PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

New research shows fewer deaths related to RSV than previously thought

2014-12-08
(Press-News.org) (SALT LAKE CITY)- It's a virus that has long been characterized as dangerous and even deadly, but new research shows infant deaths from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are actually quite uncommon in the 21st century.

Researchers at the University of Utah have shown there are approximately 42 deaths annually associated with RSV in the United States, and of those deaths, the majority are in infants and young children that have complex preexisting chronic conditions.

"The news is very good for parents and their babies," says Carrie Byington, M.D., professor of pediatrics at the University of Utah and the study's principal investigator.

In most children, RSV will present with cold symptoms such as a runny nose, cough, wheezing, and mild fever. It can often lead to bronchiolitis (a swelling of the airways which makes breathing difficult) and pneumonia. In babies younger than six months, these conditions may require hospitalization. "Although RSV is one of the most common causes for infant hospitalizations, we can support infants through this infection. Most hospitalizations will be 2-3 days with infants expected to recover fully," Byington said.

Most babies can handle the virus and these symptoms, but those at higher risk for serious complications include very premature babies with lung disease and those born with heart problems or immune deficiencies.

The study, published today in the journal Pediatrics, determined mortality rates are much lower than previously thought. Based on research from decades ago, estimates showed RSV was linked to 210 - 4,500 deaths annually. The new study estimates the annual death toll to be up to 100-fold lower based on analysis of two national databases representing more than 850,000 RSV-associated admissions between the years 2000 to 2011. The decrease in mortality is likely the result of advances in medical care since the first estimates were calculated.

This new information may help guide appropriate prevention and treatment strategies. For example, medication that helps prevent RSV hospitalizations is very costly. "The use of these medications has been controversial," says Byington. "This research may help guide more appropriate use of these costly medications for the infants and young children most at risk for developing severe complications," she said.

The information may also help focus research, such as targeting preventative vaccines to the subset of children most at risk for complications from RSV.

INFORMATION:

Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Associated Mortality in Hospitalized Infants and Young Children. Carrie L. Byington, MD, Jacob Wilkes, BS, Kent Korgenski, MS, Xiaoming Sheng, PhD, Pediatrics, Dec. 8, 2014

Byington and Sheng are from the Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah; and Wilkes and Korgenski from Intermountain Healthcare, Pediatric Clinical Programs, Salt Lake City, Utah

This work was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health, and the H.A. and Edna Benning Presidential Endowment



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

High photosensitivity 2D-few-layered molybdenum diselenide phototransistors

High photosensitivity 2D-few-layered molybdenum diselenide phototransistors
2014-12-08
Two-dimensional (2D) layered materials are now attracting a lot of interest due to their unique optoelectronic properties at atomic thicknesses. Among them, graphene has been mostly investigated, but the zero-gap nature of graphene limits its practical applications. Therefore, 2D layered materials with intrinsic band gaps such as MoS2, MoSe2, and MoTe2 are of interest as promising candidates for ultrathin and high-performance optoelectronic devices. Here, Pil Ju Ko and colleagues at Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan have fabricated back-gated field-effect phototransistors ...

Vitamin C may help people who suffer from respiratory symptoms after exercise

2014-12-08
Physical activity increases oxidative stress, and therefore, as an antioxidant vitamin C might have particularly evident effects on people who are participating in vigorous exercise. In several studies, vitamin C administration attenuated the increases in oxidative stress markers caused by exercise. Furthermore, vitamin C is involved in the metabolism of histamine, prostaglandins, and cysteinyl leukotrienes, all of which appear to be mediators in the pathogenesis of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. A meta-analysis of three studies found that vitamin C halved post-exercise ...

Confounding factors contribute to unexpected results of trial of renal denervation

2014-12-08
A new analysis of an important trial of the blood pressure-lowering procedure, renal denervation, shows that the main results may have been affected by a number of confounding factors that partially explain the unexpected blood pressure responses in patients. The analysis, published in the European Heart Journal [1], identified factors in the SYMPLICITY HTN-3 trial, such as variations in the way the procedure was performed and changes in patients' medications and drug adherence, which may have had a significant impact on the results. Results of the SYMPLICITY HTN-3 ...

X-ray laser acts as tool to track life's chemistry

2014-12-08
An international research team that includes researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has captured the highest-resolution protein snapshots ever taken with an X-ray laser, revealing how a key protein in a photosynthetic bacterium changes shape when hit by light. Human biology is a massive collection of chemical reactions and all involve proteins, known as the molecules of life. Scientists have been moving steadily toward their ultimate goal of following these life-essential reactions step by step in real time, at the scale of atoms and electrons. "These ...

Novel strategies direct immune system to attack recurrent, hard-to-treat blood cancers

2014-12-08
(SAN FRANCISCO, December 6, 2014) - Novel treatments that harness the body's own immune cells to attack cancer cells demonstrate safe and durable responses in patients with relapsed and treatment-resistant blood cancers, according to data presented today at the 56th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition. Therapies designed to target the immune system and ignite the body's own disease-fighting mechanisms have become an increasingly promising field of study, particularly in blood cancers. While the immune system can easily recognize viruses ...

