Jason Lee

The antibiotic azithromycin has anti-inflammatory properties that can be beneficial in some chronic lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis. With that in mind, researchers investigated its potential to prevent future recurrent wheezing among infants hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). With such babies at increased risk of developing asthma later in childhood, the scientists hoped to find a therapy to reduce this risk. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-azithromycin-rsv-recurrent-wheezing.html

People who are more physically fit are less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than people who are less physically fit, according to a preliminary study released today, February 27, 2022, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 74th Annual Meeting being held in person in Seattle, April 2 to 7, 2022 and virtually, April 24 to 26, 2022. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-physical-linked-alzheimer-disease.html

Using computer drug simulations, researchers have found that doctors need to be wary of prescribing a particular treatment for all types of cancer and patients. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-drug-simulations-diabetes-cancer-treatment.html

A new study has identified 228 clinical practices in Canada that are used inappropriately, with underuse being more common than overuse. This list includes diagnostic and therapeutic practices such as blood tests and radiography. Published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal), the research can help health care professionals, organizations and governments improve patient care and health outcomes. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-inappropriate-clinical-canada.html

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Sunday that the statewide masking requirement in schools will be lifted by March 2. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-york-statewide-school-mask-mandate.html

Nearly half of the 500 million free COVID-19 tests the Biden administration recently made available to the public still have not been claimed as virus cases plummet and people feel less urgency to test. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-biden-500m-free-covid-unclaimed.html

Grace Thomas is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 but still not ready to take off her mask, especially around the kids at the home day care she runs in Chicago. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-americans-cdc-mask-guidance-wary.html

For two years, Hong Kong successfully insulated most of its residents from COVID-19 and often went months without a single locally spread case. Then the omicron variant showed up. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-hong-kong-success-fending-covid.html

A new approach to managing moderate-to-severe asthma has gained interest and attention and has led to updated guidelines for patients, but studies to date have not focused on populations that face a disproportionate burden of complications from asthma: African American/Black (AA/B) and Hispanic/Latinx (H/L) populations. AA/B and H/L individuals experience higher rates of asthma-related emergency department visits, higher rates of hospitalizations and approximately double the asthma mortality rate compared to white individuals. Interventions to try to reduce this disparity have been labor intensive and have had varied results. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-patient-centered-intervention-asthma-outcomes-black.html

Americans' oral health has improved over the last two decades, but disparities in oral health have stubbornly persisted and pose a major global public health threat, write National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) Director Rena N. D'Souza, D.D.S., Ph.D., Science Advisor to the President and former National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., and U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy, M.D., M.B.A., in a new perspective published in The New England Journal of Medicine. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-nih-hhs-leaders-policy-oral.html

Microdosing has become trendy in the era of drug legalization, with TV shows like "Nine Perfect Strangers" promoting the potential positives of regularly taking tiny amounts of psychedelics. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-microdosing-lsd-mental-health.html

The US opioid crisis has claimed more than 500,000 lives in the last 20 years. It has also spawned one of the most complex legal campaigns in the country's history. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-road-opioid-settlements-complicated.html

India's capital has announced the end of all the remaining coronavirus restrictions after government data showed cases of the recent Omicron variant had fallen. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-indian-capital-restrictions-virus-cases.html

South Korea saw its deadliest day of the pandemic on Saturday, reporting 112 fatalities in the latest 24-hour period, as it grapples with a wave of coronavirus infections driven by the fast-moving omicron variant. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-korea-deadliest-day-pandemic-omicron.html

A study released in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine by Providence, one of the largest health systems in the United States, confirms the overall effectiveness of vaccines in preventing severe infection resulting in hospitalization from COVID-19, but also shows a substantial decline in protection after six months. Completed by a team of clinicians and scientists in the Providence Research Network, the study examined data from nearly 50,000 hospital admissions between April and November of 2021, finding that vaccines were 94% effective at preventing hospitalization 50-100 days after receiving the shot but fell to 80.4% 200-250 days later, with even more rapid declines after 250 days. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-covid-vaccine-effectiveness-declines-months.html

