Jason Lee

People across the U.K. are dying younger as a result of austerity, with people living in the poorest areas hardest hit. A new report out today calls for urgent action and presents 40 recommendations to turn the situation around. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-devastating-austerity-health-uk.html

Researchers have come up with a system that detects gluten simply and quickly in food. The test reveals not just the presence of gluten but also its concentration – and it involves snapping a picture with your smartphone. source https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/celiac-disease/news/20220531/gluten-sensing-tech-may-change-fight-against-celiac-disease?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Belonging to one or more groups with long-standing social and economic disadvantages increases the risk of cancer diagnoses and death, according to our review of 28 cancer studies published between 2012 and 2021. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-gender-ways-identities-intersect-cancer.html

Prescription drugs are a major source of expenditure for patients in Ireland. High prices can lead to cost-related non-adherence and adverse health outcomes. Researchers at Trinity College and RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences (RCSI) investigated the variation and availability of prescription drug prices in community pharmacies in Ireland. The study is recently published in the journal Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-drug-price-variation-lack-transparency.html

A type of white blood cell previously known only as a helper in the immune system appears also to be the instigator of the body's defenses against cancerous tumors. The discovery could lead to more effective cancer immunotherapy, a promising treatment which uses the body's own immune system, rather than radiation, to attack cancer cells. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-discovery-cancer-immunotherapy.html

A major study has revealed the "global collateral damage" caused by the disruption to cardiac services from the COVID-19 pandemic.  source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-covid-toll-global-cardiac.html

Shanghai authorities say they will take some major steps Wednesday toward reopening China's largest city after a two-month COVID-19 lockdown that has throttled the national economy and largely bottled up millions of people in their homes. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-shanghai-month-covid-lockdown.html

Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a film that not only protects wounds similar to the way a bandage does, but also helps wounds to heal faster, repels bacteria, dampens inflammation, releases active pharmaceutical ingredients in a targeted manner and ultimately dissolves by itself. This is all made possible by its dedicated design and the use of mucins, molecules which occur naturally in mucous membranes. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-biomolecular-adheres-sensitive-tissue-ingredients.html

Olfactory receptors, present on the surface of sensory neurons in the nasal cavity, recognize odorant molecules and relay this information to the brain. How do these neurons manage to detect a large variability of signals and adapt to different levels of stimulation? A joint team from the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva (UNIGE) investigated the gene expression profile of these neurons in the presence or absence of odorant stimulation. The scientists discovered an unsuspected variability in these profiles depending on the expressed olfactory receptor and previous exposure to odors. These results, to be read in the journal Nature Communications, highlight a wide range of identities of olfactory neurons, and their adaptation to the surrounding environment. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-olfactory-neurons-environment.html

How Couples Maintain Love and Intimacy When One of Them Has Lupus source https://www.webmd.com/lupus/features/it-takes-two-how-couples-maintain-love-intimacy-when-one-has-lupus?src=RSS_PUBLIC

A Beijing man has landed thousands of his neighbours in quarantine after he ignored an order to stay at home and later tested positive for COVID, prompting a police investigation. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-thousands-quarantined-beijing-covid.html

More than 1 million United States youth aged 14 to 17 years old in 2017 became new daily tobacco users within two years. By 2019, more than three quarters of these youths were vaping e-cigarettes daily. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-million-youth-daily-tobacco-users.html

An analysis of excess deaths in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic shows wide variation by province and underscores the need for better and consistent data for current and future health crisis management. The article is published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-analysis-excess-deaths-covid-pandemic.html

Residents of retirement homes in Ontario have high rates of hospital-based care compared to residents in long-term care (LTC) facilities and to people living in the community, found new research published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-ontario-home-residences-higher-hospital.html

Spraying a cow with pesticides, health workers target blood-sucking ticks at the heart of Iraq's worst detected outbreak of a fever that causes people to bleed to death. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-deadly-nose-bleed-fever-iraq-cases.html

