ALL ABOUT HEALTH -

12Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

New COVID-19 Subvariants Spark Concerns of Winter Outbreak

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Over the course of the pandemic, scientists have observed the COVID-19 coronavirus evolving. While some new variants and subvariants disappear, others spread.Using multiple surveillance systems, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) closely tracks new mutations and has identified two of particular concern: BQ.1 and BQ.1.1. The CDC refers to these BA.5 offshoots as “grandchildren of BA.5.”In the middle of September, the two BQ mutations together accounted for just over half a percent of infections in the United States. That proportion has rapidly increased. Now, data from the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker for the week ending October 22 show BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 make up more than 16 percent of cases in the United States.Meanwhile, BA.5 has dropped from almost 90 percent of infections in August to just over 62 percent.…

12Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Florida Sees Flesh-Eating Bacteria Cases Rise in Wake of Hurricane Ian

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Hurricane Ian left behind more than a path of destruction and property damage in its wake. The Florida Department of Health reported this week that the state is now seeing a major increase in infections caused by flesh-eating bacteria, which can thrive in warm brackish flood waters — a mixture of fresh and sea water that is often found where rivers meet the sea.“Flood waters and standing waters following a hurricane pose many risks, including infectious diseases such as Vibrio vulnificus [the so-called ‘flesh-eating bacteria’],” said the Florida Department of Health.So far this year, 65 cases and 11 deaths from V. vulnificus bacteria have been recorded, compared with 34 cases and 10 deaths in 2021. The state health department notes that these numbers represent an abnormal increase due to the…

12Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Regular Consumption of Low Levels of Caffeine During Pregnancy Linked to Slightly Shorter Children

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Exposure to caffeine in the womb, even low amounts, may lead to shorter height in childhood, suggests a new study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Children of women with low caffeine intake (including below the current recommendation of 200 milligrams [mg] per day) during pregnancy were slightly shorter than children born to women who consumed no caffeine while pregnant, and the gaps in height widened to 2 centimeters (cm) between ages 4 and 8 years old. The findings were published October 31 in JAMA Network Open.“Our findings suggest that even low caffeine intake during pregnancy can have long-term effects on child growth,” said the co-lead author, Katherine Grantz, MD, in a press release.It’s important to note that the observed height differences were small — less than an inch —…

12Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

FDA Approves Hemgenix, First Gene Therapy to Treat Adults With Hemophilia B

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Hemgenix (etranacogene dezaparvovec) gene therapy for the treatment of adults with hemophilia B (congenital factor 9 deficiency) who currently use factor 9 prophylaxis therapy; have current or historical life-threatening hemorrhage; or have repeated, serious spontaneous bleeding episodes.Despite advancements in the treatment of hemophilia, the prevention and treatment of bleeding episodes can adversely impact individuals’ quality of life, said Peter Marks, MD, PhD, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, in a press release. “Today’s approval provides a new treatment option for patients with hemophilia B and represents important progress in the development of innovative therapies for those experiencing a high burden of disease associated with this form of hemophilia,” he said.The approval could fundamentally transform the treatment paradigm for…

11Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Mindfulness as Effective as a Commonly Prescribed Antidepressant in Reducing Anxiety

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A guided mindfulness-based stress reduction program was as effective as use of the gold-standard drug — the antidepressant escitalopram (sold under the brand names Lexipro and Cipralex, among others) — for people with anxiety disorders, according to the findings of a first-of-its-kind, randomized clinical trial published on November 9 in JAMA Psychiatry.“Our study provides evidence for clinicians, insurers, and healthcare systems to recommend, include, and provide reimbursement for mindfulness-based stress reduction as an effective treatment for anxiety disorders because mindfulness meditation currently is reimbursed by very few providers,” said first author Elizabeth Hoge, MD, director of the anxiety disorders research program and associate professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, DC, in a press release.These are exciting findings, says Neda Gould, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry…

11Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Benign Breast Lumps Are Tied to Increased Cancer Risk Years Later

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Even though many women with abnormal screening mammogram results don’t go on to get breast cancer, a new study suggests their risk is elevated when these tests turn up noncancerous lumps.For the study, researchers examined data on more than 778,000 women ages 50 to 69 who had at least one mammogram at a breast cancer screening center in Spain between 1996 and 2015. During a median follow-up period of 7.6 years, mammograms found noncancerous tissue growth, or benign breast disease, in 2.3 percent of the participants and breast cancer in 1.5 percent.Overall, about 25 out of every 1,000 women with benign breast disease went on to develop breast cancer, compared with 15 out of every 1,000 women without these noncancerous tissue growths, researchers reported February 24, 2022, in the International…

11Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

New COVID Subvariants Take Over the U.S.

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The coronavirus continues to mutate rapidly. In the latter half of August, the BA.5 subvariant made up more than 85 percent of COVID-19 infections in the U.S. Now, just three months later, BA.5 accounts for just under one-quarter of cases while BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 are responsible for nearly half of infections in the country, according to latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Because the BQ variants are new, more research is needed to determine exactly how harmful they may be. Evidence so far suggests they spread easily but cause milder illness that the original and delta strains of the virus.As the BQ variants have grown, so have the latest COVID-19 numbers. Analysis from The New York Times shows that the daily average of cases has increased by…

11Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

FDA Approves New Treatment for Ovarian Cancer

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new drug to treat certain types of ovarian cancer in patients who don’t get optimal outcomes from other medicines.The new drug, mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx (Elahere), is cleared for some patients who have what’s known as epithelial ovarian cancer (the most common form of these malignancies according to MedlinePlus), as well as cancers in the fallopian tubes and peritoneum, a delicate membrane that covers the abdominal walls, uterus, bladder, and rectum.Elahere is approved only for patients with a specific type of cancer known as folate receptor alpha-positive platinum-resistant disease who have previously received so-called systemic treatments like chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or hormone therapy, the FDA said in a statement. Separately, the FDA approved a diagnostic test that can identify patients with tumors that…

11Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

‘Good’ Cholesterol May Not Be as Good as We Thought

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For decades now, high levels of HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol — also called “good” cholesterol — have been said to lower the likelihood for heart disease and stroke, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). New research, however, challenges HDL’s role in predicting cardiovascular risk.Published this month in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the study — which was supported by the National Institutes of Health — confirmed that low levels of HDL cholesterol indicated a greater risk of heart attacks or related deaths among white adults — although that did not prove to be the case for Black adults.In addition, the investigation noted that higher HDL cholesterol levels did not appear to be associated with any cardiovascular benefit in either white or Black participants.“The goal was…

11Feb 2023 by Janice Holland

Experimental Alzheimer’s Drug Slows Cognitive Decline

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The experimental Alzheimer’s disease drug lecanemab slowed cognitive decline in some people with early Alzheimer’s disease but also caused serious side effects in some patients, according to new results from a late-stage clinical trial.Lecanemab is in a family of medicines designed to clear the brain of plaques formed by the buildup of a protein known as beta-amyloid, which is thought to play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.The new results, published November 29 in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), offer a more detailed look at the effectiveness and safety of the drug two months after its developers, the drugmakers Biogen and Eisai, released preliminary findings from this 18-month clinical trial highlighting that lecanemab slowed cognitive decline by 27 percent.“In persons with early Alzheimer’s disease, lecanemab reduced…