Jason Lee

Weakening muscles are a natural part of the aging process, but for some people with a condition called sarcopenia, the decline is abnormally fast. A new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden suggests that the early stages of sarcopenia could be counteracted with timely interventions designed to preserve physical and cognitive function and manage chronic conditions. The results are published in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-early-interventions-counteract-muscle-loss.html

For three days this week, decision-makers of the World Health Organization gather for a special global assembly. With COVID-19 and its variants still very much in the news, the pandemic tops the agenda. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-pandemics-health-approach.html

Chronic infectious diseases have a devastating effect on global health. When someone is suffering from a chronic viral infection such as HIV or hepatitis C, their B cells get altered resulting in low-quality antibodies that are not strong enough to help the body clear the infection. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-potential-therapeutic-pathway-chronic-viral.html

Two decades after his retirement, US basketballer Michael Jordan still holds the record for the highest paid athlete of all time, netting a cool $2 billion, demonstrating his global status in sport. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-courting-success-outsmarts-body-basketball.html

A federal judge has ruled that the Biden administration cannot enforce a rule requiring virtually all health care workers in 10 states to become vaccinated against COVID-19. source https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/covid-19-vaccine/news/20211129/federal-judge-blocks-health-care-worker-vaccine-mandate?src=RSS_PUBLIC

A new test for hepatitis C which uses origami-style folded paper to deliver fast, accurate and affordable diagnoses could help the global fight against the deadly virus. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-origami-diagnostic-hepatitis-treatment.html

We don't yet know how dangerous the new Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 will turn out to be. Early evidence suggests it may be more transmissible than other variants, and the World Health Organization has raised concerns about its potential to spark another global surge in infections. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-wealthy-nations-starved-world-vaccines.html

Up to 25 percent of patients' COVID-19 cases involve acute kidney injury—the kidneys' equivalent of a heart attack. Clinicians have suspected that such injuries are a side effect of the immune system's sudden release of inflammatory proteins, cytokines, to battle the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The "cytokine storms" are known to damage tissues and organs. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-sars-cov-infect-kidneys.html

Researchers in the University of Helsinki and University Hospital Helsinki have developed a method to precisely and rapidly correct genetic alterations in cultured patient cells. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-rapidly-inherited-gene.html

Objective assessment of irregularities in a tumor's shape provides a means to evaluate its aggressiveness more effectively prior to an operation. This was the key finding made by ateam of physicians from Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences in Krems whose research focused on meningiomas, a form of tumor that affects the meningeal tissue in the brain. In a study published in the latest issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery, the research team demonstrated the high predictive value of the model they developed and named the surface factor. The model represents an objective and comparable parameter for the quantification of irregularities in tumor shape. Based on data from more than 125 patients, the study found a statistically significant correlation between a low surface factor (i.e. an irregular tumor surface) and a higher level of aggressiveness in the tumor. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-mathematical-standardised-classification-aggressiveness-tumours.html...

A three-year study of more than 1,000 patients found that the risk of delayed intracranial hemorrhage and death following head trauma was significantly higher for adults taking older blood thinning medications including clopidogrel (Plavix) and warfarin (Coumadin), according to research being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Taking aspirin concurrently with any blood thinner may increase the risk of delayed hemorrhage. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-popular-blood-thinners-brain-injury.html

COVID-19 of mild to moderate severity in pregnant women appears to have no effect on the brain of the developing fetus, according to a study being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-covid-pregnancy-doesnt-baby-brain.html

The world could see the COVID pandemic begin fading next year into an endemic disease like others humanity lives with, unless glaring inequality in vaccine access drags it out and worse variants emerge. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-pandemic-prognosis.html

Existing COVID-19 jabs will struggle against the Omicron variant and it will take months to develop a new shot that works, the head of US vaccine manufacturer Moderna has told the Financial Times. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-moderna-boss-vaccines-omicron-ft.html

