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Study: Canadians have the highest risk of respiratory mortality from wildfire pollution

An international study has found Canadians have the highest relative risk of respiratory mortality resulting from wildfire pollution, with Regina and Saskatoon among the worst hit.

10 Sep 2021

UC San Diego receives $12.25 million NIH grant to improve epilepsy treatment

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $12.25 million grant to the University of California San Diego to develop and enhance brain-sensing and brain-stimulating platform technologies to enable treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy.

10 Sep 2021

It’s not just covid: Recall candidates represent markedly different choices on health care

Gov. Gavin Newsom's covid-19 rules have been a lightning rod in California's recall election. But there's a lot more at stake for Californians' health care than mask and vaccine mandates.

10 Sep 2021

ECMO life support is a last resort for covid, and in short supply in South

Hospital discharge day for Phoua Yang was more like a pep rally. On her way rolling out of TriStar Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, she teared up as streamers and confetti rained down on her. Nurses chanted her name as they wheeled her out of the hospital for the first time since she arrived in February with covid-19, barely able to breathe.

10 Sep 2021

Study finds increasing disparities in opioid overdose deaths for Black people

Non-Hispanic Black individuals in four U.S. states experienced a 38% increase in the rate of opioid overdose deaths from 2018 to 2019, while the rates for other race and ethnicity groups held steady or decreased, according to a new study by the National Institutes of Health published in the American Journal of Public Health.

9 Sep 2021

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The future of public health

The covid-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on public health, a key part of the health care system that usually operates in the background.

9 Sep 2021

Healthy plant-based foods may lower COVID-19 risk and severity

Although metabolic conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes have been linked to an increased risk of COVID-19, as well as an increased risk of experiencing serious symptoms once infected, the impact of diet on these risks is unknown.

9 Sep 2021

Laws designed to aid at-risk women may help catch breast cancer earlier

Laws designed to help women with increased risk for missed breast cancer diagnoses may help catch the disease earlier, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. They studied how notification and insurance coverage legislation for women with dense breast tissue affects the stage at which their cancer is diagnosed.

9 Sep 2021

Stimulus program increased low-income population’s spending, study reveals

The coronavirus pandemic disrupted the U.S. economy, yet the dynamics of micro-level consumer spending among low-income populations are not well understood.

9 Sep 2021

New study provides stark statistics about care availability for dementia patients

A new study provides stark statistics about a reality that 6 million Americans with dementia and their families live every day: one where people with dementia receive hundreds of hours a month in unpaid care from spouses, adult children and other relatives, and where some rely on paid help including nursing home care.

9 Sep 2021

Understanding the changing coronavirus landscape

With the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants such as beta and delta, people are not only getting a refresher course on the Greek alphabet but also experiencing confusion and anxiety about what the variants mean for public health.

9 Sep 2021

Combating the fourth wave of COVID-19 in Ontario

Researchers from Canada recently attempted to project the number of COVID-19 cases and the demand for acute hospital resources for Fall 2021 in a mid-sized southwestern Ontario community. They sought to evaluate if current vaccine coverage and contact reduction levels are sufficient to mitigate a possible 4th wave driven by the Delta variant, or if stricter public health measures need to be reinstituted.

8 Sep 2021

Mu SARS-CoV-2 variant highly resistant to neutralization by convalescent and vaccinated sera

Researchers in Japan have warned that the Mu (B.1.621) variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – appears to be highly resistant to neutralization by sera from convalescent or vaccinated individuals.

8 Sep 2021

Researchers propose regulatory recommendations for e-cigarette use

Despite short-term harms and emerging negative long-term effects, the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems — better known as e-cigarettes — among both American adolescents and adults has accelerated and presents public health concerns for tobacco control efforts.

8 Sep 2021

Early implementation of social distancing policies results in smaller death tolls, but larger second waves

Early social distancing results in smaller death tolls, but leads to larger second waves, according to research led by faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York.

8 Sep 2021

Study measures the impact of stigma and discrimination on positive COVID-19 diagnosis

Stigma and discrimination linked to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis are the subjects of research being conducted by a multidisciplinary University of Queensland team.

8 Sep 2021

The role of nanobodies in capturing and containing SARS-CoV-2

Scientists have repurposed the Nb Ty1 for the detection and neutralization of SARS-CoV-2.

8 Sep 2021

Study reveals better outcomes for patients treated on a mobile stroke unit

Ischemic stroke patients treated on a mobile stroke unit received anti-clot medication faster and ended up with less disability at 90 days, according to a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine led by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center.

8 Sep 2021

One-day online therapy session can help treat postpartum depression

A one-day online therapy session can help treat postpartum depression (PPD), says a study led by McMaster University scientists.

8 Sep 2021

Study finds no serious side effects of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in lactating women, breastfed infants

In December 2020, two novel messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; however, the early trials excluded lactating women, leading to questions about their safety in this specific population.

8 Sep 2021