Health officials in Mexico confirmed Saturday the country's first known case of monkeypox, in a 50-year-old US resident being treated in Mexico City. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-mexico-monkeypox-case.html

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and other top officials discussed revising stringent anti-epidemic restrictions during a meeting Sunday, state media reported, as they maintained a widely disputed claim that the country's first COVID-19 outbreak is slowing. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-korea-soften-curbs-covid.html

Shoppers returned to the malls of Beijing on Sunday as the Chinese capital relaxed pandemic restrictions after declaring a small but persistent COVID-19 outbreak effectively under control. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-beijing-shanghai-ease-covid-restrictions.html

The days of heart transplant survivors undergoing invasive biopsies could soon be over after a new MRI technique has proven to be safe and effective; reducing complications and hospital admissions. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-virtual-biopsy-heart-transplant.html

Physical therapy can fend off age-related changes and prevent injury and pain. source https://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/features/physical-therapy-benefits-for-seniors?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Trying to tell whether it's a boy or girl? Here's what works -- and what doesn't. source https://www.webmd.com/baby/features/predicting-baby-gender?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Argentina reported two cases of the monkeypox virus on Friday in men who had recently arrived from Spain, marking the first time the presence of the virus has been confirmed in Latin America during this latest outbreak. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-argentina-cases-monkeypox.html

Living with lupus is unpredictable, and you must learn how to adjust to a chronic illness. source https://www.webmd.com/lupus/features/living-with-lupus-one-day-you-can-feel-fantastic-next-day-you-cant-move?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Tumors from desmoplastic melanoma, a rare cancer most commonly found on the head or neck, can often be shrunk significantly before surgery by an immunotherapy known as PD-1 blockade, a result that may reduce the need for disfiguring surgery and radiation. These are the findings of a small clinical trial in this disease by researchers from SWOG Cancer Research Network, a cancer clinical trials group funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-desmoplastic-melanoma-pd-blockade-immunotherapy.html

A team of researchers from SWOG Cancer Research Network, a cancer clinical trials group funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), have shown that they can use methylation patterns in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) extracted from blood samples to predict which patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer are likely to benefit from chemotherapy before their surgery. In the future, such a biomarker from a blood sample, or "liquid biopsy," might save some patients from having to undergo a difficult chemotherapy regimen that would provide them little benefit. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-cell-free-dna-methylation-chemo-benefit.html

The largest U.S. report of elective fertility preservation outcomes to date found that 70 percent of women who froze eggs when they were younger than 38—and thawed at least 20 eggs at a later date—had a baby. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-frozen-eggs-efficient-option-vitro.html

Drinking a small amount of whey protein before meals has been shown to help people with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugars. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-protein-supplement-diabetes.html

Mothers hosting playdates near cordoned-off parks, mahjong maestros huddled in streets and youngsters slugging night-time beers on barricaded sidewalks—Beijingers are making the most of the small spaces available as China's coronavirus controls close in. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-pandemic-wont-beijingers-skirting-covid.html

Once a state legalizes recreational cannabis, residents are more likely to start using it, including those too young to do so legally, report researchers at University of California San Diego. The findings, published online in the May 26, 2022 issue of Addiction, counter claims that legalization does not increase cannabis use, particularly among youth. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-young-people-recreational-cannabis-illegally.html

For the first time, scientists have found that brain differences in the visual brain systems of infants who later are diagnosed with autism are associated with inherited genetic factors. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-visual-brain-implicated-infants-autism.html

UCLA researchers have taken the initial step in identifying what may be an effective way to detect gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) earlier in pregnancy, potentially improving diagnosis and treatment for what is the most common disorder of pregnancy. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-biomarker-panel-gestational-diabetes-early.html

Hypomethylating agents (HMA) are currently used as a first-line treatment for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), and increasingly in other diseases, but their mechanism of action is not clear. HMAs may affect many genes and could potentially activate an oncogene—a gene that contributes to the development of cancer—but this has not been clearly demonstrated to date. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-treatment-myelodysplastic-syndrome-hypomethylating-agents.html