Several FDA-approved drugs—including for type 2 diabetes, hepatitis C and HIV—significantly reduce the ability of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 to replicate in human cells, according to new research led by scientists at Penn State. Specifically, the team found that these drugs inhibit certain viral enzymes, called proteases, that are essential for SARS-CoV-2 replication in infected human cells. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-repurposing-fda-approved-drugs-combat-covid-.html

The Biden administration will significantly loosen federal mask-wearing guidelines to protect against COVID-19 transmission on Friday, according to two people familiar with the matter, meaning most Americans will no longer be advised to wear masks in indoor public settings. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-cdc-significantly-ease-pandemic-mask.html

Rivals Singapore and Hong Kong have become pandemic polar opposites, the former opting to live with the coronavirus and reopen to the world while the latter doubles down on zero-Covid and its international isolation. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-hong-kong-singapore-virus-response.html

The number of children estimated to have experienced the death of a parent or caregiver as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has surged to more than 5.2 million globally, according to a new modeling study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-million-children-lost-parent-caregiver.html

A regional corner of Africa is a hotspot for cases of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, prompting researchers to call for targeted health support rather than a national response. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-african-hotspot-highly-infectious-diseases.html

We often think of multiplication and division as calculations that need to be taught in school. But a large body of research suggests that, even before children begin formal education, they possess intuitive arithmetic abilities. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-children-instinctively-division.html

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered state agencies to investigate reports of gender-transition procedures on children as child abuse, which could result in the criminal prosecution of teachers, doctors, and parents of trans children who don’t report the procedures. source https://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/news/20220223/texas-governor-investigate-gender-transition-procedures-as-child-abuse?src=RSS_PUBLIC

The early COVID-19 pandemic brought overall declines in children's mental health–related emergency department visits, according to a study in Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice that analyzed electronic health records from four U.S. academic health systems. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-emergency-department-children-mental-health.html

In an analysis published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society that included 247 adults aged 70 years or older who were discharged from the hospital after major surgery from 1997 to 2017, patients who had non-elective surgery had more disabilities in daily activities over the following 6 months than those who had elective surgery. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-factors-older-adults-higher-experiencing.html

A new clinical published in Arthritis & Rheumatology reveals that nintedanib, a medication that helps prevent changes to lung tissue, may help patients with fibrosing autoimmune disease-related interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), which are a common manifestation of systemic autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-nintedanib-benefits-patients-autoimmune-disease-related.html

Older adults are open to using smart packaging to improve their medication-taking experience, a new study finds. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-smart-packaging-older-adults-medication.html

Firearms have overtaken car crashes as the main cause of premature deaths due to trauma in the US since 2017, finds research published online in the journal Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-firearms-overtaken-car-main-premature.html

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large family of synthetic organic chemicals that do not occur naturally in the environment. Used extensively in everyday products like non-stick coatings, food-contact surfaces, stain-resistant fabrics and personal care products, they are often referred to as "forever chemicals" because they remain in the environment for a very long time. Production of some "legacy" PFAS (e.g., PFOA and PFOS) has been banned or voluntarily discontinued in many countries, but other PFAS variations have taken their place, and their effects on health and the environment are poorly understood. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-national-breast-pfas.html

Telemedicine offers emerging opportunities to reduce barriers to obesity care faced by healthcare providers, patients and health plans, according to a paper published online in Obesity journal. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-telemedicine-mitigate-barriers-access-obesity.html

New studies aim to clarify the relationship between obesity and breast cancer, and explore the potential role of bariatric surgery in reducing this risk, according to a review published online in Obesity journal. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-link-bariatric-surgery-obesity-associated-breast.html

TikTok has developed a cottage industry of online self-styled mental health gurus offering their advice. We talked to a licensed professional counselor to get her take. source https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/mental-health-tiktok?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Having a child with a disability or a developmental delay is often a stressful experience for a family. Siblings in such families may be exposed to greater stress and challenges. There is little research about the positive effects of growing up with a sibling with disabilities. However, a new study published in Child Development by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Toronto, examines how growing up as a sibling of a child with disabilities may nurture empathy. This is one of the first studies to examine the possible positive effects of growing up with a sibling with a disability. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-siblings-children-disabilities-greater-cognitive.html

