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-variant-surge-border-bangladesh-lockdown.html

The Queensland and Western Australia state governments on Wednesday advised people under age 40 not to take the AstraZeneca vaccine because of the risk of a rare blood clotting disorder, despite the Australian government making those shots available to all adults. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-australian-states-urge-40s-az.html

The link between obesity and the risk of endometrial cancer has been well documented. A new study, however, shows that an even lower body mass index (BMI) than previously thought can signal an increased risk in Asian women with postmenopausal bleeding. Study results are published online today in Menopause. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-postmenopausal-endometrial-cancer-obese-asian.html

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin, a scientific breakthrough that transformed Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, from a terminal disease into a manageable condition. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-pathway-diabetes.html

Scientists and doctors at University College London Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (UCL GOS ICH) and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) have given hope of a gene therapy cure to children with a rare degenerative brain disorder called Dopamine Transporter Deficiency Syndrome (DTDS). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-gene-therapy-breakthrough-children-rare.html

The AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), the largest global HIV research network, today announced that findings from a sub-study of REPRIEVE (A5332/A5332s, an international clinical trial studying heart disease prevention in people living with HIV) have been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open (JAMA Network Open). The study found that approximately half of study participants, who were considered by traditional measures to be at low-to-moderate risk of future heart disease, had atherosclerotic plaque in their coronary arteries. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-insights-cardiovascular-disease-people-hiv.html

A new analysis of 58 studies and 44305 patients published in Anaesthesia (a journal of the Association of Anaesthetists) shows that, contrary to some previous research, being male and increasing body mass index (BMI) are not associated with increased mortality in COVID-19 in patients admitted into intensive care (ICU). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-analysis-male-sex-obesity-covid-.html

Much has been rightfully made of the valiant work of doctors and nurses during the coronavirus pandemic. But what of infection preventionists (IP), whose job was to keep those workers and their facilities safe, and who many Americans do not even know exist? source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-diaries-infection-preventionists-unsung-heroes.html

How common COVID-19 is among infants may depend on the degree of the pandemic virus circulating in a community, a new study finds. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-prevalence-covid-hospitalized-infants-varies.html

Researchers from Queen Mary University of London have identified a protein that could be used to aid in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-biomarker-pancreatic-cancer.html

New biomarkers that predict HIV remission after antiretroviral therapy (ART) interruption are critical for the development of new therapeutic strategies that can achieve infection control without ART, a condition defined as functional cure. These biomarkers can also provide critical clues into the biological mechanisms that control HIV replication after stopping therapy, and can help design novel strategies to cure HIV. Scientists at The Wistar Institute have identified metabolic and glycomic signatures in the blood of a rare population of HIV-infected individuals who can naturally sustain viral suppression after ART cessation, known as post-treatment controllers. These findings were published in Nature Communications and may provide new, non-invasive biomarkers to predict both the likelihood and duration of HIV remission after treatment interruption. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-blood-based-biomarkers-hiv-remission-antiretroviral.html

Studies indicate that the optimal and safe number of oocytes needed for achieving an ongoing pregnancy is between six and 15. However, the use of egg freezing, frozen embryo replacement (FER) cycles and aggressive stimulation regimes has increased this number in order to boost success rates in older women and in poor responders who produce fewer eggs. What is not known is the impact of numbers of eggs retrieved and of over-stimulation practices on the health of patients, and on their emotional and financial well-being. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-clinics-eggs-ivf-patients.html

Fertility patients who have a poor response to ovarian stimulation represent a stubborn challenge in IVF. Few eggs are collected, success rates are low, and several treatments are usually needed to achieve pregnancy (if at all). Clinical guidelines indicate that increasing the drug dose for stimulation or applying any of several adjunct therapies are of little benefit. Now, however, a study assessing two cycles of ovarian stimulation and two egg collections in the same menstrual cycle may yet provide a real advance for predicted poor responders in IVF. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-ivf-patients-poor-response-treatment.html

Although James Toussaint has never had COVID-19, the pandemic is taking a profound toll on his health. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-emerging-pandemic-covid-shadow-american.html

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I have been hearing about an increase in the number of young people who are developing heart issues, including myocarditis, after being vaccinated for COVID-19. Can you explain this condition? I have a 15-year-old son, and I am wondering if it is safe for him to be vaccinated for COVID-19 or if he is at risk for developing a heart condition. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-qa-covid-vaccination-heart-issues.html

