Pauline Anderson January 10, 2023 Antihypertensive medications that stimulate rather than inhibit type 2 and 4 angiotensin II receptors can lower the rate of dementia among new users of these medications, new research suggests. Results from a cohort study of more than 57,000 older Medicare beneficiaries showed that the initiation of antihypertensives that stimulate the receptors was...
Month: <span>January 2023</span>
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Study reveals significant lack of infection-surveillance training in home infusion therapy setting
by Association for Professionals in Infection Control Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public DomainA study published today in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) reveals that many home infusion therapy (HIT) staff receive no formal training on how to perform central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) surveillance. The study, conducted by researchers from Johns Hopkins University, also identified specific training...
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New variant increases the risk of ‘longer COVID,’ warns expert
by London Medical Laboratory Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Now it’s “longer COVID.” New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show 30% of long COVID sufferers have had symptoms for more than two years. New cases of long COVID are also increasing just as the new “Kraken” XBB1.5 subvariant looks set to sweep the U.K. The...
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Group course can be standard treatment for anxiety and depression, trial finds
by University of Manchester Credit: CC0 Public Domain The first ever trial of a revolutionary group approach to anxiety and depression has shown it is no less effective than the one-on-one sessions thousands of people receive on the NHS every day. The trial compared the Take Control Course for up to 20 people—devised by researchers...
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Are Your Patients Using This Anti-COVID Secret Weapon?
Lisa Jhung January 10, 2023 If your patients vowed to start exercising this year, here’s another incentive to help them stick to their guns: They could protect themselves from potentially devastating COVID-19 outcomes like hospitalization and even death. The evidence is piling up that physical activity can lower the risk of getting very sick from COVID. The CDC,...
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Colonoscopies save lives. Why did a trial suggest they might not?
Emily Sohn Illustration by Jasiek Krzysztofiak It was an uncomfortable moment for people who perform colonoscopies. In October, a massive randomized clinical trial in Europe presented its initial results, which suggested that, as a screening tool, colonoscopies don’t save as many lives as expected. Researchers were perplexed because the procedure had long been considered a...
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Coronavirus variant XBB.1.5 rises in the United States — is it a global threat?
Ewen Callaway A driver is tested for COVID-19. Credit: US Army/ZUMA Press Wire Service/Shutterstock New year, new variant. Just as scientists were getting to grips with the alphabet soup of SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating globally — your BQ.1.1, CH.1.1 and BF.7 — one lineage seems to be rising to the top, thanks to a peculiar new...
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Can boiled peanuts help cure peanut allergies?
by Wiley Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Because heat can affect the structure and immunoreactivity of peanuts, researchers recently tested whether a therapy using sequential doses of boiled peanuts followed by roasted peanuts may help children overcome peanut allergies. Their open label, phase 2, single arm clinical trial, which is published in Clinical & Experimental Allergy, generated promising results. For...
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Super-resistant mosquitoes in Asia pose growing threat: Study
by Sara HUSSEIN More than 90 percent of the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes tested in Cambodia showed ‘an extremely high level of resistance’ to insecticides, a new study shows. Mosquitoes that transmit dengue and other viruses have evolved growing resistance to insecticides in parts of Asia, and novel ways to control them are desperately needed, new...
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COPD: New, Simplified Treatment Guidelines
Neil Skolnik, MD January 06, 2023 I’m Dr Neil Skolnik. Today we are going to talk about the 2023 GOLD guide for COPD. The big news here is a more streamlined approach to treatment, combining what used to be categories C and D into one category — E — for exacerbations. There is continued emphasis on getting a...