Public Health Archives - Page 49 of 52 - Dr Amin Azhari

SARS-CoV-2 viral load peaks in the early stages of disease

Less symptomatic patients have a higher viral load when diagnosed and may carry a higher virus shedding risk potential, possibly representing an important overlooked population for infection containment, report scientists in The American Journal of Pathology.

In a retrospective study, investigators from New York University Langone Health found that the quantity of SARS-CoV-2 (viral load) collected from patients in the emergency department is significantly higher in patients with fewer or milder symptoms who did not require hospitalization—the opposite of what might be expected. Reporting in The American Journal of Pathology, published by Elsevier, they also found that a patient’s history of cancer and cardiovascular disease is associated with higher viral loads even after adjusting for age.

The study was designed to determine possible associations between the viral load measured in patients positive for SARS-CoV-2 and their clinical parameters including severity of symptoms, hospital admission vs direct discharge, length of hospitalization, admission to the intensive care unit, length of need for oxygen support, and overall survival.

Release date: 14 July 2020

Source: Elsevier

Experimental drug shows early promise against inherited form of ALS

Phase 1/phase 2 trial shows evidence for safety, biological activity of tofersen; phase 3 trial underway.

An experimental drug for a rare, inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has shown promise in a phase 1/phase 2 clinical trial conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and other sites around the world and sponsored by the pharmaceutical company Biogen Inc. The trial indicated that the experimental drug, known as tofersen, shows evidence of safety that warrants further investigation and lowers levels of a disease-causing protein in people with a type of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, caused by mutations in the gene SOD1.

The results of the study, published July 9 in The New England Journal of Medicine, have led to the launch of a phase 3 clinical trial to further evaluate the safety and efficacy of tofersen.

Release date: 08 July 2020

Source: Washington University School of Medicine

Covid-19, Public Health

If relaxed too soon, physical distancing measures might have been all for naught

If physical distancing measures in the United States are relaxed while there is still no COVID-19 vaccine or treatment and while personal protective equipment remains in short supply, the number of resulting infections could be about the same as if distancing had never been implemented to begin with, according to a UCLA-led team of mathematicians and scientists.

The researchers compared the results of three related mathematical models of disease transmission that they used to analyze data emerging from local and national governments, including one that measures the dynamic reproduction number — the average number of susceptible people infected by one previously infected person. The models all highlight the dangers of relaxing public health measures too soon.

“Distancing efforts that appear to have succeeded in the short term may have little impact on the total number of infections expected over the course of the pandemic,” said lead author Andrea Bertozzi, a distinguished professor of mathematics who holds UCLA’s Betsy Wood Knapp Chair for Innovation and Creativity. “Our mathematical models demonstrate that relaxing these measures in the absence of pharmaceutical interventions may allow the pandemic to reemerge. It’s about reducing contact with other people, and this can be done with PPE as well as distancing.”

The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Release date: 23 July 2020

Source: University of California – Los Angeles

Public Health

Plant-based diets shown to lower blood pressure even with limited meat and dairy

A diet rich in plant-based foods can include a limited amount of animal products and still improve blood pressure, new research from University of Warwick demonstrates
Researchers compared the impact of seven plant-based diets on blood pressure in a systematic review of previous studies
High blood pressure is the leading risk factor globally for heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases
Lead author Joshua Gibbs of University of Warwick: “Essentially, any shift towards a plant-based diet is a good one.”

Consuming a plant-based diet can lower blood pressure even if small amounts of meat and dairy are consumed too, according to new research from the University of Warwick.

Published online by a team from Warwick Medical School in the Journal of Hypertension today (25 July), they argue that any effort to increase plant-based foods in your diet and limit animal products is likely to benefit your blood pressure and reduce your risk of heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular disease. They conducted a systematic review of previous research from controlled clinical trials to compare seven plant-based diets, several of which included animal products in small amounts, to a standardised control diet and the impact that these had on individuals’ blood pressure.

Release date: 25 July 2020

Source: University of Warwick

Geriatrics, Neurologic disorders, Public Health

Physical stress on the job with brain and memory decline in older age

A new study out of Colorado State University has found that physical stress in one’s job may be associated with faster brain aging and poorer memory.

Aga Burzynska, an assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, and her research team connected occupational survey responses with brain-imaging data from 99 cognitively normal older adults, age 60 to 79. They found that those who reported high levels of physical stress in their most recent job had smaller volumes in the hippocampus and performed poorer on memory tasks. The hippocampus is the part of the brain that is critical for memory and is affected in both normal aging and in dementia.

Their findings were published this summer in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience under the research topic “Work and Brain Health Across the Lifespan.”

“We know that stress can accelerate physical aging and is the risk factor for many chronic illnesses,” Burzynska said. “But this is the first evidence that occupational stress can accelerate brain and cognitive aging.”

