CDC: Handful of Swine Flu Cases Detected in Humans in Multiple States
Five cases of human infection with flu variants normally spread only in pigs were reported to CDC in August, the agency announced in a Health Alert Network advisory on Tuesday. Cases were detected in West Virginia, Oregon, and Ohio, and all of the individuals have since recovered. According to the CDC, four of the infections […]
First-Line HIV Treatment Proves Mettle in Pregnant Patients
The HIV agent dolutegravir (Tivicay) was tied to greater viral suppression for pregnant patients with HIV-1, according to a cohort study. Among patients who used dolutegravir during pregnancy, viral suppression at delivery was achieved in nearly 96.7% of participants, reported Kunjal Patel, DSc, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, and […]
Gun Violence Bill Contains an Unlikely Provision on PBMs
WASHINGTON — Why does a law aimed at preventing gun violence include a provision dealing with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)? The answer is simple: money. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, passed by Congress and signed into law on June 25 by President Biden, is designed primarily to decrease gun violence by, among other things, enhancing […]
Texas Reports Nation’s First Possible Death From Monkeypox
A severely immunocompromised man in Texas has died after being diagnosed with monkeypox, state and local health officials announced Tuesday, marking what may be the nation’s first death related to the disease. Harris County Judge Linda Hidalgo said in a statement that the Houston-area man, who died Sunday, “faced various severe illnesses” and that his […]
Nonselective Beta-Blockers May Improve Outcomes in Ovarian Cancer
Women with cardiovascular conditions (CVCs) and ovarian cancer had better 2-year survival if they received a nonselective beta blocker (NSBB) at or around the time of cancer surgery, a review of medical records showed. Two-year postoperative survival was 80% in the patients who received NSBBs versus 69% for those who did not receive NSBBs. The […]
Can Pre-Op Chemo Set Stage for Organ-Sparing Surgery in Early Rectal Cancer?
Three months of induction chemotherapy resulted in successful downstaging for certain patients with early-stage rectal cancer, enabling them to undergo organ-sparing therapy, according to a phase II trial. In 33 of 58 patients, induction with modified folinic acid, fluorouracil, oxaliplatin 6 (FOLFOX6) or capecitabine-oxaliplatin (CAPOX), followed by transanal excision surgery, resulted in downstaging to ypT0/1N0/X […]
Food texture key to eating habits in children with Down syndrome
Children with Down syndrome prefer food with a crispy, oily mouthfeel and don’t like brittle or gooey foods. But those preferences can lead to a less nutritious diet, according to Washington State University research published in the Journal of Texture Studies. “Children with Down syndrome really enjoy foods like Pirate’s Booty and puffed corn,” said […]
Finally, A Foundational Heart Failure Drug That Works Across the Spectrum of EF
BARCELONA — With a major win in DELIVER, dapagliflozin (Farxiga) closed the gap on the types of heart failure (HF) proven to be treated safely by SGLT2 inhibition. People with HF with preserved (HFpEF) and mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF) alike had a reduced risk of cardiovascular (CV) death and worsening HF over a median […]
Nearly Half of MSM Are Changing Sex Behaviors to Reduce Monkeypox Risk
Roughly half of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) said they have cut down on their sexual activities due to the monkeypox outbreak, according to a CDC report. Among 824 men who participated in the American Men’s Internet Survey (AMIS) monkeypox-specific follow-up survey, 47.8% said they reduced their number of […]
Mapping the brain stem’s control of eating could lead to better treatments for obesity: An atlas of neuronal circuits could help predict targets for medications to control appetite
Every meal you sit-down-to makes an impression, with foods filed away as something delicious to be sought out again, or to be avoided in disgust if we associate the flavor with gut malaise. How this decision is made turns out to be so fundamental to our wellbeing — determining what foods to seek and avoid […]