Jason Lee

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday 70 percent of adults in the European Union were now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, hitting an end-of-summer target the bloc set for itself in January. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-eu-chief-adults-bloc-fully.html

Children with infantile spasms, a rare form of epileptic seizures, should be treated with one of three recommended therapies and the use of non-standard therapies should be strongly discouraged, according to a study of their effectiveness by a Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian investigator and collaborating colleagues in the Pediatric Epilepsy Research Consortium. Early treatment with an effective therapy is important for improving neurodevelopmental outcomes and, for some children, can result in permanent remission of epilepsy. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-treatments-infantile-spasms-superior-non-standard.html

We've all grown tired of lockdowns, border closures and other restrictions. So the promise of a freer life, when 70% and then 80% of Australians aged 16 and older are vaccinated, feels like a beacon on the horizon. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-eligible-adults-vaccinated-wont-safe.html

Both light and sound travel as waves, with characteristics that allow people with typical vision and hearing to perceive and categorize them when they reach their eyes and ears: "That's a small red dog barking," someone might say. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-neuroscientists-explore-people-absolute-pitch.html

Ending an eviction moratorium for renters makes people in a community significantly more likely to contract COVID-19, according to a new study co-authored by MIT researchers. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-eviction-moratorium-covid-hazard.html

Autistic adults, adults with intellectual disability, and adults with mental health diagnoses have multiple risk factors for infection with COVID-19 and for experiencing more severe disease if they contract COVID-19, according to research from the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute at Drexel University. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-autistic-individuals-covid-.html

The Delta variant is more infectious and is leading to more COVID-19 cases in children than previous strains. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-child-covid-home.html

Does relationship quality continue to worsen, stabilize, or improve for distressed, help-seeking couples before they receive assistance? A team of researchers sought to answer that question in a new study examining what happens to couples who seek online help for their relationship, but have to wait six months before beginning an intervention program. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-distressed-help-seeking-couples-rarely.html

A new study, led by researchers at the University of Gothenburg, have generated the first comprehensive transcriptional atlas of neonatal mouse meningeal leukocytes, under normal conditions and after perinatal brain injury. The study highlights the importance of meninges for brain development and pathology. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-field-perinatal-brain-injury.html

It is almost impossible to go on Facebook or Instagram without seeing quotes or comments accompanied with motivational words such as, "Look on the bright side," "Focus on the good things," or "Be positive." source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-toxic-positivity-important-negative-emotions.html

On Sunday, New South Wales saw four more deaths from COVID-19. One of them was a man from Dubbo who was in his 50s and unvaccinated. It was the first COVID-19 death of a First Nations person in Australia. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-indigenous-covid-death-outsized-nsw.html

Phones, tablets and third-party apps are helping consumers track and set limits on their screen time. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-online-limits-backfire.html

A buildup of coronavirus in the lungs is likely behind the steep mortality rates seen in the pandemic, a new study finds. The results contrast with previous suspicions that simultaneous infections, such as bacterial pneumonia or overreaction of the body's immune defense system, played major roles in heightened risk of death, the investigators say. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-high-virus-lungs-covid-deaths.html

The tumor suppressor protein p53 is mutated in more than half of all human cancers. Several drugs that potentially can restore mutant p53 to its normal cancer-killing function are in clinical investigation. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-discovery-insight-cancer-therapies-mutant.html

Its blue lights flashing, the ambulance races along the Madrid ring road towards the airport, the words "organ donation" clearly marked on its side, cars pulling over to let it pass. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-transplants-covid-complicates.html

Hong Kong's leader doubled down on her zero-COVID strategy on Tuesday, brushing off growing pushback from the business community over the city's indefinite international isolation. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-hong-kong-dismisses-business-pushback.html

A randomized trial found that an easy-to-implement, tailored intervention increased participation in advance care planning in an outpatient setting. This is important because advance care planning, a process where a person, their family, and their clinicians prepare for future treatment decisions at a time of intact decision-making capacity, remains underutilized in clinical practice. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-low-tech-intervention-advanced-outpatient.html

