Health News Today Archives - Page 49 of 76

March 12, 2022

Patient Who Recieved Groundbreaking Pig Heart Transplant Dies

The very first human being to have his failing coronary heart replaced with that of a genetically altered pig in a groundbreaking procedure died Tuesday afternoon at the College of Maryland Healthcare Center, two months just after the transplant surgical procedures.

David Bennett Sr., who lived in Maryland, was 57. He had critical coronary heart ailment, and had agreed to get the experimental pig’s heart right after he was rejected from many waiting around lists to acquire a human heart.

It was unclear no matter if his system had turned down the foreign organ. “There was no obvious cause identified at the time of his demise,” a clinic spokeswoman stated.

Healthcare facility officials explained they could not remark more on the lead to of death, simply because his physicians experienced nevertheless to carry out a comprehensive evaluation. They prepare to publish the results in a peer-reviewed clinical journal.

Dr. Bartley Griffith, the surgeon who done the transplant, stated the hospital’s staff members was “devastated” by the decline of Mr. Bennett.

“He proved to be a courageous and noble client who fought all the way to the conclude,” Dr. Griffith explained. “Mr. Bennett grew to become identified by tens of millions of people today all around the entire world for his courage and steadfast will to reside.”

The heart transplant was 1 of a quantity of revolutionary processes in latest months in which organs from genetically altered pigs have been employed to exchange organs in humans. The process, termed xenotransplantation, provides new hope for tens of 1000’s of sufferers with ailing kidneys, hearts and other organs, as there is an acute scarcity of donated organs.

Mr. Bennett’s transplant was originally considered thriving. It is nonetheless regarded as a important step ahead, mainly because the pig’s coronary heart was not promptly turned down and continued to function for effectively above a thirty day period, passing a significant milestone for transplant patients.

Some 41,354 Individuals gained a transplanted organ past yr, much more than fifty percent of them kidneys, according to the United Community for Organ Sharing, a nonprofit that coordinates the nation’s organ procurement endeavours.

Credit rating…David Bennett, by way of Affiliated Push

But there is a dire lack of organs, and a dozen or much more individuals on waiting lists die just about every day. About 3,800 People in america received human donor hearts final 12 months as replacements, much more than at any time ahead of, but demand continues to be substantial.

Scientists have been striving to develop pigs whose organs would not be turned down by the human human body, a study exertion that has picked up steam about the earlier decade mainly because of new gene modifying and cloning systems.

New York surgeons declared in October that they had correctly hooked up a kidney developed in a genetically altered pig to a brain-useless human affected person, discovering that the organ labored commonly and generated urine for 54 several hours.

In January, surgeons at the College of Alabama at Birmingham claimed that they experienced for the initial time properly transplanted kidneys from a genetically modified pig into the abdomen of a 57-year-outdated brain-dead man. The kidneys functioned and produced urine for 3 times.

U.A.B. surgeons claimed they hoped to start a small medical demo with dwell human individuals by the end of the yr.

Soon just after Mr. Bennett’s heart medical procedures in January, The Washington Put up reported that he experienced a criminal report stemming from an assault 34 decades in the past, in which he frequently stabbed a younger male in a suit of jealousy, leaving him paralyzed.

The target, Edward Shumaker, put in two many years in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the midsection down, and suffered many healthcare issues like a stroke that left him cognitively impaired before he died in 2007 at age 40, according to his sister, Leslie Shumaker Downey, of Frederick, Md.

Mr. Bennett’s son, David Bennett Jr., who was a youngster at the time of the stabbing, has said that he does not want to explore his father’s previous, and emphasized that his father was contributing to health care science by going through the experimental transplant and hoped to “potentially save affected person life in the long run.”

The coronary heart offered to Mr. Bennett arrived from a genetically altered pig provided by Revivicor, a regenerative medication firm based in Blacksburg, Va.

The pig carried 10 genetic modifications. Four genes have been knocked out, or inactivated, which includes a person that encodes a molecule that triggers an intense human rejection response.

A further gene was also inactivated to reduce the pig’s heart from continuing to mature after it was implanted. In addition, 6 human genes were inserted into the genome of the donor pig — modifications made to make the pig’s organs much more tolerable to the human immune process.

