COVID
CDC Panel
Leaves J&J Pause in Place for at Least a Week: On Tuesday, the CDC and the FDA recommended that Johnson
& Johnson vaccinations be paused after reports of blood clots in
six patients among the more than 7 million people who had received the Johnson
& Johnson vaccine in the United States. The following day, the CDC’s
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices decided it did not have adequate
information to change the current paused status of the J & J vaccine.
Several
Vaccine Sites Pause Johnson & Johnson Shot After Adverse Reactions: Three vaccination sites in North
Carolina closed temporarily after several people had immediate reactions. Sites
in Colorado, Georgia, and Iowa also paused after multiple people reported
adverse reactions. Nausea, fainting, dizziness, light headedness and rapid
breathing. The CDC investigated the vaccine lots and hasn't found any reason
for concern. The
Associated Press.
COVID-19 Can
Cause Atypical Thyroid Inflammation:
Individuals who experience inflammation of the thyroid gland during acute
COVID-19 illness may still have subacute thyroiditis. months later even if
thyroid function has normalized, new research suggests. Furthermore, the
thyroiditis eems to be different from thyroid inflammation caused by other
viruses. ENDO 2021
meeting
Progesterone
Eases Severe COVID-19 in Hospitalized Men: Women hospitalized with severe COVID-19
generally do better than men, which led to the notion that perhaps men
hospitalized for COVID-19 could be treated with female hormones. This concept
has shown "very encouraging" results in a single-center, US pilot
study that randomized 42 men hospitalized for severe COVID-19. Those who
received up to 5 days of treatment with injected progesterone had significantly
better outcomes than those who received standard of care, researchers report
in Chest.
Flu Shot Associated With Fewer, Less Severe COVID Cases: People who received a flu shot last flu
season were significantly less likely to test positive for a COVID-19 infection
when the pandemic hit, according to a new study. And those who did test
positive for COVID-19 had fewer complications if they received their flu shot.
American Journal of Infection Control
Evidence
supports COVID-19 hearing loss link:
Hearing loss and other auditory problems are strongly associated with COVID-19,
according to a systematic review of research evidence. International Journal of Audiology,
2021
Clinical
Trials Planned for Oral COVID Vaccine:
A coronavirus vaccine that could be taken as a pill may enter clinical trials
in the second quarter of 2021. The oral vaccine is being developed by Oravax
Medical, a new joint venture of the Israeli-American company Oramed and
the Indian company Premas Biotech, Business Insider reported.
Neurologic
Symptoms Frequent in Nonhospitalized COVID Long-Haulers: Cognitive dysfunction tops the list of
neurologic complaints in long-haul COVID-19 patients whose illness wasn't
severe enough for them to be hospitalized, but it isn't the only problem, new
research shows. Researchers who tracked 100 COVID-19 long-haul, nonhospitalized
patients from May to November found 85% reported four or more neurologic
symptoms. published
online Annals of
Clinical and Translational Neurology.
Vitamin D
May Protect Against COVID-19, Especially in Blacks: Higher levels of Vitamin D than
traditionally considered sufficient may help prevent COVID-19 infection —
particularly in Black patients, shows a new single-center, retrospective study
looking at the role of vitamin D in prevention of infection. The study,
published recently in JAMA
Network Open, notes
that expert opinion varies as to what "sufficient" levels of vitamin
D are, some define this as 30 ng/mL, while others cite 40 ng/mL or greater. Results
show: "Risk of positive COVID-19 test results decreased significantly with
increased vitamin D level of 30 ng/mL or greater when measured as a continuous
variable."
Women in
40s, 50s Who Survive COVID More Likely to Suffer Persistent Problems: UK Studies: Women in their 40s and 50s
appear more at risk of long-term problems following discharge from hospital
after COVID-19, with many suffering months of persistent symptoms such as
fatigue, breathlessness and brain fog, two UK studies found. Medscape
COVID
Vaccine Found Highly Effective in Real-World US Study: The U.S government's first look at the
real-world use of COVID-19 vaccines found their effectiveness was nearly as
robust as it was in controlled studies. The two vaccines available since
December — Pfizer and Moderna — were 90% effective after two doses, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday. In testing, the vaccines
were about 95% effective in preventing COVID-19. Medscape
Pfizer Asks
FDA to Extend Use of COVID Vaccine to Ages 12–15: The request follows the March 31 announcement
of a successful phase 3 deescalation study involving 2260 children and
adolescents aged 12 to 15.