New technique allows low-cost creation of 3-D nanostructures

New technique allows low-cost creation of 3-D nanostructures
2014-12-08
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new lithography technique that uses nanoscale spheres to create three-dimensional (3-D) structures with biomedical, electronic and photonic applications. The new technique is significantly less expensive than conventional methods and does not rely on stacking two-dimensional (2-D) patterns to create 3-D structures. "Our approach reduces the cost of nanolithography to the point where it could be done in your garage," says Dr. Chih-Hao Chang, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering ...

Cell division induces tissue ordering

Cell division induces tissue ordering
2014-12-08
Nature's ingenious systems: A layer of cells called endothelial cells lines the interior of blood vessels. When blood flows through the vessels, such cells only divide to replace dead cells. However, if there is a blood clot preventing blood from flowing across the endothelial cells, they begin to divide more actively. New research from the Niels Bohr Institute demonstrates that cell division is very ordered. The new cells move away from each other and create a dynamic movement with eddies in a large area. This presumably helps to widen the vessel around the blockage. The ...

Study finds early warning signals of abrupt climate change

2014-12-08
A new study by researchers at the University of Exeter has found early warning signals of a reorganisation of the Atlantic oceans' circulation which could have a profound impact on the global climate system. The research, published today in the journal Nature Communications, used a simulation from a highly complex model to analyse the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), an important component of the Earth's climate system. It showed that early warning signals are present up to 250 years before it collapses, suggesting that scientists could monitor ...

Scientists pinpoint a new line of defence used by cancer cells

Scientists pinpoint a new line of defence used by cancer cells
2014-12-08
Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered a new line of defence used by cancer cells to evade cell death, according to research published in Nature Communications* today (Monday). The team identified a critical pathway of molecular signals which throw a lifeline to cancer cells, enabling them to survive even though they contain vast DNA errors which would usually trigger cell death. The PKCƐ signal pathway**, which is used by cancer cells but rarely by normal cells, could be important in targeting some cancer cells as they rely on this pathway to survive. The ...

Unusual electronic state found in new class of unconventional superconductors

Unusual electronic state found in new class of unconventional superconductors
2014-12-08
UPTON, NY-A team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, Columbia Engineering, Columbia Physics and Kyoto University has discovered an unusual form of electronic order in a new family of unconventional superconductors. The finding, described in the journal Nature Communications, establishes an unexpected connection between this new group of titanium-oxypnictide superconductors and the more familiar cuprates and iron-pnictides, providing scientists with a whole new family of materials from which they can gain deeper insights ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Training to improve memory

Are patients undergoing surgery for early-stage cancer at risk of persistent opioid use?

Black youth, especially Black girls, use mental health services less than their White peers

Canada must protect youth from sports betting advertising

First-in-human trial shows promising results for DLL3-targeted antibody-drug conjugate SHR-4849 in relapsed small cell lung cancer

Ifinatamab deruxtecan demonstrates high response rate in previously treated extensive-stage small cell lung cancer: Phase 2 IDeate-Lung01 trial

Higher blood pressure in childhood linked to earlier death from heart disease in adulthood

AI helped older adults report accurate blood pressure readings at home

High blood pressure in childhood and premature cardiovascular disease mortality

Zidesamtinib shows durable responses in ROS1 TKI pre-treated NSCLC, including patients with CNS disease and ROS1 G2032R mutations

Crizotinib fails to improve disease-free survival in resected early-stage ALK+ NSCLC

Ivonescimab plus chemotherapy improves progression-free survival in patients with EGFR+ NSCLC following 3rd-generation EGFR-TKI therapy

FLAURA2 trial shows osimertinib plus chemotherapy improves overall survival in eGFR-mutated advanced NSCLC

Aumolertinib plus chemotherapy improves progression-free survival in NSCLC with EGFR and concomitant tumor suppressor genes: ACROSS 2 phase III study

New antibody-drug conjugate shows promising efficacy in EGFR-mutated NSCLC patients

Iza-Bren in combination with osimertinib shows 100% response rate in EGFR-mutated NSCLC, phase II study finds

COMPEL study shows continuing osimertinib treatment through progression with the addition of chemotherapy improves progression-free survival in EGFR-mutated NSCLC

CheckMate 77T: Nivolumab maintains quality of life and reduces symptom deterioration in resectable NSCLC

Study validates AI lung cancer risk model Sybil in predominantly Black population at urban safety-net hospital

New medication lowered hard-to-control high blood pressure in people with chronic kidney disease

Innovative oncolytic virus and immunotherapy combinations pave the way for advanced cancer treatment

New insights into energy metabolism and immune dynamics could transform head and neck cancer treatment

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Steven Heymsfield named LSU Boyd Professor – LSU’s highest faculty honor

Study prompts new theory of human-machine communication

New method calculates rate of gene expression to understand cell fate

Researchers quantify rate of essential evolutionary process in the ocean

Innovation Crossroads companies join forces, awarded U.S. Air Force contract

Using new blood biomarkers, USC researchers find Alzheimer’s disease trial eligibility differs among various populations

Pioneering advances in in vivo CAR T cell production

Natural medicines target tumor vascular microenvironment to inhibit cancer growth

[Press-News.org] New research shows fewer deaths related to RSV than previously thought