By ALEX HOGAN Gilead Sciences’ experimental drug remdesivir has been gaining traction as a potential Covid-19 treatment, and late last week scored an emergency use authorization from federal regulators for it to be used in patients with the condition. Preliminary data released last week from a closely watched trial run by the National Institute of...
Month: <span>May 2020</span>
Post
PCSK9 inhibitor with statin does not cause loss in memory, mental skills in high-risk patients
by American College of Cardiology Heart disease patients taking evolocumab in addition to a statin to achieve extremely low levels of cholesterol do not show increased incidence of neurocognitive impairments, including memory loss or reduction in executive functions (mental skills), while at the same time have a decrease in recurrent cardiovascular events such as stroke...
Post
Rheumatoid arthritis patients on medicare seeing increased costs for specialty medications
After a sharp drop in out-of-pocket costs between 2010 and 2011, Medicare patients who use specialty biologic medications for rheumatoid arthritis have seen higher out-of-pocket spending for those same drugs because of gradual price increases, a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association Open finds. Led by Vanderbilt University School of Medicine...
Post
Hydroxychloroquine linked to increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias
Boston, Mass. — Since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a Public Health Concern of Global Interest on January 30, more than one million have tested positive for the illness in the United States, and more than 62,000 have died. With no FDA-approved treatments available to date, the anti-malarial drug, hydroxychloroquine, has emerged as a...
Post
Electrocardiogram shows value in college athletes’ screens
Over the past 30 years, colleges and universities have increasingly screened athletes for health conditions that may pose undue risk to sports participation. Sudden cardiac death is the leading cause of death among college athletes, so a primary function of these screenings is to reveal unknown heart conditions. The National Collegiate Athletic Association requires a...
Post
Gilead Sciences exporting remdesivir, CEO says
The head of the maker of remdesivir, an anti-viral shown to reduce recovery times in COVID-19 patients, said Sunday the company has been exporting the drug and is making it available to patients in the United States through the US government. Gilead Sciences CEO Daniel O’Day said the company is donating its entire existing supply...
Post
Intensive blood pressure control has potential to reduce risk of atrial fibrillation
by Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center Intensive blood pressure control may reduce the risk of atrial fibrillation (AFib), an irregular heartbeat that can lead to serious complications such as stroke, heart failure and heart attacks, according to scientists at Wake Forest School of Medicine. In a study published in the May 4 edition of...
Post
How physical therapists can aid COVID-19 patients’ recovery after ICU
by David J. Hill, University at Buffalo At least half of all patients who survive treatment in an intensive care unit will experience at least one of a triad of problems associated with post-intensive care syndrome, or PICS, and this may be true for people recovering from COVID-19 following ICU care. PICS can manifest as...
Post
For people with diabetes and COVID-19, blood sugar control is key
by Cell Press A study reported in the journal Cell Metabolism on April 30 adds to the evidence that people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are at greater risk of a poor outcome should they become infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. But there is some encouraging news: people with T2D whose blood sugar...
Post
Study suggests nicotine exposure alone leads to pulmonary hypertension
by Louisiana State University A study conducted by a team of researchers at LSU Health New Orleans has shown for the first time that chronic exposure to inhaled nicotine alone increases blood pressure (hypertension), in both the body’s general circulation and in the lungs that can lead to pulmonary hypertension. The study also found that...