In the United States, 2.3 to 3.5 million people experience homelessness every year. While homelessness is often considered an urban issue, it's a problem that is growing in rural areas, where substance use can serve as a catalyst for homelessness. New research published in PLOS Water and led by investigators at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University highlights the substantial barriers to accessing water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services among people experiencing homelessness in rural areas. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-people-experiencing-homelessness-rural-areas.html

Data from a new USC study shows a significant increase in the risk of severe outcomes for COVID-19 patients exposed to fine particles (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), two common (and correlated) components of ambient air pollution in Southern California. Produced by ground and air traffic, industrial burning and other sources, these air pollutants can exacerbate the effects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus over both the short and long term. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-exposure-air-pollution-worsen-patient.html

Women tell their stories about lupus and seek understanding that is sometimes hard to find from co-workers, classmates, and friends. source https://www.webmd.com/lupus/features/support-system-3-sisters-nonprofit-champions-lupus-warriors?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Researchers who study elder abuse have long believed that when older adults face loneliness or relationship problems, they are more likely to fall victim to monetary scams and exploitation. But the field has only studied the link retrospectively, looking back in time to see whether a connection exists, and has yet to establish a firm link. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-social-dissatisfaction-vulnerability-financial-exploitation.html

Coronavirus survivors have twice the risk of developing dangerous blood clots that travel to their lungs compared to people who weren't infected, as well double the chance of respiratory symptoms, a large new study said Tuesday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-blood-clots-lung-covid-survivors.html

A new study in the Annals of Family Medicine examines usage data from a provincial electronic consultation (eConsult) service in Ontario, Canada, which facilitates rapid and secure communications between primary care physicians and subspecialists. The research team sought to analyze eConsult's impact on primary care physicians' access to subspecialty advice, health system costs, and whether there was a decreased need for in-person visits. They also identified barriers to access and uptake over a two-year period. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-electronic-primary-physicians-access-subspecialty.html

The Best Emollients for Eczema trial has found that no one type of moisturiser is better than another.  This study, the first in the world to directly compare different types of moisturisers, highlights the importance of patient education and choice when deciding which moisturisers to use for children with eczema.  The results from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded study are published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health and British Journal of General Practice today. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-moisturiser-children-eczema.html

Infusions of the local anesthetic lidocaine may provide some pain relief to people with chronic migraine that does not respond to other treatments, reports a study in the journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-lidocaine-infusions-relieve-pain-unresponsive.html

New research published in the online journal BMJ Open suggests that men with prostate cancer have a 50% higher risk of developing serious and potentially fatal blood clots during the five years after their cancer diagnosis compared with men of the same age without prostate cancer. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-men-prostate-cancer-higher-blood.html

Use of electronic (e) cigarettes appears to lead to substantially higher costs and excess use of healthcare services in the USA, suggests new research published in the journal Tobacco Control. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-e-cigarettes-higher-health.html

Some common air pollutants, such as ground-level ozone, are associated with more severe outcomes after SARS-CoV-2 infection, including admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), according to new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) . source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-air-pollution-severe-covid-.html

Despite the legalization of cannabis sales in Canada and many U.S. states, an illegal market still exists. A new study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs suggests that higher prices and inconvenience associated with legal sources may be barriers that encourage consumers to seek out illegal providers instead. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-price-convenience-consumers-cannabis-illegal.html

The COVID-19 pandemic is "most certainly not over," the head of the World Health Organization warned Sunday, despite a decline in reported cases since the peak of the omicron wave. He told governments that "we lower our guard at our peril." source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-chief-covid-pandemic.html

A US military plane bringing several tons of much-needed baby formula from Germany landed Sunday at an airport in Indiana as authorities scramble to address a critical shortage. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-flight-tons-baby-formula-germany.html