The emergence of the new omicron variant and the world's desperate and likely futile attempts to keep it at bay are reminders of what scientists have warned for months: The coronavirus will thrive as long as vast parts of the world lack vaccines. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-omicron-covid-vaccine-inequity-home.html

An observational study found that gender/sex disparities in the use of dolutegravir-containing antiretroviral therapy (ART) persist despite World Health Organization (WHO) endorsement for its use among women with HIV of reproductive age. The study authors say this disparity greatly limits the population health benefits of dolutegravir for a substantial number of women with HIV around the world. Their findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-sexgender-disparities-dolutegravir-uptake-persist.html

Germany's constitutional court ruled Tuesday that sweeping restrictions to stem coronavirus infections such as curfews, school closures and contact restrictions were lawful, in a decision that could pave the way for further curbs. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-german-constitutional-court-partial-lockdown.html

Japan confirmed on Tuesday its first case of the new omicron coronavirus variant, a visitor who recently arrived from Namibia, an official said. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-japan-case-coronavirus-variant.html

Japan and France confirmed their first cases of the new variant of the coronavirus on Tuesday as countries around the world scrambled to close their doors or find ways to limit its spread while scientists study how damaging it might be. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-1st-french-omicron-case-indian.html

In the UK today, persistent poverty and/or persistent poor parental mental health affects over four in ten children, University of Liverpool researchers have found. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-analysis-reveals-impact-poverty-family.html

A real-world retrospective cohort study involving nearly 1.2 million people shows COVID-19 infections in the 'fully' vaccinated are rare but are more common and severe in people with weaker immune systems. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-breakthrough-covid-infections-severe-immunocompromised.html

The most comprehensive genomic study of syphilis to date has mapped the recent resurgence of the disease around the world. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-genetic-syphilis-global.html

Muscular dystrophy describes a group of genetic diseases in which muscles progressively weaken and degenerate, with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) being the most common. There are no curative treatments for DMD, and available drugs for the most part delay the progression to extend the patient's quality of life. A new study seen in Biomedicines by CiRA Assistant Professor Tomoya Uchimura and Associate Professor Hidetoshi Sakurai, both of whom join T-CiRA in collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda), uses iPS cells to show that drugs acting on store-operated calcium channels can extend the contractile function of muscles. The results reveal these channels are a new drug target for DMD treatments. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-potential-drugs-muscle-dystrophy-stem.html

A 3D-printed eye is a true biomimic and a more realistic prosthetic, with clearer definition and real depth to the pupil. Unlike traditional methods, it is made using digital scans of the eye instead of an invasive mold of the eye socket; a process often so difficult for children they require a general anesthetic. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-patient-3d-printed-eye.html

Stethoscopes are among doctors' most important instruments, yet there have not been any essential improvements to the device since the 1960s. Now, researchers at Aalto University have developed a device that analyzes a broad range of bodily functions and offers physicians a probable diagnosis as well as suggestions for appropriate further examinations. The researchers believe that the new device could eventually replace the stethoscope and enable quicker and more precise diagnoses. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-ai-assisted-device-traditional-stethoscopes.html

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have launched the 2021 report "Dying and Death in Ireland: What do we routinely measure, how can we improve?" The report details findings from a Health Research Board (HRB) funded study on how and where people died in Ireland between 2013 and 2018. It also reports on the type and quality of data on death and dying that are available in Ireland. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-reveals-people-die-ireland.html

For many, Christmas is a time for celebration and an opportunity to spend more time with family. But for some, this time of the year can be a bit of a mixed bag, ranging from stress because of complicated family dynamics to the prospect of facing another Christmas alone. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-stress-christmas-kind-psychiatrist.html

The largest multi-institutional international study to date on brain complications of COVID-19 has found that approximately one in 100 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 will likely develop complications of the central nervous system. These can include stroke, hemorrhage, and other potentially fatal complications. The study is being presented tomorrow at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-large-international-reveals-spectrum-covid-.html

