A single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine isn’t enough to develop adequate antibodies in kidney dialysis patients, Canadian researchers report. “We advise that the second dose of the [Pfizer] vaccine be administered to patients receiving hemodialysis at the recommended 3-week time interval and that rigorous SARS-CoV-2 infection prevention and control measures be continued in hemodialysis…  read on >  read on >

Frequent middle-ear infections are the nemesis of many parents and young children. Now a new study suggests that a common treatment — “ear tubes” — may not prevent future bouts. Middle-ear infections (or acute otitis media) are second only to the common cold in creating childhood misery. They occur when the air-filled space behind the…  read on >  read on >

Weight-loss surgery can trim waistlines, and new research suggests it could also protect aging eyes. The study found that after bariatric (weight-loss) surgery, a person’s odds for cataracts can drop significantly, especially among younger patients. Why might that be so? According to Swiss researchers, weight loss in obese patients may lower oxidative stress on cells,…  read on >  read on >

An experimental injectable drug appears more versatile than existing medications in treating people with different forms of severe, hard-to-control asthma, clinical trial results show. There are many different types of asthma brought on by many different triggers, and a number of monoclonal antibody medications — called “biologics” — have been crafted to target distinct asthma…  read on >  read on >

Like certain health conditions including cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure, new research shows that having HIV or AIDS increases a person’s risk of catching and dying from COVID-19. For the study, researchers from Penn State College of Medicine assessed data from 22 previous studies of 21 million participants in North America, Africa, Europe and…  read on >  read on >

Researchers say they have developed a rapid test for gonorrhea that could help reduce the spread of the sexually transmitted disease. The test consists of an inexpensive, portable device and a cellphone app that will diagnose gonorrhea in less than 15 minutes. It can also determine whether the strain of the infection will respond to…  read on >  read on >