Latest Health News

MONDAY, March 28, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Certain antiviral drugs used to treat HIV may also guard against COVID-19 infection, a new study suggests. The researchers found that people with HIV who are on antiretroviral treatment (ART) with protease inhibitors may have a lower risk of COVID-19 infection. Protease inhibitors are antiviral drugs that block a critical enzyme (protease) that viruses need to replicate and infect more cells. The study included hundreds of HIV patients at six hospitals in France, including 169 who were taking ART with protease inhibitors and 338 who were taking ART without protease inhibitors. None of the patients (average age 50) had previously been diagnosed with COVID-19. Men accounted for 52% of the patients and women for 48%. Among the patients being...

MONDAY, March 28, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- White-tailed deer can shed and transmit the COVID-19 virus for up to five days after they're infected, according to a study that also identified where the virus develops and replicates in deer.Five days is "a relatively short window of time in which the infected animals are shedding and are able to transmit the virus," said co-author Dr. Diego Diel, director of the Cornell University Virology Laboratory in Ithaca, N.Y.For the study, Diel and his team analyzed data from 2021 surveys of five U.S. states. Their findings were recently published in the journal PLOS Pathogens.The researchers also found that the virus develops and replicates in the deer's respiratory tract, lymphoid tissues (including tonsils and several lymph nodes) and in the...

MONDAY, March 28, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Special needs children often require out-of-network care from specialists, which means more out-of-pocket costs and extra stress for families, a new study finds."In the U.S., the reality is that the more health care needs you have, especially from specialists, the greater chance you will find your needs won't be met, even if you have private insurance coverage," said lead author Wendy Xu, an associate professor of health services management and policy at Ohio State University."Inadequate provider networks can really constrain their access to care and it's an ongoing struggle," she said in a university news release. "These are conditions that will never go away and are pretty severe, and these patients very often face additional care needs...

SUNDAY, March 27, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Knowing the signs of brain injury and when to seek emergency care could save a life, an expert says."The brain is the body's command center," said Dr. Gillian Schmitz, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians. "One of the smartest ways to protect it is to be able to spot the signs of a brain injury and to go to the closest emergency department when you need medical attention."A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an injury that disrupts brain function. The most common type is a concussion, which can be caused by a fall, sports injury, traffic accident or an incident at home.While some symptoms of a concussion can take hours or days to appear, ignoring the signs of a brain injury can put a person at risk of complications. Signs of...