We know it generically as “long COVID,” though it’s hardly generic, and we still know very little about it, including what it is, who, when or how badly it will strike, how long it might take to recover or whether complete recovery is possible for all. Long COVID, or post-COVID condition, features symptoms that can include trouble breathing, chest pain, brain “fog,” fat...
It may sound strange, but chemicals in plastic may make the bathroom scale a less pleasant place to visit. Every day, we come into contact with plastic products. A lot of plastic is found in food packaging. Plastic packaging is common for practical reasons, because it is cheap and because it can increase a food’s shelf life. But plastic contains thousands of different ...
Almost half of the adults in the United States have obesity, a chronic progressive disease characterized by an individual having an excess of body fat. Obesity is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, and people with obesity are at an increased risk for many serious diseases and health conditions such as diabetes, heart and liver disease. Obesity is a ...
- New variants may be more contagious than previous ones—and escape vaccines. - Serum biomarkers, identified in rhesus macaques, can differentiate between primary infection and reinfection. - A tool utilizing these biomarkers may help identify surges in reinfection, scientists noted. Many experts now predict that COVID-19, which so far has killed more than 5.5 million p...
Scientists may be zeroing in on why catching COVID-19 raises people's risk of developing diabetes, Science News reported. Several studies have hinted that COVID-19 infections can trigger diabetes in some people, but exactly why remained a mystery, Live Science previously reported. The new diabetes cases linked to COVID-19 include both type 1 diabetes, in which the body ...
The technology targets the drug to act on the antigen presenting cells of the immune system, rather than T cells. This results in a more selective immunosuppression with fewer side-effects and better long-term viability for transplanted islets, which are typically attacked and destroyed by the immune system. The researchers hope that the technology could pave the way for...
WHO has recommended two new drugs for COVID-19, providing yet more options for treating the disease. The extent to which these medicines will save lives depends on how widely available and affordable they will be. The first drug, baricitinib, is strongly recommended for patients with severe or critical COVID-19. It is part of a class of drugs called Janus kinase (JAK) i...
Scientists successfully transplanted two kidneys from a genetically modified pig into a human recipient and found that the organs produced urine and were not rejected during the days-long experiment. The procedure was performed in a brain-dead patient who was a registered organ donor and whose family authorized the research, according to the new study, published Thursda...
Using a questionnaire, the researchers evaluated oral health status, severity of COVID-19 symptoms, duration of recovery and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in 308 SARS-CoV-2-positive Egyptian patients and an additional 86 such patients with cardiovascular disease. The latter were the subject of a subgroup analysis. The impact of oral health on COVID-19 severity was asse...
Developers of cancer therapeutics are exploring different possibilities: pushing along existing lines of attack; opening entirely new lines of attack; and coordinating thrusts along multiple lines of attack. At the same time, the developers are interested in limiting collateral damage and fending off counterattacks. That is, they hope to prevent side effects and suppress...
In a mouse model, a mRNA vaccine that promotes production of the protein TR1 in skin cells was effective in mitigating the risk of UV-induced cancers and other skin problems, according to new research published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. “For more than 40 years researchers have looked at dietary antioxidants as a possible source of inexpensive, low-ris...
The development of the flu vaccine was a feat of pharmaceutical excellence. First produced for US military personnel, the vaccine became available for use by the American public in 1945, and ultimately helped change the trajectory of influenza disease management worldwide – reducing levels of both morbidity and mortality. Though numerous iterations have been developed in...
“A few weeks is what most clinicians call ‘rapid’ when it comes to sequencing a patient’s genome and returning results,” said Euan Ashley, MB, professor of medicine, of genetics and of biomedical data science at Stanford. Genome sequencing allows scientists to see a patient’s complete DNA makeup, which contains information about everything from eye color to inherited di...
To help cope with the social distancing measures put in place to help flatten the curve of COVID-19 infections, the healthcare industry had to adapt quickly. Telehealth became a saving grace for hospitals, clinics and doctors at the height of the pandemic in search of a way to provide the same quality of care services while minimizing the spread of the coronavirus. Key t...
Discover the latest news on e-health. 1/ As of June 4, 2021, the “telemedicine functional reference” becomes the “telehealth functional French reference” On April 25, 2019, the former French Health Minister had presented a series of measures to support and deploy innovation in terms of digital health. Among these measures was the “telemedicine functional reference“. ...
Digital technologies are electronic tools, systems, devices and resources that generate, store or process data. Well known examples include social media, online games, multimedia and mobile phones. Digital learning is any type of learning that uses technology. Effective and comprehensive Healthcare necessitates rapidly available, easily accessible specialised informatio...
Newborn or neonatal health primarily focuses on the health of newborn babies within the initial 29-30 days of life. Neonatal care is extremely important for babies as during this period several health concerns can arise which may include respiratory problems, sepsis, low birth weight, preterm birth, infections and low blood sugar. Near about 85 per cent of neonatal death...
Noting that telehealth has been transformational to Australia’s universal healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Australian government now plans to pump A$106 million ($76 million) over four years to support permanent telehealth services. The Australian government said the investment ensures greater flexibility to patients and doctors for the delivery of healthcar...
