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Modifiable risk factors could play important role in Alzheimer's disease, study finds

Amyloid is a key feature of Alzheimer's disease, but the accumulation of these sticky proteins may not be the only risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study published this week.

8 Apr 2020

Air pollution and PM2.5 raise risk of COVID-19 death

According to a new analysis, air pollution is associated with more deaths in the currently raging COVID-19 pandemic. A new American study from researchers at Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, showed that a single unit increase in particle pollution levels in the air could raise the risk of death by 15 percent and that before this pandemic if the air was cleaner, it could have saved many lives.

8 Apr 2020

New study to accelerate early detection of COVID-19 in healthcare professionals

The West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, WVU Medicine, and smart ring maker Oura Health today (April 8) announced a national study designed to accelerate early detection of the COVID-19 virus symptoms and contagiousness.

8 Apr 2020

Study questions impact of GAP program on stillbirth rates

Clinicians in many countries are using what's known as the Growth Assessment Protocol (GAP) to monitor fetal growth in pregnant women.

8 Apr 2020

Retiree-rich Palm Beach County leads Florida in COVID-19 deaths

No place in Florida has recorded more deaths from COVID-19 than Palm Beach County, the tropical vacation and retirement destination that bills itself — chutzpah notwithstanding — as "The Best of Everything."

8 Apr 2020

Early smoking causes greater addiction

A new study shows that people who start smoking younger are more likely to continue to smoke daily as adults and find it much harder to quit. The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association in April 2020, is remarkable for having the most prolonged follow-up period of any similar study.

8 Apr 2020

Spanish study shows infections in children occur early in COVID-19 epidemics

With the spread of COVID-19, scientists are finding out more about the disease. One major aspect that is being studied is how the virus affects children. A new report from Spain, published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics in April 2020, shows that pediatric populations are infected early in the epidemic and that about 10% of those with symptoms suggestive of infection test positive. Severe infection can also occur among children, requiring hospitalization and intensive care.

8 Apr 2020

Injury risk higher in children of parents with mental illness

Children of parents suffering from mental health problems (most notably depression and substance abuse) are at higher risk of injuries in comparison to other children, as reported in a new study from Karolinska Institute in Sweden published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

8 Apr 2020

Autoimmunity appears to be increasing in the U.S.

Autoimmunity, a condition in which the body's immune system reacts with components of its own cells, appears to be increasing in the United States, according to scientists at the National Institutes of Health and their collaborators.

8 Apr 2020

Short-term exposure to even low levels of air pollution can affect gene expression

New data from a landmark study done by Monash University researchers in Australia raises significant concerns that even short-term exposure to low level air pollution can affect gene expression, leaving us at risk of other diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

8 Apr 2020

Research uncovers risk factors associated with pneumococcal carriage in Fiji

New research has uncovered the risk factors for Fijians carrying a pneumonia-causing bacteria.

8 Apr 2020

Novel intervention improves outcomes for opioid-dependent mothers and their children

The rate of pregnant women with opioid use disorder, or OUD, when giving birth more than quadrupled from 1999 to 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

8 Apr 2020

Life in refugee camps causes havoc on the health of many children

Greek and Norwegian researchers have conducted a study on the health conditions in six refugee camps in Greece.

8 Apr 2020

Postcard from the edge: L.A. street vendors who can’t stop working

One day last week, on a sunny, beautiful Los Angeles afternoon, 23-year-old Alex Salvador Morales set up shop on a sidewalk near downtown, selling freshly cut pineapple, mango and watermelon in quart-sized plastic cups for $5.

8 Apr 2020

Smoking in childhood and adolescence leads to adult smoking

The younger you start smoking, the more likely you are to smoke daily as an adult, even into your 40s, and the harder it will be to quit, according to new data from a long-standing, international study published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association.

8 Apr 2020

‘When it starts getting into your local hospital, it becomes real’

The folding chairs outside the windows appeared late last month, after the maintenance staff at St. James Parish Hospital labeled each window with a patient room number so families and friends could at least see their loved ones battling COVID-19.

8 Apr 2020

Pandemic delays federal probe into Medicare Advantage health plans

Federal health officials, citing a need to focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, have temporarily halted some efforts to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in overpayments made to Medicare Advantage health plans.

8 Apr 2020

Loss of smell and taste as symptoms of COVID-19

Professor Carl Philpott speaks to News-Medical about his research into smell loss as a potential early symptom for COVID-19.

8 Apr 2020

Huge asymptomatic pool of coronavirus infected worldwide, say researchers

A startling new report from the University of Göttingen debunks the idea that the official statistics regarding the number of confirmed cases of the pandemic COVID-19 are accurate. It is much more likely, say the researchers, that the official figures which are the basis of government action and of much media analysis represent only about 6% of all infections. If so, they say, there are already tens of millions of infected people worldwide.

8 Apr 2020

Scientists urge public to assess mental health impact of COVID-19 pandemic

Scientists are appealing to the public for help to assess the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the aim to inform and improve future policies concerning pandemics.

8 Apr 2020