Tag: Diseases and Conditions

New restrictions irk many in Canada's most populous province

TORONTO — New pandemic restrictions imposed by Canada’s most populous province immediately ran into opposition on Saturday as police departments insisted they wouldn’t use new powers to randomly stop motorists and health experts complained the rules focus on outdoor activities rather than more dangerous indoor settings. Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government announced Friday it was

Iran sets coronavirus infection record for 3rd straight day

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran hit a new coronavirus infection record on Thursday for the third straight day, reporting 22,586 new cases as the country grapples with a severe spike following the Persian New Year holiday. The new case count pushes Iran’s total during the pandemic over 2 million, including 63,884 deaths after health authorities reported

Foreigners flock to Serbia to get coronavirus vaccine shots

BELGRADE, Serbia — Thousands of vaccine-seekers from countries neighboring Serbia flocked to Belgrade on Saturday after Serbian authorities offered foreigners free coronavirus jabs if they showed up over the weekend. Long lines of Bosnians, Montenegrins and Macedonians — often entire families — formed in front of the main vaccination center in the Serbian capital as

Hungary emerges as an EU vaccination star amid surging cases

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary has emerged as a European Union leader in COVID-19 vaccinations thanks to a strategy that sought shots from Russia and China as well as from inside the bloc, spurring increasing trust in jabs from eastern nations. But that strategy is up against a skyrocketing rise in new COVID-19 cases and deaths

Australia asks EU to stop blocking vaccine exports

BRUSSELS — Australia is seeking assurances from the European Union’s executive arm that future shipments of vaccines will not be blocked, after Italy banned a large export of the AstraZeneca coronavirus shots. The shipment to Australia of more than a quarter-million doses was blocked from leaving the 27-nation bloc — the first use of an

Scientists identify a possible new treatment for diabetic retinopathy

About one in three diabetic patients develops diabetic retinopathy (DR), which can impair vision and lead to blindness. A new study in The American Journal of Pathology, published by Elsevier, provides clear evidence that high glucose increases the levels of enzymatic precursor — lysyl oxidase propeptide (LOX-PP) — that promotes cell death, which was verified

New cardiac fibrosis study identifies key proteins that translate into heart disease

Using cutting-edge technologies, researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, have developed the first genome-wide dataset on protein translation during fibroblast activation, revealing a network of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) that play a key role in the formation of disease-causing fibrous tissue in the heart. Their findings, published in the journal Circulation, could help in the search

Durvalumab combined with chemotherapy improves overall survival in patients with lung cancer: First-line treatment reduces mortality risk by 27%

Adding immunotherapy in the form of durvalumab to chemotherapy improves overall survival in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, according to research presented today at the IASLC 2019 World Conference on Lung Cancer hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). The research was presented by Dr. Luis Paz-Ares, from

Psychiatric disorders may be linked to unnecessary oophorectomies

Undergoing a hysterectomy, especially in conjunction with removal of the ovaries, can take a major toll on a woman’s mental health. A new study, however, turns the tables on this relationship and investigates the psychiatric symptoms that may prompt a woman to undergo an oophorectomy, even after confirmation of a nonmalignant diagnosis. Study results are

Mumps study shows immunity gaps among vaccinated people: College-aged study participants received MMR as children

Immunity against mumps virus appears insufficient in a fraction of college-aged people who were vaccinated in childhood, research from Emory Vaccine Center and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates. The findings highlight the need to better understand the immune response to mumps and mumps vaccines. In the last 15 years, several mumps outbreaks

Sensory impairment and health expectancy in older adults

Out of the five physical senses, impairment in vision and hearing, especially simultaneously, may have the greatest impact on the health of older adults. These impairments are associated with poor health outcomes, such as limitations in physical function and activities of daily living (ADLs), social isolation, cognitive decline, depression, poor self-rated health (SRH), communication difficulties,

Using quantum dots and a smartphone to find killer bacteria: Australian scientists develop cheap and rapid way to identify antibiotic-resistant golden staph (MRSA).

A combination of off-the-shelf quantum dot nanotechnology and a smartphone camera soon could allow doctors to identify antibiotic-resistant bacteria in just 40 minutes, potentially saving patient lives. Staphylococcus aureus (golden staph), is a common form of bacterium that causes serious and sometimes fatal conditions such as pneumonia and heart valve infections. Of particular concern is

Opioid prescribing rates higher in US compared with other countries

Physicians in the United States may prescribe opioids more frequently to patients during hospitalization and at discharge when compared to their physician peers in other countries, according to a recently published study led by researchers from the University of Colorado School of Medicine. The study reviewed prescribing practices at 11 academic hospitals in eight countries

Transfer of oncogene in colon cancer cells demonstrated

For years, doctors and scientists have known very little about why patients can receive drugs successfully for months, or even years, before developing a drug resistance. New University of Minnesota Medical School research proposes that there is a cellular as well as molecular cause to this phenomenon in colon cancer, with potential application to other