A small but significant percentage of college athletes with COVID-19 develop myocarditis, a potentially dangerous inflammation of the heart muscle, that can only be seen on cardiac MRI, according to a study being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-covid-linked-heart-inflammation-college.html

The newly-discovered Omicron variant is likely to fuel a surge in South Africa's coronavirus cases that could see daily infections treble this week, a top epidemiologist warned Monday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-safrica-daily-covid-cases-week.html

The independent body advising the British government on the rollout of coronavirus vaccines is mulling whether to expand the booster program to younger age groups following the discovery of the new, potentially more dangerous omicron variant, with a decision widely expected later Monday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-uk-covid-vaccine-boosters-omicron.html

Portuguese health authorities on Monday identified 13 cases of omicron, the new coronavirus variant spreading fast globally, among members of a top soccer club and were investigating whether it was one of the first reported cases of local transmission of the virus outside of southern Africa. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-portugal-probes-local-transmission-omicron.html

The World Health Organization warned Monday the new COVID-19 Omicron variant poses a "very high" risk globally, despite uncertainties about the danger and contagion levels of the new strain. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-covid-variant-omicron-high.html

South African scientists identified a new version of the coronavirus that they say is behind a recent spike in COVID-19 infections in Gauteng, the country's most populous province. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-dont-covid-variant.html

Swiss voters on Sunday gave clear backing to legislation that introduced a system with special COVID-19 certificates under which only people who have been vaccinated, recovered or tested negative can attend public events and gatherings. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-swiss-vote-covid-restrictions-infections.html

Canada said Sunday it has detected its first cases of the new Omicron strain of COVID, in two people who had traveled recently to Nigeria. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-canada-covid-omicron-infections.html

The emergence of the omicron variant hasn't changed New Zealand's plans to ease restrictions in Auckland and move the nation into a new, more open phase of its pandemic response, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-variant-zealand-reopening.html

Australian authorities announced on Monday a third case of the omicron COVID-19 variant as government leaders reconsidered plans to relax border restrictions this week. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-australia-3rd-case-omicron-covid-.html

Cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus popped up in countries on opposite sides of the world Sunday and many governments rushed to close their borders even as scientists cautioned that it's not clear if the new variant is more alarming than other versions of the virus. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-omicron-cases-world.html

The overcast, drizzly skies match the somber mood at the Tshwane University of Technology, a hot spot in South Africa's latest surge of COVID-19 cases, apparently driven by the new omicron variant that is leading countries around the world to impose new restrictions. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-omicron-hot-somber-mood-africa.html

The World Health Organization is opening a long-planned special session of member states to discuss ways to strengthen the global fight against pandemics like the coronavirus, just as the worrying new omicron variant has sparked immediate concerns worldwide. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-members-eye-pandemic-variant-emerges.html

During the first 9 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers did not find a significant difference in the number of new cancer diagnoses in Canadian children compared with before the pandemic, according to a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-decrease-childhood-cancer-canada-pandemic.html

Britain's government on Sunday defended the pace and scale of its response to the new Omicron strain of COVID-19 against criticism that it was again falling behind the curve. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-uk-covid-tuesday.html

A South African doctor who raised the alarm over Omicron said Sunday dozens of her patients suspected of having the new variant had only shown mild symptoms and recovered fully without hospitalisation. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-omicron-cases-mild-safrica-doctor.html

Swiss voters appeared set Sunday to approve by a clear margin legislation which introduced a special COVID-19 certificate that lets only people who have been vaccinated, recovered or tested negative attend public events and gatherings. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-swiss-covid-restrictions-infections.html

The Netherlands confirmed 13 cases of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus on Sunday and Australia found two as the countries half a world apart became the latest to detect it in travelers arriving from southern Africa. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-netherlands-australia-omicron-variant-curbs.html

The new potentially more contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus popped up in more European countries on Saturday, just days after being identified in South Africa, leaving governments around the world scrambling to stop the spread. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-covid-variant-countries-world.html