Social media influencers speak candidly about what it’s like to hook up and couple up while coping with eczema source https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/eczema/features/3-influencers-get-real-about-dating-with-chronic-skin-condition?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Health officials remain perplexed by mysterious cases of severe liver damage in hundreds of young children around the world. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-theories-emerge-mysterious-liver-illnesses.html

When it comes to picking a summer camp for kids, logistics top the checklist for most parents, a new national poll suggests. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-national-poll-safety-mind-parents.html

Liver transplants from drug overdose donors rose significantly in the pandemic's first year, helping keep the number of liver transplants in the U.S. stable despite COVID-19 disruptions, according to a study to be presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2022. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-liver-transplants-drug-overdose-deaths.html

Spain on Saturday eased Covid entry rules for unvaccinated tourists from outside the European Union, in a boost for the key tourism sector ahead of the peak summer holidays. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-spain-eases-covid-entry-unvaccinated.html

Patients who use cannabis required higher levels of sedation during gastric endoscopies than non-users, according to research to be presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2022. As cannabis is legalized in more places and usage rises, clinicians should be aware of patients' habits and prepare themselves and their patients for increased sedation and accompanying risks, researchers said. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-cannabis-users-require-sedation-endoscopy.html

Mounjaro (tirzepatide) injection was approved as an addition to diet and exercise to improve blood glucose control in adults with type 2 diabetes, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced May 13. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-mounjaro-blood-glucose-diabetes.html

A top European health official warned Friday that cases of the rare monkeypox virus could accelerate in the coming months, as the virus spread across Europe. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-europe-health-monkeypox-cases.html

Thousands of COVID-negative Beijing residents were forcibly relocated to quarantine hotels overnight due to a handful of infections, as the capital begins to take more extreme control measures resembling virus-hit Shanghai. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-thousands-covid-negative-beijing-residents-quarantine.html

Alcoholism can be a difficult condition to diagnose, especially in cases where individuals' drinking habits are not noticed and physical symptoms have not yet manifested. In a new study, published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, co-author H. Andrew Schwartz, Ph.D., of the Department of Computer Science at Stony Brook University, and colleagues determined that the language people used in Facebook posts can identify those at risk for hazardous drinking habits and alcohol use disorders. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-facebook-reveal-individuals-excessive.html

One in five multi-drug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) cases in children under the age of 15 could be averted every year by household contact management, according to a new modeling study published in The Lancet Global Health. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-multi-drug-resistant-tuberculosis-cases-children-averted.html

The miseducation of algorithms is a critical problem; when artificial intelligence mirrors unconscious thoughts, racism, and biases of the humans who generated these algorithms, it can lead to serious harm. Computer programs, for example, have wrongly flagged Black defendants as twice as likely to reoffend as someone who's white. When an AI used cost as a proxy for health needs, it falsely named Black patients as healthier than equally sick white ones, as less money was spent on them. Even AI used to write a play relied on using harmful stereotypes for casting. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-artificial-intelligence-patients-medical-images.html

A team from the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, led by associate professor Dr. Zachary Gagnon and graduate student Md Nazibul Islam, has developed a novel way to fabricate diagnostic devices using paper-based microfluidics that can be rapidly prototyped and scaled for manufacturing. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-paper-based-microfluidics-pathway-rapid-low-cost.html

Northwestern Medicine investigators have discovered a potential therapeutic target for the most common type of pancreatic cancer, according to a study published in Developmental Cell. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-therapeutic-common-pancreatic-cancer.html

France, Belgium and Germany on Friday reported their first cases of monkeypox, joining several other European and North American nations in detecting the disease, endemic in parts of Africa. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-france-germany-belgium-monkeypox-cases.html

Kids ages 5 to 11 should get a booster dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, advisers to the U.S. government said Thursday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-cdc-urges-pfizer-booster-children.html