Nearly 20% of patients with multiple myeloma have a form in which they make extreme quantities of one component of the abnormal antibody they are producing, and these so-called "free monoclonal light chains" pile up and damage the kidneys, investigators say. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-patients-multiple-myeloma-shortest-survival.html

A modeling study found that vaccination level will be the single most powerful determinant of campus safety this fall. According to the authors from Yale School of Public Health, colleges that can achieve vaccination rates higher than 90% may safely return to normalcy with minimal additional distancing, masking, or testing. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-high-vaccination-powerful-college-campus.html

A single glass of wine can quickly—significantly—raise the drinker's risk for atrial fibrillation, according to new research by UC San Francisco. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-alcohol-atrial-fibrillation.html

COVID-19 vaccination elicited antibody responses in nearly nine out of 10 people with weakened immune systems, although their responses were only about one-third as strong as those mounted by healthy people, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-covid-vaccine-elicits-antibodies-immunosuppressants.html

De novo variants (DNVs), genetic mutations that were not previously identifiable in the family history of one of two prospective parents, may cause disease in any children they have. Where a disease-causing DNV is present in one parent, the risk of passing it to a child can be as high as 50% and being able to identify healthy embryos for transfer to avoid an affected pregnancy is clearly a high priority. To achieve this goal, identification of the group of genes inherited from one parent (the haplotype) that is linked with the mutation is necessary to transfer only healthy embryos. Until now this has been a difficult process and can often involve multiple embryo biopsies, which in themselves carry a risk. But a group of Belgian researchers have developed a new, one-stop method using DNA from the parents of the affected prospective parent (the embryo's/child's grandparents). They will present their findings to the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today...

Epilepsy is one of the most common chronic neurological diseases, affecting more than 50 million people worldwide. Although it is believed that a large proportion of childhood-onset epilepsies are caused by genetic changes, it remains unknown precisely how many of these patients suffer from a genetic disorder and how often the treatment can be targeted to their specific genetic alteration. Now, results from research to be presented at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today have shown a genetic cause for their condition among half of those studied. This will not only aid in the prescription of appropriate, tailored, treatments, but also preclude the use of unnecessary diagnostic procedures, say the investigators. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-identification-genetic-childhood-epilepsy-treatment.html

During the pandemic's third wave, researchers interviewed nurses to see how their perceptions had changed over the preceding year. Early in the pandemic, nurses had reported optimism about supporting one another through the pandemic, but by the third wave, this had been replaced by anger and exhaustion. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-high-covid-burnout-shortage-health-care.html

An important factor in achieving herd immunity against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) is is how long the vaccines protect you. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-immunity-covid-vaccination-booster-shots.html

The world has passed the grim threshold of 4.5 million COVID-19 deaths, according to an AFP tally on Monday, as the virulent Delta variant wreaks havoc globally. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-world-threshold-mn-covid-deaths.html

The World Health Organization warned Monday that another 236,000 people could die from COVID in Europe by December 1, sounding the alarm over rising infections and stagnating vaccine rate on the continent. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-covid-deaths-europe-year.html

A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has come up with a new solution to boost the surveillance of designer drug abuse. Led by Professor Eric Chan from the NUS Department of Pharmacy, the team has identified three new urinary biomarkers that could be used to detect consumption of ADB-BUTINACA, an emerging synthetic cannabinoid which is a type of new psychoactive substance (NPS). The innovative approach used to identify the biomarkers can be applied to other existing and new synthetic cannabinoids. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-biomarkers-consumption-emerging-illicit-drug.html

In an observational study, Mayo Clinic researchers report that the combination of casirivimab and imdevimab—two monoclonal antibody treatments under Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorization—keep high-risk patients out of the hospital when infected with mild to moderate COVID-19. The findings appear in The Lancet's EClinicalMedicine. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-monoclonal-antibody-treatment-combo-hospitalization.html

In a recent study, a multidisciplinary team of Texas A&M University researchers identified reasons why men seek health information online. The study specifically looked at middle-aged and older African American and Hispanic men living with one or more chronic conditions. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-men-health-online.html

People who think based on their first instincts are more likely to believe and share COVID-19 misinformation, according to new research from The Australian National University (ANU). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-gut-instinct-fall-covid-misinformation.html