Fauci Thanks US Health Workers for Sacrifices but Admits PPE Shortages Drove Up Death Toll: Dr. Anthony Fauci thanked America's
health care workers, who "every single day put themselves at risk"
during the pandemic, even as he acknowledged that PPE shortages had contributed
to the deaths of more than 3,600 of them. Medscape
Clinical Trials Mix Vaccine Types to Boost COVID Protection: Combining different vaccine platforms — known as a
heterologous prime-boost strategy — likely enhances immunity, according to Ross
Kedl, PhD, from the University of Colorado in Aurora.The strategy has been
used in animal studies for decades, "and it is well known that this
promotes a much better immune response than when immunizing with the same
vaccine twice," Medscape
Skin
Reactions to COVID Vaccines Aren't Dangerous, Study Says: The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna
coronavirus vaccines can cause several kinds of skin reactions, but these
reactions go away quickly and aren't dangerous, according to a study published
in the Journal
of the American Academy of Dermatology.
'Beyond a
Reasonable Doubt': COVID-19 Brain Health Fallout Is Real, Severe: In what is purported to be the largest
study of its kind to-date, results showed that among 236,379 COVID-19 patients,
one third were diagnosed with at least one of 14 psychiatric or neurologic
disorders within a 6-month span. published
online April 6 in The
Lancet Psychiatry.
UK Variant
Now the Dominant COVID-19 Strain In US: The highly transmissible and deadly U.K. coronavirus strain,
B.1.1.7, is now the most common form of COVID-19 in the United States, said
Rochelle Walensky, MD, director of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Medscape
Antibody
Persistence through 6 Months after the Second Dose of Moderna:
According
to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine,
antibodies from the Moderna vaccine remained high among 33 adults of varying
ages six months after the second dose. Although the study only looked at
Moderna's vaccine, Fauci said "there's every reason to believe that
similar results will be seen with the Pfizer as well as the J&J."
Pfizer
COVID-19 Vaccine Protects for 6 Months or More: The Pfizer/BioNTech
COVID-19 vaccine affords at least 6 months of protection after the second dose,
the companies. Furthermore, data released today
show that the vaccine affords 100% protection against severe COVID-19, as
defined by the US Centers for Disease Control and Protection. The vaccine was
likewise effective in preventing COVID-19 in South Africa, where the variant of
concern B.1.351 was first identified. Medscape https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/948575
Pfizer,
Moderna Say Booster Shots Probably Needed: People who've received both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech
or Moderna coronavirus vaccines will probably need a booster shot this year,
top executives for those two pharmaceutical companies said this week. Medscape
COVID-19 Third Leading Cause of US Deaths in 2020 After Heart Disease, Cancer: COVID-19 was the primary or
contributing cause of 378,048 deaths in the United States last year, with a
particularly high toll among the elderly, according to two reports released in
the U.S.
Risk for
Erectile Dysfunction (ED) Sixfold Higher in Men With COVID-19: Covid increases the risk of developing
ED and is also a marker of increased susceptibility to the infection. The study
was published
on 20 March in Andrology
The Pandemic
is Making Periods Unbearable for Some Women: Following a recent article in The
Guardian, the internet erupted with tales of periods gone awry. The
stress and loss of normalcy over the last year appears to have altered cycles
and amplified the premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms many women experience.
And after the piece published, many responded on social media with the same
sentiment: "So, it's not just me?"
Post-COVID
Wave Ahead of Death, Disability From Chronic Disease: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,
the United States will likely face a tsunami of death and disability from
common chronic diseases that will affect society for decades, Robert Califf,
MD, former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), writes in
an article published
today in Circulation.
