Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

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

Guts of surfers more likely to be colonized by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, study reveals

Regular surfers and bodyboarders are three times more likely to have antibiotic resistant E. coli in their guts than non-surfers, new research has revealed.

15 Jan 2018

Past exposures influence immune response in children with acute respiratory tract infections

Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI) are the leading global cause of death in early childhood, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

12 Jan 2018

U.S. FDA approves first drug for patients with germline BRCA-mutated metastatic breast cancer

AstraZeneca and Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved LYNPARZA (olaparib) for use in patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-mutated (gBRCAm), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative metastatic breast cancer who have been previously treated with chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant or metastatic setting.

12 Jan 2018

Early testing for influenza symptoms can limit severe, life-threatening disease

As flu season picks up steam across the country, it's important for people to be tested very early after symptoms that are compatible with influenza start, since there are effective treatments that can limit severe, life-threatening disease and curtail transmission to others.

12 Jan 2018

Prostate cancer’s gene-determined ‘immune landscape’ dictates tumor progression

The field of immunotherapy - the harnessing of patients' own immune systems to fend off cancer - is revolutionizing cancer treatment today. However, clinical trials often show marked improvements in only small subsets of patients, suggesting that as-yet unidentified variations among tumors result in distinct paths of disease progression and response to therapy.

12 Jan 2018

Novel partnership creates Europe's first antimicrobial nitrile gloves

Unigloves new Fortified single use gloves incorporate silver ion technology from BioCote, which has been scientifically proven to destroy 90% of harmful bacteria within just 15 minutes and 99.5% in only two hours.

11 Jan 2018

New 3-D imaging system offers insight into potential obesity and diabetes treatments

Researchers have developed A 3-D tissue imaging system that has revealed the inner workings of fat cells in mice, providing insight into potential therapeutic targets for combating obesity and diabetes.

10 Jan 2018

3D images of fat cells reveal potential targets to fight against obesity

Stunning three-dimensional images of fat cells, the first of their kind, are the latest tactic in the ongoing fight against the global obesity epidemic.

10 Jan 2018

UCLA expert offers tips to reduce risk for catching a cold

As winter cold descends on the nation, people tend to hunker down for warmth, often in places where others are in close proximity. It's a recipe for spreading colds.

9 Jan 2018

Dumfries and Galloway reassures people over number of “Aussie flu” cases

NHS Dumfries and Galloway has reassured the public over the number of “Aussie flu” cases seen in the region, saying that the H3N2 flu strain is a standard one that has previously been commonplace in Scotland.

9 Jan 2018

Loyola Medicine expert provides guidance on how to keep children safe from flu

Just as children are heading back to school after the winter break, the flu season has arrived. Loyola Medicine pediatrician Bridget Boyd, MD, has some advice for parents on how to help their child fend off the flu and what to do if they do get sick.

9 Jan 2018

Cedars-Sinai expert discusses ways to keep healthy as flu activity surges

Jonathan Grein, MD, Cedars-Sinai medical director of Hospital Epidemiology, is available to discuss ways to keep healthy as flu activity surges dramatically.

8 Jan 2018

Repeated influenza vaccination in older adults reduces severity of virus and hospital admissions

Repeated vaccination for influenza in older adults reduced the severity of the virus and reduced hospital admissions, found new research published in CMAJ.

8 Jan 2018