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KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Blowing the whistle on Trump team’s COVID policies

Those working inside the Trump administration are getting so frustrated with the response to the COVID-19 pandemic that they are going public.

8 May 2020

Children are immune prepared for SARS-CoV-2

At least 30 new diseases have emerged in the last 20 years and now together threaten the health of hundreds of millions of people. For many of these diseases, there is no treatment, cure, or vaccine. While most of these diseases are dangerous to children, especially those younger than five years old, the novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), seems to spare most of them.

8 May 2020

Pangolins may be the key to new COVID-19 treatments

Researchers at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, have made an important discovery about the immune response to coronaviruses in pangolins that could point to new approaches for treating human cases of infection.

8 May 2020

Moderate physical activity reduces frequent hospital admissions in middle and older age

Men and women aged 40-79 are at significantly lower (25-27%) risk of long or frequent hospital admissions if they do some form of physical activity, a new study suggests.

7 May 2020

Antibodies from llamas may hold cure for novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2

As scientists across the globe race to find an effective treatment for the novel coronavirus, a team of scientists believe that a four-year-old llama named Winter may hold the key to fight the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

7 May 2020

New evidence suggests that schools should be kept closed to prevent COVID-19 spread

With most countries at a standstill, the circulating novel coronavirus has changed the way people live. Though some countries are starting to ease lockdown measures, with schools reopening, health experts worry that this may aggravate the situation. Two new studies provide evidence that children spread the coronavirus and transmit it, making them potential carriers of the infection.

7 May 2020

Predicting the dose for repurposing nitazoxanide in COVID-19

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in May 2020 reports a model that could help evolve appropriate dosage protocols for future clinical trials of the repurposed drug nitazoxanide in COVID-19 prevention and treatment. The researchers say, “It was possible to achieve plasma and lung tizoxanide concentrations, using proven safe doses of nitazoxanide, that exceed the EC90 for SARS-CoV-2.”

7 May 2020

Study predicts the spread of COVID-19 in India

Dr. Shinjini Ghosh and colleagues from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States, have come up with a predictive model that analyzes the spread of COVID-19 infection in India. Their study titled, "Predictive Model with Analysis of the Initial Spread of COVID-19 in India," was released prior to peer review on the preprint server Medrxiv.

7 May 2020

Some foods common in diets of adults with inflammatory bowel disease

American researchers from the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University have found that certain foods such as cheese, cookies, French fries, energy drinks, soda, and other types of junk foods are found more frequently in the diets of adults suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

7 May 2020

SARS-CoV-2 found in semen of COVID-19 patients

Since the novel coronavirus, now called the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), emerged in December 2019, viral loads have been detected in body fluids, such as urine samples, saliva, stool samples, and in the gastrointestinal tract. Now, a new study reveals the SARS-CoV-2 virus in semen.

7 May 2020

U.S. needs to boost the number of beds for COVID-19 patients

A new study published in JAMA Network Open sheds light on the increased demand for intensive care and inpatient beds amid the coronavirus outbreak, based on two cities in China to determine the level of hospital capacity needed to respond to outbreaks of severe coronavirus disease 2019 in U.S. cities.

7 May 2020

Vitamin D could improve outcomes in COVID-19

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020 shows that vitamin D could have a beneficial effect on the course of illness for COVID-19 patients.

7 May 2020

Excluding children from COVID-19 clinical trials may limit their treatment options

A new viewpoint article from Harvard Medical School, published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, discusses the hesitancy to include children in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) clinical trials, potentially diminishing their therapeutic options in the long run.

7 May 2020

Day services may help improve cognitive function of Alzheimer's patients

Day services—programs designed to provide stimulation in a safe environment during the day for adults with physical and mental impairments—may help improve the cognitive function of adults with Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in Psychogeriatrics.

7 May 2020

Scientists discover fungus that blocks malaria transmission from mosquitoes to people

A fungus that lives in malaria-carrying mosquitoes could boost global efforts to control the disease, which kills about half a million people — mostly children under five — every year.

7 May 2020

Researchers to develop new imaging device for infants with brain disorders

Using night-vision goggle technology, near-infrared light, and high-resolution detectors, a wearable imaging device for awake infants with brain disorders was developed by a team of scientists and a pediatric neurosurgeon at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

7 May 2020

Certain factors are linked to frequent use of e-cigarettes among adolescents

In a study of adolescents who have used e-cigarettes in the past month, certain factors were associated with frequent use.

7 May 2020

Study: Skin-to-skin contact shows significant benefits for pre-term babies

A world-first study led by Monash University has demonstrated significant benefits to a premature baby's heart and brain function when held by the parent in skin-to-skin contact.

7 May 2020

Talking and breathing can contribute to COVID-19 spread, shows study

Current knowledge about the role of aerosols in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 warrants urgent attention.

7 May 2020

Study finds tumor markers can also be indicators of heart failure

Heart failure and cancer are conditions with a number of shared characteristics. A new study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine found that in patients with heart failure, several known tumor markers can also be indicators of heart failure severity and progression.

7 May 2020