More than 10 million Australians have been ordered into lockdown as coronavirus cases spread across the country, and Brisbane on Tuesday became the fourth major city to issue stay-at-home orders. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-million-australians-coronavirus-lockdown.html

At the height of her eating disorder Zhang Qinwen was the weight of a child. Her hair fell out, she was unable to walk and she could barely see. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-china-problem-disorders.html

In first-of-its kind research led by a University of Massachusetts Amherst psychotherapy researcher, mental health care patients matched with therapists who had a strong track record of treating the patients' primary concerns had better results than patients who were not so matched. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-evidence-based-patient-psychotherapist-mental-health.html

According to researchers at Marshall University, a maternal diet rich in Omega-3 fatty acids protects from breast cancer development in offspring. In a new study recently published by Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, researchers noted a significant difference in mice from mothers that were fed a diet rich in canola oil, compared with mothers fed a diet rich in corn oil. A maternal Omega 3-rich diet affected genome-wide epigenetic landscape changes in offspring and potentially modulated gene expression patterns. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-maternal-diets-rich-omega-fatty.html

Middle ear infections, also known as otitis media, affect more than 80% of the children in the U.S. In a new study, researchers have designed a miniaturized 3D-printed device to inactivate Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a common bacterium that causes the infection. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-technique-middle-ear-infections.html

The tiny mouse embryo has a heart that beats. Its muscles, blood vessels, gut and nervous system are beginning to develop. But this embryo is unusual: It was made in a lab, out of mouse embryonic stem cells, and represents the most sophisticated in vitro (in a dish) model of a mammal ever so created. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-dish-mouse-crafted-stem-cells.html

Two recent collaborative publications by CU Cancer Center members provide insights into how chronic inflammation can serve as a key factor in the development of leukemia and other blood cancers. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-explore-link-inflammation-leukemia.html

Two doses of CoronaVac are safe and provoke a strong antibody response among children and adolescents aged 3-17 years, according to a randomised controlled trial of 550 young people published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-coronavac-covid-vaccine-safe-children.html

In recent debate over the FDA's approval of the Alzheimer's drug aducanumab, we've heard a lot about the "amyloid hypothesis." In that context, it's refreshing to learn about a model of Alzheimer's neurodegeneration that doesn't start with the pathogenic proteins amyloid or Tau. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-glun3a-knockout-mouse-alternative-alzheimer.html

Despite facing cultural and political pushback, the evidence remains clear: Face masks made a difference in Kansas. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-hundreds-kansas-counties-mask-mandates.html

Patients who had their wisdom teeth extracted had improved tasting abilities decades after having the surgery, a new Penn Medicine study published in the journal Chemical Senses found. The findings challenge the notion that removal of wisdom teeth, known as third molars, only has the potential for negative effects on taste, and represent one of the first studies to analyze the long-term effects of extraction on taste. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-wisdom-teeth-long-term-function.html

A conclusive narrative review has found physical punishment of children is not effective in preventing child behavior problems or promoting positive outcomes and instead predicts increases in behavior problems and other poor outcomes over time. The study by an international group of scientists including a researcher from The University of Texas at Austin was published today in The Lancet. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-evidence-physically-kids.html

A new paper in JNCI Cancer Spectrum, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that many survivors of adolescent and young adult cancers hesitate to obtain COVID-19 vaccinations. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-young-adult-cancer-survivors-reluctant.html

Immunologists at McMaster University have discovered a previously unknown mechanism which acts like a spider web, trapping and killing pathogens such as influenza or SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-unique-spider-web-mechanism-viruses.html

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, infection preventionists at two Southern California hospitals took extreme measures to stop the spread of a deadly fungus that has emerged in the U.S. and around the world. The two will detail their proactive responses in oral presentations today at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology's (APIC's), 48th Annual Conference. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-california-hospitals-deadly-fungal-infection.html

A single case reports thrombocytopenia with thrombosis syndrome (TTS) following the mRNA-1273 vaccine for COVID-19. Previously, it was hypothesized that adenoviral vector-based vaccines were the sole cause of TTS or vaccine-induced TTS (VITT). The case is published in Annals of Internal Medicine. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-case-thrombocytopenia-thrombosis-covid-mrna.html

Black men most likely to benefit from advanced prostate cancer therapies are 11 percent less likely to get them than non-Black men. This happens despite apparent equal opportunities in obtaining health care services, a new study in American veterans shows. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-persistent-racial-disparities-prostate-cancer.html