News

The BA.2 variant has officially become the dominant strain in the United States, with the latest data showing that more than half of all reported cases last week were caused by the highly contagious version of omicron.  BA.2 Infections In The U.S. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday that the

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. President Joe Biden on Wednesday unveiled a federal website that promises “one-stop shopping” for free masks and COVID-19 tests, vaccines, and treatments. The website, covid.gov, also includes a list of pharmacies that will be part of the new “test-to-treat” program. “You’ll

In a largely unvaccinated population, high-titer convalescent plasma given early after development of COVID-19 reduced hospitalizations, a randomized controlled trial showed. COVID-19-related hospitalization or death within 28 days occurred in 2.9% of transfusion recipients compared with 6.3% of recipients of control plasma (P=0.005), for a relative 54% risk reduction that was entirely accounted for by

Few things are more challenging than trying to vaccinate a terrified and uncooperative child. I have seen children wedge themselves into a corner and refuse to budge. I have seen them thrash and yell. And I have seen them sit perfectly still, but cry the entire time. I’m an associate professor of pediatrics and have

The number of fires that firefighters put out yearly is associated with their subsequent risk of atrial fibrillation, a new study suggests. With increasing fire exposure, defined as fires fought annually, firefighters had a higher rate of atrial fibrillation, reported Paari Dominic, MD, of Louisiana State University in Shreveport, Louisiana, and colleagues. It is important

We are all tired of COVID. But even though the news has moved on to other concerning geopolitical issues, it is a fact that COVID is still very much with us. Vaccines have certainly helped drive down its worst effects, but the disease is here to stay, and we must learn to live with it.

DENVER — A first-of-its-kind study evaluating a mindfulness intervention to ease grief unexpectedly showed that the control treatment, progressive muscle relaxation, was more effective. Dr Lindsey Knowles “Both progressive muscle relaxation and mindfulness training were shown to improve grief severity, yearning, depression symptoms, and stress; [but] the results from this study suggest that progressive muscle

Utah pediatrician Gordon Duval, DO, was planning to get away with his wife, Leona, and their five children for spring break. However, instead of taking a family trip, he traveled to war-torn Ukraine to care for orphaned children. “It started off with having that desire to go help out as a physician,” Duval, of Mountain

GlaxoSmithKline’s COVID-19 antibody-drug is unlikely to be effective against the notorious Omicron subvariant known as BA.2, the pharmaceutical giant announced Friday.  The company said that regulators have “amended the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) Fact Sheet for sotrovimab, an investigational monoclonal antibody,” as evidence showed that “it is unlikely that the sotrovimab 500 mg dose will

DENVER — Neurocognitive and psychiatric symptoms of mental illness, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are alarmingly high among patients who have previously had COVID-19 — even among those who were not hospitalized with the virus, new research shows. The findings are from an online survey of more than 800 respondents. “Regardless of how long ago

The Omicron-fueled outbreak in China has forced Shanghai to impose a two-part lockdown in hopes of curbing transmissions and containing the situation.  Over the weekend, Chinese officials announced that the city of Shanghai would be implementing a two-part lockdown starting this week. Home to more than 25 million people, the city will be divided into

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Tech billionaire Elon Musk has COVID-19 for the second time. “How many gene changes before it’s not Covid-19 anymore? I supposedly have it again (sigh), but almost no symptoms,” the Tesla and SpaceX CEO tweeted early Monday. Despite his position against vaccine mandates,

While the risk of anaphylaxis after administration of IV iron product was low among older adults, it was more common after certain iron products, researchers found. The highest adjusted incidence rates for anaphylaxis among Medicare recipients receiving IV iron was 9.8 cases (95% CI 6.2-15.3) per 10,000 first administrations of iron dextran (Dexferrum) and 4.0

Research regarding Omicron’s notorious subvariant discovered that it was harsher for children in what the authors call “the largest uninfected and unvaccinated childhood population to study the intrinsic severity of Omicron BA.2.” The study, conducted Feb. 5-28 in Hong Kong, found that BA.2 was more severe in kids with no history of COVID-19 vaccination or