One month of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) following stent implantation in high bleeding risk patients preserves ischaemic benefits and reduces bleeding risk. That's the finding of late breaking research presented in a Hot Line session today at ESC Congress 2021 and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-one-month-dual-antiplatelet-therapy-post-stent.html

Adding systematic fractional flow reserve (FFR) assessment to coronary angiography does not reduce costs or improve quality of life in patients undergoing diagnosis for chest pain, nor does it reduce major adverse cardiac events or revascularisation rates. That's the finding of late breaking research presented in a Hot Line session today at ESC Congress 2021. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-systematic-pressure-wire-additional-benefit.html

Carotid artery surgery and stenting have comparable long-term effects on fatal or disabling stroke in asymptomatic patients with severe carotid artery stenosis. That's the finding of late breaking research presented in a Hot Line session today at ESC Congress 2021 and published simultaneously in The Lancet. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-carotid-artery-surgery-stenting-similar.html

They are words nobody wants to hear: Alzheimer's disease and dementia. As the population ages, a growing number of older adults gradually lose cherished memories and the ability to think and, ultimately, to perform even the most basic functions of daily living. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-dementia.html

Replacing table salt with a reduced-sodium, added-potassium 'salt substitute' significantly reduces rates of stroke, heart attack and death, according to the results of one of the largest dietary intervention studies ever conducted. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-landmark-simple-salt-swap-millions.html

Eating about ½ cup of walnuts every day for two years modestly lowered levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, known as "bad cholesterol," and reduced the number of total LDL particles and small LDL particles in healthy, older adults, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association's flagship journal Circulation. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-walnuts-daily-lowered-bad-cholesterol.html

A new study shows that two months after the second Pfizer/Moderna vaccination, antibody response decreases 20% in adults with prior cases of COVID-19. The study also tests how well current vaccines resist emerging variants. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-covid-antibody-downside-shot.html

Staying home and limiting local travel, supporting access to primary care, and limiting contacts in contagion hubs—including hospitals, schools, and workplaces—are strategies that might help reduce COVID-19-related deaths, according to new research. The research team, by statisticians at Penn State, the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, Italy, and Université Laval in Quebec, Canada, used novel statistical approaches to compare the first wave of the epidemic across 20 regions in Italy and identify factors that contributed to mortality. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-home-access-primary-limiting-contagion.html

Teachers and school staff should be among the groups prioritised for COVID-19 vaccinations so that schools in Europe and Central Asia can stay open, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Unicef said on Monday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-teachers-priority-group-covid-jabs.html

The EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has created a great deal of uncertainty about how key requirements should be interpreted. This means that collaborators in international genetic research projects do not always agree on fundamental issues such as whether they are processing personal data, consent requirements under the GDPR and on what basis genetic data can be transferred outside the EU/EEA, if at all. These results from a study carried out by Colin Mitchell, Senior Policy Analyst in Law, Regulation and Digital Health, and colleagues from the PHG Foundation, University of Cambridge, UK will be presented to the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-genetic-privacy-gdpr-delicate.html

How strictly patients follow a prescribed drug treatment (drug adherence) is clearly important if the therapy is to have maximum effect. A number of things can affect adherence, including behavioural and socioeconomic factors, but to date there have been few investigations into the role played by genetics. Now, research to be presented at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today has thrown new light on the potential biological mechanisms that can affect adherence to treatment. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-genetic-lack-adherence-medication-aid.html

Georgetown University researchers, looking at the ability of people to sound out words after a stroke, found that knowing which region of the brain was impacted by the stroke could have important implications for helping target rehabilitation efforts. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-insights-affects.html

What transpires in comedies and cartoons when a character has a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other is not far off from people's perceptions of the real world, finds a new study from the University of Waterloo. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-perceptions-supernatural-reveal-good-bad.html

Black transplant recipients and patients who received kidneys from Asian donors had a significantly higher risk of kidney graft failure within seven years, according to a new study presented at the European Society for Organ Transplantation (ESOT) Congress 2021. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-asian-donor-black-recipient-kidney.html

A new tool can predict the risk of death or hospitalization for patients awaiting cardiac surgery, according to new research published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-tool-death-hospitalization-patients-awaiting.html