University of Calgary researchers have shown probiotic supplements can help form a healthy microbiome in the gut of the tiniest infants who are born without a fully formed gut microbiome. The study found that a specific mix (five species) of probiotic supplement accelerated the maturation of the microbiome into a term-like state and reduced intestinal inflammation in extremely preterm infants. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-probiotic-supplement-mature-microbiome-extremely.html

A savvy black entrepreneur guides you on an eczema-friendly shopping spree. source https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/eczema/features/savvy-black-entrepreneur-guides-eczema-friendly-clothes-creams-cosmetics?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Loma Linda University Health researchers say high consumption of ultra-processed foods and, separately, high consumption of red meat may be important mortality indicators. Their recently published study adds to a growing body of knowledge about how ultra-processed foods and red meat impact human health and longevity. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-associates-higher-mortality-lots-ultra-processed.html

Adding cranberries to your diet could help improve memory and brain function, and lower 'bad' cholesterol—according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UK). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-cranberries-memory-ward-dementia.html

Injured women are half as likely as men to receive the life-saving drug tranexamic acid (TXA) even though the treatment is equally effective regardless of sex, according to new research in the British Journal of Anaesthesia. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-women-men-life-saving-drug.html

A test for the common blood cancer multiple myeloma also holds clear clues that the patient has one of the most uncommon and deadly forms of this cancer, investigators say. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-standard-multiple-myeloma-clues-rare.html

New findings from researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and published today in the journal Nature Communications report the results of using a comprehensive sequencing approach on 114 pediatric, adolescent, and young adult patients with solid tumors. The researchers found that their approach identified at least one additional cancer-associated oncogenic variant in 54% of patients (62 out of 114), compared with the current standard genetic sequencing test MSK-IMPACT. Of these, 33 patients had one or more findings that were of direct clinical or potentially actionable relevance. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-genomic-aims-benefit-children-young.html

Health screening and genetic tests might identify more than 1 million U.S. adults who carry a gene for familial hypercholesterolemia, a common genetic disorder that causes elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, known as "bad cholesterol," which may lead to premature heart attack or death, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-health-screening-genetic-people-premature.html

North Korea said Wednesday more than a million people have already recovered from suspected COVID-19 just a week after disclosing an outbreak it appears to be trying to manage in isolation as global experts express deep concern about the public health threat. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-north-korea-hails-recovery.html

In an analysis of reviews published between 2009 and 2020 that assessed therapeutic or educational interventions for very young children with or at high likelihood for autism, researchers found that certain types of interventions—called naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions, developmental interventions, and behavioral interventions—can provide benefits, but there were significant limitations in the quality of the evidence and many differences in how studies were performed. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-early-therapies-young-children-athigh.html

For the first time, researchers have shown what happens to the brain when a person receives a depression treatment known as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). The results were published today in the American Journal of Psychiatry. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-brain-depression-treatment.html

A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society indicates that a 12-month home-based progressive and supervised exercise program can help to improve functioning and physical performance after patients undergo hip fracture surgery. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-home-based-benefit-patients-hip-fracture.html

A whole town celebrated in 2020 when, early in the coronavirus pandemic, Thomasville Regional Medical Center opened, offering state-of-the-art medicine that was previously unavailable in a poor, isolated part of Alabama. The timing for the ribbon-cutting seemed perfect: New treatment options would be available in an underserved area just as a global health crisis was unfolding. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-hospitals-fiscal-crisis-covid-relief.html

North Korea on Tuesday reported another large jump in illnesses believed to be COVID-19 and encouraged good health habits, as a mass outbreak spreads through its unvaccinated population and military officers were deployed to distribute medicine. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-north-korea-fever-surge-covid-.html

Researchers from the Centenary Institute and the University of Technology Sydney have published the first study showing why people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-world-first-reveals-people-copd-susceptible.html