Patients with recessive X-linked and autosomal recessive lamellar congenital ichthyosis (CI) achieved treatment success with a novel topical isotretinoin ointment known as TMB-001, results from a phase 2b study demonstrated. “Patients with these deficiencies have generally had very limited treatment options, including lifelong use of emollients and keratolytics, and in severe cases, systemic retinoids,” Christopher G. Bunick,

New data on the omicron variant wave is seemingly casting doubt on the efficacy of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after recording more deaths than the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.  COVID Deaths In Janssen Recipients Recently published numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggested that COVID-related deaths among Janssen

The main feature of retronychia, a nail disorder of the toes, is the growth of new nail under prior nail growth. But this layering of nails is not always readily apparent on clinical examination, commonly leading to the wrong therapy and no resolution to the problem, according to an expert update at the 2022 American

Bacterial colonization of surgical helmets, a prophylactic aspirin regimen for venous thromboembolism (VTE), and the value of virtual visits in pediatric orthopedics were examined in several studies at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons meeting. Pathogens and Surgical Helmets Nearly three-fourths of a sample of surgical helmets and surgeons’ foreheads swabbed after a day’s worth

A new study explored the severity of the BA.2 strain in children and found that the younger population could be at high risk for more severe health issues when infected with this variant of the novel coronavirus, dubbed “stealth omicron.” The Findings Of The Study In a preprint published March 21, researchers shared what they

Nearly 40% of adults with alopecia areata taking baricitinib, an oral Janus kinase (JAK) 1 and 2 inhibitor, see significant hair regrowth over 52 weeks, according to updated results from two phase 3 trials presented at the American Academy of Dermatology 2022 annual meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. The results indicate improved response rates and hair

A team of scientists said Wednesday they had developed a male oral contraceptive that was 99 percent effective in mice and didn’t cause observable side effects, with the drug expected to enter human trials by the end of this year. The findings will be presented at the American Chemical Society’s spring meeting, and mark a

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Following infection with SARS-CoV-2 infection, patients between the ages of 18 and 65 were at a significantly increased for developing certain cutaneous autoimmune and vascular diseases. This predominately favored systemic disease states with cutaneous involvement, rather than skin-limited processes. The findings

TTHealthWatch is a weekly podcast from Texas Tech. In it, Elizabeth Tracey, director of electronic media for Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, and Rick Lange, MD, president of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso, look at the top medical stories of the week. This week’s topics include neurologic sequelae of vaccination

A team of scientists has found the presence of microplastics in human blood for the first time. These microplastics were used in beverage bottles and food packaging. There isn’t really a “universally established” definition for microplastics, noted the researchers of a new study published Thursday in the journal Environment International. However, microplastics are often defined as small pieces

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Long COVID symptoms may differ depending on which SARS-CoV-2 variant is behind a person’ s infection, a new study shows. The data from Italy compared long COVID symptoms reported by patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 from March to December 2020 (when the

Misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and fertility has propagated online despite the vaccines’ clear safety profile. Fortunately, those considering having kids can relax when it comes to these crucial shots. These claims lack any realistic basis. As a medical doctor and a COVID-19 genetics researcher, I’d like to discuss what the evidence says. Misinformation about fertility

The Milky Way was formed 13 billion years ago ― 2 billion years earlier than previously believed, according to an analysis from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission, performed by scientists from the Max-Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany. What to know: Astronomers studying data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission discovered that the

This week, Pfizer launched a nationwide recall of quinapril hydrochloride/hydrochlorothiazide (Accuretic), as well as two generics distributed by Greenstone, citing excess levels of a potential carcinogen. The recall was triggered by the presence of N-nitroso-quinapril above the Acceptable Daily Intake level. However, there have been no reports of adverse events related to the nitrosamine contamination