Latest Health News

21Apr
2020

New COVID-19 Tracking App May Find 'Hotspots' Across America

New COVID-19 Tracking App May Find `Hotspots` Across AmericaTUESDAY, April 21, 2020, (HealthDay News) -- With widespread testing still not a reality, a new phone app aims to help epidemiologists track COVID-19 symptoms across the United States in real time. Called the "COVID Symptom Tracker," the nonprofit app has a number of objectives. One is to quickly identify hotspots that could benefit from a rapid deployment of medical supplies or lockdowns. And by distinguishing hard-hit localities from those that are relatively in the clear, the app also seeks to pinpoint regions where efforts to reopen the economy sooner rather than later might make the most sense. The app, by researchers from Harvard and Stanford Universities, and King's College London, might also facilitate insight into the trajectory of symptoms, helping researchers get a better...

Are Immune-Compromised Kids at Greater Risk From COVID-19?

21 April 2020
Are Immune-Compromised Kids at Greater Risk From COVID-19?TUESDAY, April 21, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- One of the few bright spots in the COVID-19 pandemic has been the perception that children are mostly spared from its worst effects. But what about kids already at risk of contracting serious infections due to a compromised immune system? Do they have the same protection? "One group we always worry about when it comes to viral illnesses is immunocompromised children," said Dr. Reggie Duerst, director of the stem cell transplant program at Children's Hospital of Chicago. These kids are typically more at risk of known viral illnesses, such as chickenpox, common cold viruses and flu. But, he said, because there's so little information available on COVID-19 infections, it's hard to know how much higher the risk might be for children with...

Coronavirus Fears Have People With Asthma, Emphysema...

21 April 2020
Coronavirus Fears Have People With Asthma, Emphysema Avoiding the ERTUESDAY, April 21, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Doctors are increasingly worried that people are mistaking stay-at-home orders to mean they should avoid emergency medical care -- including for serious lung diseases. People with chronic lung conditions, such as emphysema and moderate to severe asthma, are among those at higher risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19. And medical experts have been urging them to be vigilant about protecting themselves. But now a new concern is surfacing: Are people being scared away from needed medical care? "We've been noticing it anecdotally in our practice," said Dr. Koushik Kasanagottu, an internal medicine resident at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore. He shared the example of one patient, a woman with emphysema, who on a recent...

Could Tiny Blood Clots Make COVID-19 More Lethal?

21 April 2020
Could Tiny Blood Clots Make COVID-19 More Lethal?TUESDAY, April 21, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The COVID-19 coronavirus appears to promote blood clotting throughout the body, which might help explain why the germ is so much more deadly than other members of its viral family, experts say. Some people severely ill with COVID-19 develop blood clots in their lungs and other major organs, doctors have observed. Doctors suspect these small blood clots are one reason why COVID-19 patients struggle for breath, said Dr. Hooman Poor, a pulmonary and critical care doctor with Mount Sinai Beth Israel in New York City. "We see not just the possibility of blood clots in the lungs," Poor said. In COVID-19 patients who require dialysis because of kidney failure, "their catheters are clotting off every second." These tiny blood clots could also be...

Nearly Half of Americans Breathe Polluted Air

21 April 2020
Nearly Half of Americans Breathe Polluted AirTUESDAY, April 21, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Almost half of the U.S. population -- 150 million people -- are exposed to air pollution that puts their health at risk, the American Lung Association says. Climate change is making air pollution worse due to record levels of particle pollution and higher ozone pollution (smog) caused by wildfires. Air pollution poses a threat to everyone, especially children, older adults and people with lung disease. The effects of air pollution on lung health are of increased concern due to the coronavirus pandemic. The association's annual State of the Air report analyzed data from 2016, 2017 and 2018, which were among the five hottest years recorded in global history. "The report finds the air quality in some communities has improved, but [it] finds...

Trump Halts Immigration to U.S. During Coronavirus Pandemic

21 April 2020
Trump Halts Immigration to U.S. During Coronavirus PandemicTUESDAY, April 21, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- All immigration to the United States will be stopped to protect Americans during the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump announced late Monday night, as the country's COVID-19 death toll topped 42,000. "In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!," Trump wrote in a 10 p.m. tweet. Broad restrictions have already been placed on travel from Europe, China and other coronavirus hot spots, the Washington Post reported. Suspending all immigration could affect hundreds of thousands of visa holders and other would-be green card recipients who are planning to come to the...

Tukysa Approved for Unresectable, Metastatic HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

20 April 2020
Tukysa Approved for Unresectable, Metastatic HER2-Positive Breast CancerMONDAY, April 20, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday the approval of Tukysa (tucatinib) in combination with trastuzumab and capecitabine for treatment of advanced unresectable or metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer. Tukysa, a kinase inhibitor, is indicated for patients who have already received treatment with at least one anti-HER2-based regimen in the metastatic setting. Approval was based on results of the HER2CLIMB clinical trial, which enrolled 612 patients with HER2-positive advanced unresectable or metastatic breast cancer who had previously received treatment with trastuzumab, pertuzumab, and ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1). Forty-eight percent of patients had brain metastases at trial...

Pemazyre Approved for Treatment of Advanced Cholangiocarcinoma

20 April 2020
Pemazyre Approved for Treatment of Advanced CholangiocarcinomaMONDAY, April 20, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Pemazyre (pemigatinib) has been granted accelerated approval for the treatment of advanced cholangiocarcinoma, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday. The drug approval is indicated for previously treated patients with locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma and tumors with a fusion or other rearrangement of fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2). Until now, the standard initial treatment for these patients has been a combination of chemotherapy. Approval was based on clinical trial data from 107 previously treated patients with locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma and an FGFR2 fusion or rearrangement. Patients were treated in 21-day cycles that included treatment with Pemazyre once daily for 14...

Breast Milk May Help Shield Infants From Dangerous Viruses

MONDAY, April 20, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- New mothers have long been told that breast milk is best for their baby, and now there's more evidence that breastfeeding helps protect babies against...

Active Older Vets More Likely to Fall, But Less Likely...

MONDAY, April 20, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Physically active U.S. veterans are more likely to fall but less likely to get hurt when they do, compared with inactive older adults who didn't serve in...
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