On New Year’s Eve, the Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency authorization for the experimental surgical procedures, which was completed a 7 days later on.

The transplanted coronary heart carried out perfectly originally, and there had been no indications of rejection for various weeks. Mr. Bennett used time with his spouse and children, did actual physical treatment and watched the Tremendous Bowl, healthcare facility officers mentioned.

But he was not discharged, and a number of times in the past his affliction commenced to deteriorate, medical center officers reported.

His son issued a assertion thanking the clinic and personnel for their exhaustive endeavours on behalf of his father.

“We hope this story can be the starting of hope and not the close,” Mr. Bennett mentioned. “We also hope that what was uncovered from his surgical treatment will profit future individuals and ideally one working day, close the organ shortage that charges so quite a few lives every single year.”

March 11, 2022

The problem with endometriosis research

Women’s reproductive health attracts far less research funding than almost all other medical research. As for endometriosis — a condition that affects around 10{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of women of reproductive age — the lack of research is particularly striking. This debilitating condition can impact day-to-day life, education, work, and mental health, but its cause remains unclear, and there is no cure for it. Why is it so underresearched?

Why is endometriosis still so underresearched? Image credit: Michele Pevide/Getty Images.

“That time of the month,” “shark week,” “crimson tide,” “got the painters in,” “on the blob,” “visit from Aunt Flo,” “the curse” — these are just a few of the many euphemisms for something experienced by 50{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of the female adult population: menstruation. But why are there so many? Are we afraid to call it by its name?

Could it be that society’s reluctance to speak plainly about periods is one of the reasons why issues with women’s reproductive health are so underrecognized and underresearched?

Most females start to menstruate between the ages of 9 and 15. Monthly cycles continue until the menopause, which, on average, happens at around 52 years of age. So most women will have in the region of 450 periods during their life.

For around 20{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of women, these are merely a monthly inconvenience. But for more than 80{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}, they are accompanied by some measure of pain. And for 1 in 4 women, the pain can be severe enough to impact daily life.

We often normalize period pain as “part of being a woman.” For many, mild to moderate pain associated with menstruation can be controlled with over-the-counter pain relief, diet, and exercise.

However, debilitating pain is another matter. Menstrual Matters, a nonprofit online information hub, states that period pain “should not be regularly severe and debilitating.”

If it is, there is likely to be an underlying cause, which may need medical investigation. For pain that persists, occurs in the run-up to periods, and does not respond to pain relief, that cause may be endometriosis.

Endometriosis is “a systemic disease that is often painful and chronic.” Current estimates suggest it affects 176 million reproductive-age women worldwide.

Symptoms can include:

debilitating pain during menstruation
excessive bleeding during periods
pelvic pain at other times of the month
lower back pain
pain when emptying the bladder or bowels
pain during and after sexual intercourse

In severe cases, endometriosis can cause fertility issues. Some 40{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of women with infertility also have endometriosis.

The condition is characterized by the growth of tissue similar to the endometrium, or womb lining, in areas outside the uterus. This tissue — endometrial lesions — commonly grows in the following areas, though it can also infiltrate other parts of the body, such as the:

ovaries
fallopian tubes
ureters
bowels and bladder
abdominal wall

In line with the menstrual cycle, the lesions grow and bleed, forming scar tissue. This bleeding, inflammation, and scarring cause the characteristic pain of endometriosis.

A major issue with endometriosis is getting a diagnosis.

A 2019 review in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (AJOG) explained why this might be:

“Despite its high prevalence and cost, endometriosis remains underfunded and underresearched, greatly limiting our understanding of the disease and slowing much-needed innovation in diagnostic and treatment options.”

Researchers acknowledge that endometriosis presents complex diagnostic challenges. Because the symptoms vary so much, the condition is often misdiagnosed as bowel and digestive disorders.

One 2020 United States study recorded that 75.2{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of patients reported being misdiagnosed with another physical health (95.1{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}), a mental health problem (49.5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}), or both before they received an endometriosis diagnosis.

This study reported that misdiagnosis with a mental health problem was more common in those with younger age of endometriosis symptom onset.

The difficulty often leads to long delays between first reporting symptoms and a diagnosis of endometriosis. On average, women wait some 8.5 years for endometriosis to be confirmed, with some waiting much longer.

