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THURSDAY, May 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Weight-loss surgery can trim waistlines, and new research suggests it could also protect aging eyes.The study found that after bariatric (weight-loss) surgery, a person's odds for cataracts can drop significantly, especially among younger patients.Why might that be so? According to Swiss researchers, weight loss in obese patients may lower oxidative stress on cells, cellular inflammation, and even prompt diabetes and high blood pressure into remission, all of which are healthy for the eyes.One weight-loss surgeon in the United States called the findings a "real wow."The researchers show "how what you eat and the consequences of obesity impact on virtually every aspect of your health," said Dr. Mitchell Roslin, chief of obesity surgery at Lenox...

THURSDAY, May 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental injectable drug appears more versatile than existing medications in treating people with different forms of severe, hard-to-control asthma, clinical trial results show.There are many different types of asthma brought on by many different triggers, and a number of monoclonal antibody medications — called "biologics" — have been crafted to target distinct asthma triggers.This new drug, tezepelumab, is yet another monoclonal antibody, but it targets an inflammatory protein thought to play an early role in many different types of asthma, said researcher Dr. Andrew Menzies-Gow, director of the lung division at Royal Brompton Hospital in London, England.A phase 3 clinical trial found that tezepelumab is effective in quelling...

THURSDAY, May 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Like certain health conditions including cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure, new research shows that having HIV or AIDS increases a person's risk of catching and dying from COVID-19. For the study, researchers from Penn State College of Medicine assessed data from 22 previous studies of 21 million participants in North America, Africa, Europe and Asia.The investigators found that people living with HIV had a 24% higher risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), and a 78% higher risk of COVID-related death than people without HIV."Previous studies were inconclusive on whether or not HIV is a risk factor for susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and poor outcomes in populations with COVID-19," said lead researcher...

THURSDAY, May 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers say they have developed a rapid test for gonorrhea that could help reduce the spread of the sexually transmitted disease. The test consists of an inexpensive, portable device and a cellphone app that will diagnose gonorrhea in less than 15 minutes. It can also determine whether the strain of the infection will respond to frontline antibiotics. "Our portable, inexpensive testing platform has the potential to change the game when it comes to diagnosing and enabling rapid treatment of sexually transmitted infections," said team leader Tza-Huei Wang."It ensures that patients are diagnosed on the spot, and treatment can begin immediately, improving clinical outcomes. This will be especially valuable in low-resource settings, where...