Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

New report takes comprehensive look at health effects of e-cigarettes

A new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine takes a comprehensive look at evidence on the human health effects of e-cigarettes.

23 Jan 2018

Anti-inflammatory pill could help make vaccines more effective for the elderly

By identifying why skin immunity declines in old age, a UCL-led research team has found that an anti-inflammatory pill could help make vaccines more effective for elderly people.

22 Jan 2018

UCLA researchers describe herpes virus structure associated with Kaposi's sarcoma

UCLA researchers have provided the first description of the structure of the herpes virus associated with Kaposi's sarcoma, a type of cancer.

19 Jan 2018

Older hospitalized patients less likely to be tested for influenza

This year's flu season is shaping up to be an especially serious one, and it's important for clinicians to promptly recognize, diagnosis, and treat influenza in hospitalized patients, especially in vulnerable populations such as older individuals.

19 Jan 2018

Researchers describe atom-by-atom changes in ALS-linked protein

For the first time, researchers have described atom-by-atom changes in a family of proteins linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a group of brain disorders known as frontotemporal dementia and degenerative diseases of muscle and bone.

19 Jan 2018

Reminders can improve immunization rates

Rates of immunization against infectious diseases in children and adults are improving, but under-vaccination remains a problem that results in vaccine-preventable deaths and illnesses. In Europe, 11,316 cases of measles were reported during 2012, and an estimated four to 50 million symptomatic cases of flu occur each year.

19 Jan 2018

Flu may pass to others through exhaled breath, study shows

It is easier to spread the influenza virus (flu) than previously thought, according to a new University of Maryland-led study released today.

19 Jan 2018

Flu can be spread without coughs and sneezes

A study published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports that it is easier to spread the influenza virus than was previously thought.

19 Jan 2018

Expert discusses how to stay healthy during flu season

This year's influenza outbreak is already the most widespread on record since health officials began keeping track about a dozen years ago, with millions of Americans being infected by emerging and current strains such as the dominant H3N2.

18 Jan 2018

Aged garlic extract may help obese people fight against inflammation, study shows

Aged garlic extract may help obese people ward off painful inflammation and lower cholesterol levels, a new University of Florida study shows.

18 Jan 2018

New vaccine approach offers effective protection against tuberculosis

A unique platform that resulted in a promising HIV vaccine has also led to a new, highly effective vaccine against tuberculosis that is moving toward testing in humans.

18 Jan 2018

World’s first vaccine relieves grass pollen allergy symptoms by at least 25%, study shows

Around 400 million people world-wide suffer in some form or other from a grass pollen allergy (rhinitis) - with the usual symptoms such as a runny nose, cough and severe breathing problems.

18 Jan 2018

Bile acids: A new therapy against obesity

Obesity arises from an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. As a result, current treatments try to decrease calorie intake and/or increase energy expenditure.

17 Jan 2018

Measles outbreak alarms public health officials

According to the Public Health England (PHE) there are “large outbreaks” of measles in Europe that is cause for concern.

16 Jan 2018

New universal flu vaccine moves to clinical trial phase and could be a reality soon

Alphabet’s venture arm called Google Ventures earlier is one of the supporters of a mega projects that is developing a vaccine for flu that is safe and effective. Vaccitech from United Kingdom is working towards development of the vaccine and Alphabet has shown its support by contributing $27.6 million in new funding. The funds would be used conduct clinical trials and try the new vaccine.

16 Jan 2018

In Wisconsin, hopes rise for production of a lifesaving radioactive isotope

In a cornfield here, past the shuttered General Motors plant and the Janesville Terrace trailer home park, a facility not seen in the United States in three decades could soon rise: a manufacturing plant that will make a vital radioactive isotope used to detect cancer and other potentially fatal maladies in millions of people every year.

16 Jan 2018

Bile acids could directly burn away lipids in the fat depots

The EPFL scientists discovered that bile acids can turn fat-storing cells into fat-burning ones. This process is called thermogenesis (literally, "heat production") and it helps maintain body temperature in cold environments.

16 Jan 2018

Early influenza testing is critical to prevent serious complications

Flu season began early in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York, with already 1,200 laboratory confirmed cases of the flu reported to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health since the start of October, compared with the 300 cases reported last year at this time.

16 Jan 2018

Doctors warn against holding your nose and closing your mouth to contain a sneeze

Pinching your nose while clamping your mouth shut to contain a forceful sneeze isn't a good idea, warn doctors in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

15 Jan 2018

FDA grants approval for first drug to treat inherited breast cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today expanded the approved use of Lynparza (olaparib tablets) to include the treatment of patients with certain types of breast cancer that have spread (metastasized) and whose tumors have a specific inherited (germline) genetic mutation, making it the first drug in its class (PARP inhibitor) approved to treat breast cancer, and it is the first time any drug has been approved to treat certain patients with metastatic breast cancer who have a "BRCA" gene mutation.

15 Jan 2018