Women who had ever experienced sexual violence in their lifetime—including sexual assault and workplace sexual harassment—were more likely to develop high blood pressure over a seven-year follow-up period, according to findings from a large, longitudinal study of women in the United States. The research, funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, indicated that sexual violence was a common experience, affecting more than 20% of the women in the sample. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-women-sexual-assault-linked-high.html

A new observational study has found that the American Medical Association (AMA) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) new billing guidelines immediately affected the distribution of evaluation and management (E/M) patient visits but have had no impact on the amount of time providers spend writing notes in the electronic health record (EHR) or the overall length of notes. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-ama-billing-guidelines-ease-burden.html

COVID-19 has sent nearly 900,000 Americans to the hospital in the past two years. A new study shows that the ZIP codes they came from had a lot to do with how sick they were when they got to the hospital, and how much care they needed once they were there. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-codes-severe-covid-.html

Each year in the United States, nearly 50,000 women are diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a non-invasive breast condition that cannot spread. New research published by Wiley online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, indicates that many women with DCIS experience confusion and distress about their diagnosis and treatment. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-uncertainty-common-ductal-carcinoma-situ.html

A natural product from the dried root of a pea-family plant, potentially combined with an enzyme inhibitor discovered in the Bruce Hammock laboratory at the University of California, Davis, may provide hope in alleviating neuroinflammation in Parkinson's disease, an eight-member team of researchers from Dalian Medical University, China, and UC Davis announced today. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-parkinson-disease-kurarinone-seh-inhibitor.html

The Food and Drug Administration outlined new, voluntary guidelines to lower sodium levels in food. But those with high blood pressure or who are at risk for heart disease may want to consider simply saying no to sodium. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-salt-heart.html

The term has been used by public-health experts to describe how the future of COVID-19 will likely go: The disease will become "endemic." source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-covid-endemic.html

A new study by researchers at The Ohio State University College of Medicine gives insight into what happens to the cardiovascular system of adolescents when they vape.  source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-vaping-long-term-effect-heart-adolescent.html

Average daily COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are continuing to fall in the U.S., an indicator that the omicron variant's hold is weakening across the country. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-virus-cases-hospitalizations-steady-decline.html

A sufficient intake of vegetables is important for maintaining a balanced diet and avoiding a wide range of diseases. But might a diet rich in vegetables also lower the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)? Unfortunately, researchers from the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the University of Bristol found no evidence for this. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-vegetables-cardiovascular-disease-large-scale.html

Products containing cannabidiol (CBD), a chemical compound naturally found in marijuana and hemp, have been used in recent years to help adults manage medical issues like chronic pain and mood disorders. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-parent-attitudes-cbd-children.html

People with COVID-19 won't be legally required to self-isolate in England starting in the coming week, the U.K. government has announced, as part of a plan for "living with COVID" that is also likely to see testing for the coronavirus scaled back. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-uk-people-covid-england-wont.html

The owners of Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, have offered to pay up to $6 billion to victims of the US opioid crisis to settle an avalanche of litigation, according to a report filed Friday by a federal mediator. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-purdue-pharma-owners-opioid-settlement.html

Americans are paying to get a star of the psychedelic medicine movement—ketamine—shipped to them for at-home mental health treatments that are being called both a breakthrough and a gamble. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-once-taboo-ketamine-booms-at-home-mental.html

The British government confirmed Saturday that people with COVID-19 won't be legally required to self-isolate starting next week, as part of a plan for "living with COVID" that is also likely to see testing for the coronavirus scaled back. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-uk-scrap-covid-restrictions-week.html

Holly Nover grew up trying to hide her stutter. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-unraveling-biology-mysterious-condition-stuttering.html

Hong Kong has reported 15 coronavirus deaths and more than 6,000 confirmed cases for a second day in its latest infection surge. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-hong-kong-cases-virus-surge.html

As the COVID-19 pandemic stretches into its third year, countless people have experienced varying degrees of uncertainty, isolation and mental health challenges. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-covid-survivors-mental-health-year.html

South Korea will extend restaurant dining hours but maintain a six-person limit on private social gatherings as it wrestles with a massive coronavirus wave driven by the highly infectious omicron variant. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-korea-crowd-limits-omicron-fold.html

