Azithromycin — a commonly-prescribed antibiotic — also is being investigated as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Azithromycin’s association with cardiac events also has been debated. In 2012, the FDA issued a warning for azithromycin stating that it had been linked to cardiac events, but subsequent studies have yielded mixed results.
Now, researchers from the University of Illinois Chicago have found that azithromycin by itself is not associated with an increase in cardiac events; however, if the drug is taken with certain other drugs that affect the electrical functioning of the heart, then cardiac events increased.
“Our findings should give researchers and clinicians looking at azithromycin as a potential treatment for COVID-19 pause,” said Haridarshan Patel, a researcher in the department of pharmacy systems, outcomes and policy at the UIC College of Pharmacy and corresponding author on the paper. “We found that if taken together with drugs that affect the electrical impulses of the heart, the combination is linked with a 40% increase in cardiac events, including fainting, heart palpitations and even cardiac arrest.”
Drugs that affect the electrical impulses of the heart, specifically the interval in the electrical rhythm called the QT interval, are called QT-prolonging drugs. These drugs include blood pressure medications such as ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers, some antidepressants, anti-malaria drugs such as hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, opioid medications and even muscle relaxers.
“Because QT-prolonging drugs are used so commonly, our findings suggest that doctors prescribing azithromycin should be sure that patients are not also taking a QT-prolonging drug,” Patel said.
In a previous study, Patel and colleagues found that one in five people prescribed azithromycin also were taking a QT-prolonging drug.
Release date: 16 September 2020
Source: University of Illinois at Chicago
COVID-19 infection may deplete testosterone
For the first time, data from a study with patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 suggest that the disease might deteriorate men’s testosterone levels.
Testosterone is associated with the immune system of respiratory organs, and low levels of testosterone might increase the risk of respiratory infections. Low testosterone is also associated with infection-related hospitalisation and all-cause mortality in male in ICU patients, so testosterone treatment may also have benefits beyond improving outcomes for COVID-19.
Publishing their results in the peer-reviewed journal The Aging Male.
Release date: 28 September 2020
Source: Taylor & Francis Group
Drink coffee after breakfast
A strong, black coffee to wake you up after a bad night’s sleep could impair control of blood sugar levels, according to a new study.
Writing in the British Journal of Nutrition the scientists show that whilst one night of poor sleep has limited impact on our metabolism, drinking coffee as a way to perk you up from a slumber can have a negative effect on blood glucose (sugar) control.
Release date: 30 September 2020
Source: University of Bath
Low level alcohol use during pregnancy can impact child’s brain development
A new study finds any alcohol use during pregnancy, even low levels, is associated with subtle, yet significant behavioural and psychological effects in children including anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and poor attention.
Published in the prestigious American Journal of Psychiatry.
Release date: 25 September 2020
Source: University of Sydney
Busy Pictures Hinder Reading Ability in Children
Reading is the gateway for learning, but one-third of elementary school students in the United States do not read at grade level. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are exploring how the design of reading materials affects literacy development. They find that an overly busy page with extraneous images can draw the reader’s attention away from the text, resulting in lower understanding of content.
The results of the study are available in the September issue of the journal npj Science of Learning.
Release date: 28 September 2020
Source: Carnegie Mellon University
Coffee Boosts Survival for Metastatic colorectal Cancer Patients
In a large group of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, consumption of a few cups of coffee a day was associated with longer survival and a lower risk of the cancer worsening, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and other organizations report in a new study.
The findings, based on data from a large observational study nested in a clinical trial, are in line with earlier studies showing a connection between regular coffee consumption and improved outcomes in patients with non-metastatic colorectal cancer. The study is being published today by JAMA Oncology.
Release date: 17 September 2020
Source: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Toe spring eases motion but may lead to weaker muscles problems
The toes of most shoes, especially sneakers, bend ever so slightly upward. While that curve, called a toe spring, can make walking easier and more comfortable, it may also weaken feet and potentially open them up to some common (and painful) foot-related problems.
That’s the conclusion reached by Harvard evolutionary biologist Daniel E. Lieberman, his former undergraduate student Oliver B. Hansen ’19, and two former postdoctoral researchers, Freddy Sichting and Nicholas B. Holowka, who studied toe springs and their effect on the biomechanics of walking.
The scientists found that the more curved a toe spring is, the less power the foot inside the shoe has to exert when pushing off from the ground while walking. That means foot muscles are doing less work, and this, the researchers hypothesize, may have consequences.
“It stands to reason that if the foot muscles have to do less work, then they’re probably going to have less endurance given that many thousands of times a day you push off on your toes,” said Lieberman, the Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Science and senior author on the paper. The work on toe springs is described in Scientific Reports.
The researchers say this potential weakness could make people more susceptible to medical conditions like plantar fasciitis — a common, hard to repair, and painful inflammation of the thick, web-like band of tissue that connects the heel bone to the toes.
Release date: 17 September 2020
Source: Harvard University
Potential COVID-19 drug azithromycin may increase risk for cardiac events
Azithromycin — a commonly-prescribed antibiotic — also is being investigated as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Azithromycin’s association with cardiac events also has been debated. In 2012, the FDA issued a warning for azithromycin stating that it had been linked to cardiac events, but subsequent studies have yielded mixed results.
Now, researchers from the University of Illinois Chicago have found that azithromycin by itself is not associated with an increase in cardiac events; however, if the drug is taken with certain other drugs that affect the electrical functioning of the heart, then cardiac events increased.
“Our findings should give researchers and clinicians looking at azithromycin as a potential treatment for COVID-19 pause,” said Haridarshan Patel, a researcher in the department of pharmacy systems, outcomes and policy at the UIC College of Pharmacy and corresponding author on the paper. “We found that if taken together with drugs that affect the electrical impulses of the heart, the combination is linked with a 40% increase in cardiac events, including fainting, heart palpitations and even cardiac arrest.”
Drugs that affect the electrical impulses of the heart, specifically the interval in the electrical rhythm called the QT interval, are called QT-prolonging drugs. These drugs include blood pressure medications such as ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers, some antidepressants, anti-malaria drugs such as hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, opioid medications and even muscle relaxers.
“Because QT-prolonging drugs are used so commonly, our findings suggest that doctors prescribing azithromycin should be sure that patients are not also taking a QT-prolonging drug,” Patel said.
In a previous study, Patel and colleagues found that one in five people prescribed azithromycin also were taking a QT-prolonging drug.
Release date: 16 September 2020
Source: University of Illinois at Chicago
The Key to Happiness: Family or Friends?
Think spending time with your kids and spouse is the key to your happiness? You may actually be happier getting together with your friends, said SMU psychology professor Nathan Hudson.
Release date: 15 September 2020
Source: Southern Methodist University
Evaporation Critical to Coronavirus Transmission as Weather Changes
React better to both negative and positive events with more sleep