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TUESDAY, July 6, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- People with sickle cell disease who have a history of severe pain episodes and coexisting organ conditions have an increased risk for severe COVID-19 illness, a new study suggests."This study tells us that all individuals with sickle cell disease are not at equal levels of risk," said study author Dr. Lana Mucalo, of the Medical College of Wisconsin. "Patients with a history of pain, as well as individuals with coexisting organ conditions, need to be even more careful to avoid COVID-19 infection than those without any co-morbidities.""This means individuals with sickle cell disease who come to the hospital presenting with pain should also be tested for COVID-19," Mucalo said.Sickle cell disease is the most common inherited red blood cell...

TUESDAY, July 6, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- How long can a human live? New research predicts there's a chance that someone in the world will celebrate a 130th birthday in this century.There's been a steady rise in the number of people living beyond 100 years in recent decades, with up to nearly half a million worldwide, researchers noted.The world's oldest known person was Jeanne Calment of France, who was 122 when she died in 1997. Currently, the world's oldest person is 118-year-old Kane Tanaka of Japan.Some experts believe that disease and basic cell deterioration limit human life span, but others believe there is no ceiling.University of Washington researchers used statistical modeling to determine potential maximum life spans this century."People are fascinated by the extremes of...

TUESDAY, July 6, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Antibiotics may increase the risk of colon cancer, especially in younger people, U.K. researchers report."To our knowledge, this is the first study to link antibiotic use with the growing risk of early-onset colon cancer -- a disease which has been increasing at a rate of at least 3% per year over the last two decades," said study co-author Sarah Perrott, a cancer researcher at the University of Aberdeen.The researchers' comparison of data from nearly 8,000 people in Scotland with colon and rectal cancer to folks without the disease found an association between antibiotic use and an increased risk of colon cancer at all ages.The study found significant age-related differences, however. Antibiotic use was linked with a nearly 50% higher risk of...

TUESDAY, July 6, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Most cancer patients have a good immune response to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, new research shows.Two of the three approved vaccines in the United States -- Pfizer and Moderna -- are mRNA vaccines.Researchers assessed 131 cancer patients and found that 94% developed antibodies to the new coronavirus three to four weeks after their second dose of a mRNA vaccine.Patients' median age was 63 (meaning half were older, half younger). Most (106) had solid tumors.Patients with blood cancers such as myeloma and Hodgkin's lymphoma were less likely to respond to vaccination than those with solid tumors."We could not find any antibodies against the virus in those patients," said corresponding author Dr. Dimpy Shah of the Mays Cancer Center at the University...