COVID-19
Covid-19
Prevention
Unvaccinated People Increase COVID-19 Risk, Even Among
Vaccinated People: In a new study, researchers at the University of Toronto in
Canada say that when they simulated mixing unvaccinated people with vaccinated
individuals, a substantial number of new cases would occur among the vaccinated
crowd. The choice to remain
unvaccinated affects everyone in a community. Those who are vaccinated people
should consider continuing to wear a mask in certain public places, especially
if they are older, have underlying conditions, or take care of someone who is
at higher risk.
COVID-19:
Vaccines/Boosters
Moderna's combination COVID booster appears more protective
against variants, company study finds: A booster shot that includes the
original Moderna vaccine plus one directed at the beta variant protects
well against a range of COVID-19 variants, a new company study has found.
The 50-microgram dose is the same as a current booster dose and appeared just
as safe, the company said in a news release. The study included
nearly 900 volunteers, 300 of whom received the 50-microgram dose. The rest
received twice that amount, which was deemed unnecessary.
COVID-19 vaccine protects kids and teens from severe
illness: Results of a new multicenter study published in the New
England Journal of Medicine found that vaccination with a primary
series of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine reduced the risk of
COVID-19-associated hospitalizations in children ages 5-11 years by two-thirds
during the Omicron period. Among adolescents ages 12-18 years who were
vaccinated with a primary series of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, protection against
COVID-19-associated hospitalization during the Omicron period was lower than
during the Delta period, similar to what has been previously shown among
adults.
Effectiveness of Pfizer's COVID-19 Booster Shot May Drop
from 85% to 55% After 3 Months: New researchTrusted Source finds Pfizer’s COVID-19
vaccine offers robust protection against hospitalization and emergency room
visits in the first few months. Still, protection appears to wane over time,
even after a booster dose.
'Low Severity' Side Effects More Common With COVID-19
Booster Shots Than With Regular Doses: Rare “low-severity” side effects
such as fatigue, lymph node swelling, and nausea are more common after
receiving the COVID-19 vaccine boosters than with regular doses, according to a
new studyTrusted Source published in JAMA Network
Open.
New study shows fewer people die from COVID-19 in better
vaccinated communities: The findings, based on data across 2,558 counties
in 48 US states, show that counties with high vaccine coverage had a more than 80%
reduction in death rates compared with largely unvaccinated counties. British
Medical Journal
COVID-19:
Treatment
COVID-19 treatments: What we know so far It's important to
remember that while new treatments are effective at reducing the severity of
symptoms and helping prevent hospitalization and death in people who become
infected with COVID-19, they are not a substitute for vaccination, which
remains the single most effective strategy to prevent serious disease. Yale
Medicine's guide to COVID-19 treatments.
COVID-19:
Long-Covid
About 30% of COVID patients develop 'Long COVID,' study
finds: New UCLA research finds that 30% of people treated for COVID-19
developed Post Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), most commonly known as
"Long COVID." People with a history of hospitalization, diabetes, and
higher body mass index were most likely to develop the condition, while those
covered by Medicaid, as opposed to commercial health insurance, or had
undergone an organ transplant were less likely to develop it. Surprisingly,
ethnicity, older age, and socioeconomic status were not associated with the
syndrome even though those characteristics have been linked with severe illness
and greater risk of death from COVID-19. Journal
of General Internal Medicine
Six in ten people with COVID-19 still have a least one symptom a year later, long COVID study reveals: The researchers in
Luxembourg found that COVID-19 symptoms that don't clear up after 15 weeks are
likely to last at least a year. An estimated 25-40% of people with COVID-19
develop long COVID—persisting symptoms that can affect multiple organs and
include mental health problems. European Congress of Clinical Microbiology
& Infectious Diseases
Long COVID associated with different clinical trajectories, characteristics depending on severity of initial infection: A
retrospective population-based cohort study of 205,241 adult residents (aged 18
or older) of the Stockholm Region who had received a positive SARS-CoV-2 test between
1st March 2020 and 31st July 2021, and were alive 90 days
after their test result, with and without a long COVID diagnosis, found almost
a third (32%) of those treated for COVID-19 in ICU developed long COVID, as
well as 6% of those hospitalized, and 1% of outpatients. Fatigue was the most
common registered symptom diagnosis among non-hospitalized patients (26%);
while shortness of breath was the most frequently registered symptom diagnosis
in both hospitalized patients (23%) and those treated in ICU (39%). Women were
more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with long COVID compared to men among
individuals with milder forms of initial infection, who did not require
hospital care. A history of mental illness or asthma was associated with twice
the risk of being diagnosed with long COVID in people with initially mild
COVID-19. European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Long COVID fatigue eased by four-week occupationaltherapy program, Irish study finds: A pilot occupational therapy program Fatigue
Management Education program (FaME-PC), which provided three
1.5-hour-long group-based interventions delivered online by an occupational therapist
over a four-week period, focused on self-management techniques to address
everyday fatigue and brain-fog. Topics covered included energy planning,
dealing with stress and sleep hygiene. Preliminary analysis of the results
showed significant improvements in all three areas: fatigue, quality of life
and well-being concerns. European Society of Clinical Microbiology and
Infectious Diseases
Adults Over 50 Who Get COVID-19 Have Increased Risk of
Shingles: A study
published by researchers affiliated with pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline
— which makes the shingles vaccine ShingrixTrusted Source as well as developing
vaccines and monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-10 — found that
participants over age 50 who had the novel coronavirus were at a 15 percent higher
risk of developing shingles.
