Month: August 2022

Rare gene variants are associated with a reduced risk for multiple types of liver disease, including cirrhosis, researchers say. People with certain variants in the gene CIDEB are one-third less likely to develop any sort of liver disease, according to Aris Baras, MD, a senior vice president at Regeneron, and colleagues. “The unprecedented protective effect

Higher serum aldosterone levels were linked to a greater risk of kidney failure in chronic kidney disease (CKD), both for those with and without diabetes, a study showed. Every doubling in aldosterone level was associated with 11% (95% CI 1.04-1.18) greater risk of progression of CKD to end-stage kidney disease or halving of estimated glomerular

There’s a surge in children’s bacterial brain infections, and COVID-19 could be behind it. When the pandemic started, the doctors at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital of Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan, saw a 236% rise in bacterial brain infections. The type of infection recorded was considered rare, and cases varied between mild and severe. The former only needed antibiotics

Early improvement of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is associated with improved all-cause and cardiac death at 5 years in patients with severe aortic stenosis and LVEF less than 50%, new research shows. Further analyses also revealed a significant interaction by sex, with the mortality benefit largely in women.

Is there evidence of in-class transmission of COVID-19 at schools? A study on a university with mandated vaccination and masking says no. With the SARS-CoV-2 virus being highly transmissible, concerns about going back to in-person classes are plenty, even with vaccinations in place. However, a new study suggested otherwise. “Going back to full-occupancy, in-person teaching at Boston University (BU)

During the 2021-2022 flu season, influenza activity in the United States was lower than pre-pandemic levels despite increased reporting and testing, possibly owing to COVID-19 precautions, according to a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For the 2022-2023 season, CDC has updated recommendations for the annual vaccine to include

Persistent smell loss after SARS-CoV-2 infection predicted cognitive impairment in older adults, a longitudinal study in Argentina showed. One year after acute infection, anosmia was more strongly associated with cognitive impairment than severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection, reported Gabriela Gonzalez-Aleman, MSc, PhD, of Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina in Buenos Aires, at the 2022 Alzheimer’s Association International

Two weeks after the U.S. reported its first case of polio in almost a decade, in Rockland County, north of New York City, experts fear that an outbreak could have infected hundreds of people in the area.  The first case was a formerly healthy young adult who developed a paralysis in the legs after getting

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Californians will decide in November whether to lock the right to abortion into the state constitution. If they vote “yes” on Proposition 1, they will also lock in a right that has gotten less attention: the right to birth control. Should the measure succeed, California would become one of the first states —

An Illinois daycare worker tested positive for the monkeypox virus, suggesting that the staff and children at the center could have been potentially exposed to the disease.  Health officials announced Friday that an adult employee at a daycare in Rantoul, Illinois, near Champaign, had tested positive for monkeypox, prompting health care personnel to screen the

Many women with symptoms of menopause are turning to cannabis for help, researchers have found, despite a lack of evidence that the drug works for these issues.  In a survey of perimenopausal and menopausal women who said they’ve used cannabis, nearly 80% said they use medical marijuana to alleviate symptoms like sleep disturbances, hot flashes,