With the first community outbreak of the coronavirus in the Solomon Islands spreading rapidly through the largely unvaccinated population, the Red Cross warned Thursday that the Pacific Island nation's fragile health care system is at risk of becoming overwhelmed. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-solomon-islands-1st-virus-outbreak.html

The first wild poliovirus case in Africa in more than five years has been detected in a young child in Malawi, the World Health Organization said Thursday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-malawi-declares-polio-outbreak.html

Germany's health minister said Friday that he thinks the country has passed a peak in new daily infections with the omicron variant of the coronavirus. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-health-minister-germany-omicron-peak.html

U.S. health officials warned parents on Thursday not to use three popular powdered infant formulas manufactured at an Abbott plant in Michigan that investigators recently linked to bacterial contamination. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-fda-recalled-infant-formulas-tied.html

California became the first state to formally shift to an "endemic" approach to the coronavirus with Gov. Gavin Newsom's announcement Thursday of a plan that emphasizes prevention and quick reaction to outbreaks over mandated masking and business shutdowns. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-california-nation-1st-endemic-virus.html

T-cell responses directed against the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein were associated with protection from SARS-CoV-2 infection in vaccinated individuals with or without cancer, with lower T-cell responses observed in patients with blood cancers, according to results from a study published in Cancer Discovery. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-t-cell-responses-sars-cov-infection-individuals.html

A new study published in Frontiers in Neural Circuits is the first to analyze the structural connectivity changes that happen in the brain after long-duration spaceflight. The results show significant microstructural changes in several white matter tracts such as the sensorimotor tracts. The study can form a basis for future research into the full scope of brain changes during human space exploration. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-brains-cosmonauts-rewired-long-term-space.html

Hong Kong's hospitals reached 90% capacity on Thursday and quarantine facilities were at their limit, authorities said, as the city struggles to snuff out a record number of new cases by adhering to China's "zero tolerance" strategy. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-covid-surge-prisoners-fuels-hong.html

New research published in The Lancet estimates that over one in four women have experienced domestic violence within their lifetime. Using data from the World Health Organisation Global Database on the Prevalence of Violence Against Women, which covers 90% of women worldwide, these new estimates indicate that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic 27% of ever-partnered women aged 15-49 had experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime, with one in seven (13%) experiencing recent violence from an intimate partner (within the past 12 months of the survey). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-quarter-women-experienced-intimate-partner.html

Repetitive headers and accidental head impacts in soccer are leading to changes in blood patterns, linked to brain signalling pathways and potential alterations—the latest study to assess potential dangers of heading in soccer shows. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-blood-samples-professional-soccer-players.html

New research to be presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2022, Lisbon, 23-26 April) reviews 21 studies from six countries on using social media for health information about COVID-19—and shows that, for some migrant and ethnic minority populations, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, are important sources of information on COVID-19. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-social-media-platforms-important-source.html

Findings from a study published today in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) provide new insights that could help long-term care (LTC) facilities assess the cleanliness of high-touch surfaces, and thereby enhance infection prevention and control measures designed to prevent serious diarrheal diseases and deaths among their residents. The study evaluated the utility of specific hygienic monitoring tools for assessing levels of microbial contamination on high-touch surfaces in 11 LTC facilities in South Carolina. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-high-touch-surfaces-facilities-frequently-contaminated.html

South Korea will distribute free coronavirus rapid test kits at schools and senior care facilities starting next week as it weathers an unprecedented wave of infections driven by the fast-moving omicron variant. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-korea-rapid-omicron-shatters.html

The world is failing to tackle the persisting and increasingly serious global crisis of depression it is facing, according to a Lancet and World Psychiatric Association Commission on depression, which calls for a whole-of-society response to reducing the global burden of depression. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-overlooked-underfundedexperts-action-global-burden.html

Both men and women are more likely to lose their hair with age. Women also have the added risk associated with declines in estrogen levels during the menopause transition. A new study sought to identify the prevalence of female pattern hair loss (FPHL), hair characteristics, and associated factors in healthy postmenopausal women. Study results are published online today in Menopause. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-postmenopausal-women-female-pattern-hair.html

