Opinion | Challenges (and Rewards) of Being a Rural Doctor
I worked in rural Kentucky for 20 years — all of it in poverty clinics. I suspect I got to know my patients better than someone working in a specialty clinic in a big city. The challenges and rewards of doctoring are unique to each specialty, but these are the challenges and rewards I experienced […]
Healthcare Workers Who Wear Better Masks Get Less COVID
Healthcare workers had better odds of outmaneuvering SARS-CoV-2 infection while wearing a respirator mask rather than a surgical mask, an observational study showed. Among workers exposed to COVID-19 patients, those who always donned a respirator mask had a lower likelihood of infection (21% vs 35% for those that did not; OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.39-0.61), […]
Researchers Propose List of Core Symptoms to Better Define Long COVID
Researchers proposed a list of core symptoms that could offer a better working definition of long COVID, based on an observational cohort study from the Netherlands. Among over 1,700 COVID patients, 21.4% had at least one core symptom — including chest pain, breathing difficulties, painful muscles, ageusia or anosmia, tingling or heavy extremities, lump in […]
Plant-based ‘meat’ ‘healthier and more sustainable than animal products’
Plant-based dietary alternatives to animal products are better for the environment and for human health when compared with the animal products they are designed to replace, say the authors of a new study. A new paper published in Future Foods argues that because these foods are ‘specifically formulated to replicate the taste, texture, and overall […]
Higher protein intake while dieting leads to healthier eating
Eating a larger proportion of protein while dieting leads to better food choices and helps avoid the loss of lean body mass, according to a Rutgers study. An analysis of pooled data from multiple weight-loss trials conducted at Rutgers shows that increasing the amount of protein even slightly, from 18 percent of a person’s food […]
Breast Cancer Survivors Who Work Out See Heart Benefits
Physical activity among long-term breast cancer survivors was associated with better global longitudinal strain (GLS), though not left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), data from a cohort study found. Compared with inactive survivors, moderately active breast cancer survivors had a 35% lower risk of abnormal GLS (relative risk [RR] 0.65, 95% CI 0.45-0.94) while active survivors […]
New gene identified in arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy
Researchers from the group of Eva van Rooij used advanced sequencing technology to better understand the heart disease arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, in which heart muscle tissue is replaced by fat cells. Using explanted human hearts, they found regions in which heart muscle was actively degenerated and identified a new gene, ZBTB11, that drives heart muscle cell […]
Microbes help orchestrate how the gut uses its genes: Mice without microbes rely on an entirely different set of genes to digest fat
The microbes that help break down food actually tell the gut how to do its job better, according to a new study in mice at Duke. The researchers said it appears that the microbes are able to influence which of the gut’s genes are being called into action, and in turn, that interaction might lead […]
Maladaptive daydreaming may be a better diagnosis for some than ADHD, study finds
Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) may be a better diagnosis for some people than ADHD, according to a new study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researchers, in collaboration with the University of Haifa. MD is a condition whereby people slip into involved highly detailed and realistic daydreams that can last hours at the cost of normal […]
Don’t Wait, Ablate to Prevent VT Episodes After an ICD Shock?
WASHINGTON — Researchers made a strong case that earlier was better when it comes to catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardias (VTs) in people with implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs). After a first ICD shock, 23 patients with ischemic or non-ischemic cardiomyopathy soon underwent radiofrequency VT ablation and ended up with 4% incidence of worsening heart failure […]