COVID-19 Linked to Potentially Dangerous Eye Abnormalities

Radiological Society of North America :Researchers have found significant abnormalities in the eyes of some people with severe COVID-19.Of 129 COVID-19 patients in the study, nine had nodules in the macular region, the area in the back of the eye responsible for our central vision, with eight of them having nodules in both eyes.This is the first time these findings have been described using MRI.

Researchers using MRI have found significant abnormalities in the eyes of some people with severe COVID-19, according to a study published in the journal Radiology. The study results support the need for eye screening in these patients to provide appropriate treatment and management of potentially severe ophthalmological manifestations of COVID-19.

Study Shows Flu Vaccine Lessens COVID-19 Symptoms in Children

University of Missouri :Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine have discovered that children who receive a seasonal flu shot are less likely to suffer symptoms from a COVID-19 infection. The finding comes from a review of more than 900 children diagnosed with COVID-19 in 2020.

“It is known that the growth of one virus can be inhibited by a previous viral infection,” said Anjali Patwardhan, MD, professor of pediatric rheumatology and child health. “This phenomenon is called virus interference, and it can occur even when the first virus invader is an inactivated virus, such as the case with the flu vaccine.”

Study reveals frequency and characteristics of stroke in COVID-19 patients

University of Missouri :A study conducted by researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine and MU Health Care shows coronavirus patients with stroke face increased need for long-term care.

A review of nearly 28,000 emergency department records shows less than 2% of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 suffered an ischemic stroke but those who did had an increased risk of requiring long-term care after hospital discharge. Those are the findings from a study conducted by researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine and MU Health Care.

Targeted RNA Nanoparticle Shows Early Promise as Treatment for Liver Cancer

Ohio University : A new targeted RNA nanoparticle designed to carry a chemotherapy drug along with a therapeutic oligonucleotide against chemical efflux gene might provide an effective treatment for liver cancer, according to a new study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James). 

In a COVID-19 World, Speech Disturbance May Be the Most Important Stroke Sign to Look Out For

 

University of Pennsylvania :With an increase in remote work, virtual meetings, and video chats, many of us may not realize we are now on the front lines of stroke detection via the speakers on our computers, phones and other devices.

Across the world, fewer people are going to the hospital to be treated for stroke, but that’s not because fewer people are having them. In July, Renyu Liu, MD, a professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published a study in CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics that found that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic the global average for stroke hospitalizations decreased by about 42 percent, statistics spurred by people afraid to seek emergency medical care for fear of catching COVID-19. In a recently published editorial in the same journal, Liu suggests that that the pandemic, with its social distancing and mask wearing, may be also be contributing to a decline in people recognizing the common warning signs of stroke.

Text Message Program Shows 60 Percent of Opioid Tablets Unused After Common Procedures

 

University of Pennsylvania :A Penn Medicine new study of how text messaging could inform opioid prescribing practices showed that 60 percent of opioids are left over after orthopaedic and urologic procedures.More than half of the opioid tablets prescribed for patients who underwent orthopaedic or urologic procedures went unused in a new study by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Using an automated text messaging system that regularly checked in with patients on their pain and opioid use, the study also showed that most opioids are taken within the first few days following a procedure and may not be necessary to manage pain even just a week following a procedure. The study was published today in JAMA Network Open.

Cancer Immunotherapy May Also Treat Certain Autoimmune Diseases

University of Michigan :The new approach blocks the interaction between cancer cells and immune receptors, showing promise in mice.
A team of researchers has found disrupting the interaction between cancer cells and certain immune cells is more effective at killing cancer cells than current immunotherapy treatments.

The findings, which include studies in cell lines and animal models, appeared in JCI Insight and focus on a protein called CD6 as a target for a new approach to immunotherapy.

Vaping Marijuana Associated with More Symptoms of Lung Damage than Vaping or Smoking Nicotine

University of Michigan :Adolescents who vape cannabis are at greater risk for respiratory symptoms indicative of lung injury than teens who smoke cigarettes or marijuana, or vape nicotine, a new University of Michigan study suggests.
Adolescents who vape cannabis are at greater risk for respiratory symptoms indicative of lung injury than teens who smoke cigarettes or marijuana, or vape nicotine, a new University of Michigan study suggests.

Research Group Identifies Potential Therapeutic Target for Lupus

University of Michigan :Inhibiting IRE1α, a molecule activated by the endoplasmic reticulum in neutrophils, counters disease progression in lupus mice.
A recent study published in JCI found that a neutrophil’s endoplasmic reticulum, the organelle that normally makes proteins in the cell, becomes stressed in the autoimmune disorder lupus. This stress activates a molecule called IRE1α, which appears to play a critical role in lupus pathogenesis in mice.

Melanoma patients respond to immunotherapy after changes to gut microbiome

Oregon State University : Statistical modeling developed by Oregon State University researchers has confirmed that changes to melanoma patients’ gut microbiome led them to respond to a type of treatment capable of providing long-term benefit.