Women with long COVID-19 syndrome have more symptoms:
A new study found that females with Long COVID-19 syndrome were more
symptomatic than males. Females were statistically significantly more likely to
experience difficulty swallowing, fatigue, chest pain, and palpitations at
long-term follow-up, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Women’s Health.
Click here
to read the article now.
Physical activity – double edged sword in long COVID
recovery: Writing in the International Journal of Environmental
Research and Public Health, the researchers from the University of
Leeds said physical activity is likely to play a part in helping people to
recover from long COVID, but a delicate balance had to be found between doing
too much and not enough. The researchers added: “The development of
individualised physical activity programmes that could mitigate the negative
health consequences of physical inactivity without worsening long COVID
symptoms and facilitate a return to independence should be considered a
clinical priority.”
COVID-19:
Other
Risk factors for severe COVID-19 in hospitalized adults
differ by age: A just-published study provides previously unknown answers
about which hospitalized COVID-19 patients are most likely to need mechanical
ventilation or to die.Vital signs and lab results at the time of hospital
admission are the most accurate predictors of disease severity. "Our
models show that chronic conditions, comorbidities, sex, race and ethnicity are
much less important in the hospital setting for early prediction of critical
illness," said Dr. Sevda Molani, lead author of a paper published in the
journal Scientific
Reports
Patients with past cancer history not associated with
higher risk of COVID-19-related death or hospitalization: Patients
diagnosed with cancer more than one year ago and those not receiving active
treatment were no more vulnerable to worse COVID-19 outcomes than patients
without cancer, according to a new study. Among COVID-19 patients with a recent
cancer diagnosis,
a higher chance of mortality was linked to chemotherapy or radiation treatments
within three months before SARS-CoV-2 infection. PLoS ONE
European Union to Drop Face Mask Mandate for Air Travel
on May 16: Face masks will no longer be required on flights in Europe from
May 16, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and European Centre
for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said. However, some airlines may
continue to require masks on their flights, the agencies said. In addition,
they told airlines to encourage travelers to wear masks on flights to or from
areas with public mask policies.
PAIN
Lipofilling procedure improves pain and function in
finger osteoarthritis: For patients with painful finger osteoarthritis,
a nonsurgical procedure
called lipofilling – in which fat obtained from another part of the body is
transferred into the arthritic joints – produces lasting improvements in hand
function and especially pain, suggests a study in the May issue of Plastic and Reconstructive
Surgery®, the
official medical journal of the American
Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).
High-frequency spinal cord stimulation shows improved
longer lasting pain relief: Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) for chronic pain
involves delivering low levels of electricity directly into the spinal cord
using an implanted device, which modifies or blocks nerve activity to minimize
the sensation of pain reaching the brain. In a new paper published in the April
28, 2022 online issue of the journal Bioelectronic Medicine, a research team report
high-frequency SCS proved more effective at improving perceived pain reduction
(PPR) than low-frequency SCS in patients studied, and that there was some
variation in PPR between male and female patients.
Corticosteroids raise the risk of hospitalization for pain crises among individuals living with sickle cell disease: People with
sickle cell disease (SCD) who were recently prescribed a corticosteroid – a
medicine frequently used to treat asthma or inflammation – were found to be
significantly more likely to be hospitalized for a severe pain event, according
to a paper published today in the journal Blood. The research
also found that older adults, women, and people who were not taking the drug
hydroxyurea to manage their underlying SCD symptoms were the most likely to be
hospitalized.
