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Coronavirus pandemic may spark mental health crisis, U.N. warns

A mental health crisis is looming as millions of people are affected by deaths, disease, poverty, and isolation. All of these factors could cause severe psychological distress. The U.N. warns that due to the stress faced by people in physical isolation, a mental health crisis is approaching.

18 May 2020

Study shows dairy products are linked to lower risks of diabetes and high blood pressure

Researchers have found in a large study that having at least two servings of dairy products can lower the risk of getting diabetes and high blood pressure as well as metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a mixture of more than one condition that raises the risk of getting cardiovascular diseases.

18 May 2020

Cigarette smoke spurs the lungs to make more SARS-CoV-2 receptors

New research from CSHL scientists suggests that cigarette smoke spurs the lungs to make more ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2), the protein that the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 grabs and uses to enter human cells.

18 May 2020

Tobacco companies exploit UK’s menthol cigarette ban

Menthol cigarettes will be removed from shelves in the UK this Wednesday (20 May 2020), yet new research has found that tobacco companies failed to use the four-year phasing-in period (from 2016) to prepare for this week's ban.

18 May 2020

Experts publish a review of lung cancer treatments for patients with COVID-19

Lung cancer patients are at heightened risk for COVID-19 and the reported high mortality rate among lung cancer patients with COVID-19 has given pause to oncologists who are faced with patients with not one, but two severe, life-threatening diseases.

15 May 2020

Sociodemographic factors linked to positive SARS-CoV-2 test result in primary care

Older age, being male, deprivation, living in a densely populated area, ethnicity, obesity, and chronic kidney disease are associated with a positive test for COVID-19, according to results from 3,802 people tested for SARS-CoV-2 (including 587 positive tests) in the UK.

15 May 2020

Study finds high variability in access to, and quality of, bone density scanning facilities worldwide

There is high variability in access to, and quality of, bone density scanning facilities worldwide, according to a landmark global study carried out at the Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit in collaboration with the International Osteoporosis Foundation and the International Society for Clinical Densitometry.

15 May 2020

Study shows the combined effect of inherited and acquired mutations on cancer development

The common belief that tumors arise via activation of a few genes that "drive" cancer development is unsupported by a widespread investigation into those genes and others in three large patient genetic databases, according to a study led by Yale Cancer Center researchers.

15 May 2020

Nomograms can predict the risk of treatment delays for head and neck cancer patients

More than 65,000 Americans are diagnosed annually with head and neck cancer, which most often occurs inside the mouth and throat. For patients who undergo surgery to treat this cancer, guidelines recommend that prompt initiation of radiotherapy -- within six weeks -- is critical for best outcomes.

13 May 2020

Research identifies a disease trigger for pancreatitis

One factor contributing to the development of pancreatitis lies in mutations within a cell membrane ion channel that is characterized by its specific permeability for calcium ions.

13 May 2020

COVID-19 pandemic is taking toll on mental and physical health of smokers

The havoc wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic is twofold: in addition to suffering direct effects of the virus, the world is grappling with the challenge of social distancing.

13 May 2020

Analysis of single-cell data indicates that SARS-Cov-2 targets many cell types

Before it can sicken people, the new coronavirus must first sneak into their cells. But not any cell will do. The virus can enter only those with a certain combination of molecules on their surfaces.

13 May 2020

Study provides further insights into the relationship between smoking and COVID-19

A Canadian study available on the preprint server medRxiv* shows that current smokers are slightly more likely than never smokers to test positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), but cautions about the possibility of reverse causality where smokers actually quit to avoid the disease.

12 May 2020

Symptomatic COVID-19 patients less likely to be smokers

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages in many parts of the world, a new study shows that smoking may not play a significant role in increasing the severity of illness in these patients. The study is published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020.

12 May 2020

COPD and smoking linked to greater COVID-19 severity and mortality

Current smokers and people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have an increased risk of severe complications and higher mortality with COVID-19 infection, according to a new study published May 11, 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Jaber Alqahtani of University College London, UK, and colleagues.

11 May 2020

Reproduction number and herd immunity in COVID-19

A new modeling study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020 hypothesizes that the asymptomatic cases in the ongoing pandemic in Japan may far outnumber the symptomatic infections by several orders of magnitude. This has implications for future predictions and public health policies.

10 May 2020

Repurposing existing drugs is a more rapid alternative than developing COVID-19 vaccine

Repurposing existing medicines focused on known drug targets is likely to offer a more rapid hope of tackling COVID-19 than developing and manufacturing a vaccine, argue an international team of scientists in the British Journal of Pharmacology today.

8 May 2020

Some foods common in diets of adults with inflammatory bowel disease

American researchers from the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University have found that certain foods such as cheese, cookies, French fries, energy drinks, soda, and other types of junk foods are found more frequently in the diets of adults suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

7 May 2020

Air pollution associated with greater virulence of COVID-19

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in April 2020 provides convincing evidence that air pollution contributes to greater severity of COVID-19. The researchers say, “This suggests the detrimental impact climate change will have on the trajectory of future respiratory epidemics.”

6 May 2020

Low CD8 and NK cell counts in the lung linked to high SARS-CoV-2 ACE2 receptor levels

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in April 2020 reports that low levels of specific immune cells, namely, CD8 T cells and NK cells, are linked to higher expression of the ACE2 molecule, which acts as a receptor for the CoV.

6 May 2020

Smoking News and Research

Coronavirus pandemic may spark mental health crisis, U.N. warns

Study shows dairy products are linked to lower risks of diabetes and high blood pressure

Cigarette smoke spurs the lungs to make more SARS-CoV-2 receptors

Tobacco companies exploit UK’s menthol cigarette ban

Experts publish a review of lung cancer treatments for patients with COVID-19

Sociodemographic factors linked to positive SARS-CoV-2 test result in primary care

Study finds high variability in access to, and quality of, bone density scanning facilities worldwide

Study shows the combined effect of inherited and acquired mutations on cancer development

Nomograms can predict the risk of treatment delays for head and neck cancer patients

Research identifies a disease trigger for pancreatitis

COVID-19 pandemic is taking toll on mental and physical health of smokers

Analysis of single-cell data indicates that SARS-Cov-2 targets many cell types

Study provides further insights into the relationship between smoking and COVID-19

Symptomatic COVID-19 patients less likely to be smokers

COPD and smoking linked to greater COVID-19 severity and mortality

Reproduction number and herd immunity in COVID-19

Repurposing existing drugs is a more rapid alternative than developing COVID-19 vaccine

Some foods common in diets of adults with inflammatory bowel disease

Air pollution associated with greater virulence of COVID-19

Low CD8 and NK cell counts in the lung linked to high SARS-CoV-2 ACE2 receptor levels

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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