Findings were published in Science.

The modeling technique invented by Andrey Morgun of the OSU College of Pharmacy and Natalia Shulzenko of Oregon State’s Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine is known as transkingdom network analysis.

Cells burn more calories after just one bout of moderate aerobic exercise, OSU study finds

Oregon State University : In a recent study testing the effects of exercise on overall metabolism, researchers at Oregon State University found that even a single session of moderate aerobic exercise makes a difference in the cells of otherwise sedentary people.

Mitochondria are the part of the cell responsible for the biological process of respiration, which turns fuels such as sugars and fats into energy, so the researchers focused only on mitochondria function.

Deep Learning Outperforms Standard Machine Learning in Biomedical Research Applications, Research Shows

Geordia State University : Compared to standard machine learning models, deep learning models are largely superior at discerning patterns and discriminative features in brain imaging, despite being more complex in their architecture, according to a new study in Nature Communications led by Georgia State University.

Advanced biomedical technologies such as structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI and fMRI) or genomic sequencing have produced an enormous volume of data about the human body. By extracting patterns from this information, scientists can glean new insights into health and disease. This is a challenging task, however, given the complexity of the data and the fact that the relationships among types of data are poorly understood.

Stereotypes Can Harm Performance Of Older Adults On Cognitive And Physical Tasks

Georgia State University:  When older adults are viewed as cognitively or physically impaired, they perform below their abilities on tasks, according to a recent review article by Sarah Barber, a psychology and gerontology researcher at Georgia State University. Groups who are stigmatized—whether due to race, socioeconomic status or age—perform more poorly when they are faced with negative stereotypes, Barber said. She found expectations of others can play a powerful role in how well older adults perform on cognitive tasks and motor skills such as driving.

Strategies to accelerate diagnosis and treatment of rare cardiovascular diseases

Yale :The current landscape for patients with rare cardiovascular disease has shifted. Using genome sequencing Yale physician-scientists have begun to elucidate the pathophysiology of genetic disorders and develop treatment guidelines and recommendations. With these advanced diagnostic tools, our team of international experts can offer clinical diagnosis, genetic testing, and risk assessment for patients.

Double duty: Gut’s immune system helps regulate food processing, too

 

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Yale : The small intestine is ground zero for survival of animals. It is responsible for absorbing the nutrients crucial to life and it wards off toxic chemicals and life-threatening bacteria.In a new study published March 18 in the journal Science, Yale researchers report the critical role played by the gut’s immune system in these key processes. The immune system, they found, not only defends against pathogens but regulates which nutrients are taken in.

Babies pay attention with down payment from immature brain region

Yale :Anyone who has watched an infant’s eyes follow a dangling trinket dancing in front of them knows that babies are capable of paying attention with laser focus.

But with large areas of their young brains still underdeveloped, how do they manage to do so?

Increasing Pollen Rates Affect COVID Infection Rates

Columbia :A new study found that pollen-which is also being affected by climate change---can help explain additional COVID infection rates during the Spring when tree allergies become dominant.  How much of an impact?  Based on these data, an increase of pollen abundance by 100 grains per cubic meter of air resulted in an average increase in infection rates of 4 percent. The results are published in PNAS titled "Higher Airborne Pollen Concentrations Correlated with Increased SARS-CoV-2 Infection Rates."

Led Study Shows Fear and Anxiety Share Same Bases in Brain

University of Maryland :Anxiety, the most common family of mental illnesses in the U.S., has been pushed to epic new heights by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimating that nearly 1 in 3 U.S. adults and a staggering 41% of people ages 18-29 experienced clinically significant anxiety symptoms in late August. Now, the findings of a recent UMD-led study indicate that some long-accepted thinking about the basic neuroscience of anxiety is wrong.

Tobacco companies hook kids on sugary drinks

 

UCSF :Tobacco conglomerates that used colors, flavors and marketing techniques to entice children as future smokers transferred these same strategies to sweetened beverages when they bought food and drinks companies starting in 1963, according to a study by researchers at UC San Francisco.
The study, which draws from a cache of previously secret documents from the tobacco industry that is part of the UCSF Industry Documents Library tracked the acquisition and subsequent marketing campaigns of sweetened drink brands by two leading tobacco companies: R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris. It found that as tobacco was facing increased scrutiny from health authorities, its executives transferred the same products and tactics to peddle soft drinks. The study was published in the March 2019 issue of BMJ.

How COVID-19 Causes Loss of Smell

Harvard :Olfactory support cells, not neurons, are vulnerable to novel coronavirus infection. Temporary loss of smell, or anosmia, is the main neurological symptom and one of the earliest and most commonly reported indicators of COVID-19. Studies suggest it better predicts the disease than other well-known symptoms such as fever and cough, but the underlying mechanisms for loss of smell in patients with COVID-19 have been unclear.