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 […]
Childhood Adversity Tied to Race-Related Differences in Brain Development
Gray matter volume in key brain regions was lower in Black children compared with white children, likely due to disparities in childhood adversity, according to data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Among children ages 9 to 10 years, white kids showed greater gray matter volumes compared with Black kids in the amygdala, […]
Opinion | The Agonizing Decision of Caring for an Abusive Parent
“My parents abused me as a child. I went ‘no contact’ with them over 10 years ago, but now my dad is in the hospital with a serious diagnosis and the discharge planner keeps asking me to be involved. I don’t want to. What are my rights?” I read the lengthy message several times, feeling […]
Polypill Tested for Cognitive, Functional Benefits
Reducing blood pressure and cholesterol in the TIPS-3 trial with a polypill, with or without aspirin, showed no protective effect on cognition in older adults with cardiovascular disease risk factors, a secondary analysis showed. During a 5-year follow-up, about the same number of trial participants in TIPS-3 experienced substantive cognitive decline in both the treatment […]
JAK Inhibitor Improves Symptoms, Anemia in Myelofibrosis
Myelofibrosis treatment with the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor momelotinib resulted in clinically significant improvements in symptoms and spleen response compared with danazol for symptomatic, JAK inhibitor-exposed patients with anemia and intermediate- or high-risk disease, the phase III MOMENTUM trial showed. A significantly greater proportion of patients in the momelotinib group reported a ≥50% reduction in […]
Coffee with milk may have an anti-inflammatory effect
Can something as simple as a cup of coffee with milk have an anti-inflammatory effect in humans? Apparently so, according to a new study from the University of Copenhagen. A combination of proteins and antioxidants doubles the anti-inflammatory properties in immune cells. The researchers hope to be able to study the health effects on humans. […]
Opinion | Like Many Physicians, I’ve Forgotten How to Relax
Here I am, on vacation at a luxury resort in Hawaii with my wife and two of my four children and their three children. It’s 10 p.m. and I’m beginning to write this essay while everyone is snug and tucked away for the night. Earlier in the day, sitting around the swimming pool, I’m glued […]
FDA to Ease Restrictions on Blood Donations From Gay Men
The FDA is planning to ease rules that for decades have barred or discouraged men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating blood, due to concerns over HIV transmission. In draft guidance released on Friday, the agency recommended moving toward “gender-inclusive individual risk-based questions” as a means of mitigating the risk of transfusion-transmitted HIV. […]
COVID Risk Up to 50% Higher for Nursing Home Residents Behind on Vaccination
Nursing home residents who were not up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines had a 30% to 50% higher risk of getting infected compared with those who were up to date, CDC researchers said. From Oct. 10, 2022 to Jan. 8, 2023, weekly COVID incidence rates ranged from 7.2 to 15.6 per 1,000 nursing home […]
More Antipsychotics Given for Dementia During Pandemic
Antipsychotic drug prescribing rates among people with dementia increased markedly during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, a multinational database study showed. Notably, those rates did not return to prepandemic levels after the acute phase of the pandemic had ended, Kenneth K.C. Man, PhD, of University College London School of Pharmacy, and colleagues reported […]