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MONDAY, Jan. 10, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers say they've uncovered a clue to why the Omicron variant spreads COVID-19 so much more rapidly than its predecessors.People who are infected but have no symptoms are still far more likely to infect others than they would have been with earlier variants, the data shows."As we witness the quick, global spread of Omicron, it is clear that we urgently need a better understanding of the transmission dynamics of this variant," said senior study author Dr. Lawrence Corey. He is principal investigator of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center-based operations center of the COVID-19 Prevention Network. "Since so many people may be asymptomatic, we can't always know who is carrying the virus, but we do know what we can do to protect...

MONDAY, Jan. 10, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Exercise helps you stay fit, hale and hearty, and researchers say it may also help you stave off dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Now they have a better understanding of the hidden benefits that aid the brain.Older folks who are more physically active have higher levels of a protein that promotes better communication between the brain's synapses, a new study reports."Synapses are these critical communicating junctions between nerve cells. They're what sends the message from one nerve cell to another, and I think of them as where the magic happens when it comes to cognition," said lead researcher Kaitlin Casaletto, an assistant professor of neurology with the University of California, San Francisco. "All of our thinking and memory occurs as a...

MONDAY, Jan. 10, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Swabs that come with at-home rapid antigen COVID-19 tests should be used in the nose and not the throat, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns.It issued the warning on Twitter in response to reports that some people are using swabs intended for nasal samples to take samples from their throats and posting their results on social media with the hashtag #SwabYourThroat. The trend began after early research suggested saliva may be a better way to detect the Omicron variant."The FDA advises that COVID-19 tests should be used as authorized, including following their instructions for use regarding obtaining the sample for testing," an FDA spokesperson told CNN. "The FDA has noted safety concerns regarding self-collection of throat swabs, as they...

MONDAY, Jan. 10, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- For people newly diagnosed with advanced melanoma, a combination of two immunotherapy drugs can double the amount of time their cancer remains progression-free, a clinical trial has found.The treatment combines two drugs known as immune checkpoint inhibitors. One, called nivolumab (Opdivo), is already standard for advanced melanoma; the other, relatlimab, is not yet approved.But based on the new trial, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted it priority review.The study involved 714 patients with previously untreated melanoma that was inoperable or had spread to other body sites. Researchers found that patients given the Opdivo/relatlimab combo typically went twice as long without their disease getting worse, versus those given Opdivo...