Israel Sunday widened access to a third coronavirus vaccine jab to anyone aged 12 and up, with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett insisting it was an effective way to contain an infection surge. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-israel-covid-vaccine-booster-ages.html

The capital of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday ordered all residents who received the Chinese state-backed Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine over six months ago to get a booster shot by September 20, adding that recipients of other vaccines do not need the third dose. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-uae-capital-mandates-booster-shot.html

A combination therapy of aspirin, statins and at least two blood pressure medications given in fixed doses can slash the risk of fatal cardiovascular disease (CVD) by more than half, says an international study led by Hamilton researchers. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-combo-therapy-heart.html

A lockdown of Australia's second-biggest city Melbourne will be extended, authorities announced Sunday as they struggle to quash a stubborn coronavirus Delta variant outbreak. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-australia-melbourne-sixth-virus-lockdown.html

The death toll from COVID-19 in Oregon is climbing so rapidly in some counties that the state has organized delivery of one refrigerated truck to hold the bodies and is sending a second one, the state emergency management department said Saturday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-oregon-counties-trucks-bodies-deaths.html

Japan's Okinawa region suspended the use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday after another contamination was spotted, the local government said. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-japan-moderna-vaccine-contamination.html

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Guidelines on cardiac pacing and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) are published online today in European Heart Journal. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-esc-guidelines-cardiac-pacing-resynchronization.html

Although epilepsy is a relatively common condition, affecting approximately 1% of individuals worldwide, it is often difficult to diagnose in clinical practice, and it is estimated that up to a quarter of all cases may be misdiagnosed initially. Epilepsy is often inherited, and recent research has shown that sufferers have elevated polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for the condition. Now, investigators from Finland have proposed that PRSs could be used as a tool to help diagnose epilepsy in those individuals who have had a single seizure and distinguish them from those where the seizure has another cause. The results will be presented at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-genetic-scores-aid-accurate-diagnosis.html

High blood pressure is the world's leading killer but poor rates of blood pressure control remain common. A new strategy where patients are started on a pill containing four medicines, each at a quarter of their usual doses, has been shown to be much more effective in getting blood pressure under control, compared to the common practice of monotherapy, where treatment commences with just one drug. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-blood-pressure-pill-safe-effective.html

Japan is investigating the death of two men who received jabs from batches of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine suspended from use due to contamination, the health ministry said Saturday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-japan-probes-deaths-jabs-tainted.html

Health investigators across the U.S. are finding it nearly impossible to keep up with the deluge of new COVID-19 infections and carry out contact tracing efforts that were once seen as a pillar of the nation's pandemic response. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-contact-seat-latest-covid-surge.html

A new report from Russia's state statistics agency shows the country recorded a record number of deaths in July of people infected with coronavirus. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-unwanted-russia-covid-deaths-high.html

The anticoagulant edoxaban may be just as effective as warfarin for preventing heart attack or stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who undergo transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), according to a large-scale international study led by Mount Sinai.   source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-edoxaban-effective-treatment-atrial-fibrillation.html

Lay responders' swift assistance to cardiac arrest victims is associated with improved survival, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2021. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-witness-cardiac-actions-life.html

A Swedish healthcare reform more than a decade ago allowing patients to choose their own doctor has unexpectedly led to widespread discrimination against medics with foreign-sounding names. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-sweden-discrimination-foreign-doctors-widespread.html

India has given more than 10 million COVID-19 jabs in a single day for the first time, authorities said Saturday, as the South Asian giant bolsters its defences for a predicted new surge. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-india-vaccinates-million-day.html

U.S. intelligence agencies remain divided on the origins of the coronavirus but believe China's leaders did not know about the virus before the start of the global pandemic, according to results released Friday of a review ordered by President Joe Biden. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-intelligence-coronavirus.html

People infected with the SARS-CoV-2 delta variant have approximately double the risk of hospitalization compared with those infected with the alpha variant, a study of more than 40,000 cases from England between 29 March and 23 May 2021, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal has confirmed. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-delta-variant-covid-hospitalisation-alpha.html

