Dietary Supplements Don’t Lower ‘Bad’ Cholesterol, Study Finds
Dietary Supplements Don’t Lower ‘Bad’ Cholesterol, Study Finds Source link
Paxlovid Cuts Risk of Long COVID, Study Finds
Paxlovid, the antiviral medication that has been shown to lower the likelihood of hospitalization and death in certain COVID-19 patients, may reduce the risk of symptoms from long COVID, according to a large new study from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).Posted to the preprint server medRxiv on Saturday, the research — which included more than 56,000 veterans with a positive coronavirus test — found that more than 9,000 patients given Paxlovid (a combination of the medications nirmatrelvir and ritonavir) within the first five days of their infection had a 26 percent lower risk of developing 10 of 12 different long COVID conditions.These lingering effects include heart disease, blood disorders, fatigue, liver disease, kidney disease, muscle pain, neurocognitive impairment (such as difficult thinking or “brain fog”), and shortness of breath.The…
Multistate Listeria Outbreak Linked to Deli Meats and Cheese
A deadly listeria outbreak linked to contaminated deli meat and cheese has infected 16 people in six states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).As of November 9, a total of 13 infected people had severe cases and required hospitalization, the CDC said in a statement. One person in Maryland died, and one pregnant person had a miscarriage as a result of a listeria infection.While the investigation is ongoing, many cases appear to be concentrated in New York, where five people with confirmed infections said they bought sliced deli meat or cheese from at least one location of NetCost Market, a grocery chain selling international foods, according to the CDC. So far, the CDC says public health investigators have identified a total of seven cases in New…
Novel Antibiotic Shown to Be an Effective UTI Treatment
GSK has stopped two phase 3 clinical trials for gepotidacin, a potential new antibiotic for uncomplicated urinary tract infections (uUTIs), close to one year earlier than planned because the drug has been so effective in hitting treatment goals, according to a company announcement made November 3.The first-in-class triazaacenaphthylene antibiotic would be the first new class of oral antibiotic treatments for uncomplicated urinary tract infections in more than 20 years. Gepotidacin works by blocking two key enzymes that are responsible for bacterial replication.According to the company, the decision to stop enrollment for trials was based on a pre-specified interim analysis of efficacy and safety data by the Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) which found that gepotidacin met the combined primary efficacy endpoint in both trials.GSK plans to submit a new-drug application…
New Drug May Lower Blood Pressure In Hard-to-Treat Patients
Some people with uncontrolled high blood pressure who can’t manage the condition effectively with typical multidrug treatment regimens might one day achieve this goal with a single pill, a new study suggests.The early-stage study included 248 people with what’s known as treatment-resistant hypertension, who had unhealthy blood pressure levels despite taking at least three different medications to manage the condition. Participants were randomly assigned to take either a placebo or a 0.5-, 1-, or 2-milligram (mg) dose of the experimental drug baxdrostat.After 12 weeks of treatment, patients on the highest baxdrostat dose saw their systolic blood pressure — the “top number” that shows how much pressure blood exerts against artery walls when the heart beats — drop by an average of 20 points, according to study results published in the…
Should You Get the New COVID-19 Booster to Fight Omicron?
Updated booster shots targeting the highly infectious omicron variant are the newest way to arm yourself against COVID-19. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized these reformulated boosters in September 2022, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) signing off soon after.Currently the agencies have okayed the new booster from Pfizer-BioNTech for people ages 5 and up, and the new booster from Moderna for individuals 6 and up.“The updated COVID-19 boosters are formulated to better protect against the most recently circulating COVID-19 variant,” said Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in a statement. “They can help restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination and were designed to provide broader protection against newer variants. This recommendation followed a comprehensive scientific evaluation…
High Blood Pressure Increases Risk of Hospitalization or Death Due to COVID-19
People with high blood pressure had a 22 percent higher risk of being admitted to a hospital or dying from COVID-19, regardless of other factors, such as age, sex, ethnicity or weight status, according to a new U.K. study.The research, published on November 9 in the journal PLoS One, is the first study to show the extent to which high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, can be directly linked to patients developing severe COVID-19.These findings further emphasize the importance of adequate blood pressure control, said senior study author Ian Wilkinson, BMBCh, a cardiology consultant at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) and professor of therapeutics at the University of Cambridge. “Unfortunately, post-pandemic, the rates of blood pressure control have worsened, as have the number of people being screened…
Lab-Grown Chicken Is Safe to Eat, According to FDA
“Slaughter-free” chicken — made from real animal cells grown in laboratories — could be coming soon to a restaurant and grocery store near you.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on November 16 that the lab-grown poultry, which takes living cells from chickens and grows them in a controlled environment to produce the meat, was safe for human consumption, and that it had “no further questions” about the product’s safety. This is the first “No Questions” letter from the FDA for lab-grown meat, poultry, or seafood.The voluntary premarket consultation is not an approval process, but it is an important first hurdle that the company needed to clear. In the United States, cultivated meat is regulated by both the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).UPSIDE Foods, the California…
Common Chemicals in Personal-Care Products Cause Uterine Fibroids
Exposure to chemicals found in hundreds of household products — including many soaps and shampoos — has long been associated with an increased risk of uterine fibroids. Now a new study offers fresh evidence that these chemicals, known as phthalates, can directly cause fibroids.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), phthalates are widely used in consumer and industrial products because they can make plastics more durable and help other materials dissolve. These chemicals can disrupt the body’s endocrine system, which is responsible for hormone regulation. Some previous research has tied phthalate exposure to an increased risk of neurological problems in children, asthma, early puberty, pregnancy complications like preterm birth, infertility, endometriosis, and fibroids.“These toxic pollutants are everywhere, including food packaging, hair and makeup products, and more, and…
Emphysema Risk Is Higher in Marijuana Smokers Than Cigarette Smokers
As the legalization of marijuana use has grown in recent years, so have concerns about its effect on one’s health, including the lungs.A new study suggests marijuana smoking may be more damaging to the lungs than cigarette smoking. Research published Tuesday in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America, found that emphysema (a lung condition that causes shortness of breath) and airway inflammation are more common in marijuana smokers compared with cigarette smokers.The study supports previous evidence in animals and humans indicating that marijuana use is linked to an increased likelihood of developing emphysema, but contradicts other research showing that marijuana is less harmful to the lungs than tobacco.“The results are unexpected and a replication study seems warranted — tobacco smokers consume many more cigarettes a day…