Doctors go through several stages to diagnose the condition, starting with palpating the abdomen to feel for lesions. They may use transvaginal ultrasound and MRI scans, but these do not always show lesions.

Healthcare professionals can only make a firm diagnosis of endometriosis by laparoscopy. This is a surgical process done under general anesthesia where a camera is inserted through a small incision in the abdomen to view the pelvic organs.

A 2021 focus group study in the Netherlands identified several issues with diagnosing endometriosis:

Most women do not feel their symptoms are taken seriously.
Many women believe their experiences of menstruation are normal, often because of what they are told by their mothers, so they do not seek treatment.
Medical professionals find it hard to differentiate between “normal” menstrual complaints and signs or symptoms suggestive of endometriosis.

Initially, most women are offered nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen. However, little research has been done into whether these alleviate the severe pain caused by endometriosis, and anecdotal evidence suggests they have little effect.

As endometriosis is estrogen-dependent, medications that inhibit estrogen can be effective in controlling pain and inhibiting the growth of lesions. These include oral birth control pills and shots (Depo-Provera). However, some women experience side effects from these, such as headaches, irregular bleeding, and weight gain.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone treatments offer an alternative. By suppressing reproductive hormones, they also restrict the growth of lesions. The side effect of suppressing these hormones is menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes, tiredness, sleep issues, vaginal dryness, and joint pain. However, people can take low dose hormone replacement therapy to alleviate these.

For severe pain, or when other treatments have proven ineffective, surgery will be considered. Laparoscopy, as well as being used for diagnosis, is also used to remove endometrial lesions.

Most people gain short-term pain relief after the removal of lesions, and for some, the effect is long lasting. However, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, up to 80{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of women see their pain return within 2 years.

As a last resort, hysterectomy — removal of the uterus — may be considered, but evidence for its benefits in treating endometriosis is inconclusive. It is a major irreversible procedure, and a woman who has a hysterectomy will no longer have periods or become pregnant.

In the U.S., endometriosis is diagnosed in approximately 1 in 10 women of reproductive age — diabetes is diagnosed in around 10{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of the U.S. population, both male and female.

In 2020, the U.S. government announced that funding for endometriosis research would be doubled to $26 million annually. In the same year, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported research spending on diabetes of $1,156 million.

Why the discrepancy? A 2021 study into gender disparity in research funding found that the “NIH applies a disproportionate share of its resources to diseases that affect primarily men, at the expense of those that affect primarily women.”

The authors went further, stating that diseases affecting primarily or solely men tended to be overfunded, whereas those affecting mostly or only women were underfunded.

And the pattern is repeated in the United Kingdom, where a 2018 analysis by the U.K. Clinical Research Collaboration found that only 2.1{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of publicly funded medical research went to reproductive health and childbirth.

According to Emma Cox, Chief Executive of Endometriosis UK, the National Institute for Health Research has funded more than 8,000 projects since its inception in 2006, only 11 of which address endometriosis.

“Women’s health, including endometriosis, has historically attracted far less research funding than other areas. We think this is because of a mixture of taboo and ignorance — whatever the reason, we are determined to put it right.”

– Emma Cox, Endometriosis UK

Lack of funding is not the only problem. Endometriosis is a complex condition. The symptoms vary so much between women that doctors used to think it was more than one condition. Therefore, it can be hard for researchers to know where to begin.

Some research has been done on animal models, but there are obstacles. Since primates are the most similar to people, they would be the best animals for modeling endometriosis. However, there are many objections to their use.

To avoid this problem, a team led by Prof. Philippa Saunders, chair of reproductive steroids at the University of Edinburgh, is developing a mouse model to study endometriosis. “The lowest species in which we can really do something meaningful is the mouse. That’s why the mouse is such an important model in reproductive research,” she says.

The researchers are studying the early development of the disease, with the aim of finding indicators of endometriosis in the blood. They hope this might provide a way of identifying the disease early before damage occurs.

However, Prof. Saunders is frustrated by the lack of funding for endometriosis research: “This progress was only possible because of increased pressure from patient groups who have been much more vocal over the last few years, working with clinical professionals to lobby funders.”

