Opinion | ‘This Is an Extremely Rare Phenomenon’: What We Heard This Week
“It is important to note that this is an extremely rare phenomenon.” — Apurv Soni, MD, PhD, of the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School in Worcester, on cases of false-positive rapid COVID tests. “Likely, if we are able to treat one of these illnesses, we will be able to treat them all.” — Avindra […]
Donor Milk, Formula Go Head-to-Head for Extreme Preemies in the NICU
Whether extremely preterm neonates got nutrient fortified, pasteurized donor milk or preterm formula in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) made little difference in neurodevelopmental outcomes, a randomized clinical trial found. Among newborns fed minimal maternal milk, the adjusted mean Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID) cognitive score at 22 to 26 months […]
Can practicing self-compassion help people achieve weight loss goals?
Losing weight is extremely difficult because high-calorie, delicious food is very accessible. Despite best intentions, it’s common to wind up overeating. These setbacks can be frustrating and demoralizing and often lead people to abandon their goals. A new study from the Center for Weight, Eating and Lifestyle Sciences (WELL Center) in Drexel University’s College of […]
‘Yellow’ Blood Products Come With VTE Risk, Study Finds
SAN FRANCISCO — Surgeons should be extremely judicious in ordering fresh frozen plasma (FFP) as part of perioperative blood transfusions, suggested a nationwide analysis reported here. Post-operative rates of both venous thromboembolism (VTE) and mortality were significantly higher in patients receiving FFP along with red blood cells, relative to those transfused only with red cells, […]
Opinion | Health Inequity Should Be Labeled as a ‘Never Event’
Progress eliminating health inequities is extremely slow. I use health inequities as an overarching term referring to differences between demographics in healthcare treatment or health outcomes, as well as differences in healthcare employee treatment and representation in leadership and governance positions. While increased awareness of disparities has improved our understanding of differences in health outcomes […]
Microprotein increases appetite in mice: Scientists discovered more than 3,800 small proteins involved in metabolism and found that one microprotein, Gm8773, increases feeding activity in mice–providing a potential new approach to encourage weight gain in people with cancer and other diseases
Obesity and metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, are extremely common in the United States. Tiny proteins called microproteins have long been overlooked in research, but new evidence demonstrates that they have an important role in metabolism. Salk scientists have discovered that both brown and white fat is filled with thousands of previously unknown microproteins, and […]
At HBCUs, It’s Time For The Students To Heal — But Where Do We Start?
College was extremely difficult for me. When I was an undergrad at Fayetteville State University, an HBCU in North Carolina, I juggled academics, part-time jobs, relationships and other obligations. I was a walking ball of anxiety wrapped in the “strong Black woman” trope that we all still insist on upholding. And that, if you can […]
Prenatal Steroids May Improve Outcomes in Extremely Preterm Infants
A complete course of antenatal steroids was associated with higher survival in extremely preterm infants, a cohort study showed. Among infants born at 22 weeks to less than 24 weeks, 53.9% who had full exposure to antenatal steroids at gestational age 21 to 22 weeks survived to discharge, compared with 37.5% who had partial steroid […]
Active Treatment for Extremely Preterm Babies on the Rise
Babies born extremely preterm were more likely to receive active treatment in recent years, but there were gaps in treatment among different racial and ethnic groups, according to a cross-sectional study. From 2014 to 2020, the proportion of extremely preterm infants who received active treatment rose nearly 4% each year (45.7% to 58.8%), increasing in […]
Less Invasive Surfactant Delivery Works for Tiniest Newborns
For extremely preterm infants with potential respiratory distress syndrome, less invasive surfactant administration (LISA) was associated with a significant decrease in the risk of adverse outcomes, a cohort study found. There was a drop in requirement for invasive mechanical ventilation between those infants receiving LISA within the first 72 hours of life and those who […]