Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Grocery Stores, Banks Among Locations That Should Reopen First: Study
As coronavirus pandemic lockdowns ease in the United States, grocery stores, banks, dentists, universities and big box stores should be allowed to reopen sooner and with fewer restrictions than other locations, researchers say.
Cafes, gyms, sporting goods stores, bookstores, tobacco and liquor stores should be remain closed longer and have tighter restrictions, according to the study published Tuesday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, CNN reported.
The researchers conducted a cost benefit analysis of 26 different types of locations to compare their importance with the infection risk they may pose to people.
They also analyzed tracking data from 47 million mobile phones to determine where Americans went during February and March, CNN reported.
“We find colleges to offer a relatively good trade-off, but most have shut down, leading to a 61% decline in visits,” the authors wrote.
“Conversely, we find liquor and tobacco stores to be relatively poor trade-offs [due to mediocre economic importance and small busy stores], yet the number of visits to this category has declined by less than 5%,” they added.
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Italian Woman Stuffs Olive During Brain Surgery
An Italian woman made 90 stuffed olives while she had a tumor removed from her brain.
The 60-year-old patient pitted the olives, stuffed them with meat and cheese and then rolled them over bread crumbs in less than an hour during the surgery to remove the tumor from her left temporal lobe, CBS News reported.
The “Ascoli-style” olives are a local specialty of Italy’s Marche region. The operation took place in the region’s capital of Ancona.
Surgeon Roberto Trignani has performed about 60 similar operations in the last five years. The patients are awake and perform an activity during surgery in order to monitor their brain functions, CBS News reported.
The activity performed by a patient is based on what part of the brain is undergoing surgery. In this latest case, the surgery involved the area that controls speech and complex movements on the left side of the body.
One patient who required surgery on the part of the brain that controls vision watched cartoons during the procedure, while others have sung or played instruments such as the violin or trombone, CBS News reported.
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