Body

A group of health care leaders, including a University of Massachusetts Amherst nurse innovator, has published a national call to action to prevent non-ventilator-associated, hospital-acquired pneumonia (NVHAP).

Two mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 have proven safe and effective in clinical trials, as well as in the millions of people who have been vaccinated so far. But how prior SARS-CoV-2 infection affects vaccine response, and how long that response lasts, are still uncertain. Now, a new study in ACS Nano supports increasing evidence that people who had COVID-19 need only one vaccine dose, and that boosters could be necessary for everyone in the future.

With the National Eye Institute reporting that about 11 million older adults in the U.S. endure a condition that leads to progressive blindness, known as age-related macular degeneration, University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers are starting to understand what goes wrong in the disease, in order to develop new therapies to treat it.

Using human tissue and mice in their new study, published on June 23 in
Nature Communications, they showed that the process which removes the eye's old, damaged light sensors is disrupted in macular degeneration.

Digital trial replicated and expanded upon results of traditional clinical trials

Developing virtual patient populations can speed up trials process

A study involving virtual rather than real patients was as effective as traditional clinical trials in evaluating a medical device used to treat brain aneurysms, according to new research.

As people go about their daily activities, complex fluctuations in their movement occur without conscious thought. These fluctuations -- known as fractal motor activity regulation (FMAR) -- and their changes are not readily detectable to the naked eye, but FMAR patterns can be recorded using a wristwatch-like device known as an actigraph. A new study, led by investigators at Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Washington University at St.

Alexandria, VA, and New Rochelle, NY, June 17, 2021--Catherine F. Sinclair, MD, has been appointed the next Editor-in-Chief of VideoEndocrinology™, published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

In recent years, the use of medical cannabis to treat sick kids is on the rise, although questions remain about the benefits and safety of such treatments. Now, a team of researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) has completed a first-ever meta-analysis of pediatric patients treated with medical cannabis to better understand the risks and benefits of cannabis use among young patients.

Dissatisfaction with married life raises the risk of dying from a cerebrovascular accident: A new Tel Aviv University study reveals that perceiving marriage as unsuccessful is a significant predictor of death from a CVA and premature death among men, no less that well-known risk factors such as smoking and lack of physical activity. The study was based on extensive health data from more than 30 years of research that tracked the deaths of 10,000 Israeli men.

Vitamin B12 is essential for proper functioning of the nervous system and blood cells and also plays an important role in DNA synthesis in all our cells. Vitamin B12 deficiency causes fatigue, muscle weakness, headaches, and sometimes even serious neurological symptoms. Usually, the necessary amounts of B12 are absorbed from food in our digestive tract; however, in 0.1-2% of individuals, the epithelial lining of the stomach fails to produce a glycoprotein intrinsic factor that is needed for proper absorption of B12.

Drugs routinely used during fertility treatments to release eggs do not increase the risk of developing breast cancer, new research has shown.

Researchers from King's College London, in partnership with King's Fertility, analysed studies involving 1.8 million women undergoing fertility treatments. These women were followed up in studies for an average period of 27 years and had no increase in the risk of developing breast cancer.

A study by the University of Liverpool has shown that while asymptomatic COVID-19 testing in Liverpool was popular, significant inequalities were evident between those who got tested and those who didn't.

A blood test that can detect tiny amounts of circulating cancer DNA may be able to identify risk of cancer recurrence and guide precision treatment in bladder cancer following surgery, according to a clinical study led by Professor Tom Powles from Queen Mary University of London and Barts Health NHS Trust. The findings from the study, published in Nature, may change our understanding of cancer care following surgery.

Biologists at the Universities of Bath and Vienna have discovered 71 new 'imprinted' genes in the mouse genome, a finding that takes them a step closer to unravelling some of the mysteries of epigenetics - an area of science that describes how genes are switched on (and off) in different cells, at different stages in development and adulthood.

Fat biomolecules in the blood, called "serum lipids," are necessary evils. They play important roles in the lipid metabolism and are integral for the normal functioning of the body. However, they have a darker side; according to several studies, they are associated with various cancers. The medical community has fathoms to go before truly understanding the implications of different serum lipid levels in cancer.

June 21, 2021 -- A new study published in Nutrients investigated the effect of increased dietary potassium from a whole food source--baked/boiled potatoes and baked French fries--or a potassium supplement on blood pressure and other cardiovascular disease risk factors compared to a 'typical American' control diet (lower potassium intake) among 30 pre-hypertensive to hypertensive men and women.