Green tea extract may harm liver in people with certain genetic variations
Long-term use of high-dose green tea extract may provide some protection against cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes, but it also may create liver damage in a small minority of the population. Who is at risk? Research from Rutgers, published in The Journal of Dietary Supplements, provides the first solid clue: two genetic […]
Could a Plant-Based Diet Benefit Men’s Health Below the Belt?
MIAMI — A plant-based or plant-forward diet may offer some protection against prostate cancer and other sexual health issues, according to a systematic review. Twelve of the 23 studies that met the review’s inclusion criteria looked at prostate cancer, and data from large registry trials indicated a link between a plant-based diet and a decreased […]
CDC: Monovalent Vax Has ‘Limited’ Protection Against BA.4/5 Hospitalization
A monovalent mRNA booster dose offered “limited” protection against COVID-related hospitalizations from the currently circulating Omicron variants, a CDC analysis found, likely due to the waning effects of the vaccines and potentially more immune evasion with BA.4/BA.5. In immunocompetent adults, vaccine effectiveness (VE) against hospitalization with three doses of mRNA vaccine dropped from 69% (95% […]
Presumed Clinical Benefits of TAVR Cerebral Protection Remain Unproven
BOSTON — Cerebral embolic protection (CEP) again came up empty in preventing strokes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) despite safely capturing embolic material dislodged during the procedure, a large randomized trial found. In the 3,000-person PROTECTED TAVR trial, the sentinel dual-filter system produced no significant reduction in periprocedural strokes compared with control cases without […]
Vax Protection Fades Fast Against BA.4/5-Related Hospitalizations
Vaccine protection against hospitalization from the latest Omicron subvariants deteriorates rapidly, even after a third dose, new data from South Africa indicated, suggesting that annual boosters might not cut it for high-risk people. With the primary two-dose series of Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine, effectiveness against BA.4/5-related hospitalization slipped from 47.4% after 3-4 months (95% CI 19.9-65.5) […]
Nothing Lasts Forever, Including Infant BCG Vaccine Protection
Infants who received BCG [bacille Calmette-Guérin] vaccination at birth had protection against tuberculosis into early childhood, but that protection largely disappeared in only a few years, according to a meta-analysis. Effectiveness of the BCG vaccination against tuberculosis in all age groups was 18%. However, when the results were stratified by age, only in children younger […]
Special Shielding Could Fix Cath Lab Staff’s Radiation and Orthopedic Issues
PARIS — An operator shielding system offered body protection rivaling that of standard lead gowns in the catheterization lab, providing a glimpse at a potential tantalizing future where interventional cardiologists can ditch their heavy gear without sacrificing radiation protection. At a center in Australia, an experiment showed that the Rampart shielding system — an adjustable […]
Meningitis B Vaccine May Protect Against … Gonorrhea?
Vaccination against meningococcal serogroup B may also provide modest protection against gonorrhea, evidence from the U.S. and Australia showed. According to surveillance records from New York City and Philadelphia, complete vaccination with the four-component meningococcal serogroup B vaccine (MenB-4C; Bexsero) provided 40% protection against gonorrhea infection compared with no vaccination (adjusted prevalence ratio [APR] 0.60, […]
Dr. Lorna Breen Law Signals Hope for Healthcare Workers
On Friday, President Joe Biden signed the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act into law. The law will direct $140 million over the next 3 years to training healthcare providers on suicide prevention strategies and behavioral health, promoting self-care and the importance of seeking help, and scaling best practices. For the family of […]
Primary Vaccine Series Alone Can’t Stop Omicron Infection
Protection against symptomatic COVID-19 with the Omicron variant shot up after a booster dose among adults who received the two-dose Pfizer vaccine primary series (Comirnaty), though even that faded with time, British researchers found. While protection against symptomatic disease dwindled to next to nothing (8.8%, 95% CI 7.0-10.5) at 25 or more weeks, vaccine effectiveness […]