by Tracie White, Stanford University Medical Center Researchers found that, in addition to upper respiratory symptoms, a significant number of those sick with the new virus also suffered from loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. The study, one of the earliest on U.S. patients with the coronavirus, was published online April 10 in Gastroenterology....
Blood clots in severe Covid-19 patients leave clinicians with clues about the illness— but no proven treatments
Doctors treating the sickest Covid-19 patients have zeroed in on a new phenomenon: Some people have developed widespread blood clots, their lungs peppered with tiny blockages that prevent oxygen from pumping into the bloodstream and body. A number of doctors are now trying to blast those clots with tPA, or tissue plasminogen activator, an antithrombotic...
Blood test may help doctors catch pancreatic cancer early
By PENN MEDICINE PHILADELPHIA – A blood test may be able to detect the most common form of pancreatic cancer while it is still in its early stages while also helping doctors accurately stage a patient’s disease and guide them to the appropriate treatment. A multidisciplinary study from the University of Pennsylvania found the test...
High glucose levels may explain why some flu patients have more severe symptoms
A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in China and one in Germany has found evidence that suggests high glucose levels may explain why some flu patients have worse symptoms than others. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their work with mouse models and flu patients and what...
Alzheimer’s patients may need dosing changes in medicines prescribed for other conditions
by American Chemical Society Patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are often prescribed drugs for other conditions—including diabetes or high blood pressure—at the same doses as those without dementia. That practice might need to be reexamined in the wake of new mouse studies reported in ACS’ Molecular Pharmaceutics. The findings suggest that AD could alter absorption...
Big variability in blood pressure readings between anatomical sites
DALLAS – April 14, 2020 – Blood pressure readings taken from neuroscience intensive care unit (NSICU) patients had marked differences between opposite sides of the body and different anatomical sites in each individual, highlighting the significant and sometimes extreme variability of this measure even in the same person depending on where it’s taken, researchers from...
Ultraviolet LEDs prove effective in eliminating coronavirus from surfaces and, potentially air and water
As COVID-19 continues to ravage global populations, the world is singularly focused on finding ways to battle the novel coronavirus. That includes the UC Santa Barbara’s Solid State Lighting & Energy Electronics Center (SSLEEC) and member companies. Researchers there are developing ultraviolet LEDs that have the ability to decontaminate surfaces—and potentially air and water—that have...
How to tell seasonal allergies from COVID-19 symptoms
Follow all of PopSci’s COVID-19 coverage here, including travel advice, pregnancy concerns, and the latest findings on the virus itself. COVID-19 has already killed more than 16,000 people in the United States alone. But the disease’s frequently mild symptoms have left people fretting over harmless colds, or even wondering if a panic attack might be...
Surgical masks good for most COVID-19 treatment
By Susan Emigh The N95 respirator masks should be preserved for health-care workers involved in inserting breathing tubes for patients with COVID-19. More common medical masks are fine for all other COVID-19 treatment, says preliminary research from McMaster University A systematic review of four randomized controlled trials on masks done between 1990 and last month...
Johns Hopkins experts publish ‘guidebook’ for blood plasma therapy
“We’ve received many inquiries from health care providers looking to ramp up their ability to deliver this therapy,” says Evan M Bloch, M.D., M.S. an associate professor of pathology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who is part of the team working on convalescent therapy. “There is historical precedent for its use to...