From a seasonal cold to a stomach bug, nobody likes catching a virus — and epidemics can be devastating. We need safe, sustainable antiviral options to treat the outbreaks of the future. Scientists in Finland have now shown that an extract of willow bark — a plant which has already provided several medicines, including the precursor to modern aspirin — has a broad-spectrum antiviral effect in cell sample experiments. The extract worked both on enveloped coronaviruses, which cause colds as well as Covid-19, and non-enveloped enteroviruses, which cause infections such as flu and meningitis. There are no clinically approved drugs which work against enteroviruses directly, ...

The trend among younger children to frequently drink caffeinated soda may indicate higher risk of alcohol consumption in the future, new research suggests.   In a study of over 2,000 US children, aged between just nine to ten, those who reported drinking caffeinated soda daily, were found a year later twice as likely to state they had sipped alcohol. Published in the peer-reviewed journal Substance Use & Misuse, the results of the study also demonstrate that daily drinkers of caffeinated soda were more impulsive and have a poorer working memory. Each of the findings took into consideration other factors such as family history of drug use and low parental ...

WASHINGTON — Reducing health disparities in incidence and mortality for major types of cancers can be aided by sophisticated computer modeling efforts, according to new, wide-ranging perspectives from researchers at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and colleagues around the country. The collection of articles appears in the November 8, 2023, special issue of JNCI and are devoted to outlining a path forward in cancer disparities modeling.   The issue was edited by Georgetown Lombardi’s Jeanne ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Analyses of U.S. national forests led by Oregon State University scientists shows that increased protections for two Alaskan forests is a key to meeting climate and biodiversity goals. In a paper published in AGU Advances, OSU College of Forestry researchers make the case that greater conservation efforts in the Tongass and Chugach national forests in southern Alaska are crucial because of their landscape integrity, high carbon stocks and wildlife habitat extent. “More thoroughly safeguarding those forests ...

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE AND FORESTRY ENGLAND EMBARGOED UNTIL 00:01 GMT/LONDON TIME ON WEDNESDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2023 A copy of the paper is available at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oj1uPIh_R0D_SA9wHtaaoz_NG26SicI4?usp=drive_link      A team of experts from across Europe has produced a list of 15 over-looked and emerging issues that are likely to have a significant impact on UK forests over the next 50 years. This is the first ‘horizon scanning’ exercise – a technique to identify relatively unknown threats, opportunities, and new trends – ...

Giving children a virtual/augmented (mixed) reality playkit to use ahead of an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan seems to ease both their and their parents’ anxieties about this procedure, suggest preliminary findings published in the open access journal BMJ Innovations. Reducing the need to put a child to sleep, because of the noise and time required to keep still while in the MRI tunnel, could not only boost patient safety, but also cut costs and waiting times, suggest the researchers. MRI has emerged as an important diagnostic tool in children’s healthcare because of the high quality images produced and lower radiation ...

The number of very premature babies (22 weeks) given respiratory life support  (survival focused care) and/or admitted to neonatal units in England and Wales has increased 3-fold, following changes in 2019 to national guidance, finds research published in the open access journal BMJ Medicine. While the proportion of these babies surviving to discharge has also increased, overall survival remains low, and there are “major implications for additional resource needs,” highlight the researchers. The updated national guidance from the British Association of Perinatal Medicine focuses on a risk based approach, setting out various pregnancy and ...

Some unexpected shark strandings and subsequent surprises following autopsies have, ironically, taken marine biologists millions of years back in time as they look to the future with concern. Adding chapters to an evolutionary tale involving the infamous megalodon shark (the “Meg”), they think their work suggests there are more warm-blooded sharks out there than previously believed, and – based on the Meg’s demise – these species may be at great risk from warming seas. Some of the most ...

Brussels, 8 November 2023 – New international research on the economic burden of urinary incontinence reveals that the cost of continence care will reach an estimated €69.1 billion in 2023. These costs include the impact of incontinence on individuals’ health, the costs of medical consultations and products such as continence pads, incontinence-related absenteeism at work, nursing home admissions, and the environmental impact of incontinence care. If no action is taken to support continence health, the economic burden could rise by 25% in 2030, to €86.7 billion. This economic burden becomes considerably higher when including caregiver costs. Some 55-60 million ...

ATLANTA — New research at ACR Convergence 2023, the American College of Rheumatology’s (ACR) annual meeting, shows that a deep learning system could accurately identify and predict joint space narrowing and erosions in hand radiographs of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (Abstract #0745). Radiographs are the most commonly used imaging technique for detecting and monitoring RA in the hand. Radiologists frequently use the well-validated Sharp/van der Heidje (SvH) method to evaluate joint space ...

ATLANTA - Researchers will present the first-ever study of fractures and calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease at ACR Convergence 2023, the American College of Rheumatology’s (ACR) annual meeting. They report a doubled risk of fractures in patients with acute calcium pyrophosphate crystal arthritis compared to those without the disease (Abstract #0235). Calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease occurs when calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) crystals form near cartilage cells, and sometimes leads to joint inflammation, pain, and swelling. It has often been called pseudogout because ...

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Better education for cat owners, more communication from veterinarians, increased drug choices and cheaper, rapid diagnostic tools can help improve antimicrobial use in cats, which has important implications for rising antimicrobial resistance in animals and humans, according to two new papers by Cornell researchers. Antimicrobial resistance threatens up to 10 million human lives a year and may cost the global economy trillions of dollars, with resistant pathogens moving easily between humans and animals, according to the papers’ authors. In one paper, “Divergent Veterinarian and Cat ...

