Copenhagen, Denmark: More than three months after suffering from mild COVID infection, men have lower sperm concentrations and fewer sperm that are able to swim, according to new findings presented today (Monday) at the 39th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) [1]. Professor Rocio Núñez-Calonge, scientific advisor at UR International Group at the Scientific Reproduction Unit, Madrid (Spain), said that after an average of 100 days following SARS-CoV-2 infection there appeared to be no improvement in sperm quality ...

Copenhagen, Denmark: A small study with couples experiencing unexplained infertility suggests that a hormone treatment could increase the chances of having a baby. The trial, presented today (Monday) at the 39th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) [1], compared couples trying to conceive naturally with couples where the woman used a vaginal progesterone treatment during the second half of her menstrual cycle. The researchers say a larger trial is now warranted but, given the treatment is safe and low-cost, it could ultimately benefit many people living with infertility around the world. The study ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — 50 million years ago in what is now northwestern Colorado, a katydid died, sank to the bottom of a lake and was quickly buried in fine sediments, where it remained until its compressed fossil was recovered in recent years. When researchers examined the fossil under a microscope, they saw that not only had many of the insect’s hard structures been preserved in the compressed shale, so had several internal organs and tissues, which are not normally fossilized. They describe their findings in the journal Palaeoentomology. “Katydids ...

Copenhagen, Denmark: Women are just as likely to give birth to live babies after fertility treatment if embryos are transferred to their wombs three days after fertilisation in the laboratory rather than five. However, the women’s age can affect the outcomes, according to new research presented to the 39th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) [1]. Dr Simone Cornelisse, a researcher and resident in obstetrics and gynaecology at Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen (The Netherlands), told the conference that among 1202 women from 21 Dutch fertility centres who were randomly assigned to have embryos transferred to their wombs ...

Copenhagen, Denmark: Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are not at any greater risk of ovarian cancer than those without the common hormone condition, say researchers. However, those with PCOS who have been through the menopause are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The data based on nearly two million women is presented today (Monday) at the 39th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) [1]. The research is also published simultaneously in the International Journal of Cancer [2]. This ...

Researchers from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History have identified the oldest decisive evidence of humans’ close evolutionary relatives butchering and likely eating one another. In a new study published today, June 26, in Scientific Reports, National Museum of Natural History paleoanthropologist Briana Pobiner and her co-authors describe nine cut marks on a 1.45 million-year-old left shin bone from a relative of Homo sapiens found in northern Kenya. Analysis of 3D models of the fossil’s surface revealed ...

Scientists led by Sabine Taschner-Mandl, PhD, St. Anna Children's Cancer Research Institute, and Nikolaus Fortelny, PhD, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, are the first to analyze bone marrow metastases from childhood tumors of the nervous system using modern single-cell sequencing analysis. It turns out that cancer cells prevent cells in their environment from fighting the tumor – a process that could be reversed with medication. The findings were published in the renowned journal Nature Communications. Neuroblastoma is the most ...

For many patients with hypertension—an elevated blood pressure that can lead to stroke or heart attack—medication keeps the condition at bay. But what happens when medication that physicians usually prescribe doesn’t work? Known as apparent resistant hypertension (aRH), this form of high blood pressure requires more medication and medical management. Novel research from investigators in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai, published today in the peer-reviewed journal Hypertension, found that aRH prevalence was lower in ...

New controlled trial research documents that Progesterone (micronized, oral) is effective at decreasing night sweats and improving sleep in perimenopausal women who have menstruated in the last 1-year. Perimenopausal women most want treatment for these two symptoms. Current guidelines prescribe Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT) for disturbing hot flushes/flashes or night sweats (vasomotor symptoms, VMS) in all women younger than 60 years. “This guideline assumes that hormone levels and symptoms are the same in the early years of ...

Study reveals some distinctions between Black women in the US and the French Caribbean but increasing trends for aggressive forms in both regions. Compared with white women, Black women have elevated risks of being diagnosed with advanced uterine cancer—also known as endometrial cancer—and of developing aggressive tumors. Researchers recently compared the incidence and trends for endometrial cancer, both overall and by subtype, between African descent women in Florida and women in the French Caribbean—specifically, the islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. The findings are published by Wiley online ...

MIAMI, FLORIDA (EMBARGOED UNTIL 3:01 AM ET Monday, June 26, 2023) – Current evidence indicates Black women in the U.S. are at greater risk of developing advanced uterine cancer, also known as endometrial cancer, and of developing its more aggressive form – non-endometroid cancer – than white women. But research to date has mostly studied Black women as a homogenous group, and there is limited data about specific African-descent subpopulations worldwide. That is until now. A new study by researchers with Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine compared both the overall incidence and trends for endometrial ...

Orlando, Fla., June 26, 2023 – Facing persistent cases of hospital-onset Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) during the pandemic, the infection prevention and control (IPC) team at Children’s Hospital New Orleans developed an inexpensive nasal decolonization regimen previously used only in their adult patients that decreased rates of MRSA by 50 percent. Their results are being presented at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology’s (APIC’s) Annual Conference in Orlando Florida, June 26-28. Without a lot of scientific literature on nasal decolonization in the pediatric population to guide them, Infection Preventionist ...