Pain in the neck? New surgical method could be game-changing:
Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is a common type of neck surgery
that involves removing a damaged disc to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or
nerve root and thereby alleviate associated pain, numbness, weakness or
tingling. The damaged disc is removed from between two vertebral bones along
with simultaneous fusion surgery. The fusion involves placing a bone graft or
“cage” and/or implants where the disc was originally located to stabilize and
strengthen the area. Results of a study, published in The Spine Journal, the
journal World
Neurosurgery and Asian
Spine Journal showed that the cage-screw and anterior plating
combination model has promising potential to reduce the risk of micro motion
and subsidence of implanted cages in two or more level ACDFs.
Do pain relievers impede bone drug’s efficacy?: New research
published in the Journal of
Bone and Mineral Research suggests that non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that are taken to reduce pain may block the
beneficial effects of bone-protective drugs called bisphosphonates. In the
study of 5,212 community-dwelling women aged 75 years and older, the use of
NSAIDs did not seem to have a direct impact on individuals’ bone fracture risk,
but the medications appeared to negate the bone-protective effects of the oral
bisphosphonate, clodronate, on preventing osteoporotic fractures.
Discovery reveals blocking inflammation may lead to chronic pain: Using anti-inflammatory drugs and steroids to relieve pain
could increase the chances of developing chronic pain. New research puts into
question conventional practices used to alleviate pain. Normal recovery from a
painful injury involves inflammation and blocking that inflammation with drugs
could lead to harder-to-treat pain. Science Translational Medicine
Temporomandibular (TMJ) disorder-induced pain likely to
worsen in late menopause transition: 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 in Menopause.
Restrictive, Vegan-Based Diet Linked to Fewer RA Symptoms:
A small new study of women suggests that adopting a low-fat vegan diet and then
eliminating remaining trigger foods may dramatically reduce symptoms of rheumatoid
arthritis (RA) within months. The study was published in the American
Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. It's not clear whether the vegan diet or the
restriction of trigger foods – or both or neither – was helpful. Significant
weight loss in the diet group could have played a role in reducing symptoms.
COMPLEMENTARY
& ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
Can Complementary Therapies Ease Cancer Treatment
Symptoms? What the Science Says: Time
FDA ACTION
• Approves New Drug Tirzepatide for People with Type 2
Diabetes
• Approved Radicava ORS (edaravone) oral suspension for the
treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
• Approved a new
indication for Olumiant (baricitinib) for the treatment of COVID-19 in
hospitalized adults requiring supplemental oxygen, non-invasive or invasive
mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
• Permits Marketing for New Test, Lumipulse G β-Amyloid
Ratio, to Improve Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease
• Approves First COVID-19 Treatment, Veklury (remdesivir), for Young Children
PREVENTION:
Exercise
For stroke survivors, modified cardiac rehabilitation can
reduce the chances of death by 76%: Survivors of serious stroke can reduce
their chances of dying within the year if they complete a modified cardiac
rehabilitation program that includes medically supervised exercise, prescribed
therapy, and physician follow-up, according to new research
published in the Journal of Stroke
& Cerebrovascular Diseases.
Study sheds light on the benefits of exercise in fatty liver disease: Exercise supports the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver
disease by impacting on several metabolic pathways in the body, a new study
shows. Regular HIIT exercise over a period of 12 weeks significantly decreased
the study participants’ fasting glucose and waist circumference, and improved
their maximum oxygen consumption rate and maximum achieved workload. These
positive effects were associated with alterations in the abundance of a number
of metabolites. In particular, exercise altered amino acid metabolism in
adipose tissue. Scientific Reports
Reducing sedentary time mitigates the risk of type 2
diabetes and cardiovascular diseases: A new study suggests that reducing
daily sedentary time can have a positive effect on the risk factors of
lifestyle diseases already in three months. Spending just one hour less sitting
daily and increasing light physical activity can help in the prevention of
these diseases. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport
PREVENTION:
Diet/Nutrition
Vegan diets boost weight loss, lower blood sugar in
adults with overweight or type 2 diabetes: A 12-week vegan diet may result
in clinically meaningful weight loss and improve blood sugar control in
overweight adults and those with type 2 diabetes, according to a meta-analysis
of 11 randomised trials involving almost 800 participants (aged 18 or older). European
Congress on Obesity (ECO).
A diet rich in protein, zinc and niacin and low in
saturated fat makes blood vessels more flexible: A new study presented at
the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) has linked key nutrients, including
protein, zinc and niacin, to improvements in heart health. “A Mediterranean
diet, rich in protein (lean dairy products, fish, poultry, and eggs), rich in
vegetables, nuts, seeds and with moderate consumption of fruits and grains, can
contribute to improving vascular flexibility, thus indirectly protecting the
cardiovascular system.
