Nov 21st, 2022 - Organizations like the American Red Cross and others are stepping up efforts to recruit previously banned blood donors after the FDA lifted its restrictions on people who had been overseas amid outbreaks of mad cow disease. "This eligibility change will potentially impact hundreds of thousands of individuals who were previously ineligible to give blood or platelets, including many in the milita...

Nov 15th, 2022 - What should you do if a patient with multiple sclerosis suffers an acute relapse, but the standard methylprednisolone treatment does not result in any improvement? As it stands, the guidelines recommend a second cycle of the steroid at a double dose. A German study has now shown that visual, motor, and sensory abilities are retained better through immunoadsorption — an important finding for whe...

Nov 13th, 2022 - African countries stand out globally as the region seemingly least affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. Besides a younger population and potential pre-existing immunity to a SARS-CoV-2-like virus, it has been hypothesized that co-infection or recent history of Plasmodium falciparum malaria may be protective of COVID-19 severity and mortality. The number of COVID-19...

Nov 11th, 2022 - A vaccination campaign against meningococcal B bacteria has been launched in the Chambéry and Lyon-East regions of France. This campaign follows an increase in cases of infection since June 2022 with a new variant. According to recommendations, vaccination against meningococcal B bacteria has been recommended since April 2022 for all infants under the age of 2. Vaccinations against meningococca...

Nov 9th, 2022 - How exquisitely designed is the human body? Despite our efforts to occasionally derail our health and well-being, our bodies come with helpful built-in protective functional barriers. The blood-brain barrier and the placenta are two examples. In basic terms, both restrict the free flow of substances from the systemic circulation and help prevent harmful substances from reaching the brain and th...

Nov 8th, 2022 - New imaging data show distinctive brain changes that appear to explain memory and cognitive problems following Lyme disease. Using fMRI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) techniques, investigators found changes in white matter and other brain tissues in patients with posttreatment Lyme disease (PTLD) in comparison with healthy control persons who did not have a history of the disease. "It is im...

Nov 8th, 2022 - (Reuters) - GSK's blood cancer drug Blenrep failed the main goal of a late-stage study designed to show it was better than an existing treatment on the market, the company said on Monday. Oncology is a key area of focus for GSK as a standalone prescription medicine and vaccine business and its shares fell 3% after its statement, which raised concerns that regulatory approval of Blenrep may be r...

Oct 26th, 2022 - Hypercalcemia affects approximately 1% of the worldwide population. Mild hypercalcemia, defined as total calcium of less than 12 mg/dL (<3 mmol/L) or ionized calcium of 5.6 to 8.0 mg/dL (1.4-2 mmol/L), is usually asymptomatic but may be associated with constitutional symptoms such as fatigue and constipation in approximately 20% of people. Hypercalcemia that is severe, defined as total calcium ...

Oct 23rd, 2022 - An antenatal pertussis vaccination programme was introduced in 2012 in the UK in the context of a national outbreak of pertussis. It has been shown that a lower antibody response to primary immunisation can be seen for certain pertussis antigens in infants born to women who received pertussis-containing antenatal vaccines, a phenomenon known as blunting. The longer-term impact of this has not b...

Oct 7th, 2022 - The study covered in this summary was published on researchsquare.com as a preprint that has not yet been peer reviewed. Key Takeaways Researchers conducted a retrospective study that involved 524 patients at a single center in China. The patients underwent surgical removal of a pheochromocytoma, a rare neuroendocrine tumor in the adrenal gland that overproduces epinephrine and norepinephrine a...

Oct 3rd, 2022 - The glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) has an important role in neurons and is closely associated with psychiatric disorders. The development of bipolar disorder (BD) may differ between genders. Existing studies have shown that plasma GDNF levels are altered in patients with BD. In this study, we investigate whether the GDNF levels in patients with BD differ in terms of gender. ...

Sep 30th, 2022 - Natalizumab (NTZ) is an established treatment for highly active, relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. In the context of rare progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy and extended interval dosing as a treatment option, biomarkers for treatment monitoring are required. Natalizumab serum concentration (NTZ SC) and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM-1) concentration were shown to...

Sep 29th, 2022 - Acute phase reactants (APRs) play a critical role in inflammation. The difference in their physiological functions or the different dynamic ranges of these proteins in plasma makes it difficult to detect them simultaneously and to use several of these proteins as a tool in clinical practice. A novel multiplex assay has been designed and optimized to carry out a high-throughput and simultaneous ...

Sep 23rd, 2022 - To determine the importance of serum prolactin (PRL) in the detection of pituitary stalk interruption syndrome (PSIS) in children with multiple pituitary hormone deficiency (MPHD). We hypothesized that PRL elevation might be a diagnostic indicator of pituitary stalk pathologies. Clinical, radiological, and laboratory features of the 50 cases of MPHD were studied. The median age at presentation ...

Sep 23rd, 2022 - To assess whether SARS-CoV-2 infection may affect the central nervous system, specifically neurons and glia cells, even without clinical neurological involvement. In this single centre prospective study, serum levels of neurofilament light chain (sNfL) and glial fibrillar acidic protein (sGFAp) were assessed using SimoaTM assay Neurology 2-Plex B Assay Kit, in 148 hospitalised patients with COV...

Sep 22nd, 2022 - The intrathecally administered antisense oligonucleotide tofersen reduces synthesis of the superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) protein and is being studied in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) associated with mutations in SOD1 (SOD1 ALS). In this phase 3 trial, we randomly assigned adults with SOD1 ALS in a 2:1 ratio to receive eight doses of tofersen (100 mg) or placebo over a period...

Sep 21st, 2022 - Fewer than half of children aged 2-16 years with sickle cell anemia are receiving recommended annual screening for stroke, a common complication of the disease, according to a new Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many of these children also are not receiving the recommended medication, hydroxyurea, which can reduce pain and acute chest syndrome and improve...

Sep 21st, 2022 - Sclerostin is a secreted inhibitor of Wnt/β-catenin signaling that is mainly produced by osteocytes and is an important regulator of bone remodeling. Some studies have evaluated serum sclerostin levels in metabolic bone diseases, but the results have been contradictory. The profile of serum sclerostin levels in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH), and Pag...

Sep 14th, 2022 - Even as you read this, your body is working to maintain balance – and not just in the "don't fall over" sense. Hordes of chemical reactions are happening inside you, producing energy, processing waste, and keeping you healthy. Along the way, your body is releasing signals about your well-being. Wearable technology can reveal some of those signals, like heart rate or sleep cycles. Many more impo...

Sep 11th, 2022 - Previous studies have shown that α-synuclein (α-syn) accumulation in the normal aging brain is associated with a parallel increase in hemoglobin-binding α-syn (Hb-α-syn) in the brain and peripheral erythrocytes (ERCs), indicating that Hb-α-syn levels in ERCs may reflect the α-syn changes in the brain. However, if there is any change in ERC Hb-α-syn levels in disease condition is unclear. In thi...