Category: Health News

Texas Gov. Abbott Seeks Out-of-State Help Against COVID-19

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Gov. Greg Abbott appealed for out-of-state help to fight the third wave of COVID-19 in Texas while two more of the state’s largest school districts announced mask mandates in defiance of the governor. Abbott’s request Monday came as a county-owned hospital

Researchers reveal new suicide prevention tools from survivors

In suicide research, lessons from survivors—people who, despite the urge to die, find ways to cope and reasons to live—are seldom heard. Cornell researchers and their colleagues have written one of the first studies to change that. “Strategies to Stay Alive: Adaptive Toolboxes for Living Well with Suicidal Behavior,” published July 29 in the International

How a doctor’s presence may alter blood pressure readings

A doctor’s presence during a blood pressure reading triggers a “fight or flight” response that can affect the results, say researchers who studied the effect by measuring nerve activity. “White coat hypertension”—the phenomenon when blood pressure rises in some people who are measured by a medical professional—has been known about for decades. It occurs in

Intranasal vaccine may block COVID-19 where it starts

Research by Lancaster University scientists to create a COVID-19 vaccine which can be administered through the nose has taken a significant step forward. The pre-clinical animal trials of the intranasal vaccine showed a reduction in both the impact of the disease itself and transmission of the virus. The findings—published today in the journal iScience—open the

Systematic anatomical study specifies guidelines for performing nasopharyngeal swabs

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, thousands of nasopharyngeal swabs have been taken in Austria – millions worldwide. Their correct performance is essential for diagnosing and challenging Covid-19. To assist the correct collection of nasopharyngeal material, a systematic anatomical study conducted at MedUni Vienna specifies guidelines and landmarks and evaluates the danger for the

US investigates latest case of a rare tropical disease

U.S. health officials are investigating the latest fatal case of a rare tropical disease typically found in South Asia. The unidentified person, who died last month in Georgia, was the fourth U.S. case this year of melioidosis caused by a bacteria that lives in soil and water, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said

New estimate of total immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in Texas

According to researchers in Texas, a lack of appropriate testing in the US has led to an underestimation of seroprevalence in the U.S., thus making it difficult to estimate population immunity to SARS-CoV-2 or vaccination. While model-based estimation has been proposed, the calculations are based on inputs such as viral reproduction number, immune response longevity,

Children's Hospital Colorado announces participation in pivotal trial of synthetic restorative pulmonary valve

Children's Hospital Colorado today announced it has joined the Xplore2/Pivotal trial, and is actively enrolling patients for the first-ever pivotal trial of a synthetic restorative pulmonary valve. To date, pediatric patients requiring right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) reconstruction have been successfully implanted as part of the global, FDA-approved study. RVOT reconstruction is a procedure needed

Plant-Based Lignan Intake Linked to Lower CHD Risk

Consumption of a plant-based diet rich in lignans is associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease, new research suggests. In a prospective cohort study that followed almost 214,108 men and women who were free of CHD and cancer at baseline, increased long-term intake of lignans, polyphenolic substances produced by plants, was associated with

Neuroscience: Music, silence, and prediction

Two new research studies have identified the neural signals underlying music imagery. These neural signals are related to melodic expectations and predictions. The researchers isolated, for the first time, the electrical neural signals of prediction by investigating moments of silence in music. They suggest a strong link between imagery, listening to music, and neural prediction

Immunotherapy may be effective for a subgroup of metastatic colorectal cancer patients, study finds

Researchers at City of Hope, a world-renowned research and treatment center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases, looked at the most common type of metastatic colorectal cancer and discovered that these patients are more responsive to checkpoint blockade immunotherapy, an innovative treatment that helps the immune system recognize and attack cancerous cells, if tumors