As the number of people fully immunized against COVID-19 rises into the hundreds of millions, immunologists and infectious disease experts now are pondering a new question in the unfolding pandemic. Namely, how long will vaccine immunity last, and will people who’ve gotten the jab need booster shots to maintain their protection? It’s an important question,… read on > read on >
U.S. regulators have extended the expiration date on millions of Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine doses by six weeks, the company announced Thursday. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration review concluded the shots remain safe and effective for at least 4 1/2 months, J&J said in a statement. In February, the FDA first authorized the… read on > read on >
There is no such thing as healthy obesity, a Scottish study reports. A normal metabolic profile doesn’t mean an obese person is actually healthy, because he or she still has an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke and respiratory illness, University of Glasgow researchers explained. “The term ‘metabolically healthy obesity’ should be avoided in… read on > read on >
The old double standard lives on. A new study finds that many people still believe — incorrectly — that women who engage in casual sex have low self-esteem. And they don’t think the same is true of men. “We were surprised that this stereotype was so widely held,” said study first author Jaimie Arona Krems,… read on > read on >
Sleep disorders may increase the odds for dementia in survivors of traumatic brain injury, new research suggests. The study included nearly 713,000 patients who were free of dementia when they were treated for traumatic brain injury (TBI) between 2003 and 2013. The severity of their brain injuries varied, and nearly six in 10 were men.… read on > read on >
Suffering for fashion is nothing new. Researchers in the United Kingdom have unearthed new evidence that stylish pointed shoes caused a “plague” of bunions in the late medieval period. Investigators from the University of Cambridge analyzed 177 skeletons from cemeteries in and around the city of Cambridge. Included were a charitable hospital, the grounds of… read on > read on >
Antibody treatments are safe and effective for transplant patients with mild to moderate COVID-19, a new study shows. Monoclonal antibodies help prevent the SARS-CoV-2 virus from attaching to cells, which helps block the spread of infection. The findings are important, researchers said, because transplant patients with COVID are more likely to be severely ill or… read on > read on >
People over 70 are far less likely to be considered for or to receive a new heart — even though new research suggests their survival rates after transplant are similar to those of younger patients. For the study, the researchers analyzed data on more than 57,000 adults (aged 18 and older) listed as heart transplant… read on > read on >
In a finding that confirms healthy habits make for healthy hearts, new research shows that smokers and obese people must have their clogged arteries cleared at much younger ages than nonsmokers or people who are a normal weight. It found that angioplasty and/or stenting to widen coronary arteries and restore blood flow had to be… read on > read on >
After years of improvement, Americans with diabetes may be losing some ground in controlling the condition, a new government-funded study shows. Researchers found that between 1999 and the early 2010s, U.S. adults with diabetes made substantial gains: A growing percentage had their blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol down to recommended levels. Since then, the… read on > read on >