Neurosurgical Infections Drop More Than 80% in Two Years at Pittsburgh Hospital Readmissions, patient satisfaction scores improve through infection preventionist-led, multidisciplinary collaboration Orlando, Fla. June 26, 2023 – When excess surgical site infections (SSIs) were detected among neurosurgery patients at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Mercy in 2019, infection preventionist Katie Palladino, MPH, CPH, CIC, partnered with a hospital neurosurgeon on a multidisciplinary quality and process improvement initiative that ...

To address health inequities that Indigenous and racialized patients can experience, collect data on racial and Indigenous identity at health card application and renewal, suggests a group of authors in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.221587. "Although race is a social construct that uses perceived physical differences to create and maintain power differentials and the existence of discrete racial groups has not been shown to have any biological basis, perceived race influences how people are treated by individuals and institutions," ...

Every €1 invested in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility provides €3 in direct benefits to users and up to €12 in societal benefits, according to the the first economic valuation of GBIF's network, infrastructure and services. This finding is one of several insights outlined in the report, Economic valuation and assessment of the impact of the GBIF network, prepared and published by Deloitte Access Economics. The Deloitte team of economists applied multiple analytical methods to produce this estimate, comparing and combining the results to quantify the total ...

About The Study: Exposure to posthospitalization home-delivered meals was associated with lower 30-day rehospitalization and mortality; randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings.  Authors: Huong Q. Nguyen, Ph.D., R.N., of the Southern California Permanente Medical Group in Pasadena, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.1678) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions ...

Australian and international experts have released 11 recommendations on when, how, and in what situation it may be appropriate for clinicians to reduce opioid use, by placing the patient at the centre of the equation. The University of Sydney led guidelines recommend that clinicians develop personalised deprescribing plans from the beginning for any patient being prescribed opioids. The guidelines also advise clinicians against abruptly stopping opioid treatment without gradually reducing the dose or transitioning to different treatments, saying it could increase risk of withdrawal ...

About The Study: Among people with insulin-naive type 2 diabetes, once-weekly icodec demonstrated superior HbA1c reduction to once-daily degludec after 26 weeks of treatment, with no difference in weight change and a higher rate of combined level two or three hypoglycemic events in the context of less than one event per patient-year exposure in both groups.  Authors: Ildiko Lingvay, M.D., of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and Yiming Mu, M.D., of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army General Hospital in Beijing, are the corresponding authors. To ...

About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that treatment with bempedoic acid in high-risk primary prevention patients unable to tolerate recommended doses of statins has the potential to reduce major adverse cardiovascular events.  Authors: Steven E. Nissen, M.D., of the Cleveland Clinic, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2023.9696) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and ...

The policy, which expired at the end of 2021, has not been renewed due to concerns among legislators over the credit being overly generous, particularly to lower-income families with limited tax liability, and the lack of an associated work requirement. The findings, to be published June 24 in JAMA Health Forum, could inform the debate over the policy’s future, said Dr. Jordan Rook, a fellow in the National Clinician Scholars Program at UCLA and the study’s lead author. “Cash transfer programs like the 2021 Child Tax Credit expansion may be powerful tools in improving ...

About The Study: The results of this study suggest that the COVID 19–era policy of Expanded Child Tax Credit monthly payments was associated with improved adult overall health and food security. Cash transfer programs may be effective tools in improving adult health and household nutrition.  Authors: Jordan M. Rook, M.D., of the University of California, Los Angeles, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.1672) Editor’s ...

Edinburgh, UK – 24 June 2023:  Patients who feel low when having a cardiac device implanted are more likely to stop taking their heart medications than those without depression, according to research presented today at ACNAP 2023, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 Study author Mr. Ole Skov, a psychologist and PhD student in cardiac psychology at the University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark said: “Medications help to control symptoms and prevent further heart problems so adherence is important. Patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) ...

Alexandria, VA, USA – A diagnostic study on the detection of occlusal caries from a clinical photograph using a deep learning algorithm will be presented at the 101st General Session of the IADR, which will be held in conjunction with the 9th Meeting of the Latin American Region and the 12th World Congress on Preventive Dentistry on June 21-24, 2023, in Bogotá, Colombia. The Interactive Talk presentation, “Automated Detection of Occlusal Caries Using Deep Learning Algorithm,” will take place on Saturday, June 24 at 4:25 p.m. Colombia Time (UTC-05:00) during the “Prevalence ...

RICHLAND, Wash.— From densely built urban cores to sprawling suburbia, cities are complex. This complexity can lead to temperature hot spots within cities, with some neighborhoods (and their residents) facing more heat than others. Understanding this environmental disparity forms the spirit of new research led by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. In a new paper examining all major cities in the U.S., the authors find that the average Black resident is exposed to air that is warmer by 0.28 degrees ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Warmer temperatures are known to make more turtle eggs become female hatchlings, but new research out of Duke University shows that those females also have a higher capacity for egg production, even before their sex is set. This finding may explain why many animals besides turtles have temperature-dependent sex determination and why the system persists, despite seeming like a risky strategy. It may also provide a troubling glimpse of what could lie ahead in a warming world. What the ...