ALL ABOUT HEALTH -

03Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

FDA Approves Long-Acting Medication for People With Multidrug-Resistant HIV

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Sunlenca (lenacapavir), a new type of medication for the most common variant of HIV, HIV-1 (human immunodeficiency virus type 1).Lenacapavir is designed for heavily treatment-experienced adults with multidrug-resistant HIV who are not able to adequately manage the virus with their current treatment regimen. It is an injectable medication administered under the skin (subcutaneously) once every six months.Developed by Gilead Sciences, lenacapavir is the first of a new class of HIV medications called capsid inhibitors, which work by blocking the virus’s protein shell (the capsid), thereby interfering with essential steps of the virus’s life cycle.In a clinical trial, lenacapavir was able to lower the viral load in patients who were not responding adequately to other therapies.“Today’s approval ushers in a new class…

03Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Stem Cell Transplants May Slow Disability Progression in Active SPMS

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Blood cells formed in bone marrow called hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) have been shown to delay disability when transplanted in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).When it comes to treating secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), a more advanced stage of the disease, little research has focused on autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCT), which use healthy blood stem cells from a person’s own body (autologous) to replace diseased cells.New research published online in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, has found that people with active SPMS — meaning they continue to experience MS relapses or develop new lesions, as seen on their MRIs — who received stem-cell transplantation were slower in accumulating disability than those taking anti-inflammatory disease-modifying therapies (DMT).Most people with MS are first diagnosed with relapsing-remitting…

03Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Metformin May Reduce the Need for Joint Replacement in People With Diabetes

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A large new study based on the health insurance data of more than 40,000 type 2 diabetes patients found that those who used metformin to manage high blood sugar levels were less likely to need total joint replacement.The research, published this week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal by scientists from China, Taiwan, and Australia, showed an association between regular use of metformin and about a 30 percent reduced likelihood of needing total knee replacement or total hip replacement. This association did not mean that metformin was conclusively proven to cause a lower rate of joint replacements, according to study authors.Joint replacements are a common treatment for people with advanced osteoarthritis, a chronic joint disorder that often leaves older people in pain and unable to walk or perform other daily…

03Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Flu and COVID-19 Push Hospitalizations Higher as RSV Cases Rise

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Hospitalizations due to the flu are at the highest they’ve been in a decade, according to a telebriefing by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday. With COVID-19 hospitalizations on the upswing as well, health authorities are concerned that hospitals may be overwhelmed in the weeks ahead.Since the beginning of October, about 78,000 people have been hospitalized with the flu. The number of flu hospitalizations for the week ending November 27 (19,593) was almost double that of the week before. There have already been 8.7 million illnesses and 4,500 deaths from flu, including at least 14 children, per the CDC.During the press briefing, Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, director of the CDC, also warned that COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have been climbing across the nation since the Thanksgiving…

03Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

HIV Vaccine Candidate Prompts Immune Response in Early Human Trials

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An experimental vaccine designed to prevent HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) has produced promising results in a preliminary study involving a small group of volunteers. The vaccine candidate showed success in stimulating production of rare immune cells needed to start the process of generating antibodies against the fast-mutating virus.As detailed December 2 in the journal Science, the treatment produced a broad neutralizing antibody response in 35 of 36 (97 percent) of recipients who received two vaccine doses eight weeks apart.“With our many collaborators on the study team, we showed that vaccines can be designed to stimulate rare immune cells with specific properties, and this targeted stimulation can be very efficient in humans,” said William Schief, PhD, a study author and immunologist at Scripps Research, in La Jolla, California, in a press…

03Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Celine Dion Says She Has a Rare Neurological Illness Called Stiff-Person Syndrome

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Celine Dion says she has a rare neurological disorder called stiff-person syndrome, and it has forced her to delay several dates on her world tour.In a tearful Instagram video, the singer revealed that the incurable condition has caused painful spasms and impacted her ability to walk and sing.“As you know, I’ve always been an open book, and I wasn’t ready to say anything before, but I’m ready now,” Dion said in the video. “I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time, and it’s been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through.“Recently, I’ve been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called the stiff-person syndrome, which affects something like one in a million people,” Dion continued. “While we’re…

03Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Best and Worst Supplements for Heart Health

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Some supplements are better than others when it comes to lowering the risk of heart disease, according to a new meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.Using data from 884 studies and more than 883,000 patients, researchers at Brown University systematically reviewed all of the existing evidence on micronutrients taken as dietary supplements. After evaluating 27 different types, they identified several that reduced the risk of cardiovascular problems like heart attack or stroke, as well as others that offered no benefit or even had a negative effect.This analysis represents the first comprehensive, evidence-based map quantifying micronutrient supplements’ potential effects on heart health outcomes, said principal investigator Simin Liu, MD, MPH, professor of epidemiology and medicine at Brown University, in a press release. “Our study highlights the importance of…

02Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Worsening Measles Outbreak Threatens Unvaccinated Kids

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A worsening measles outbreak in Ohio has so far sickened more than five dozen children, offering the latest evidence that low vaccination rates during the pandemic pose a serious risk to kids’ health.Since the beginning of November, 64 measles cases have been confirmed in children and teens in and around Columbus, Ohio, according to an update from state health officials on December 9.So far, 25 kids have been hospitalized with severe infections. The majority of cases — more than 90 percent — struck children age 5 years or younger. More than half the patients were infants or toddlers.Three of the infected children had received the first, but not the second, dose of the recommended measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The other 61 were unvaccinated. While many were too young to…

02Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

FDA Underscores Risks of LASIK Eye Surgery in Proposed New Guidelines

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved LASIK eye surgery more than 25 years ago as a safe (albeit expensive) alternative to glasses and contact lenses. Now the agency is recommending new guidance for people considering the procedure that better details LASIK’s risks and potential complications.“Since the time of the LASIK Advisory Committee meeting in 2008, the FDA has continued to gather new information pertaining to risks associated with LASIK, including dry eye, pain and discomfort, and visual symptoms,” said a spokesperson for the FDA in an email. Both clinical and scientific knowledge about these adverse events and symptoms has increased since that last advisory meeting, they said.FDA Recommends a Patient Checklist That Explains LASIK RisksTo ensure that both doctors and patients have all the information they need to…

02Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Quick Bursts of Intense Physical Activity May Help You Live Longer

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People who hate the gym but still want to reap the many potential health rewards of high-intensity workouts may be in luck. A new study suggests that the type of activity bursts many of us get while going about our days — like running to catch a bus or racing up the stairs at work — can have significant longevity benefits.In the study, people who engaged in just three surges of activity during the day, each lasting only a minute or two, were 38 to 40 percent less likely to die prematurely from all causes or from cancer in particular than individuals who didn’t have any bursts of vigorous activity in their days, according to study results published in Nature Medicine. These few infusions of activity each day also roughly…