Smokers with depression at the time of a heart attack who quit smoking are more likely to improve their mood than those who continue the habit. That's the finding of research presented at ESC Congress 2021. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-cessation-heart-linked-mood.html

Weekly consumption of ultra-processed food is linked with an increased risk of heart disease, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2021. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-ultra-processed-food-cardiovascular-disease.html

Up to three cups of coffee per day is associated with a lower risk of stroke and fatal heart disease, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2021. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-light-to-moderate-coffee-health-benefits.html

People who live in green neighborhoods are less likely to develop cardiovascular disease, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2021. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-green-neighbourhoods-linked-heart-health.html

The underlying cause of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in a young person is often difficult to identify. A genetic analysis could provide more information in many cases, but blood samples are not collected routinely at the time of death, and DNA extracted from the tissues collected at autopsy is damaged because of the way they are fixed in formalin and paraffin-embedded. But finding the cause is vital if relatives who may carry the same genetic variant as the victim are to be screened. Now, for the first time, researchers in Sweden have been able to carry out molecular autopsies for SCD nationwide, using dried blood spots (DBS) collected up to 40 years ago as part of the routine screening of newborn babies. Their findings will be presented at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-dried-blood-newborn-screening-sudden.html

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) Guidelines for the management of valvular heart disease are published online today in European Heart Journal. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-european-valvular-heart-disease-guidelines.html

As one drunk ghost once said to another, it's time to talk about the boos. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-worth-shot.html

As the Delta variant continues its global surge, experts are questioning whether the long-held goal of achieving herd immunity from COVID-19 through vaccination is still viable. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-delta-herd-immunity.html

Denmark will lift all of its COVID-19 restrictions by September 10, health officials said Friday, saying the virus no longer posed "a threat to society" due to the country's broad vaccination coverage. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-denmark-covid-restrictions-sept.html

Researchers from the University of Oxford have today announced the results of a study into thrombocytopenia (a condition with low platelet counts) and thromboembolic events (blood clots) following vaccination for COVID-19, some of the same events which have led to restricted use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in a number of countries. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-covid-vaccination-biggest-blood-clot.html

A cancer drug repurposed to treat malaria has been shown to be nearly 100% effective in helping defeat the disease in just three days, according to the results of a Phase 2 clinical trial. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-malaria-treatment-shown-effective-phase.html

South Australian medical researchers have identified a new way in which prostate cancer cells use glucose to grow and survive, which in turn could be the secret to destroying them. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-prostate-cancer-metabolism.html

As children head back to school, families are once again facing a September of uncertainty. This worry is compounded by depressive and anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents that have doubled in the past 18 months. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-parents-emotion-kids-back-to-school-covid-.html

Why your brain then responds emotionally to faces in everyday objects. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-moon-brain-hard-wired.html

Innovative Japanese researchers have developed earmuffs (or should that be beermuffs?) that can tell how drunk you are. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-earmuffs-youre-drunk.html

In 2020 when people talked about "living with COVID" it was code for letting the virus rip. It was really a plan for many to "die with COVID." source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-vaccine-thresholds-danger.html

Since the rise of the more infectious Delta variant, we've seen reports of more cases in children than with previous strains of the virus. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-kids-covid.html

Cutting 20% of sugar from packaged foods and 40% from beverages could prevent 2.48 million cardiovascular disease events (such as strokes, heart attacks, cardiac arrests), 490,000 cardiovascular deaths, and 750,000 diabetes cases in the U.S. over the lifetime of the adult population, reports a study published in Circulation. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-sugar-packaged-foods-disease-millions.html

New research from Washington University in St. Louis reveals that neurons in the visual cortex—the part of the brain that processes visual stimuli—change their responses to the same stimulus over time. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-neurons-visual-cortex-brain-drift.html

In the wake of full US approval for the Pfizer/BioNTech anti-COVID vaccine this week, more and more American companies are looking at mandatory vaccinations for employees—and customers. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-vaccinations-firms-incentivesand-threats.html

Kuulei Perreira-Keawekane could barely breathe when she went to a Hawaii emergency room. Nausea made it difficult for her to stand and her body throbbed with pain. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-covid-surge-pummels-hawaii-native.html