Fears mounted Saturday that a highly-infectious new coronavirus strain was pushing its way into Europe as the world brought the shutters down to contain the new Omicron variant. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-world-covid-variant.html

Britain on Saturday confirmed its first two cases of the new Omicron strain of COVID-19, both linked to travel from southern Africa, and expanded travel restrictions on the region. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-uk-cases-covid-strain.html

South African scientists have discovered a new COVID-19 variant, Omicron, with multiple mutations that is thought to be highly contagious. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-covid-variant-omicron.html

Italy on Saturday said it had detected its first case of the new Omicron strain of COVID-19 in a traveller from Mozambique. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-italy-case-covid-variant.html

The U.K. tightened up rules Saturday on mask-wearing and on testing of international arrivals after finding two cases of the new potentially more contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus that was identified just a few days ago in South Africa. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-britain-tightens-covid-world-omicron.html

The United States, Brazil, Canada, and Saudi Arabia became the latest countries Friday to restrict travel from southern Africa, where a new COVID strain labelled a "variant of concern" has been discovered in a potentially heavy blow to the world's efforts to end the coronavirus pandemic. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-canada-restrict-southern-africa-variant.html

The US pharmaceutical company Moderna said Friday it will develop a booster shot against the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-moderna-booster-shot-covid-variant.html

The new COVID variant, dubbed Omicron and originally detected in South Africa, poses a "high to very high" risk to Europe, the EU health agency warned on Friday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-omicron-variant-poses-high-europe.html

One hundred percent of the United Arab Emirates' population has received at least one dose of a vaccine against COVID-19, the health ministry has said. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-uae-population-covid-jab.html

Dutch health authorities said Saturday that 61 passengers aboard two KLM flights from South Africa tested positive for COVID-19 and the results were being examined for the new Omicron variant. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-dutch-covid-positive-flights-safrica.html

Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the world raced Friday to contain a new coronavirus variant potentially more dangerous than the one that has fueled relentless waves of infection on nearly every continent. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-world-covid-threat-omicron-variant.html

A German regional official said Saturday that health authorities have identified the first suspected case in the country of the new COVID-19 variant, in a person who returned from South Africa. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-germany-covid-variant-case-regional.html

As the world grapples with the emergence of the new highly transmissible variant of COVID-19, worried scientists in South Africa—where omicron was first identified—are scrambling to combat its lightning spread across the country. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-south-african-scientists-brace-propelled.html

Reducing the transmission of COVID-19 in universities is heavily dependent on vaccination and asymptomatic testing uptake, new research by academics at the University of Bristol has found. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-asymptomatic-vaccination-critical-covid-universities.html

An international team of scientists and pharmaceutical collaborators has made a breakthrough "bench to bedside" discovery, ten years in the making, which they hope will advance the future treatment of Alzheimer's disease in patients. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-bench-to-bedside-drug-alzheimer-disease-treatments.html

In the late 1980s, when HIV treatments were first introduced, patients would often develop resistance to those treatments within six months. The introduction of triple-drug treatment regimens in the 1990s was intended to change that. Even when the virus developed resistance to one treatment, there would be two other drugs that could knock it out, essentially mitigating drug resistance ... or so the theory went. Unfortunately, some patients still develop resistance, leaving scientists with a critical question to answer: Why? source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-insights-drug-resistance-evolves.html

Japan said Friday it will require a 10-day quarantine period for travellers arriving from six countries after the discovery in South Africa of a new COVID-19 variant. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-japan-require-day-quarantine-variant.html

Belgium said Friday it has detected the first announced case in Europe of the new COVID-19 variant, in an unvaccinated person returning from abroad. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-belgium-covid-variant-case-europe.html

Belgium and the Netherlands are taking new measures Friday in an attempt to keep a COVID-19 spike from spiraling out of control, hoping that action now will safeguard the joys of Christmas next month. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-belgians-dutch-covid-curb-spike.html