According to the 2019 review of endometriosis research in AJOG, “[c]omprehensive and interdisciplinary approaches to disease management and increased education and disease awareness for patients, healthcare providers, and the public are needed to remove stigma, increase timely and accurate diagnosis and treatment, and allow for new advancements.”

Emma Cox is one of many calling for more action:

“We would like government and other funders to address the historic underfunding of endometriosis research in order to identify the cause of the condition, work towards a cure, and develop better treatments. Developing better treatments is vital given that endometriosis can be a chronic and debilitating condition and current treatment options don’t work for everyone.”

As recently as 2020, the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Endometriosis report highlighted that the cause of the condition was still unclear.

“Historically, with limited investment in research into women’s health in general, there’s been so little investment in research into endometriosis that we don’t even know what causes it, and without knowing the cause, a cure cannot be found,” it says.

The APPG called for “[c]ommitment for vital investment in research into the cause of endometriosis, treatment and management options, and diagnosis,” adding that:

“Without investment in research, this condition will rob the next generation of women [of] the education, care, and support they deserve.”

Lobbying groups and charities in both the U.K. and U.S. are working hard to raise awareness of endometriosis. But what is really needed is government commitments to fund more research.

Whether these will be forthcoming remains to be seen.

March 10, 2022

COVID-19 severity and blood group: Is there a link?

Microscope image of blood proteins — A recent study examines links between blood proteins and the risk of developing severe COVID-19. Felix Cesare/Getty Images

Recent research has identified a causal link between specific blood proteins and the risk of hospitalization, the need for respiratory support, or the risk of death from severe COVID-19.
While certain blood proteins were associated with an increased risk of severe COVID-19, others were protective.
Confirming the findings and exploring their clinical applicability will require further research.

In late 2019, scientists first identified SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Since then, in the United States alone, there have been more than 79 million cases and over 950,000 deaths from the disease.

Most people who develop COVID-19 have mild to moderate symptoms, such as a fever, chills, shortness of breath, a sore throat, and a runny nose, and these resolve without special treatment. However, others have an increased risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19.

Often, people with severe COVID-19 require hospitalization with intensive care and ventilation.

Although this has not been conclusively proven, scientists believe that an overactive and abnormal immune response to SARS-CoV-2 may be responsible for the damage seen in severe COVID-19.

The immune system fights viruses, bacteria, fungi, and other foreign substances through innate and adaptive responses. When pathogens enter the body, the innate immune system releases white blood cells called leukocytes, as well as enzymes and natural killer cells to target and kill the pathogens.

If the innate immune system cannot neutralize the pathogen, such as a virus, the adaptive immune system produces T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and antibodies, which specifically target the virus. They help the immune system’s “memory,” so it can respond quickly to future infections with the same virus.

Genetics influence the response of the innate immune system. And so, genetic differences may help explain why some people are more likely to develop severe COVID-19.

Previous research has identified relationships between different genetic factors, hospitalization, and the need for ventilation due to COVID-19.

Other studies have shown genetic variations between blood proteins modulating the immune response in healthy individuals.

This led the authors of the new study to turn to data from genome-wide association studies. They looked for blood proteins associated with the risk of hospitalization, the need for respiratory support, and death from severe COVID-19.

The team has published its results in the journalPLOS Genetics.

Study co-author Dr. Alish Palmos, from the Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre at King’s College London, explained to Medical News Today that the researchers looked at thousands of proteins using Mendelian randomization.

“Mendelian randomization uses genetic variants associated with a trait, i.e., protein level, and measures their causal effect on disease outcomes, [avoiding] environmental confounding factors, such as lifestyle, being physically ill, etc.”

After examining more than 3,000 blood proteins using a genetic tool, they found 14 proteins with causal effects, including the:

blood group proteins ABO and KEL
antigen recognition proteins CD207 and SFTPD, structures on the surface of the virus identified by the immune system
adhesion molecules SELL, SELE, PECAM-1, and sICAM-1, which recruit virus-killing white blood cells called neutrophils to the site of inflammation
transporters RAB14 and ATP2A3, which are proteins that move materials across a cell membrane
enzymes GCNT4, C1GALT1C1, FAAH2, LCTL, which are proteins that speed up chemical reactions in a cell

The researchers found that increased levels of ABO, C1GALT1C1, CD207, GCNT4, and RAB14 were associated with a 1.12 to 1.35 times greater risk of hospitalization, need for respiratory support, or death from COVID-19.

