IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGESChikungunya virus is transmitted by mosquitoes, most commonly Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti and Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictusBy Nicholas YongBBC News, Singapore The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the world’s first vaccine for chikungunya, which it sees as an “emerging global health threat”. The mosquito-borne disease causes fever and joint pains and can be...
Month: <span>November 2023</span>
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Ozempic: What are side effects of much-touted ‘weight loss’ drug?
Ozempic mimics the natural hormone GLP-1 by sending signals to a person’s brain that they are full Representational image. — Unsplash As people seek to lose weight and take medications to help them shed a few pounds, it is necessary to know about the side effects of the drugs that a person is taking. Ozempic...
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Battling aspergillus: The synergistic power of statin combinations
by Chiba University The Checkerboard method for determining the likely synergistic effect of pitavastatin and itraconazole on Aspergillus fumigatus in silkworms showed that the drug combination increased silkworm survival rates while decreasing fungal activity. Credit: Majima et al. from Chiba University, Japan Pulmonary aspergillosis—a group of infectious respiratory diseases caused by various species of the fungus...
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Low-fat diet found to reduce fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis
by Erik Robinson, Oregon Health & Science University Credit: CC0 Public Domain New research from Oregon Health & Science University suggests that people with multiple sclerosis, or MS, could benefit from a low-fat diet to improve the fatigue that’s a debilitating, and often-underappreciated, symptom of the condition. The study, published in the Multiple Sclerosis Journal, is...
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Study finds that laser epilation reduces risk of recurrence of pilonidal disease
by Nemours Children’s Health System Credit: CC0 Public Domain Laser epilation, commonly known as laser hair removal, reduced the risk of recurrence in patients with pilonidal disease, an inflammatory, painful, and sometimes chronic or recurring condition, according to research conducted by Peter C. Minneci, M.D., Chair of Surgery at Nemours Children’s Health, Delaware Valley, and published...
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FDA approves Takeda’s new enzyme replacement therapy for rare blood clotting disorder
Christophe Weber, Takeda CEO Shoko TakayasuNovember 9, 2023FDA approves Takeda’s new enzyme replacement therapy for rare blood clotting disorderZachary BrennanSenior EditorThe FDA on Thursday approved Takeda’s Adzynma, an enzyme replacement therapy for adult and pediatric patients with congenital thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (cTTP), which is a rare and potentially fatal blood clotting disorder. The approval was...
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What Not to Prescribe to Older Adults and What to Use Instead
Neil Skolnik, MDDISCLOSURES November 08, 2023 I’m Dr Neil Skolnik. Today we are going to talk about the American Geriatrics Society 2023 updated Beers Criteria guidance for medication use in older adults. These criteria have been updated and revised approximately every 5 years since 1991 and serve to alert us to medications for which the risk-benefit ratio...
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AAO: Diabetic retinopathy usually no worse with semaglutide in T2D
by Elana Gotkine For patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, most eyes have no worsening of diabetic retinopathy (DR) after initiation of semaglutide, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, held from Nov. 3 to 6 in San Francisco. Zeeshan Haq, M.D., from Retina Consultants of Minnesota...
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Puerto Rico declares flu epidemic as cases spike. 42 dead and more than 900 hospitalized since July
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Puerto Rico health officials on Thursday declared an influenza epidemic in the U.S. territory. At least 25,900 cases have been reported since July, with 42 deaths and more than 900 hospitalizations on the island of 3.2 million people, Health Secretary Carlos Mellado said. Epidemiologist Melissa Marzán noted that officials have seen...
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Botulinum toxin may be beneficial for isolated, essential head tremor
by Elana Gotkine For patients with isolated or essential head tremor, injection of botulinum toxin into each splenius capitis muscle on day 0 and during week 12 is more effective than placebo for reducing tremor severity, according to a study published in the Nov. 9 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Ana Marques,...