TUESDAY, Dec. 21, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Far from terrorizing people as they did in “Jaws,” sharks may offer humanity hope in fending off future coronavirus outbreaks, new research suggests. That’s because their immune systems have unique antibody-like proteins called VNARs that can prevent the SARS-COV-2 virus that causes COVID-19Continue Reading
MONDAY, Dec. 20, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Kids with autism have low levels of a protein that quiets overactive brain cells, which may explain why so many have epilepsy, according to a new study. Because the protein can be detected in cerebrospinal fluid, it may have promise as a markerContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Dec. 17, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Two doses of a pediatric Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine failed to spur an adequate immune response in children aged 2 to 5, the companies announced Friday. That’s a setback for parents hoping to get their youngest children immunized against the new coronavirus as soonContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Dec. 17, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Recovery from heart surgery can bring some pain. But a new study suggests patients don’t need potentially addictive prescription opioids to control that post-op discomfort. “This study shows that discharge without opioid pain medicine after cardiac surgery is extremely well tolerated by someContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Dec. 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Children and teens who use livestreaming gaming platforms may be bombarded with influencer-endorsed ads for energy drinks, junk food and alcohol, new research shows. “This type of marketing can normalize high-fat, high-sugar and high-sodium foods at a time in young viewers’ lives whenContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) — An experimental drug, added to chemotherapy, may benefit women with an aggressive form of breast cancer, suggests an early study offering much-needed good news. The study involved women with “triple-negative” breast cancer, which accounts for about 15% to 20% of breast cancers amongContinue Reading
TUESDAY, Dec. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) — People with depression symptoms might find some help from online programs or smartphone apps — but the human component remains key, a new research review suggests. Not everyone with depression can readily get to face-to-face therapy — whether due to time, distance, moneyContinue Reading
TUESDAY, Dec. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) — For certain leukemia patients, some welcome findings: New research confirms long remissions after treatment with the drug ibrutinib and chemotherapy. The study involved 85 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). All were 65 or younger, and 46 had more aggressive, unmutated IGHV subtypeContinue Reading
MONDAY, Dec. 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) — A gene therapy that could provide a permanent cure for sickle cell disease continues to show success through a third wave of patients, researchers report. The therapy, LentiGlobin, restored normal blood function in 35 sickle cell patients who had the one-time procedure, accordingContinue Reading
MONDAY, Dec. 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) — You can’t always choose who operates on you, especially in an emergency, but the sex of your surgeon shouldn’t matter, should it? It just may, according to a Canadian study of 1.3 million people. It reported that women who underwent common elective orContinue Reading
MONDAY, Dec. 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) — The sound of mom’s voice can soothe a fussy baby like nothing else, but now new research suggests that an infant is also calmed by the scent of its mother. Prior animal studies had already shown that olfaction — smell — “is veryContinue Reading
MONDAY, Dec. 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Older adults have a higher risk of delirium after hip and knee surgery if they’re taking anxiety, depression or insomnia drugs, researchers say. “Our findings show that different classes of medicine are riskier than others when it comes to causing delirium after surgery,Continue Reading
FRIDAY, Dec. 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Children with the rare cancer neuroblastoma often succumb to the disease despite aggressive treatment. But researchers have found that adding an experimental antibody to that treatment, right off the bat, may improve their outlook. Of 64 children treated with the antibody in aContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Dec. 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) — The Omicron variant could prompt a reshuffling of the way doctors treat COVID infections in the United States, and antiviral pills will likely lead the way in that redoubled effort, Harvard experts say. New antiviral pills developed by Merck and Pfizer are expectedContinue Reading