Research on women's violence exposure is timely as the COVID pandemic has elevated rates of intimate partner violence and child abuse. A new study shows that a woman's collective violence exposure—consisting of her own abuse and that of her child—speeds up reproductive aging to result in an earlier age of menopause. Study results are published online today in Menopause. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-age-natural-menopause-linked-intergenerational.html

Before lifting mask mandates in elementary schools in the U.S., local COVID-19 case rates should be far below current rates to avoid the risk of increased transmission among students, staff, and families, according to a study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-mask-mandates-elementary-schools.html

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and King's College London have identified how specialist immune cells, called gamma delta T cells (γδ T cells), sense the body's status quo, enabling them to assess the health of surface tissues and even protect against cancer-causing DNA damage. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-scientists-uncover-unique-immune-cell.html

Preclinical models that recapitulate aspects of human airway disease are essential for the advancement of novel therapeutics and vaccines. In the current study published in the journal mBIO, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine report the development of a versatile human nose organoid—a laboratory representation of the cells layering the inside of the nose where the first events of a natural viral infection take place. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-human-nose-reveals-sars-cov-rsv.html

The WHO's European office on Tuesday called for increased vaccination efforts in Eastern Europe, warning that the Omicron "tidal wave" was heading eastwards. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-vaccination-efforts-eastern-europe.html

Hong Kong's leader on Tuesday said a surge of coronavirus cases is overwhelming the city's emergency resources, but defended strict measures that have been imposed. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-virus-surge-overwhelm-hong-kong.html

South Korea reported its highest number of COVID-19 deaths in a month Tuesday as U.S. health authorities advised Americans to avoid traveling to the country grappling with a fast-developing omicron surge. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-korean-covid-deaths-rests-high.html

A retrospective cohort study of patients with atrial fibrillation and diabetes found that the use of non–vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOAC) was associated with a lower risk of diabetes complications and mortality than warfarin. These findings suggest that NOAC may be a better therapeutic choice for this patient population. The study is published in Annals of Internal Medicine. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-noacs-diabetic-complications-mortality-warfarin.html

Hong Kong plans to offer COVID-19 vaccines to children as young as 3 as infections rage through the semi-autonomous Chinese city. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-hong-kong-vaccinate-year-olds-covid-.html

Hong Kong's health facilities have been overloaded by an "onslaught" of COVID-19 infections, its leader said, even as authorities cling to a "zero-COVID" policy despite an unprecedented rise in cases fuelled by the Omicron variant. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-hong-kong-leader-city-overwhelmed.html

Combining centuries-old traditional mandala coloring with cutting-edge computing and brain sensing technologies could lead to new ways of helping people achieve mindfulness. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-combining-traditional-mandala-brain-technologies.html

Bile duct cancer, also known as cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), is a rare cancer often diagnosed only at an advanced stage. A comprehensive analysis of diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic aspects of over 2,200 patients in Europe now provides a valuable knowledge base for raising awareness and managing CCA to improve outcomes. This study is reported in the Journal of Hepatology. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-cholangiocarcinoma-cca-landscape-europe-patient.html

A new study shows hotspots of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Canadian cities across four provinces, linked to occupation, income, housing and proxies for structural racism. The study, which looked at infections in 16 urban centres in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, is published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-covid-hotspots-canadian-urban-centers.html

Nearly all men see their hairline recede or a bald spot emerge at some point in their life. For those looking to slow the march of time, a new study helps sort out which hair-loss medications work best. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-bald-facts-hair-loss-men.html

Hong Kong on Saturday reported its daily record of confirmed COVID-19 cases, at 1,514. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-hong-kong-covid-cases-tightens.html

Norway on Saturday lifted its final COVID restrictions, scrapping social distancing and masks in crowded spaces despite a surge in Omicron infections. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-norway-covid-curbs-social-distancing.html

In 2017, Michel Roccati was in a motorbike accident that left his lower body completely paralysed. In 2020, he walked again, thanks to a breakthrough new spinal cord implant. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-spinal-cord-implant-paralysed-patients.html

China on Saturday said it had given "conditional" approval for Pfizer's COVID-19 drug Paxlovid to treat adults with mild to moderate illness and a high risk of developing severe disease. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-china-conditional-pfizer-covid-pill.html