Higher levels of FAAH2 indicated a 1.19 times increased risk of hospitalization only.

Higher levels of the adhesion molecules PECAM-1, SELE, and SELL decreased the risk of hospitalization, need for respiratory support, or death from COVID-19 by 9–20{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}.

Increased ATP2A3, KEL, LCTL, and SFTPD were linked to decreased hospitalization risk, while higher levels of sICAM-1 were associated with a reduced risk of death or need for respiratory support.

Dr. Fady Youssef, a pulmonologist, internist, and critical care specialist at Memorial Care Long Beach Medical Center, provided context for MNT:

“This study offers some [ideas] about ways that we can […] better predict which patients will have a worse […] course and which patients are […] protected based on their genetics.”

Dr. Palmos was surprised that the study did not show an association between “classic pro-inflammatory proteins,” such as C-reactive protein or interleukin-6, and severe COVID-19. “It was also surprising to see such a consistent protective effect of adhesion molecules with severe COVID-19.”

“Our findings causally support many observational studies that have suggested endocannabinoids to be protective against severe illness and blood groups to be associated with increased risk of severe illness.”

– Dr. Palmos

The strengths of the study included its design and use of Mendelian randomization. Weaknesses include the reliance on data from other studies, which could be subject to error despite quality control measures.

Dr. Palmos stated, “Clinical studies in patients would need to be carried out first to confirm our findings. One such study is the COVID-Clinical Neuroscience Study, which is investigating the causes behind different aspects of COVID-19.”

Dr. Youssef told MNT, “Once you start applying [the data] widely, then you understand the [true] impact.” He believes that this study “adds another piece in that puzzle […] that would inform which interventions would be offered to patients depending on their risk profile.”

Posted on March 9, 2022
Covid-19 vaccine ‘may not benefit’ healthy 5- to 17-year-olds, says New Florida Department of Health guidance

“Centered on at present accessible info, healthy young children aged 5 to 17 might not benefit from obtaining the now offered COVID-19 vaccine. The Department endorses that kids with fundamental circumstances are the very best candidates for the COVID-19 vaccine,” it states. “Parents are inspired to discuss the hazards and advantages with their kid’s health and fitness care practitioner when evaluating whether their youngster should get a COVID-19 vaccine, significantly for children with fundamental health and fitness ailments or comorbidities.”

Florida is the first condition to split from US Facilities for Sickness Handle and Prevention recommendations that anyone age 5 and older receive the vaccine.

Florida Surgeon Common Dr. Joseph Lapado introduced the measure on Monday during a roundtable dialogue hosted by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Conveying the final decision, DeSantis stated Ladapo was concerned that the vaccine was “staying pushed on individuals.”

“We are not just likely to observe the CDC in the point out of Florida,” he reported. “We are going to do our own things.”

The steerage released Tuesday states that the challenges of the vaccine outweigh its gains in little ones who never have fundamental wellness disorders. It cites stories of amplified incidence of myocarditis — inflammation of the heart muscle — in 16- and 17-yr-olds who acquired the Covid-19 vaccine.

The study that the guidance takes advantage of to aid this concern also discovered that the possibility of myocarditis is exceptional, figuring out 105.9 conditions for each 1 million doses of the mRNA vaccine provided in 16- to 17-12 months-olds.

The guidance also cites knowledge from a scientific demo posted in the New England Journal of Medication that discovered no conditions of intense Covid-19 in a group of young children ages 5 to 11, irrespective of whether they obtained the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine or a placebo. Nonetheless, that examine discovered that the vaccine was 90.7{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} productive in avoiding Covid-19 an infection.

The section also dependent the steerage off a New York-dependent review that found vaccine performance for small children ages 5 to 17 dropped appreciably all through the Omicron surge. But that exploration concluded that the vaccine ongoing to be effective towards extreme ailment in children. That study is a preprint and has not been published in a peer-reviewed skilled journal, so a notice in daring at the best of the review advises that it should really not be utilized to information scientific follow.