Keep Your COVID-19 Vaccine Card Safe But Don’t Laminate It. Here’s Why. Healthline
Corticosteroid
Budesonide 'Shortens COVID-19 Recovery Time': Treatment with the inhaled
corticosteroid budesonide
was found to shorten recovery time from COVID-19 in those at risk of adverse
outcomes by a median of 3 days, preliminary trial results showed. The results
come from the Platform Randomised
Trial of Interventions against COVID-19 in Older People (PRINCIPLE) trial
by the University of Oxford.
More
Exercise Linked to Lower Chance of Severe COVID-19: People who exercised regularly and then
tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were less likely to experience more severe
COVID-19 outcomes, a new study shows. Compared with the most active people in
the study — those who exercised 150 minutes or more every week — patients with
COVID-19 who were "consistently inactive" were 226% more likely to be
hospitalized, 173% more likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU),
and 149% more likely to die in the study. The study
was published online April 13 in the British
Journal of Sports Medicine.
PAIN
Total knee
replacement a cost-effective treatment for patients with knee osteoarthritis: Knee osteoarthritis is a painful
condition that affects over 14 million U.S. adults, many of whom have extreme
obesity, defined by body mass index (BMI) greater than 40kg/m2. Total knee
replacement (TKR) is often recommended to treat advanced knee osteoarthritis,
but surgeons may be hesitant to operate on patients with extreme obesity due to
concerns about the increased risks of tissue infection, poor wound healing and
higher risk of implant failure. Using an established, validated and widely
published computer simulation called the Osteoarthritis Policy (OAPol) Model,
researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital, together with collaborators from
Yale and Boston University Schools of Medicine, quantified the tradeoff between
the benefits and adverse events, taking into consideration costs of forgoing
versus pursuing TKR. They found that across older and younger age groups, TKR
is a cost-effective treatment for these patients. Annals of Internal Medicine
New proposal for the management of low back pain with a proprioceptive approach: Low back pain in the elderly is the
result of poor 'proprioception,' or the body's ability to perceive its own
position in space, caused by a deterioration of sensory receptors in their
muscles called proprioceptors. In a new study, researchers demonstrate a
protocol for the management of low back pain by diagnosing and activating
impaired proprioceptors with localized vibratory stimulations, crowning an
approach that can enable elderly people to lead better lives. Electronics, 2021
Doubling
down on headache pain:
It's not uncommon for people who experience a concussion to have moderate to
severe headaches in the weeks after the injury. A new study has found a
combination of two drugs, Metoclopramide and Diphenhydramine, both common
anti-nausea medications, given intravenously in the emergency room may relieve
those headaches better than a placebo. Neurology
COMPLEMENTARY & ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
Transcendental
Meditation effective in reducing PTSD, sleep problems, depression symptoms: Veterans with PTSD who practiced the
Transcendental Meditation technique showed significant reductions in PTSD
symptom severity, according to a new study published today in Journal of Traumatic Stress
Fighting dementia with play: A
clinical study carried out in Belgium has now shown for the first time that
cognitive motor training improves both the cognitive and physical skills of
significantly impaired dementia patients. A fitness game, known as
"Exergame," developed by the ETH spin-off Dividat was used in the
study. Alzheimer's Research
& Therapy,
Early cannabis use linked to heart disease:
Smoking cannabis when you're young may increase your risk of developing heart
disease later, according to a recent study. Journal
of Applied Physiology
FDA ACTION
• Issued an
emergency use authorization (EUA) for a screening device that identifies
biomarkers that may indicate asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in people ages 5
and older.
• Authorized
marketing of the GI Genius, the first device that uses artificial intelligence
(AI) based on machine learning to assist clinicians in detecting lesions (such
as polyps or suspected tumors) in the colon in real time during a colonoscopy.
• Issued
an emergency authorization for the Symbiotica COVID-19 Self-Collected Antibody
Test System, the first antibody test authorized for use with home collected
dried blood spot samples.