Given the current COVID-19 surge, primarily related to the less severe (for vaccinated individuals) omicron variant, many parents are now wondering how to talk to their children about a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. Especially for younger kids, who have limited memories prior to this pandemic, the last 2 years of parents and teachers warning them about the importance of k...
Donor organs: Solving the shortage with technology Patients waiting for a donor organ must have a lot of patience and a bit of luck. Aging and a rise in chronic disease prevalence means the need for donor organs is much greater than the number that is available. To help those who need organ transplants, scientists must create new technologies. Read the article about tech...
2020 and 2021 saw the mainstreaming of telehealth and the rise of remote patient monitoring. These changes to the healthcare landscape were helped partly by requirements of the COVID-19 pandemic and partly by the subsequent loosening of telemedicine reimbursement and licensure regulations by the government. But what's to happen in 2022? Will the government and commercia...
Doctors have transplanted the heart from a genetically modified pig into the chest of a man from Maryland in a last-ditch effort to save his life. The first-of-its-kind surgery is being hailed as a major step forward in the decades-long effort to successfully transplant animal organs into humans. Although it's been tried before — one of the earliest subjects, known as ...
During the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of depression and anxiety rose across the U.S. This crisis brought digital technologies into the spotlight, with patients, providers and investors taking notice. In fact, in the first three quarters of 2021, investors poured $3.1 billion into the sector, according to Rock Health. While the bulk of digital health tools are dedicated t...
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association found that ambulatory clinicians spent less time in electronic health record systems at the start of the pandemic. That initial valley was short-lived, however, according to the report. By July 2020, clinicians were spending consistently more time in the EHR than before COVID-19. Researc...
In this situation, doctors and other healthcare providers use electrocardiographic data, which is transmitted remotely, in real-time, for interpretation by a specialist. This enables specialist care to be accessed by people in remote locations. Advancing technology is making it easier and less expensive to set up wireless or satellite networks for this purpose, thereby i...
While the manufacturing of biological tissue meets major societal demands, it also faces significant challenges related to process standardization and scaling up. With these challenges in mind, the French start-up Poietis has developed the Next Generation Bioprinting (NGB) platform to achieve 4D bioprinting of biological tissue in a faster, more affordable and more funct...
The links between diet-related diseases and Covid-19 is now widely accepted based on scientific evidence. In this regard, obesity has been identified by the CDC as a strong risk factor for severe COVID-19 illness. Still, scientists trying to understand why Covid19 had mild symptoms in some and much more severe symptoms in others. Vaccination against Covid-19 is essentia...
Speaking to Dental Tribune International, Dr Katsutaro Morino, one of the researchers and an assistant professor in the Division of Diabetology, Endocrinology, Nephrology and Neurology at Shiga University of Medical Science, said: “There have already been many reports on the relationship between diabetes and periodontal disease and the risk of tooth loss. We wanted to id...
“I always want to give a patient the treatment I feel is best for them. When companies like Dentsply Sirona and 3Shape choose to work together, it gives all dentists and lab owners more opportunities, and that means better outcomes for our patients,” Dr Alan Jurim, owner of integratedDENTAL, a dental practice in New York, said in a press release. As a result of this agr...
The breathalyzer, which they have termed the Bubbler, consists of a tube that someone blows into for fifteen seconds. The tube contains a mix of enzymes that reverse transcribe the RNA in viral particles into DNA, which allows for a subsequent benchtop PCR test. The technology is primarily another way to collect COVID-19 test samples, but as it is measuring the virus in...
Tube samples of Omicron, however, do further propose its “significant” capability to evade protection from previous infection and, potentially, even third vaccine dose. Published today (December 11, 2021), one of the earliest, peer-reviewed studies looking into the Omicron variant of COVID-19 suggests that people previously infected with COVID, and those vaccinated, wil...
“The World Health Organisation (WHO) has endorsed bedside diagnostics as the top research priority in response to the so-far 2-year long epidemic without let-up. The aim is to improve turnaround time and ease of use compared to the gold standard lab-based PCR test. These have included rapid antigen tests, alternate nucleic amplification methods and novel sensors in proxi...
Americans David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian identified receptors in the skin that respond to heat and pressure. Their work is focused on the field of somatosensation, which explores the ability of specialized organs such as eyes, ears and skin to see, hear and feel. “This really unlocks one of the secrets of nature,” said Thomas Perlmann, secretary-general of the Nobel...
Lung autopsy and plasma samples from people who died of COVID-19 have provided a clearer picture of how the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads and damages lung tissue. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health and their collaborators say the information, published in Science Translational Medicine, could help predict severe and prolonged COVID-19 cases, particularly among hi...
Sensitive, specific, and rapid diagnostic tests are critical to reducing morbidity and mortality of infectious disease patients. Viral, bacterial, and other types of infections can develop from a vast number of pathogenic and opportunistic organisms, indicating a need for versatile diagnostics that can be adapted to a wide variety of infectious etiologies. "Sensitive a...
A US boy who was born at only 21 weeks and one day has been certified as the world's most premature baby to survive. When he was born in Alabama last year, Curtis Means weighed just 420 grams. Guinness World Records on Wednesday confirmed that Curtis, who is now a happy and healthy 16-month-old, set a new world record by defying -1% odds of survival. "Born in July 2020,...