By early next week, New Zealanders should know if their government's strict new lockdown is working to stamp out its first coronavirus outbreak in six months. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-zealand-wages-high-stakes-effort-halt.html

The US drug regulator on Thursday denied market authorization to a number of vaping products after finding they failed to show that smoking cessation benefits to adults outweigh risks posed to youth. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-denies-authorization-vaping-products.html

Illinois health care workers and educators from kindergarten through college will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday in announcing new safety protocols that also include a fresh statewide mandate for masks to be worn indoors. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-illinois-requires-health-workers-vaccine.html

Difficulty breathing is the most common symptom before cardiac arrest, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2021. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-ten-cardiac-patients-emergency-day.html

The world's first feasibility study has found that drones can be used to deliver life-saving defibrillators to people with suspected cardiac arrest in the community. The research is presented at ESC Congress 2021 and published in the European Heart Journal. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-drones-defibrillators-cardiac-victims-faster.html

A study in Italy has identified a dose-response relationship between the concentration of everyday pollutants and the incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The research is presented at ESC Congress 2021. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-common-air-pollutants-linked-cardiac.html

A "humanized" mouse model equipped with the immune system of a patient who needs an organ transplant beats current measures for identifying the best potential living donor, scientists report. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-humanized-mouse-transplant.html

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure are published online today in European Heart Journal. This was the first ESC Guideline to include patients as full members of the task force. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-esc-guidelines-heart-failure-today.html

Data show the importance of human milk and breastfeeding for the optimal health of infants, children, and lactating parents. But when parents and newborns are separated due to a hospitalization, current research shows that most sick babies are discharged home on infant formula. While many professional organizations have position statements about breastfeeding, few outline the specific lactation needs during parent–newborn separation. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-guidelines-breastfeeding-parent-newborn.html

Vaccination with the two messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, yields a robust antibody response, even if a person did not develop significant symptoms following vaccination or did not have a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. That's the key finding from a recent study of nearly 1,000 health care workers in the Johns Hopkins Health System who received two doses of either the vaccine manufactured by Pfizer/BioNTech or the one produced by Moderna. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-vaccines-effective-post-shot-symptoms-prior.html

A team of researchers, including two from Johns Hopkins Medicine, have published a review article highlighting similarities between certain lingering symptoms following COVID-19 illness—a condition called "long COVID"—and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), a debilitating, complex disorder previously known as chronic fatigue syndrome. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-covid-lot-chronic-fatigue.html

Researchers discover a link between an increase in protein Ba of the complement immune system and the eventual development of thrombotic microangiopathy in patients who have received an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TA-TMA) is a fatal complication that can occur after an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Study finds that despite previous reports, TA-TMA development was predicted not by complement-related genetic variants, but high levels of complement protein Ba. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-complement-protein-ba-transplant-associated-thrombotic.html

National modeling led by Centre for Complex Systems researchers shows that a pandemic peak is in sight, but we must brace for a surge of infections upon reopening when 80 percent of the adult population is vaccinated and restrictions are lifted. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-australian-pandemic-peak-sight-brace.html

Anhedonia and amotivation are key features of negative symptoms observed in patients with schizophrenia. In particular, amotivation refers to the diminished volition to initiate or maintain goal-directed behavior that may be underpinned by different impairments of reward valuation. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-patients-schizophrenia-stages-varied-deficits.html

Black people in need of a new heart are less likely than their white peers to get a transplant, and when they do, they're more likely to die afterward, according to new research. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-black-patients-heart-transplants.html

Breast cancer patients who were in better physical condition completed more of their chemotherapy treatments, according to a University of Alberta study that gives physicians further guidance in individualizing treatments and preparing patients for the road ahead. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-physically-breast-cancer-patients-chemotherapy.html

People who get migraines are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes, while some people who develop diabetes become less prone to migraines. Today, scientists studying the link between these conditions report how the peptides that cause migraine pain can influence production of insulin in mice, possibly by regulating the amount of secreted insulin or by increasing the number of pancreatic cells that produce it. These findings could improve methods to prevent or treat diabetes. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-migraines-diabetes.html

Australia on Thursday reported more than 1,000 new local coronavirus cases for the first time during the pandemic, as a Delta variant outbreak surged in Sydney. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-australian-virus-cases-soar.html