Diet type can increase potentially harmful gas in the gut:
Published
in Clinical Nutrition, researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical
School looked at colonic hydrogen sulfide — a toxic gas in the body that smells
like rotten eggs — production in people in response to animal- and plant-based
diet interventions. In the majority of participants, a plant-based diet
resulted in a lower hydrogen sulfide production compared to an animal-based
(i.e., western) diet. In some individuals, plant-based diets did not lower
hydrogen sulfide production and even led to some increases in it.
Characteristics of a “longevity diet”: In an article
that includes a literature review published April 28 in Cell, a multi-pillar approach
based on studies of various aspects of diet, from food composition and calorie
intake to the length and frequency of fasting periods. The key characteristics
of the optimal diet appear to be moderate to high carbohydrate intake from
non-refined sources, low but sufficient protein from largely plant-based
sources, and enough plant-based fats to provide about 30 percent of energy
needs. Ideally, the day’s meals would all occur within a window of 11-12 hours,
allowing for a daily period of fasting, and a 5-day cycle of a fasting or
fasting-mimicking diet every 3-4 months may also help reduce insulin
resistance, blood pressure and other risk factors for individuals with
increased disease risks.
Poor diet associated with increased diabetes risk acrossall gradients of genetic risk: Genetic risk factors and diet quality are
independently associated with type 2 diabetes; a healthy diet is linked to
lower diabetes risk across all levels of genetic risk. That’s the conclusion of
a study of more than 35,000 US adults publishing April 26th in PLOS
Medicine.
A calorie-reduced diet can not only delay the development
of diabetes, but also has a positive effect on the immune system: Researchers have now shown for the first time that
this effect is mediated by an altered gut microbiome*, which slows down the
deterioration of the immune system in old age (immune senescence). The study
has been published in Microbiome.
Drinker's sex plus brewing method may be key to coffee's
link to raised cholesterol: Drinking 3–5 daily cups of espresso was
significantly associated with increased serum total cholesterol, particularly
among the men. A daily tally of 6 or more cups of plunger coffee was also
associated with raised cholesterol, and to a similar degree in both sexes: 0.30
mmol/l higher among the women vs 0.23 mmol/l higher among the men. While
instant coffee was associated with an increase in cholesterol in both sexes,
this didn't rise in tandem with the number of cups drunk, when compared with
those who didn't opt for coffee powder/granules. Open Heart
The glycemic index may be counterproductive for helping
Americans adopt healthier diets: "The GI is increasingly used and
interpreted as a measure of overall carbohydrate food quality, with some
proponents advocating for its broader adoption as a public health tool.
However, the GI model doesn't address nutrient density or translate well to
healthy dietary patterns, and its narrow focus on just one dimension of
carbohydrate-containing foods may divert public attention away from approaches
to improving health that are accessible, affordable, culturally appropriate and
environmentally sustainable," stated Nicholls, owner of Food Context, LLC.
"At best, it's an incomplete gauge of carbohydrate food quality. At worst,
it may be counterproductive to achieving the dietary recommendations set forth
in the DGA." Frontiers in Nutrition
High Levels of Antioxidants Linked to Lower Risk of
Dementia: People with higher levels of certain antioxidants in their blood
may be less likely to develop dementia later on, a new study shows. This adds
to growing evidence that eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables rich in
these phytonutrients may have long-term benefits for the brain. Researchers
used data on over 7,200 participants from the third National
Health and Nutrition Examination SurveyTrusted Source Neurology,
Diets high in fiber associated with less antibiotic
resistance in gut bacteria: Healthy adults who eat a diverse diet with at
least 8-10 grams of soluble fiber a day have fewer antibiotic-resistant
microbes in their guts, according to a new study. The results lead directly to
the idea that modifying the diet has the potential to be a new weapon in the
fight against antimicrobial resistance. And this does not require eating some
exotic diet, but eating a diverse diet, adequate in fiber, a diet that some
Americans already eat. mBio
PREVENTION:
Vitamins/Supplements
Calcium supplements linked to earlier death in older
people with heart valve disease: Calcium supplements, frequently given to
older people to lessen the risk of brittle bones (osteoporosis) and fractures,
are linked to a heightened risk of death among those with aortic valve
stenosis, a progressive and potentially fatal condition, finds research
published online in the journal Heart. Supplemental
vitamin D alone didn't seem to affect survival. But supplemental calcium plus
vitamin D was associated with a significantly higher (31%) risk of death from
any cause and a doubling in the risk of a cardiovascular death. And it was
associated with a 48% heightened risk of AVR compared with those not taking
supplements.
