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Antihypertensive drugs may reduce COVID-19 mortality in at-risk patients

A new multicenter study that recently appeared on the medRxiv* preprint server in November 2020 has found a lower or equal risk of fatal COVID-19 in hypertensive patients, depending on the type of medication they are on.

26 Nov 2020

Phycobilins found to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 enzymes in vitro

Researchers have released an interesting new study that describes the broad-spectrum of antiviral activity that phycobilins can have. Phycobilins, which are bioactive plant compounds, were found to inhibit two coronavirus enzymes.

26 Nov 2020

Early interferon therapy may mitigate COVID-19 severity

A recent review of COVID-19 therapies explores the utility of interferons in the battle against severe COVID-19, and concludes that they deserve further development.

26 Nov 2020

Researchers elucidate the action mechanism of incretin-based drugs in treatment of diabetes

An international research group has clarified the action mechanism of incretin-based drugs in the treatment of diabetes.

26 Nov 2020

Researchers develop first plant-based gel to support organoid growth for biomedical applications

Monash University researchers have created the world's first bioactive plant-based nanocellulose hydrogel to support organoid growth and help significantly reduce the costs of studies into cancer and COVID-19.

25 Nov 2020

New drug treatment could soon benefit people with rheumatoid arthritis

People with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) could soon benefit from a new drug treatment that not only suppresses inflammation but also significantly reduces patient reported pain scores. Otilimab is a monoclonal antibody, biologic drug, which targets and suppresses the inflammatory cytokine GM-CSF.

25 Nov 2020

Getting adequate sleep may help teens with migraines

Research indicates that starting school later in the morning yields health and academic benefits for high schoolers, whose natural body clock tends toward late-to-bed, late-to-rise habits.

25 Nov 2020

Researchers reveal new mechanism of pain control

Researchers in Japan have revealed a previously unknown mechanism for pain control involving a newly identified group of cells in the spinal cord, offering a potential target for enhancing the therapeutic effect of drugs for chronic pain.

25 Nov 2020

FDA issues guidance on use of dry heat to support reuse of certain respirators

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued guidance on the use of dry heat to help support the single-user reuse of certain particulate filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs), such as N95 respirators, by health care personnel when there is a limited supply of respirators during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

25 Nov 2020

Computational model can help predict cellular drug targets against COVID-19

A computational model of a human lung cell has been used to understand how SARS-CoV-2 draws on human host cell metabolism to reproduce by researchers at the University of Warwick.

25 Nov 2020

Cell survival protein could protect kidneys from damage caused by cancer therapies

Australian researchers have identified a protein that could protect the kidneys from 'bystander' damage caused by cancer therapies.

25 Nov 2020

Why employers find it so hard to test for COVID

Brandon Hudgins works the main floor at Fleet Feet, a running-shoe store chain, for more than 30 hours a week. He chats with customers, measuring their feet and dashing in and out of the storage area to locate right-sized shoes. Sometimes, clients drag their masks down while speaking. Others refuse to wear masks at all.

25 Nov 2020

Dexamethasone use could reduce immune checkpoint inhibitor efficacy in glioblastoma patients

Bottom Line: Among patients with glioblastoma receiving an immune checkpoint inhibitor, those who received the corticosteroid dexamethasone at baseline for cerebral edema had significantly worse overall survival.

25 Nov 2020

Spinal or epidural anesthesia linked with high survival rate in leg artery bypass surgery

A new study published in The BMJ shows that people who had surgery to improve blood flow in their legs under spinal or epidural anesthesia were less likely to die than those who were given general anesthesia.

25 Nov 2020

Study shows how high frequency sound waves could revolutionize ultrasound-driven chemistry

Researchers have revealed how high-frequency sound waves can be used to build new materials, make smart nanoparticles and even deliver drugs to the lungs for painless, needle-free vaccinations.

25 Nov 2020

Researchers describe a simple, inexpensive way to measure drug dissolution

When you take a time-release drug, you count on it doing what the package says: release the drug slowly into your bloodstream to provide benefits over the specified period of time.

25 Nov 2020

A review of Traditional Chinese herbal medicine in management of COVID-19

Now researcher have summarized the experiences with the use of traditional Chinese herbal medicines for the management of COVID-19. Their study titled, “Traditional Chinese herbal medicine at the forefront battle against COVID-19: Clinical experience and scientific basis,” was published in the January 2021 issue of the journal Phytomedicine.

24 Nov 2020

New therapy for flu may prove effective against many other pathogenic virus infections

A new therapy for influenza virus infections that may also prove effective against many other pathogenic virus infections, including HIV and COVID-19, has been developed by Purdue University scientists.

24 Nov 2020

Widely used antibiotic shows promise for fighting against Zika infections

In 2015, hundreds of children were born with brain deformities resulting from a global outbreak of Zika virus infections.

24 Nov 2020

Mefloquine shows potential as anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug

A team of scientists from Japan has identified the approved anti-material drug, mefloquine, as a potential candidate to treat severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Specifically, mefloquine has been shown to prevent the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into host cells and reduce the viral load in vitro.

24 Nov 2020