Instead of relying on the cell's repair mechanisms, the vaccinia virus MacGyvers a tool for DNA repair from one that it already uses to copy DNA, reports a team of researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in the Journal of Virology. Blocking that tool—an enzyme known as polymerase—at once disrupts the virus's ability to copy and to repair DNA, exposing an Achilles' heel that could be targeted with a therapeutic. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-vaccinia-virus-macgyvers-makeshift-tool.html

A new paper in Family Practice, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that receiving hormone replacement therapy within six months of a recorded diagnosis of COVID-19 was associated with a reduction in mortality from the disease. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-estrogen-treatment-covid-deaths.html

Three women with eczema describe how they combat nighttime flare-ups. source https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/eczema/features/seven-hour-itch-women-eczema-combat-nighttime-flares?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Two moms reveal the great lengths they went to in their determination to give their children relief and good health. source https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/eczema/features/mothers-love-challenges-parenting-child-eczema?src=RSS_PUBLIC

The profound health and economic impact of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine during its first year of rollout in the US is described in detail in a new study in the peer-reviewed Journal of Medical Economics. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-hospitalizations-deaths-pfizer-biontech-covid-vaccine.html

South Africa is experiencing a surge of new COVID-19 cases driven by two omicron sub-variants, according to health experts. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-south-africa-surge-covid-versions.html

A nurse-led blood pressure program that included patient education and support for management of high blood pressure resulted in participants taking their blood pressure medication regularly and having fewer episodes of uncontrolled high blood pressure, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions 2022. The meeting will be held Friday and Saturday, May 13-14, 2022, in Reston, Virginia, and features the latest research focused on the quality of cardiovascular medical care and patient outcomes in the treatment and prevention of heart disease and stroke. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-blood-pressure-black-hispanic-adults.html

Immunotherapy after surgery helped reduce cancer recurrence in patients with urothelial cancer of the bladder or other sites in the urinary tract that had invaded the muscle and therefore posed a high risk for recurrence, according to clinical trial results presented at the American Urological Association (AUA) annual meeting in May. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-immunotherapy-bladder-cancer-surgery-excellent.html

Sentiments toward COVID-19 vaccines, whether positive or negative, previews subsequent vaccination rates, finds a study of related Twitter posts. The results offer new insights into the influence of social media on public health measures. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-online-sentiment-vaccines-previews-vaccination.html

Young adults with higher than normal blood sugar levels that signal prediabetes were more likely to be hospitalized for heart attack compared to their peers with normal blood sugar levels, according to in preliminary research to be presented at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions 2022. The meeting will be held Friday and Saturday, May 13-14, 2022, in Reston, Virginia, and features the latest research focused on the quality of cardiovascular medical care and patient outcomes in the treatment and prevention of heart disease and stroke. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-prediabetes-linked-higher-heart-young.html

Four seniors at the U.S. Air Force Academy may not be allowed to graduate May 25 because they have refused to take a COVID-19 vaccine. source https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/covid-19-vaccine/news/20220514/four-air-force-cadets-may-not-graduate-over-vaccine-refusal?src=RSS_PUBLIC

North Korea on Saturday reported 21 new deaths and 174,440 more people with fever symptoms as the country scrambles to slow the spread of COVID-19 across its unvaccinated population. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-north-korea-deaths-covid-.html

The pandemic put a spotlight on mental health and burnout within health care professions, but emerging research reveals these issues have been affecting health care workers for years, with suicide rates notably high among physicians and nurses. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-pharmacists-higher-suicide-population.html

Leicester researchers are working with NHS partners in the East of England to lead the way in delivering the NHS' goal of halving the amount of opioids prescribed for non-cancer pain by 2024. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-toolkit-tackle-potentially-deadly-opioid.html

North Korea confirmed its first COVID-19 death on Friday, saying fever was spreading "explosively" nationwide and tens of thousands of people were being isolated after falling sick. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-north-korea-covid-death-explosive.html

An unexpected trick in cancer's playbook may fool an important component of our immune systems into knocking down our natural defenses against solid tumors. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-solid-tumors-cell-shield-immune.html