• Approved
Abecma (idecabtagene vicleucel), a cell-based gene therapy to treat adult
patients with multiple myeloma who have not responded to, or whose disease has
returned after, at least four prior lines (different types) of therapy.
• Authorized
marketing of Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator (PoNS)
a new device indicated for use as a short-term
treatment of gait deficit due to mild to moderate symptoms from multiple
sclerosis (MS).
• Approved
the first in the world non-surgical heart valve to treat pediatric and adult
patients with a native or surgically-repaired right ventricular outflow tract
(RVOT), the part of the heart that carries blood out of the right ventricle to
the lungs.
• Approved
a new indication for Myrbetriq (mirabegron extended-release tablets) and
Myrbetriq Granules (mirabegron for extended-release oral suspension) to treat
neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO), a bladder dysfunction related to
neurological impairment, in children ages three years and older.
• Issued
warning letters to two companies for selling products labeled as containing
cannabidiol (CBD) in ways that violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
(FD&C Act).
PREVENTION:
Exercise
Exercise
boosts blood flow to the brain:
The results add to growing evidence that exercise programs may help older
adults slow the onset of memory loss and dementia. It's not just your legs and
heart that get a workout when you walk briskly; exercise affects your brain as
well. A new study shows that when older adults with mild memory loss followed
an exercise program for a year, the blood flow to their brains increased. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
Drinking a
strong coffee half an hour before exercising increases fat-burning, new study
finds In the afternoon, the effects of the caffeine are more marked than in the
morning. Journal of the
International Society of Sports Nutrition
Exercise can
improve sleep quality even when you don't perceive a difference: In a study in Scientific Reports,
researchers revealed that vigorous exercise was able to modulate various sleep
parameters associated with improved sleep, without affecting subjective reports
regarding sleep quality. "The results of the subjective evaluations of
sleep quality indicate that regular moderate exercise may be more beneficial
for perceived sleep quality than occasional vigorous exercise, which might not
have a subjective effect despite objective improvements in sleep."
Leisure physical
activity is linked with health benefits but work activity is not: The first large study showing that
leisure time physical activity and occupational physical activity have
opposite, and independent, associations with cardiovascular disease risk and longevity.
"A brisk 30-minute walk will benefit your health by raising your heart
rate and improving your cardiorespiratory fitness, while work activity often
does not sufficiently increase heart rate to improve fitness. In addition, work
involving lifting for several hours a day increases blood pressure for many
hours, which is linked with heart disease risk, while short bursts of intense
physical activity during leisure raises blood pressure only briefly." European Heart Journal, 2021
Major risk
of injury for recreational runners:
Almost half of all recreational runners incur injuries, mostly relating to
knees, calves or Achilles tendons, and the level of risk is equally high
whatever your age, gender or running experience. University of Gothenburg.
To combat
gum disease, help oral bacteria evolve: For people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,
exercise not only improves physiology, it may also improve their smile--by
reducing gum disease. International
Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Want to be
robust at 40-plus?
Meeting minimum exercise guidelines won't cut it: 5 hours of moderate activity
a week may be required to avoid midlife hypertension, UCSF-led study shows American
Journal of Preventive Medicine
Heart patients advised to move more to avoid heart attacks and strokes: Elevated blood pressure, high
cholesterol and diabetes increase the risk of heart disease. But a large study
today reveals that in people with these conditions, increasing activity levels
is associated with a reduced likelihood of heart events and mortality. ESC
Preventive Cardiology 2021
PREVENTION: Diet/Nutrition
Eating processed meat could increase dementia risk: Scientists used data from 500,000 people, discovering that
consuming a 25g serving of processed meat a day, the equivalent to one rasher
of bacon, is associated with a 44% increased risk of developing the disease.
But their findings also show eating some unprocessed red meat, such as beef,
pork or veal, could be protective, as people who consumed 50g a day were 19%
less likely to develop dementia. American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Frequent
consumption of meals prepared away from home associated with an increased risk
of death: Investigators
looked at the association between eating out and risk of death and concluded
that eating out very frequently is significantly associated with an increased
risk of all-cause death, which warrants further investigation. Journal of
the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Cocoa may
protect males' hearts from the effects of mental stress: New research suggests a cup of cocoa
can have cardiovascular benefits for males. Nutrients.