Abortions in Texas fell by 60% in the first month under the most restrictive abortion law in the U.S. in decades, according to new figures that for the first time reveal a full accounting of the immediate impact. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-abortions-texas-fell-1st-month.html

For a country determined to keep out the virus that first emerged within its borders, bringing in more than 15,000 people from all corners of the world was a serious gamble. It appears to be working. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-beijing-ambitious-olympic-covid-good.html

Distribution of naloxone, a life-saving intervention that can reverse the toxic effects of an opioid overdose, must be substantially expanded across the USA, and include more community-based and pharmacy-initiated access points, in order to avert opioid overdose deaths effectively. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-substantial-life-saving-opioid-overdose-intervention.html

New research to be presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2022, Lisbon, 23-26 April) shows that, although over time the number of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies falls in both previously infected and vaccinated patients, the performance of antibodies improves only after previous infection (and not vaccination). This difference could explain why previously infected patients appear to be better protected against a new infection than those who have only been vaccinated. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-previous-covid-infection-vaccination-antibodies.html

Blockchain is the technology behind cryptocurrency and NFTs, and proponents claim it will revolutionize the health care industry. Will it be able to deliver? source https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/blockchain-healthcare?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Despite the perception that marijuana is harmless, there is some scientific evidence challenging that belief, and there are many unanswered questions about its impact on brain health, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement published today in the Association's journal Stroke. This scientific statement will be presented and discussed during a symposium at the Association's International Stroke Conference in New Orleans, today at 7 a.m. CT/ 8 a.m. ET. An American Heart Association scientific statement is an expert analysis of current research and may inform future clinical practice guidelines. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-cannabis-affect-brain-health-caution.html

Coronavirus cases continue to rise rapidly in Tonga, and tests have confirmed that the particularly contagious omicron variant is behind the isolated Pacific island nation's first community outbreak since the start of the pandemic, officials said Thursday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-tonga-virus-outbreak-rapidly-omicron.html

South Korea will begin offering Novavax Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine at hospitals, nursing homes and public health centers next week, officials said, adding another tool to fight a fast-developing omicron surge. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-south-korea-novavax-covid-vaccine.html

Essential new guidelines to design mechanical ventilators that can work in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have been proposed. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-ventilators-low-middle-income-countries.html

The European Union is cautiously welcoming a "stabilization" of the latest wave of the coronavirus pandemic but knows it must do more to help poorer nations, especially in Africa with jabs, officials said Wednesday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-eu-warily-stabilization-covid.html

Hypertension is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease and affects nearly one in two adults in the United States. An article published in Worldviews on Evidence Based Nursing outlines the roles that nurses can play to help control hypertension and prevent cardiovascular disease. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-action-emphasizes-importance-nurses-hypertension.html

Rapid weight gain is common when individuals take antipsychotic medications. A study published in Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice explored patients' experiences of weight change and preferences for managing weight. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-weight-gain-antipsychotic-medications-affect.html

In a study published by Wiley in Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, investigators could detect SARS-CoV-2 in the exhaled breaths and coughs of individuals with COVID-19. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-sars-cov-exhalations.html

In a study in Arthritis & Rheumatology of people with hand osteoarthritis, higher body mass index was associated with greater pain severity in the hands, feet, knees, and hips. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-body-mass-index-impact-pain.html

A review published in the Journal of Internal Medicine provides convincing evidence that micronutrients—including iron, selenium, zinc, copper, and coenzyme Q10—can impact the function of cardiac cells' energy-producing mitochondria to contribute to heart failure. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-micronutrient-deficiencies-heart-failure.html

Researchers at the University of Waterloo created the first computational model that simulates many variables affecting the transmission of COVID-19 to slow the spread of variants. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-ways-covid-.html

New research published in the Journal of Sleep Research has examined how sleep might be impacted by media use—such as watching movies, television, or YouTube videos; browsing the Internet; or listening to music—before bed. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-bedtime-media-detrimental.html

Chinese scientists say they have developed a new coronavirus test that is accurate as a PCR lab test but gives results within four minutes. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-chinese-scientists-highly-accurate-virus.html