Federal health regulators say an experimental COVID-19 pill from Merck is effective against the virus, but they will seek input from outside experts on risks of birth defects and other potential problems during pregnancy. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-fda-merck-covid-pill-effective.html

Advisers to the World Health Organization are holding a special session Friday to flesh out information about a worrying new variant of the coronavirus that has been detected in South Africa, though a top expert says its impact on COVID-19 vaccines may not be known for weeks. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-hosts-special-covid-variant.html

The discovery of a new coronavirus variant sent a chill through much of the world Friday as nations raced to halt air travel, markets plunged and scientists held emergency meetings to weigh the exact risks, which were largely unknown. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-virus-variant-emerges-africa-stokes.html

Thousands of Canadian women may have died needlessly of breast cancer because of the fallout from two flawed studies on breast screening, according to a group of prominent researchers. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-skewed-results-lack-access-mammography.html

We all know what it feels like to be hungry before a meal or sluggish afterward; and both of these feelings have to do with blood sugar levels, which are carefully regulated by dynamic systems within the body. Now, researchers from Japan have determined that a single pathway hinging on a liver-specific transcript of the gene encoding the transcription factor KLF15 regulates macronutrient metabolism in response to insulin levels to maintain this delicate balance. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-foxo-klf15-macronutrient-metabolism-response-insulin.html

Marking World AIDS Day on 1 December, Eurosurveillance has published an article that brings together evidence on HIV seroprevalence in five population groups affected by HIV in the countries of the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA): men who have sex with men (MSM), people who inject drugs (PWID), people in prison, sex workers and transgender people. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-hiv-prevalence-key-populations-europe.html

Research led by CNIO scientist Héctor Peinado shows that the NGFR molecule drives the entire process of early metastasis in melanoma and that blocking it drastically reduces metastasis in animal models. The reduction was achieved using THX-B. This molecule is being tested for the treatment of other pathologies, which will accelerate its possible use in the treatment of tumors. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-mechanism-involved-early-melanoma-metastasis.html

Hundreds of flights were cancelled, some schools shut and tour groups suspended on Friday after three coronavirus cases were reported in Shanghai, as China continues its strict zero-COVID policy. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-flights-cancelled-schools-covid-cases.html

The Netherlands is set to tighten its partial lockdown on Friday to curb soaring coronavirus cases, as police prepared for possible new riots against the restrictions. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-riot-hit-dutch-brace-covid-curbs.html

Governments across Europe rushed on Friday to bolster their defences against a fresh coronavirus spike, as South Africa announced it had detected a new COVID-19 strain that scientists fear could torpedo efforts to beat the pandemic. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-europe-bolster-virus-defences-south.html

Israel has identified a case of a COVID-19 variant with a large number of mutations first detected in South Africa, the health ministry said Friday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-israel-case-covid-variant-safrica.html

The European Union said Friday it is planning to stop air travel from southern Africa to counter the spread of a new COVID-19 variant as the 27-nation bloc is battling a massive spike in cases. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-eu-flights-southern-africa-variant.html

The bars are shut in Vienna, and the Christmas market is empty in Munich, as several European nations tighten up or even lock down to combat a spike in coronavirus infections. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-europe-virus-cases-surge-uk.html

Indonesia has significantly recovered from a mid-year spike in coronavirus cases and deaths that was one of the worst in the region, but with its vaccination drive stalling due to logistical challenges and other issues, and with holidays approaching, experts and officials warn the island nation could soon face another surge. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-indonesia-sputtering-covid-vaccinations.html

The Czech government declared a 30-day state of emergency on Thursday, closing Christmas markets as well as nightclubs in a bid to stem COVID-19 infections. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-czechs-christmas-nightclubs-covid.html

A team of researchers from the University of Luxembourg and Universite´ de Genève has found evidence that suggests it is not how much time children spend on electronic media but how they do it that can lead to problems. The team has written a paper describing a study they conducted at a public primary school in a Geneva, Switzerland suburb and what they learned from it and have posted it on the open access site PLOS ONE. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-in-school-children-multitasking-media-mental.html