Task Force Says Most People Don't Need to Take Aspirin
Daily: U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) has released new guidelines on daily aspirin use that significantly
changes its policy from 12 years ago. The organization now says people between
ages 40 and 59 with no history of heart problems don’t need to take daily
aspirin to help prevent cardiovascular disease. Most people ages 60 and older
shouldn’t take daily aspirin, mainly due to the risk of excessive bleeding. Experts
say most people can reduce their heart disease risk by not smoking, eating a
healthy diet, and exercising regularly.
More Antioxidants, Lower Dementia Risk?: Researchers
from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging reviewed
data from 7,283 people who were at least 45 years old at the beginning of the
study. The participants underwent physical exams, had their blood
antioxidant levels tested, and were followed for an average of 16 years to see
who developed dementia during that time. The researchers found that people with
the highest amounts of the antioxidants
lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-cryptoxanthin in their blood at the start of the
study were less likely than those with lower levels to develop dementia decades
later. The finding could help pave the way for more research into the effects
of antioxidants on cognitive health, including whether adding more antioxidants
to the diet can help ward off dementia. The study was published in the May 4,
2022, online issue of Neurology.
PREVENTION:
Other
New brain stimulation treatments help smokers quit: A
new systematic review published by Addiction has
found that non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) may improve smoking abstinence
rates 3 to 6 months after quitting, compared with sham brain stimulation.
Helping Others Can Make You Happier as You Age: A study, published in the journalFrontiers in Behavioral
Neuroscience, reports that people who donate to charity and do for others see
an increase in their production of oxytocin, a mood-enhancing hormone connected
to things such as reproduction that was long thought to decrease as a person
ages.
How taking ownership of your health can help you increase
your lifespan: 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. he lifetime
gains were highest for reducing alcohol intake, not smoking, losing weight, and
increasing sleep, adding up to 6 years of life for healthy 40-year-olds. This
benefit was prominent even among older individuals (80 years or more) and those
with one or more major comorbidities
including cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and kidney
disease, and in each life stage from middle age onwards. Smoking worsens prognosis for men with prostate cancer: Smokers
have a lower risk of developing prostate cancer, but a higher risk of dying
from the disease, according to a large population study led by Lund University
in Sweden. The researchers followed more than 350,000 people over several
decades, and the results are now published in European Urology
.
TREATMENT
Antidepressants Don't Necessarily Improve Quality of Life
in the Long Run, Study Says: Over time, antidepressants do not necessarily
cause significantly better health-related quality of life compared to people
who don’t take the drugs, according to a new studyTrusted Source.
New clinical practice resource on hearing loss: The
American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) has released a new
Clinical Practice Resource that will help direct the treatment of patients with
hearing loss. The guidelines were published in Genetics in
Medicine
Heavy antibiotic use tied to development of Crohn's, colitis: The
more antibiotics that seniors take, the greater their risk of inflammatory
bowel disease (IBD), a new study suggests. For the study, researchers analyzed
prescribing records for 2.3 million adults aged 60 and older in Denmark who
were newly diagnosed with IBD from 2000 to 2018. The investigators found a link
between any antibiotic
use and higher rates of IBD, and the risk rose significantly with each
course of antibiotics. Compared to those with no antibiotic use in the previous
five years, one course of antibiotics was associated with a 27% higher risk of
a new IBD diagnosis, two courses with a 55% higher risk and three courses with
a 67% higher risk. Four courses were tied to a 96% higher risk, and five or
more courses with a 236% higher risk, the researchers reported.
Six lithium dose predictors for patients with bipolar
disorder: Six predictors could help determine the amount of lithium needed
to treat patients with bipolar disorder, according to a large study. The study
also pinpoints genetic markers that seem to influence how quickly the body
eliminates lithium from its system. The Lancet Psychiatry.
OTHER
Study finds infertility history linked with increased
risk of heart failure: Women who had experienced infertility had a 16%
increased risk of heart failure compared with women who did not have an infertility
history. Journal
of the American College of Cardiology
Review shows high prevalence of fatigue in adults with
IBD: A meta-analysis of 20 studies examining
the global prevalence, risk factors, and impact of fatigue in adults with
Irritable Bowl Syndrome found that a prevalence of 47% for fatigue. The most
commonly reported fatigue-related risk factors were sleep disturbance, anxiety,
depression, and anemia. Clinical
Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Anticipating a side effect makes it more likely you'll
experience it. A fascinating meta-analysis
examined data from 12 clinical trials of COVID vaccines, involving over 45,000
participants, and found about two-thirds of common side effects people experience
after vaccination could be due to a nocebo response, rather than the vaccine
itself. The nocebo response heightens symptoms if a person anticipates them. It
can increase pain if someone expects something will hurt.
