King Charles’ Cancer Diagnosis Highlights Long Wait Times Across the Pond
For Anna Gittins, 3 months would have spelled the difference between life and death. The elementary school principal from Hereford in western England was shocked when she found out she had advanced colorectal cancer in 2022. But when she contacted her local hospital, she was told no one would be able to see her for […]
IVF Helps Patients Trying to Build Families. An Alabama Court Put That in Doubt
Thirty-seven-year-old Corinn O’Brien is about 2 months pregnant through in vitro fertilization (IVF), but an ultrasound recently showed the fetus might be in trouble, and she wants the option to try again if she needs to. Cancer survivor Kailani Greenwood, PA-C, due to give birth in spring after undergoing IVF, hopes to have more children […]
Here’s How Common Long COVID Is in Children
Six to 12 months after COVID-19 infection, very few children developed post-COVID-19 conditions (PCCs) as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), a prospective Canadian study found. At 6 months after being tested for SARS-CoV-2 in pediatric emergency departments (EDs), just 0.52% of children who tested positive had symptoms and changes in quality of life […]
Opinion | Emotional CPR as an Alternative to Coercive Mental Health Treatment
Fisher is a psychiatrist. Several months ago, I interviewed the late Sally Zinman, a heroine of our mental health movement of people with lived experience. I asked what changes she would like to see in the mental health system in the future. Without hesitation she said that the system should value and encourage self-determination and […]
Post-COVID Cognitive Deficits Linked With Clotting Proteins
Two distinct blood biomarker profiles predicted cognitive deficits 6 and 12 months after COVID-19, prospective U.K. data showed. Both biomarker profiles featured proteins involved in coagulation, reported Maxime Taquet, PhD, of the University of Oxford in England, and co-authors in Nature Medicine. Among 1,800 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic, […]
Less Velopharyngeal Insufficiency at Age 5 With Earlier Cleft Palate Surgery
Fewer infants with isolated cleft palate who had primary surgery to close it at age 6 months had insufficient closure between their velum and pharyngeal walls later in childhood than infants who had surgery at 12 months, the TOPS clinical trial found. Among 558 infants in Europe and South America, 8.9% in the 6-month surgery […]
Long COVID Symptoms May Emerge Months After Infection
Long COVID symptoms may emerge months after SARS-CoV-2 infection, data from the prospective multicenter INSPIRE study suggested. Symptom prevalence decreased over 1 year among long COVID patients, but persisted or emerged at different time points in some cases, reported Sharon Saydah, PhD, of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, and co-authors in […]
Another HIV Patient Possibly Cured With Stem Cell Transplant
BRISBANE, Australia — Another HIV patient has been off antiretroviral medication for 20 months without detectable HIV levels after he underwent stem cell transplant to treat cancer — but, unlike previous “cures,” this patient’s donor stem cells did not have the mutation that confers resistance to HIV. Dubbed the “Geneva patient,” the man was diagnosed […]
COVID Infection May Impair Semen Quality, Even After Mild Cases
Semen quality remained impaired more than 3 months after a mild COVID-19 infection, according to a small study from Spain involving unvaccinated men. Testing performed a median 100 days after infection among existing patients at one of six reproductive centers showed lower sperm counts, slower motility, and lower overall sperm quality compared with pre-infection tests […]
Hysterectomy Ultimately Needed After 1 in 8 Endometrial Ablations
Hysterectomy rates can be expected to rise slowly in the months and years following endometrial ablation, regardless of ablation device type, a meta-analysis found. Risk of hysterectomy rose to from 4.3% at 1 year post-endometrial ablation to 12.4% at 5 years in patients with heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB), reported Tamara Oderkerk, MD, of Maxima Medical […]