A revolutionary pacemaker that re-establishes the heart's naturally irregular beat is set to be trialled in New Zealand heart patients this year, following successful animal trials. "Currently, all pacemakers pace the heart metronomically, which means a very steady, even pace. But when you record heart rate in a healthy individual, you see it is constantly on the move," says Professor Julian Paton, a lead researcher and director of Manaaki Manawa, the Centre for Heart Research at the University of Auckland. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-bionic-pacemaker-reverses-heart-failure.html

People travelling on the London Underground and similar rail systems were at a low risk of being exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19, according to computer simulations. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-covid-underground-rail-mitigations.html

In a new Annals 'Beyond the Guideline's feature, two experts debate the most appropriate test and interval for a young patient who has not yet undergone cervical cancer screening but has received HPV vaccination. All 'Beyond the Guidelines' features are based on the Department of Medicine Grand Rounds at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston and include print, video, and educational components published in Annals of Internal Medicine. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-physicians-debate-screening-strategy-cervical.html

In a study of drivers with past year alcohol and cannabis use, researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found that two in five drivers reporting alcohol and cannabis in the past year drove under the influence of alcohol, cannabis or both. Approximately one-half of the participants in each category reported this pattern. The findings are published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-drivers-past-year-alcohol-cannabis.html

Why some patients develop metastases and others do not is largely unclear. Researchers around ISTA professor Daria Siekhaus are now contributing to a better understanding of the process in certain types of cancer. They took a close look at the role of a protein called MFSD1—the mammalian relative of a protein they had previously identified as affecting cell migration in fruit flies. Therefore, first author Marko Roblek from the Siekhaus group created mouse cancer cells lacking the protein. Without the protein, cells traveled much faster, suggesting that MFSD1 prevents the cells from moving. Together with collaborators from the University of Zurich, the team tested their theory in living mice with breast, colon, and skin cancer. "In the absence of MFSD1, there was a strong increase in metastasis," Daria Siekhaus summarizes the results. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-suppressing-tumors.html

A Chinese city of 3.5 million near the border with Vietnam was on lockdown Monday after more than 70 coronavirus cases were discovered there over the past three days. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-china-city-million-vietnam-border.html

South Korea will no longer use GPS monitoring to enforce quarantines and will also end daily checkup calls to low-risk coronavirus patients as a fast-developing omicron surge overwhelms health and government workers. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-omicron-korea-gps-checkups.html

Russia is reporting a record daily count of new coronavirus infections, a tenfold spike from a month ago as the highly contagious omicron variant spreads through the country. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-russia-covid-10x-month.html

Clinicians are calling for coping and social skills training and more extra-curricular activities in schools to help prevent increasing mental health problems in children, according to a new study. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-resilience-extra-curricular-schools-mental-health.html

As many as half a million Australians are suffering from constant tinnitus, with farmers, automotive workers, transport drivers, construction workers and other trades people at the greatest risk, a national survey as part of Curtin-led research has found. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-australian-workers-ears-survey.html

A new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) shows a small increased risk of congenital abnormalities in infants exposed to opioid medications in the first trimester of pregnancy. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-slight-congenital-abnormalities-infants-exposed.html

In a recent study, investigators showed that a culturally tailored patient navigation program can improve the rate of colorectal cancer screening among Hispanic adults and potentially help eliminate historical gender disparities in such screening. The findings are published by Wiley online in Cancer. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-boost-colorectal-cancer-screening-hispanic.html

TGA is an episode of sudden and short-lived forgetting that is most common in people between 50 and 70 source https://www.webmd.com/brain/features/transient-global-amnesia-mpi?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Healthy mouth, healthy baby? For years, scientists have been exploring the link between poor oral health and giving birth too early. Now, new research presented Thursday raises the possibility that something very simple and inexpensive might make a difference: chewing sugarless gum. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-early-birth-explores-sugarless-gum.html

Oxford researchers announced Thursday the discovery of a highly virulent strain of HIV that has been lurking in the Netherlands for decades, but because of the effectiveness of modern treatments, is "no cause for alarm." source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-highly-virulent-hiv-strain-netherlands.html

In 2010, doctors treated Doug Olson's leukemia with an experimental gene therapy that transformed some of his blood cells into cancer killers. More than a decade later, there's no sign of cancer in his body. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-02-doctors-long-lasting-cell-treatment-leukemia.html