Wellness industry experts have been quite important of the department’s tips.

In a statement Tuesday, Dr. Daniel P. McQuillen, president of the Infectious Illnesses Modern society of The us, stated his group “strongly opposes the point out of Florida’s determination to set politics around the wellness and security of children. The Florida Surgeon General’s determination to suggest versus COVID-19 vaccination for balanced little ones flies in the experience of the most effective healthcare steerage and only serves to additional sow distrust in vaccines that have established to be the safest, most powerful protection towards intense COVID-19 illness, hospitalization and death.”

The head of the University of Florida’s well being method despatched an electronic mail Tuesday to staff members that distanced the healthcare network from Ladapo in mild of Monday’s announcement.

Dr. David Nelson, the senior vice president for health affairs at the university and president of UF Well being, informed team that Ladapo does not speak for the university and acknowledged that his viewpoints clash with those of other health care professionals. Ladapo is a professor at the University of Florida Higher education of Medication through an settlement with the condition.

Nelson also confident staff members that the university’s posture was that vaccines are “safe and helpful, with a extremely very low risk of adverse outcomes.”

“We figure out there is from time to time substantial disagreement among experienced individuals on plan problems surrounding the COVID pandemic. Very little is more elementary to our existence as an institution of greater learning than supporting the two bedrock ideas of totally free speech and academic liberty,” the e mail stated. “As an academic wellbeing centre, we also stand for the basic principle of scientifically sound, proof-dependent health care decisions.”

Posted on March 8, 2022
Florida says healthy kids shouldn’t get COVID vaccine, contradicting CDC

TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Department of Health is poised to officially recommend against giving coronavirus vaccines to healthy children.

Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo made the pronouncement at a Monday roundtable discussion on coronavirus mitigations policies moderated by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Ladapo, who leads Florida’s Department of Health, said his department’s recommendation would be the first of its kind in the country. It wasn’t clear what age groups would fall under the recommendation, and neither the governor’s office nor the Department of Health released a copy of the new guidelines or responded to an email as of 5:30 p.m. Monday requesting more information.

The announcement came after a 90-minute discussion among 10 doctors and researchers who rejected the benefits of various coronavirus mitigation measures such as vaccine mandates, mask requirements and business and school closures, saying instead those policies only caused harm.

“I think what Florida’s guidance reflects is the latest research,” DeSantis told reporters at a news conference at Plant City later in the day. He said healthy kids are at low risk for the virus and that he’s seen studies showing there’s “very little benefit” for them.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages five and older. That agency recommends vaccinating children. Vaccines for children younger than 5 have not yet been approved.

Although older people are far more likely to die from the virus than children, the CDC website notes COVID-19 is one of the top 10 causes of death for children aged 5 to 11.

More than 804,000 Florida children younger than 16 have contracted the coronavirus, according to Florida Department of Health data. Forty-two of those children died. About 373,000 Florida children ages five to 11 have gotten at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. That’s about 22 percent of the state’s five to 11 population.

Related: Global COVID deaths surpasses 6 million in pandemic’s third year

The panel event was billed as “The Curtain Close on COVID Theater,” and was held in a professionally lit studio in West Palm Beach with 10 guest speakers, including doctors and researchers from around the country. Among them were three authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, a highly controversial document that recommended against lockdowns because of what they said were “devastating” public health consequences.

On a floor-to-ceiling screen behind the panelists were square tiles with video feeds of attendees, many of whom were staffers at various government agencies in the DeSantis administration, including the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Economic Opportunity, the Department of Juvenile Justice and others.

Panelists touched on several themes championed by DeSantis, including what speakers called the “censorship” of doctors who dissent from the mainstream coronavirus guidance. Some accused the CDC and other government agencies of becoming politicized or of working with media outlets to buy “surreptitious advertising” promoting vaccines.

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Robert Malone, a vaccine researcher who has become a vocal proponent of the anti-vaccine movement during the pandemic, said the “deep state” has kept doctors from using “repurposed drugs” like hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. Numerous studies have found that drug has no clinical benefit in fighting the virus.

