Do GLP-1 Drugs Pose a Risk to Lung Transplant Recipients?
People taking GLP-1 receptor agonists appeared to be at elevated risk of rejection episodes after lung transplantation, a small, single-center cohort study suggested. In a retrospective review of 301 consecutive lung transplants, the 34 lung recipients taking a GLP-1 drug for diabetes or obesity early in their post-transplant course had 15.19-fold (95% CI 2.08-23.55, P<0.05) […]
Uncontrolled HIV a Risk Factor for Severe Mpox, Global Analysis Confirms
BRISBANE, Australia — The elevated risk of severe mpox in people living with HIV appeared restricted to those with uncontrolled HIV or immunosuppression from other conditions, according to an update on the global outbreak from World Health Organization (WHO) researchers. Of more than 32,000 cases of mpox (formerly monkeypox) reported worldwide where patients’ HIV status […]
Moderna Booster Vaccine Singled Out for Chronic Hives
The monovalent Moderna COVID-19 booster vaccine may be associated with an elevated risk for new-onset chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), or hives lasting more than 6 weeks, according to a Swiss study. Among people who got an mRNA COVID vaccine booster and had new-onset hives reported to local allergists, 90% had vaccination precede CSU in the […]
MRI-Targeted Biopsy for Prostate Cancer Reduces Risk of Overdiagnosis
Excluding systematic biopsy in favor of MRI-targeted biopsy in men with elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels reduced the probability of detecting clinically insignificant cancers, but at the risk of missing some clinically significant cancers and delaying their diagnosis, the randomized GÖTEBORG-2 trial from Sweden showed. Among nearly 18,000 participants, 0.6% of men who underwent MRI-targeted […]
CDC Warns on Early Wave of Respiratory Illnesses
The CDC is warning of elevated levels of non-COVID respiratory illnesses in recent weeks — including rising cases of influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and rhinovirus. The surge stands in contrast to the lower activity of these viruses seen during the past couple of pandemic years, as a result of the various mitigation measures for […]
Persistent Brain Fog After Mild COVID Infection Tied to CSF Markers
People with persistent cognitive changes after mild COVID had elevated levels of immune activation and immunovascular markers in their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) 10 months after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, a small study showed. In a late-breaking abstract presented at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) annual meeting, Joanna Hellmuth, MD, MHS, of the University of California […]
A Cup of Joe to Thwart Liver Fibrosis? How About Four
High coffee consumption was linked to a lower risk for elevated liver stiffness, though no such association was seen with steatosis, researchers found in a cross-sectional study. In a dietary analysis involving over 4,500 adults, drinking more than 3 cups of coffee (versus none) was associated with a 0.9 kPa reduction (95% CI -1.6 to […]
Two Inflammatory Proteins Linked With Slower Cognitive Decline
In a surprising finding, elevated levels of two inflammatory proteins were associated with slower cognitive decline in older adults. Higher plasma levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-12 p70 (IL-12p70) were associated with less cognitive decline in people with a significant burden of amyloid-beta, reported Rudolph Tanzi, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in […]