The long-term survival of adolescent and young adult (AYA) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survivors was shorter than that of the general population, and the differences persisted for up to 30 years after diagnosis, according to results published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-adolescent-young-adult-leukemia-survivors.html

Adults aged 45 to 64 experienced a nearly doubled rate of esophageal cancer and a 50 percent increase in the precancerous condition Barrett's esophagus between 2012 and 2019, according to a database analysis of roughly five million patients to be presented at Digestive Disease Week 2022. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-alarming-esophageal-cancer-barrett-esophagus.html

Patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) were six times more likely to have had gallstone disease within the year prior to diagnosis than non-cancer patients, suggesting gallstones could be a warning sign for this aggressive and deadly cancer, according to research to be presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2022. PDAC is the most common pancreatic cancer, accounting for more than 90% of cases, and it is often fatal because it tends to be diagnosed in late stages. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-gallstone-disease-shown-strong-predictor.html

Those with a normal body mass index (BMI) with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are more likely to have cardiovascular disease than those who are overweight or living with obesity, according to research selected for presentation at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2022. Roughly 25 percent of adults in the U.S. have NAFLD, a term for various conditions of the liver that affect those who drink little to no alcohol. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-cardiovascular-disease-people-nafld-overweight.html

Maternal obesity impairs heart health and function of the fetus according to a new study in mice. The study, published in The Journal of Physiology found that maternal obesity causes molecular changes in the heart of the fetus and alters expression of genes related to nutrient metabolism, which greatly increases offspring's risk of cardiac problems in later life. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-obesity-pregnancy-lifelong-cardiovascular-disease.html

A new study published today in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC), suggests that health care facilities can significantly reduce the incidence of hospital-onset Clostridioides difficile infection (HO-CDI) by establishing interprofessional teams to implement selected, evidence-based infection-prevention interventions. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-interprofessional-collaboration-significant-sustained-reduction.html

An algorithm that can speed up by years the ability to identify from among thousands of possibilities, two or more drugs that work synergistically against a problem like cancer or a viral infection has been developed by bioinformatics experts. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-algorithm-cancer-drugs-synergistically.html

A new online resource will help healthcare professionals and practices improve care for people whose alcohol consumption may be impacting their health. Recognizing alcohol's contribution to over 200 diseases and conditions will improve clinicians' ability to serve their patients. The Healthcare Professional's Core Resource on Alcohol was developed by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-niaaa-site-clinicians-alcohol-patient.html

Three keys to managing your eczema at the gym and then heading off to a productive and itch-free workday. source https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/eczema/features/minimize-eczema-flare-ups-gym-job?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Evidence continues to gather that "long COVID," that is, continued negative health impacts months after apparent recovery from severe COVID-19, is an important risk for some patients. For example, researchers from the University of Florida Gainesville showed last December that hospitalized patients who seemingly recovered from severe COVID-19 run more than double the risk of dying within the next year, compared to people who experienced only mild or moderate symptoms and who had not been hospitalized, or who never caught the illness. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-common-steroids-covid-recovery-death.html

People get tattoos to remember an event or a person, to make a statement, or simply as an aesthetic embellishment. But imagine a tattoo that could be functional—telling you how much oxygen you are using when exercising, measuring your blood glucose level at any time of day, or monitoring a number of different blood components or exposure to environmental toxins. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-scientists-tattoo-like-sensors-reveal-blood.html

The number of gun deaths in the United States underwent an "historic" increase in 2020, possibly due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and poverty, according to a report by health authorities published Tuesday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-gun-deaths-soared-pandemic-cdc.html

The WHO said Tuesday that 348 probable cases of hepatitis of unknown origin had been identified, as studies into the potential role of adenovirus and COVID-19 infection gather pace. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-covid-role-child-hepatitis-mystery.html