Related: Who is Robert Malone? Joe Rogan’s guest was a vaccine scientist, became an anti-vaccine darling

Multiple panelists said that a large portion of school children have already been infected with COVID-19, and said that natural immunity is one strong reason for kids not to need vaccines.

One panelist, a California doctor named Tracy Beth Høeg, talked about a study that she authored on the risks of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, after some people, especially boys, received coronavirus vaccines.

“Even for boys who are previously healthy who haven’t been previously infected, we didn’t find that there was a benefit (to getting vaccinated), there was actually overall risk of giving them the second dose,” she said.

Høeg’s study has not been peer-reviewed, and PolitiFact reported that flawed data and potential conflicts of interest may have impacted the researchers’ findings.

Notably, hospitalization rates were calculated from January to July 2021, prior to the delta and omicron waves in much of the country. The delta and omicron variants pose more risk to children than previous variants.

Related: Doubts raised over preprint study regarding myocarditis risk in teenage boys

Another speaker, Joseph Fraiman, an emergency room doctor in Louisiana, said the “severe” side-effects of the vaccines compared to the mild symptoms caused by the coronavirus in children means there’s no “clear benefit.”

“If you have a healthy child, the chances of that child dying are incredibly low, essentially close to zero if not actually zero,” he said. Fraiman then bashed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for not doing enough research on the coronavirus vaccine, saying it’s left a vacuum of information.

“We have no idea if vaccines reduce transmission in kids or in adults,” he said.

The White House responded to Ladapo’s announcement during a media briefing later Monday afternoon.

“It’s deeply disturbing that there are politicians peddling conspiracy theories out there and casting doubt on vaccinations when it is our best tool against the virus and the best tool to prevent even teenagers from being hospitalized,” press secretary Jen Psaki said.

Sonja Rasmussen, a pediatrician and epidemiologist at the University of Florida, said in an interview that she did not support the state’s recommendation. She noted that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends COVID-19 vaccines for eligible children and adolescents 5 years of age or older.

“Children are at lower risk than adults but they’re certainly not at no risk,” Rasmussen said. “We have a safe and effective vaccine with a very low risk of adverse outcomes.”

Rasmussen noted that children have not been immune to hospitalization from COVID-19, and many have experienced so-called “long COVID.” The CDC has found that unvaccinated 12-to-17-year-olds are more than twice as likely to have been hospitalized from COVID-19 than those who are fully vaccinated.

And a 2020 survey from the United Kingdom Office of National Statistics estimated more than 1 in 10 children experience COVID symptoms 5 weeks after infection.

Rasmussen disputed the panelists’ contentions related to the safety of the vaccines. For example, she pointed to a December study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that showed that the risk of myocarditis in children is relatively low — 70 cases per million vaccine doses in boys aged 12 to 15. Those cases of myocarditis were largely milder than instances of that heart condition brought on by viruses like COVID-19, the study noted.

She noted that much about the virus remains uncertain. For example, it’s unclear how long the vaccines offer peak protection. Kids may need boosters at some point, Rasmussen said.

But Rasmussen said the vaccines are safe and effective. If parents have questions, they should consult their family doctor, she said.

Ladapo and the other panelists on Monday derided the experts and government officials that have pushed for vaccine mandates and closures, even in the early days of the pandemic.

“I still remember very clearly when people were telling us, including a lot of people with a lot of degrees (who) were telling us, ‘15 days to stop the spread,’ ” Ladapo said, referencing the Trump administration’s campaign in March 2020 encouraging people who were medically vulnerable or who felt sick to stay home to combat the coronavirus. “These people had no idea what they were talking about.”

He said now, people in power “want us to forget that their choices that they made for everyone were the wrong choices that basically led to no appreciable benefit.”

Times staff writers Ian Hodgson and Romy Ellenbogen, as well as Miami Herald Washington reporter Bryan Lowry, contributed to this report.

Posted on March 7, 2022
Blood test may predict long-term risk of diabetes and heart disease

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Measuring blood lipids could enable examine condition chance prior to signs or symptoms show up. Jasmin Merdan/Getty Pictures

A straightforward blood take a look at may possibly forecast lengthy-time period possibility of kind 2 diabetes and cardiovascular condition.

In a study of 4,000 balanced adults, scientists discovered that ranges of lipids in blood plasma were connected to afterwards enhancement of both of those disorders.