In science, a simple but thorough observation can kick-start the most surprising findings. Researchers at the Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina noticed that mice lacking a protein of interest in cancer research were showing visible signs of abnormal motor functions as they aged, including loss of coordination and strength. The team showed that that lack of this protein resulted in the accumulation of damaged mitochondria that affected motor function. Treating these mice with a drug that triggered the destruction of damaged mitochondria restored their motor ...

ATLANTA — Leaders of a project to develop and implement equitable new quality measures for lupus care by the end of the decade will present their work at ACR Convergence 2023, the American College of Rheumatology’s (ACR) annual meeting (Abstract #1899). Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, lupus) is an autoimmune disease marked by adaptive immune system activation, formation of autoantibodies, and systemic inflammation affecting organ systems throughout the body. Lupus disproportionately affects women and people of color, who are more likely to have severe ...

ATLANTA - New research from an ongoing study that will be presented at ACR Convergence 2023, the American College of Rheumatology’s (ACR) annual meeting, shows that pregnant women with very low titers of anti-Ro antibodies are at minimal to no risk of fetal atrioventricular (AV) block, a serious disorder affecting the heart’s electrical system. After birth, fetal AV block requires lifelong pacemaker treatment or cardiac transplantation and may be fatal. However, pregnant patients with higher titer antibodies seem to be at greatest risk  at risk ...

ATLANTA - New research at ACR Convergence 2023, the American College of Rheumatology’s (ACR) annual meeting, shows that treating rheumatoid arthritis with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) reduced the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, especially in women and men who are 50 years old and younger (Abstract #0396). Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune inflammatory disease marked by chronic joint inflammation leading to joint damage and loss of function. It can also affect tissues and organs outside the joints, including (but not limited to) the eyes, ...

ATLANTA - New research at ACR Convergence 2023, the American College of Rheumatology’s (ACR) annual meeting, shows that ultrasound-detected salivary gland abnormalities in primary Sjögren's become more severe over time and that the slow-to-progress disease likely starts long before it is first detected (Abstract #1371).    Sjögren's disease also known as Primary Sjögren’s syndrome, is a systemic autoimmune disorder. It is marked by inflammation of the lacrimal and salivary glands, leading to chronic dry eyes and mouth. Fatigue is common, ...

ATLANTA — New research at ACR Convergence 2023, the American College of Rheumatology’s (ACR) annual meeting, describes a link between positive antiphospholipid antibodies and an increased risk of future cardiovascular disease in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (Abstract #0552). Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) are autoantibodies directed against phospholipid-binding proteins. In antiphospholipid syndrome, they are associated with heart attack, stroke, and pulmonary embolism, and with miscarriage and stillbirth during pregnancy. People with SLE also have a greatly increased risk ...

ATLANTA - New research at ACR Convergence 2023, the American College of Rheumatology’s (ACR) annual meeting, found that JAK inhibitors (JAKi) and tocilizumab elicited better response rates in VEXAS syndrome compared to other targeted therapies (Abstract #L03). VEXAS syndrome is a rare and often fatal autoimmune condition caused by a mutation in the UBA1 gene. It is marked by widespread inflammation leading to a range of symptoms that affect the skin, lungs, blood vessels and joints. The name is an acronym for disease characteristics: vacuoles in bone marrow, E1 enzyme (the enzyme encoded by the UBA1 gene), ...

ATLANTA — New research at ACR Convergence 2023, the American College of Rheumatology’s (ACR) annual meeting, describes the expansion of a novel program to train primary care physicians (PCPs) in the diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Native American communities that have little or no access to rheumatology care (Abstract #2455). Despite the high prevalence of RA and other rheumatologic diseases among Native Americans, many Native American communities lack adequate access to subspecialized care. As a result, responsibility for treatment has shifted to primary care providers, who often do not feel confident prescribing RA medications or ...

ATLANTA — According to new research at ACR Convergence 2023, the American College of Rheumatology’s (ACR) annual meeting, continuing tumor necrosis factor inhibitors during pregnancy is not associated with worse fetal or obstetric outcomes and may reduce the risk of severe maternal infections during pregnancy (Abstract #0477). Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors such as adalimumab and infliximab are often prescribed for inflammatory forms of arthritis that have not improved with other treatments. Although studies suggest the drugs are safe during pregnancy, ...

ATLANTA - New research at ACR Convergence 2023, the American College of Rheumatology’s (ACR) annual meeting, reports the incidence and risk factors for new-onset interstitial lung disease (ILD) in previously ILD-negative systemic sclerosis patients (Abstract #1700). Interstitial lung disease is a common complication and cause of death in systemic sclerosis (SSc, scleroderma). Although the prevalence and risk factors for ILD are well known, less is known about the annual incidence and risk factors associated with the disease that occurs in patients who test negative on screening tests conducted at baseline. To answer these questions, Liubov Petelytska, ...

In a small study, researchers at the National Institutes of Health have found that positron emission tomography (PET) scans of the heart may identify people who will go on to develop Parkinson’s disease or Lewy body dementia among those at-risk for these diseases. The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation and led by scientists at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of NIH, may advance efforts to detect the earliest changes that years later lead to Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia. In ...

Macarena de la Fuente, MD, chief of neuro-oncology at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, has been elected to the Society of Neuro-Oncology (SNO)’s board of directors. She will serve as the neurology representative and becomes the first Hispanic elected to the multidisciplinary board, which strives to advance brain tumor research, education and collaboration. De la Fuente has been an SNO member for over a decade and previously served as chair of the society’s ...

ATLANTA — New research at ACR Convergence 2023, the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting, demonstrates that CAR-T cell therapy could lead to sustained suppression of autoantibodies in treatment-resistant lupus while maintaining a robust response to vaccines (Abstract #0607). Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, lupus) is a complex autoimmune disease marked by the production of autoantibodies to nucleic acid DNA and nuclear protein autoantigens and is associated with dysfunctional B cells. It mainly affects women and is more common and severe in people who ...