Neural stem cells have strong potential to be effective in reducing brain injury in newborn babies, in the most extensive review of research on the topic. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-neural-stem-cells-key-combatting.html

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the mental health of older people living in the community, with those who are lonely faring far worse, according to new research from McMaster University. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-pandemic-depression-persists-older-adults.html

Household mixing significantly decreased in the first lockdown in England and remained relatively low in the second lockdown, but increased during the third lockdown, reports a study published in Scientific Reports. The authors observed that the increase in household mixing by mid-February 2021 during the third lockdown coincided with the wider COVID-19 vaccine rollout across England. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-covid-compliance-household-restrictions-england.html

Variability in COVID-19 vaccination uptake by care home staff and family carers was the biggest barrier to care home visits resuming during the pandemic, research led by the University of Liverpool suggests. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-biggest-barriers-home-restarting-pandemic.html

Rapidly increasing cells in the human body continuously generate mutations that may lead to cancer. Although, this is a naturally progressive phenomenon, and the risk of cancer increases with age, the healthy body has a natural cancer surveillance program which protects the body from developing cancer cells. When this natural defence fails, reimposing therapeutically the power of the immune system can combat cancer. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-innate-immune-defence-therapeutically-cancer.html

Europe on Thursday reached the grim milestone of 1.5 million coronavirus deaths as nations scramble to tackle a worsening crisis with winter approaching. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-covid-deaths-million-europe.html

All areas of life are fighting back post-lockdown—but dentistry, with long NHS waiting lists and limited access to emergency care even before the pandemic, is on a particularly challenging road to recovery. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-dentistry-recover-covid-top-down-reform.html

Scientists in South Africa said Thursday they had detected a new COVID-19 variant with multiple mutations, blaming it for a surge in infection numbers. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-south-africa-covid-variant-scientists.html

Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo Thursday said his country had recorded an uptick in coronavirus cases and hospitalisations far worse than feared, after reimposing tougher COVID rules last week. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-belgium-pm-covid-resurgence-worse.html

France has launched a plan Thursday to give COVID-19 booster shots to all adults, as it opted against a further lockdown or curfew to help combat a worrying uptick in infections in the country. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-france-opts-3rd-shots-lockdown.html

The European Union's drug regulator on Thursday authorized Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine for use on children from 5 to 11 years old, clearing the way for shots to be administered to millions of elementary school pupils amid a new wave of infections sweeping across the continent. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-eu-authorizes-pfizer-covid-vaccine.html

Denmark has joined other European nations in offering a third COVID-19 vaccination shot to everyone over the age of 18 amid a rise in coronavirus cases. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-denmark-covid-booster-jabs.html

The Big Three automakers and the United Auto Workers say unionized workers will not be required to have COVID-19 vaccinations. source https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/covid-19-vaccine/news/20211124/vaccinations-voluntary-for-uaw-members?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Melanoma patients using their smart phone to submit images of lesions to their specialists appears to be a safe and convenient form of follow-up after treatment. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-patient-led-surveillance-melanoma.html

Canada began immunizing children aged 5-11 against COVID-19 Wednesday, joining a handful of nations including Israel and the United States in offering shots to this age group. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-canada-vaccinating-children-years.html

Official figures released Thursday show Germany has become the latest country to surpass 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-germany-latest-country-deaths-covid-.html

Exploring the mechanisms involved in sleep-dependent memory storage, a team of University of Michigan (U-M) cellular biologists found that RNAs associated with an understudied cell compartment in hippocampal neurons vary greatly between sleeping and sleep-deprived mice after learning. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-unveiling-hidden-cellular-logistics-memory.html

With around 256 million cases and more than 5 million deaths worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged scientists and those in the medical field. Researchers are working to find effective vaccines and therapies, as well as understand the long-term effects of the infection. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-antibodies-mimicking-virus-haul-covid-.html