Study strengthens links between red meat and heart disease: An observational study in nearly 20,000
individuals has found that greater intake of red and processed meat is
associated with worse heart function. ESC Preventive Cardiology 2021
In a randomized
controlled study, researchers found that a Mediterranean diet combined with
small portions of lean beef helped lower risk factors for developing heart
disease, such as LDL cholesterol. American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition
PREVENTION
Stress from work and social interactions put women at higher coronary heart disease risk: Psychosocial stress - typically
resulting from difficulty coping with challenging environments - may work
synergistically to put women at significantly higher risk of developing
coronary heart disease, according to a new study. Journal of the American Heart Association
TREATMENT
Weekly insulin
helps patients with type 2 diabetes achieve similar blood sugar control to
daily insulin: A new
once-weekly basal insulin injection demonstrated similar efficacy and safety
and a lower rate of low blood sugar episodes compared with a daily basal insulin,
according to a phase 2 clinical trial. The study results compared an
investigational drug called basal insulin Fc (BIF) with insulin degludec, a
commercially available long-lasting daily insulin, in patients with type 2
diabetes. Endocrine Society
Viagra May
Help Men with Coronary Artery Disease Live Longer: New research from Sweden finds that the
impotence drug sildenafil (Viagra) can significantly reduce the risk of another
heart attack and increase the life span in men already diagnosed with
cardiovascular disease. Experts also say the heart benefit that was observed
might be because drugs like sildenafil reduce blood pressure, a strong risk
factor for heart disease.
More research
is needed to verify the findings. published
in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (ACC).
Treating Sleep Apnea May Reduce Dementia Risk: People with obstructive sleep apnea who treat
their apnea with the commonly-prescribed positive airway pressure therapy were
less likely to be diagnosed with dementia. Sleep
Exercise training for bronchiectasis: A meta
analysis found that For
people with stable bronchiectasis, evidence suggests that exercise training
compared to usual care improves functional exercise tolerance as measured by
the incremental shuttle walk distance. Chochrane Library
Systemic pharmacological treatments for chronic plaque psoriasis: A network meta‐analysis: review shows
that compared to placebo, the biologics infliximab, ixekizumab, risankizumab,
bimekizumab, guselkumab, secukinumab and brodalumab were the best choices for
achieving PASI 90 in people with moderate‐to‐severe psoriasis on the basis of
moderate‐ to high‐certainty evidence (low‐certainty evidence for bimekizumab). Cochrane
Library
Antidepressants for people with epilepsy and depression: Existing evidence on the effectiveness
of antidepressants in treating depressive symptoms associated with epilepsy is
still very limited. Rates of response to antidepressants were highly variable.
Cochrane Library
Do peoplewith asthma have fewer serious adverse events when taking formoterol and inhaled corticosteroids compared to salmeterol and inhaled corticosteroids? Meta-analysis found no safety issues
that would affect the choice between salmeterol and formoterol combination
inhalers used for regular maintenance therapy in adults and children with
asthma. Cochrane Library
There is no
'one size fits all' approach to treat severe asthma: Despite a similar clinical
presentation, people with severe asthma have strikingly distinct immune
profiles, research shows. These findings can be used to develop new
therapeutics and enhance precision medicine approaches to treating these
patients. Cell Reports
OTHER
Can Biden’s Push for a Public Option Lower Your Healthcare Costs? In Biden’s campaign he proposed a new
public option that would provide an alternative to private insurance for Americans
who are not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid. The effects of a public option
would depend on the details of the plan. In general, payment rates are expected
to be lower under a public option than most commercial insurers.Healthline
Why some of
us are hungry all the time:
New research shows that people who experience big dips in blood sugar levels,
several hours after eating, end up feeling hungrier and consuming hundreds more
calories during the day than others. Nature
Metabolism
