Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Watching too much TV increases risk of death

On average, 80% of American adults watch 3.5 hours of television per day and multiple observational studies have demonstrated a link between TV viewing and poorer health. In this new study published in the December issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, investigators reported an association between increasing hours of television viewing per day and increasing risk of death from most of the major causes of death in the United States.

28 Oct 2015

Australian researchers find a way to boost cross-protective capabilities of influenza A vaccine

Australian researchers have found a way to boost the effectiveness and cross-protective capabilities of an influenza A vaccine by adding a simple component. Published this week in mBio, an online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, the research in mice could lead to better seasonal flu vaccines for humans, and also vaccines that could provide community protection in the early stages of an outbreak of a novel flu virus strain.

28 Oct 2015

Imlygic approved for treatment of melanoma lesions in the skin and lymph nodes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Imlygic (talimogene laherparepvec), the first FDA-approved oncolytic virus therapy, for the treatment of melanoma lesions in the skin and lymph nodes.

28 Oct 2015

Sekisui Diagnostics launches new OSOM Flu, iFOB and hCG tests

Today, Sekisui Diagnostics announces the launch of three new rapid tests as additions to the OSOM portfolio. Providing accurate results with minimal hands on time, OSOM Ultra Flu A&B and OSOM Ultra hCG Combo complement the existing Flu and hCG product lines, while the OSOM iFOB provides a new diagnostic option for fecal occult blood testing.

27 Oct 2015

Taking steps to prevent, protect against flu

With flu season approaching, parents may be bracing for an outbreak at their children's schools, but adults are also highly susceptible at work and in other public places. Now is the time for families and businesses to take steps to prevent and protect against the flu.

27 Oct 2015

Heart disease becomes the major killer of women in Norway

More research is carried out on breast cancer than on women's heart attack. Even though heart attack kills more women.

26 Oct 2015

Sinovac Dalian receives approval to start human clinical trials of varicella vaccine candidate

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, today announced that one of its subsidiaries, Sinovac Dalian, has received approval to begin human clinical trials on its varicella vaccine candidate. The clinical trial application for the varicella vaccine was officially accepted by the China Food and Drug Administration in January 2013.

26 Oct 2015

Eating a light meal during labor may benefit most healthy women

Most healthy women can skip the fasting and, in fact, would benefit from eating a light meal during labor, suggests research being presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2015 annual meeting. Improvements in anesthesia care have made pain control during labor safer, reducing risks related to eating, researchers note.

26 Oct 2015

Alaska pollock gelatin can be used to treat pulmonary diseases

In recent years, patients with pulmonary emphysema have been increasing mainly among middle-aged and elderly males due to aging and excessive smoking. Emphysema makes brittle lungs, and in severe cases, holes develop in the lung tissue, causing air leakage. Researchers at NIMS developed a new sealant to close holes developed in lungs and blood vessels using Alaska pollock gelatin.

23 Oct 2015

Amgen's IMLYGIC receives positive opinion from CHMP for treatment of melanoma

Amgen today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, the scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency, has adopted a positive opinion recommending that IMLYGIC (talimogene laherparepvec) be granted approval for the treatment of adults with unresectable melanoma that is regionally or distantly metastatic (Stage IIIB, IIIC and IVM1a) with no bone, brain, lung or other visceral disease.

23 Oct 2015

Discovery may lead to development of cell-based regenerative therapy to restore thyroid function

A discovery made by investigators from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Boston University School of Medicine may help lead to the development of a cell-based regenerative therapy which could be used to restore thyroid function in patients with cancer who have had their thyroids surgically removed and children born with congenital hypothyroidism.

23 Oct 2015

Drug engineered from bananas could fight off wide range of viruses

A banana a day may not keep the doctor away, but a substance originally found in bananas and carefully edited by scientists could someday fight off a wide range of viruses, new research suggests.

23 Oct 2015

Successful treatment of rare neurodegenerative disease exemplifies potential of precision medicine

A 20-month-old girl suffering from a rare neurodegenerative disease was diagnosed by exome sequencing and successfully treated.

23 Oct 2015

CDC publishes reports on infectious and noninfectious diseases

Beginning with the Oct. 23, 2015, Supplements to Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), CDC will publish the summaries of all notifiable conditions – infectious and noninfectious – at the same time.

23 Oct 2015

Henry Ford Hospital pulmonologist advocates for raising the smoking age to 21

Henry Ford Hospital pulmonologist Daniel Ouellette, M.D., who during his 31-year career in medicine has seen the harmful effects of smoking on his patients, advocates for raising the smoking age to 21.

22 Oct 2015

Children who receive repeated antibiotics gain weight faster over time

Kids who receive antibiotics throughout the course of their childhoods gain weight significantly faster than those who do not, according to new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research.

22 Oct 2015

Researchers to present case report of acute inhalation lung injury related to use of e-cigarettes

Researchers from White River Junction VA Hospital, in Junction, Vermont, will present a case report of acute inhalation lung injury related to the use of e-cigarettes and a flavored e-cigarette liquid containing diacetyl.

20 Oct 2015

Negative stereotypes have adverse effects on patients' health

A national study led by a USC researcher found people who encountered the threat of being judged by negative stereotypes related to weight, age, race, gender, or social class in health care settings reported adverse effects.

20 Oct 2015

NAM announces election of three new members from UC San Diego School of Medicine

The National Academy of Medicine announced today the election of three new members from University of California, San Diego School of Medicine: Napoleone Ferrara, MD; Christopher K. Glass, MD, PhD; and Roberto Malinow, MD, PhD. Election to NAM is considered among the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.

20 Oct 2015

Takeda highlights safety, efficacy of vedolizumab for UC and CD at ACG Annual Scientific Meeting

Takeda Pharmaceuticals, U.S.A., Inc., today announced that data highlighting the efficacy and safety of vedolizumab for the treatment of adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), will be presented during the 2015 American College of Gastroenterology Annual Scientific Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, held on October 16-21.

20 Oct 2015