The loss of estrogen during the menopause transition can cause a number of physical changes and health concerns—from thinning hair and atrophied vaginal mucous membranes to hot flashes and increased risk for osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. A new study suggests that it may also increase jaw pain resulting from temporomandibular disorder (TMD). Study results are published online today in Menopause. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-temporomandibular-disorder-induced-pain-worsen-late.html

Poor sleep, difficulty moving and injuries from hitting something accidentally are just some of the challenges faced by suffers of often-painful involuntary muscle spasms. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-calming-spinal-cords-relief-muscle.html

Idioms and proverbs about the importance of maintaining good health span the ages. Many emphasize how closely health is tied to happiness and the opportunity to live a fulfilling and enjoyable life. A study published this month in Age and Ageing by The Japan Collaborate Cohort (JACC) Study group at Osaka University assessed the impact of modifying lifestyle behaviors on life expectancy from middle age onwards. The researchers found that adopting five or more healthy lifestyle behaviors increased life expectancy even for individuals greater than 80 years of age, and importantly, also for those with chronic conditions. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-ownership-health-lifespan.html

For U.S. health systems emerging from the pandemic, the promise of patient-centered care is within reach, according to the 2022 Health Systems' Climate Study. The study finds that health systems are shifting from the system-centered mindset—which left many unprepared to meet patient needs during the pandemic—to a patient-focused approach that will enable them to improve care quality and the patient experience while lowering costs. Although health systems are up for patient-centered care, a lot of miles to go before it is implemented. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-health-future-proof-post-pandemic.html

It has been long recognized that in Western countries, children are more likely to become overweight or obese over the summer. Causes of this include changes in kids' physical activity and diet over during the summer period, including the summer holidays. But in a new study in Frontiers in Physiology, scientists from the US show that this "obesogenicity" of summers has another unexpected cause: children grow faster over the school year than over the summer. And because Body Mass Index (BMI) is the ratio of body weight in kg and height in meters squared, faster vertical growth during the school leads to increased BMI during summers. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-children-faster-school-year-summer.html

COVID-19 took us by surprise, and the exceptional situation of the first lockdown required great capacities of adaptation, in particular for our brains. A study conducted at the Paris Brain Institute (Inserm/CNRS/Sorbonne University/AP-HP) has just revealed how our creativity evolved during this periods and the factors that may have influenced it. Despite the lockdown, our creativity increased, and focused on activities mainly related to the issues of the situation. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-lockdown-covid-pandemic-creativity.html

A new study is the first to investigate brain connectivity patterns at rest in veterans with both chronic pain and trauma, finding three unique brain subtypes potentially indicating high, medium, and low susceptibility to pain and trauma symptoms. The findings provide an objective measurement of pain and trauma susceptibility and could pave the way for personalized treatments and new therapies based on neural connectivity patterns. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-discovery-brains-army-veterans-chronic.html

A national study that enrolled a highly diverse group of pregnant women over 12 years found rising exposure to chemicals from plastics and pesticides that may be harmful to development. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-pregnant-women-exposure-chemicals-plastics.html

Investing in and improving research, awareness and equity in women's heart health are critical for the health and well-being of women, according to a new Presidential Advisory from the American Heart Association, published today in the Association's flagship journal Circulation. The advisory is a call to action to identify and remove barriers to health care access, quality and equity for women. "We are losing ground on key indicators of cardiovascular health among women, including blood pressure control, weight management and diabetes," says Véronique L. Roger, M.D., M.P.H., FAHA, the advisory committee's corresponding author and a senior investigator at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-investment-action-urged-access-quality.html

Cholera has killed one child and infected 30 people in South Sudan, the first resurgence of the illness in nearly five years, health officials said late Saturday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-cholera-outbreak-ssudan.html

Findings from a seven-year research project suggests that there could be a new approach to treating one of the most common and devasting forms of brain cancer in adults—Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-approach-treatment-devastating-brain-tumors.html

One in 3 people who drowned in Canada had a pre-existing medical condition that contributed to the death in almost half the cases, according to new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-people-canada-chronic-health-condition.html