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern defended her "COVID zero" elimination strategy Thursday amid fears an outbreak of the highly transmissible Delta variant has rendered the previously successful policy ineffective. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-zealand-ardern-defends-virus-policy.html

In the fictional links he drew between immortal vampires and bats, Dracula creator Bram Stoker may have had one thing right. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-secret-healthy-ageing.html

Japan suspended use of about 1.63 million doses of Moderna vaccine Thursday after contamination was found in unused vials, raising concern of a supply shortage as the country tries to accelerate vaccinations amid a COVID-19 surge. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-japan-163m-doses-moderna-contamination.html

What is a COVID-19 vaccine passport, and do I need one? source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-covid-vaccine-passport.html

Joel Steckler was eager for his first cruise in more than a year and a half, and he chose the ship that just two months ago became the first to accept passengers again after a long pandemic shutdown. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-cruise-lines-require-vaccinations-virus.html

Adherence to lifestyle advice and medications could add seven healthy years of life after a heart attack, according to a study presented at ESC Congress 2021. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-potential-healthy-life-heart.html

A study in more than 100,000 individuals has found a potential link between eating saturated fat from meat and developing heart disease. The preliminary research is presented at ESC Congress 2021. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-saturated-fats-equally-bad-heart.html

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), which can be differentiated into cardiac myocytes, are used in a wide variety of applications such as developing patient-specific disease models, or the evaluation of novel therapeutic compounds for treatment of certain cardiac diseases. The integration of these cell model systems into laboratories, like those at the Masonic Medical Research Institute (MMRI), have helped revolutionize the current and future state of medical research efforts. Dr. Jonathan Cordeiro, Research Assistant Professor at the MMRI, has been utilizing hiPSCs in his electrophysiology work since 2012. In a recently published manuscript, Dr. Cordeiro used hiPSC cardiomyocytes to investigate cardiac arrythmias, or irregular heartbeats, to create a scientific model to understand the mechanisms for how these anomalies occur. "iPSCs are a great model for studying disease because they can be created in large quantities and are specific to humans. Their introduction to b...

Variations in the 16p11.2 region of the genome are associated with autism spectrum disorder. While people with genetic deletions in this region have larger heads (macrocephaly) and people with genetic duplications have smaller heads (microcephaly), both variation types affect brain development and function. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-brain-organoids-mimic-size-autism.html

Researchers are working with community leaders to develop a mobile alert app to help locate missing people with dementia. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-waterloo-mobile-app-people-dementia.html

Giving young children the world's first malaria vaccine RTS,S/AS01E and antimalarial drugs before the rainy season could substantially reduce cases of life-threatening malaria in the African Sahel, suggests a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-severe-malaria-young-african-children.html

Girls in secondary school are less likely than boys to enjoy or engage with tests designed to curb obesity and inactivity, according to new research published in the peer-reviewed journal Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-girls.html

After reports of smart phone and watch interference with implanted medical devices, investigators affiliated with the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) at the US Food and Drug Administration conducted a study that supports the FDA recommendation that patients keep any consumer electronic devices that may create magnetic interference, including cell phones and smart watches, at least six inches away from implanted medical devices, in particular pacemakers and cardiac defibrillators. Their findings appear in Heart Rhythm, the official journal of the Heart Rhythm Society, the Cardiac Electrophysiology Society, and the Pediatric & Congenital Electrophysiology Society. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-cell-smart-pacemakers-defibrillators.html

Plant-based diets have become increasingly popular in recent years, both for health and ethical reasons. One extreme form of plant-based diet is "fruitarianism," a diet based largely on consumption of raw fruit. At first glance, this may sound healthy, but what effect will this type of restrictive diet have on the body? And is it a healthy diet choice? source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-diet-fruit-bad.html

A new study from Linköping University has shown that the tumor-inhibiting gene TET2 is silenced in a large fraction of cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children. The scientists show that the gene can be reactivated by treatment with an existing drug, 5-azacytidine. The results, published in the scientific journal PNAS, suggest that 5-azacytidine may function as targeted therapy for ALL in children. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-08-drug-possibilities-child-leukemia.html