A combination of two targeted cancer drugs showed unprecedented, "clinically meaningful" activity in patients with highly malignant brain tumors that carried a rare genetic mutation, according to a clinical trial report by investigators from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-drug-combination-unprecedented-highly-aggressive.html

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday he has taken an experimental nasal vaccine against the coronavirus, three days after he received his booster shot, as Russia faces its worst surge of infections and deaths since the pandemic began. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-putin-experimental-nasal-vaccine-covid-.html

The EU health agency on Wednesday appealed to member states to "urgently" introduce measures to counter surging COVID-19 cases, a day after the WHO Europe warned that 700,000 more may die on the continent this winter. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-eu-health-agency-urgent-covid.html

Twenty small towns in northern Italy's autonomous South Tyrol province went into a partial lockdown Wednesday to try to contain rising coronavirus infections and save the key winter tourism season in one of the least-vaccinated parts of Italy. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-italy-towns-restrictions-covid-infection.html

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday made another appeal to sceptical Russians to vaccinate themselves against COVID-19 but remained opposed to mandatory vaccinations. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-putin-urges-russia-covid-jabs.html

Social distancing became mandatory again across the Netherlands on Wednesday as coronavirus infections soared and the country's leading intensive care physician called for even tougher measures to rein in the pandemic. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-dutch-icu-boss-tough-lockdown.html

Slovakia set another record for coronavirus infections as the government on Wednesday was discussing whether to impose a national lockdown to tame the surge. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-slovakia-mulls-lockdown-surge-infections.html

A team of scientists has identified coronaviruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 from two bats sampled in Cambodia more than a decade ago. The discovery described in the journal Nature Communications, along with the recent detection of the closest ancestors of SARS-CoV-2 known to date in cave-dwelling bats in Laos, indicates that SARS-CoV-2-related viruses that cause COVID-19 have a much wider geographic distribution than previously reported, and further supports the hypothesis that the pandemic originated via spillover of a bat-borne virus. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-scientists-sars-cov-related-coronaviruses-cambodian.html

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everyday life for many people in both trivial and profound ways. Embracing pants without a waistband, trying out creative baking—and perhaps spending a great deal of time sitting, whether for virtual meetings or Netflix binges. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-covid-pandemic-opportunity-healthy-shift.html

Primary and secondary school staff were not at greater risk of death from COVID-19 in 2020 compared to other professions in England and Wales, new research has found. The study, by researchers at the University of Bristol, analyzed data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) national death register for school staff and working adults aged between 20- and 64-years-old. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-school-staff-higher-death-covid-.html

This autumn the UK has had between 30,000 and 50,000 new COVID cases each day, and globally cases are rising again after months of steady decline—so much so that many countries are reintroducing measures to curb the virus. Austria is back in lockdown, with other European countries considering similar measures. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-ways-covid-christmas.html

PAD and travel: How to get around at the airport, in the car, and at hotels. source https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/features/peripheral-artery-disease-travel?src=RSS_PUBLIC

PAD and sex: How peripheral artery disease impacts your sex life and what you can do to reclaim it. source https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/features/peripheral-artery-disease-sex?src=RSS_PUBLIC

After a heart attack revealed that Trip Hedrick had coronary artery disease, the competitive swimmer learned to flow with his new diagnosis. source https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/features/coronary-artery-disease-comeback?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Poor school attendance impacts a child's future, not just through their educational achievement but also socially and developmentally. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-school-crucial-role-mental-health.html

Sweden recommended Wednesday that everyone between the ages of 18 and 65 should get a booster shot against COVID-19 six months after having received the second jab. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-sweden-covid-booster-shot-ages.html

The World Health Organization said that coronavirus cases jumped by 11% in Europe in the last week, the only region in the world where COVID-19 has continued to increase since mid-October. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-europe-region-covid-case.html

Black Americans 65 years and older have much better hearing than their White counterparts, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-black-older-americans-prevalence-loss.html