All those with larger concentrations of selected blood lipids calculated experienced a increased hazard of both form 2 diabetic issues or cardiovascular ailment.

Lipid profiling could be a low-cost, quick way to forecast hazard, making it possible for adjustments to eating plan and life-style in advance of problems develop.

In the United States, 1 in 10 individuals has sort 2 diabetes. Someone dies every single 36 seconds from cardiovascular disorder (CVD) in the U.S., and CVD leads to just one-3rd of all deaths around the world.

The two problems may well acquire slowly and gradually, and the signs and symptoms are not generally evident. Health professionals assess a person’s possibility of developing them by getting a client heritage and observing current life style elements.

Now, a review led by Prof. Dr. Chris Lauber, of Twincore in Germany, has shown that lipids in blood plasma can forecast potential threat of sort 2 diabetes and CVD.

The approach — regarded as lipidomic profiling — can deliver a quantitative measurement of possibility extensive prior to indications establish.

“The authors of this study have additional to the increasing proof that lipidomics profiling could very effectively usher in the future technology of detection of cardiovascular diseases as effectively as diabetes.”

– Dr. Suneet Singh, Healthcare Director of CareHive.

The longitudinal analyze integrated just about 4,000 balanced, middle-aged Swedish men and women from the Malmö Eating plan and Cancer-Cardiovascular Cohort.

Members ranged from 46–68 yrs at the start out of the study. Around 10{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} had a overall body mass index (BMI) of far more than 30.

The scientists took a single baseline blood sample from just about every participant. They then centrifuged these blood samples to individual out the plasma for examination.

Researchers measured concentrations of 184 different lipids in the blood plasma applying mass spectrometry. They used these lipidomic profiles to compute chance scores and assign members into a person of 6 danger groups.

Dr. Singh advised Clinical Information These days the examine could add to previous strategies of assessing possibility:

“This new solution allows for a novel framework of threat stratification which also lets for improvement when employed in conjunction with the measurement of regular clinical variables.”

He did, nonetheless, note that there was very little variety in the research populace: “It is advisable to proceed to extend on this analysis by expanding the individual population to involve a number of additional variables. This consists of unique affected person ages, racial teams, ethnicities, and bodily exercise degrees.”

The researchers adopted up participants for a lot more than 20 yrs from baseline assessments made concerning 1991 and 1994. In that time, 13.8{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of the cohort designed sort 2 diabetic issues, and 22{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} designed CVD.

For people in the optimum hazard groups, these values increase to 37{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} for creating kind 2 diabetes and 40.5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} for creating CVD as compared to the team averages earlier mentioned.

Men and women in the most affordable chance teams had a reduced hazard of creating each ailments.

The researchers also observed that men and women with high lipid possibility scores experienced a substantially bigger chance of developing being overweight during the abide by-up time period. Obesity is a hazard factor for the two type 2 diabetic issues and CVD.

The authors suggest that this chance-rating-primarily based technique could reveal the risk of equally variety 2 diabetes and CVD numerous a long time just before disease onset.

“[T]his before condition detection takes place at a time exactly where the ailment has not grow to be clinically apparent. As a final result, researchers and clinicians can now choose on disorders from a more proactive preventive lens and not basically one particular that commences at the therapy phase,” Dr. Singh commented.

Employing mass spectrometry to evaluate blood plasma lipids is quick, comparatively inexpensive, and provides quantitative effects.

The authors of this examine propose that it could detect lipids that add most to the threat of creating subsequent well being ailments and, possibly, lead to new drug therapies.

Dr. Singh told MNT: “Research […] shown in this paper assists to progress the field of scientific mass spectrometry as a entire by continuing to display the potential for previously disease detection in progress of standard suggests.”

The authors tension that even more analysis is desired to validate their hypothesis and show how instructive the plasma lipidome is for health and sickness.

“The lipidome might offer insights considerably past diabetes and cardiovascular sickness danger.”

– Prof. Chris Lauber, guide creator of the study.

So, this straightforward examination could explain to individuals their risk of establishing both equally form 2 diabetes and CVD. By generating eating plan and way of life improvements, they may then be able to minimize that possibility.

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