Release date: 16 July 2020

Source: Colorado State University

Geriatrics, Neurologic disorders, Public Health

Flu, Pneumonia Vaccinations Tied to Lower Risk of Alzheimer’s Dementia

Flu Vaccinations Tied to Lower Risk of Alzheimer Dementia - واکسن آنفولانزا خطر ابتلا به بیماری آلزایمر را کاهش می دهد

Three research studies reported at AAIC 2020 suggest:

At least one flu vaccination was associated with a 17% reduction in Alzheimer’s incidence. More frequent flu vaccination was associated with another 13% reduction in Alzheimer’s incidence.
Vaccination against pneumonia between ages 65 and 75 reduced Alzheimer’s risk by up to 40% depending on individual genes.
Individuals with dementia have a higher risk of dying (6-fold) after infections than those without dementia (3-fold).

“With the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines are at the forefront of public health discussions. It is important to explore their benefit in not only protecting against viral or bacterial infection but also improving long-term health outcomes,” said Maria C. Carrillo, Ph.D., Alzheimer’s Association chief science officer.

“It may turn out to be as simple as if you’re taking care of your health in this way — getting vaccinated — you’re also taking care of yourself in other ways, and these things add up to lower risk of Alzheimer’s and other dementias,” Carrillo said. “This research, while early, calls for further studies in large, diverse clinical trials to inform whether vaccinations as a public health strategy decrease our risk for developing dementia as we age.”

Release date: 27 July 2020

Source: Alzheimer’s Association

Public Health

Midwest Pediatric Surgery Consortium finds antibiotics alone successfully treat uncomplicated appendicitis in children

New research expands on a 2015 pilot study to demonstrate that nonoperative management of uncomplicated appendicitis is a safe and effective option in a variety of healthcare systems.

Appendicitis is the most common cause for emergency abdominal surgery in childhood, affecting 80,000 children in the United States each year, but nonoperative treatment options are viable. A study performed by the Midwest Pediatric Surgery Consortium, led by Peter Minneci, MD, and Katherine Deans, MD, co-founders and directors of the Center for Surgical Outcomes Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and published online today in JAMA, found that antibiotics alone successfully treated children with uncomplicated appendicitis and was associated with fewer disability days at one year.

Of 1,068 patients from 10 health centers enrolled in the study, 67.1% of those who elected to initially manage their care through antibiotics alone experienced no harmful side effects and did not later require an appendectomy by their one-year follow-up. Patients in the non-operative group experienced an average of 6.6 disability days, compared to the 10.9 days in the surgery group. Non-operative management was also associated with fewer disability days for caregivers.

Wealthier men are more likely to develop high blood pressure

Working men with higher incomes are more likely to develop high blood pressure, reports a study presented at the 84th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society (JCS 2020).

JCS 2020 takes place online from 27 July to 2 August in conjunction with the Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology Congress 2020 (APSC 2020). Joint scientific sessions are being held by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and JCS as part of the ESC Global Activities programme.1

“Men with higher incomes need to improve their lifestyles to prevent high blood pressure,” said study author Dr. Shingo Yanagiya of the Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan. “Steps include eating healthily, exercising, and controlling weight. Alcohol should be kept to moderate levels and binge drinking avoided.”

Meditation linked to lower cardiovascular risk

Meditation was linked to lower cardiovascular risk in a study by Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center researchers and colleagues.

Previous studies have suggested that meditation may have beneficial effects on a number of conditions. A 2017 American Heart Association scientific statement suggests that meditation may be of benefit for cardiovascular risk reduction. Data show that it may help with blood pressure, cholesterol level, quitting smoking, and overall cardiovascular health. However, this connection is far from definitive. By using a large national database with many participants, the authors of the new study sought further evidence on how meditation impacts cardiovascular risk.

Release date: 10 July 2020

Source: Veterans Affairs Research Communications

Public Health

Regular physical activity seems to enhance cognition in children who need it most

An international collaboration headed by the University of Tsukuba in Japan has shown that regular physical activity can enhance cognitive functions, especially in those who have the most room for improvement

A common school-age stereotype is that smart kids are unathletic. However, as a recent study lead by Associate Professor Keita Kamijo at the University of Tsukuba and Assistant Professor Toru Ishihara at Kobe University shows, physical activity is linked to better cognitive ability, which is in turn related to academic performance in school. Understanding the effects of physical activity on cognition has been difficult for several reasons. “Previous studies looked at the issue too broadly,” explains Professor Kamijo, “When we broke down the data, we were able to see that physical activity helps children the most if they start out with poor executive function.”

Executive functions refer to three types of cognitive skills. The first is the ability to suppress impulses and inhibit reflex-like behaviors or habits. To assess this ability, children were asked to indicate the color in which words like “red” and “blue” were displayed on a computer screen. This is easy when the words and colors match (“red” displayed in red font), but often requires inhibition of a reflex response when they don’t (“red” displayed in blue font). The second skill is the ability to hold information in working memory and process it. This was evaluated by testing how well children could remember strings of letters that vary in length. The third cognitive skill is mental flexibility. This was measured by asking children to frequently switch the rules for categorizing colored circles and squares from shape-based to color-based.

The article, “Baseline cognitive performance moderates the effects of physical activity on executive functions in children,” was published in Journal of Clinical Medicine.

Release date: 15 July 2020

Source: University of Tsukuba