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Americans with COVID-19 have been taking Paxlovid since it was approved under emergency use in late 2021. Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the drug. This approval will allow drugmaker Pfizer to sell the medication at market rate once government supplies are used up. Paxlovid is the fourth antiviral drug and first pill approved by the FDA to treat COVID. It’s meant to keep at-risk adults from progressing to severe COVID symptoms, including hospitalization and death. “Today’s approval demonstrates that Paxlovid has met the agency’s rigorous standards for safety and effectiveness, and that it remains an important treatment option for people at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including those with prior immunity,” Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in an agency news release. The approval was made using results from the randomized EPIC-HR clinical trial. That trial studied adults who had a lab-confirmed COVID infection and symptoms but were not hospitalized. They each had a risk factor for severe disease, such as obesity or diabetes, or were 60 years and older. These patients had not received a COVID vaccine or been infected before. The study found that Paxlovid reduced odds of hospitalization or death by 86% compared to those given a placebo within five days of symptom onset. The patients… read on > read on >

A federal website intended to help people choose a nursing home not only contains inaccurate information, but those inaccuracies appear to be at least partially driven by race, a new study reports. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) established the Nursing Home Care Compare website in the 1990s to publicly report patient safety indicators for every nursing facility in the nation. But the site appears to drastically underreport the number and severity of major injury falls and bedsores suffered by Medicare residents in specific nursing homes. The site relies on self-reported data from nursing homes to track falls and bedsores, but Medicare claims data show that nursing homes are not reporting all of these incidents, said lead researcher Prachi Sanghavi, an assistant professor of public health sciences at the University of Chicago. About 40% of major injury fall hospitalizations and 32% of severe bedsore hospitalizations found in Medicare claims data did not show up on the CMS website, the researchers found. “It’s not just slightly inaccurate. It’s actually very inaccurate,” Sanghavi said. What’s more, Sanghavi and her colleagues found that the underreporting varied based on the racial composition of the nursing homes. Nursing homes with more white residents had higher reporting rates for major injury falls and lower reporting rates for pressure ulcers, and vice versa was true for nursing homes with… read on > read on >

Smallpox vaccines, which were routinely given into the 1970s, seem to provide protection from mpox, a new study says. The mpox virus, responsible for a worldwide outbreak last year, could surge again this summer, public health experts have warned. It was previously called monkeypox. Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden wondered whether the smallpox vaccine would offer some level of immunity against mpox due to a residual memory response. Mpox is among orthopoxviruses that have similarities to smallpox, which was eradicated in the mid-1970s. “The findings from our study demonstrate that this holds true, indicating that the memory cells exhibit remarkable longevity and possess the ability to identify closely related viruses like the mpox virus,” said co-author Marcus Buggert, a researcher at Karolinska’s Center for Infectious Medicine. “They can offer overlapping immunity or cross-reactive protection,” Buggert added in an institute news release. The team examined T-cell immune response in 105 healthy blood donors, finding that people born before 1976 had a notably robust immune response against both viral types. They then evaluated the immune response in 22 men who recently contracted mpox, finding that they also had a vigorous immune response to the virus. The authors said this suggests the potential for future immunity among those individuals. The sample size was insufficient for researchers to determine how much protection prior vaccination offered, but a… read on > read on >

Ketamine may be an alternative to shock treatment for people with treatment-resistant major depression, a new study suggests. Currently, patients with major depressive disorder who don’t find a medication or therapy that works may undergo electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), also known as shock therapy. But researchers have also been studying intravenous ketamine — a powerful anesthetic that’s also long been used as an illicit ‘party’ drug — as a potential antidepressant. They say the results of a new study were surprising. “I have to say it was a wow,” said principal investigator Dr. James Murrough, director of the Depression and Anxiety Center for Discovery and Treatment at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. That isn’t to say that ketamine is superior to ECT, Murrough cautioned. This study wasn’t assessing that. What it does mean is that in this comparative effectiveness trial, “by the numbers ketamine performed very well,” Murrough said. The findings apply to patients who don’t have psychosis but have treatment-resistant major depression that has not been helped through two or three earlier medications. The main takeaway, Murrough said, is that for doctors treating these patients, ketamine is something they could consider as an alternative to ECT. “The take home from this study is there’s another option that’s in that conversation now that really wasn’t before in a meaningful way,”… read on > read on >

One potential solution to reducing chronic pain: Get moving. A new Norwegian study finds that physically active folks have greater pain tolerance compared to sedentary types. Those with higher levels of activity also had higher pain tolerance, according to the report published online May 24 in PLOS ONE. “Becoming or staying physically active over time can benefit your pain tolerance. Whatever you do, the most important thing is that you do something,” study author Anders Årnes, a PhD student at University Hospital of North Norway, and colleagues said in a journal news release. For the study, the investigators analyzed data from more than 10,000 adults who participated in a large population survey conducted periodically in Norway. Using data from two rounds of the study — 2007 to 2008 and 2015 to 2016 — the researchers examined participants’ self-reported levels of physical activity and their levels of pain tolerance. Pain tolerance was tested by submersing a hand in cold water. Those who reported being physically active in either round of the study had higher pain tolerance than those who reported a sedentary lifestyle in both rounds. Also, participants with higher total activity levels had higher pain tolerance. Those with higher activity in the second round than in the first round had a higher overall level of pain tolerance, the findings showed. The researchers did not find… read on > read on >

The problem of “food deserts” in many parts of the United States has gained attention in recent years. Now, researchers are highlighting a similar issue: play deserts. In a recent study, investigators at the University of Georgia found that in many areas of the country — particularly the South — families have few safe, free parks and playgrounds for their kids to enjoy. That’s a problem, experts said, because when kids lack those opportunities, they’re more likely to stay inside and stare at screens. It’s well known that there are communities nationwide where people have a hard time getting to a grocery store or any other source of fresh, nutritious food. Those places have been dubbed food deserts, and an estimated 10% of the United States falls into that dubious category. The new findings show that a similar percentage can be considered play deserts, according to researcher Lan Mu, a professor of geography at the University of Georgia, Athens (UGA). Many play-deficient counties are clustered in the Southeast, where a lack of options and the quality of existing play areas are often problems, the study found. The Southwest was another hotspot for play deserts, and a common issue was affordability: Some places require a membership or fee to enter. It’s not enough that parks or playgrounds merely exist in a community, said lead researcher Jue… read on > read on >

Older Americans are increasingly likely to log into “patient portals” to access their health care information — but confidence levels vary. About 78% of people aged 50 to 80 now use at least one patient portal, according to the new University of Michigan (U-M) National Poll on Healthy Aging. Five years ago, just 51% in this age range used patient portals, the researchers said. The poll also found that 55% of those who used patient portals had done so in the past month. About 49% had accounts on more than one portal. This surge is partly due to the increase in use of telehealth visits, said Denise Anthony, the U-M School of Public Health professor who worked on the poll. “This change makes access to secure portals even more important for older adults who want to see their doctors and other health care providers virtually. It also makes the disparities we found in our poll even more troubling,” Anthony said in a Michigan Medicine news release. Older adults with annual household incomes below $60,000, and those who were Black or Hispanic, had lower rates of portal use. These groups were also less likely to say they’re comfortable using a portal. People in fair or poor health physically or mentally were also much more likely to say they’re not confident about their ability to log in… read on > read on >

Only 13% of American adults understand the purpose of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline nearly a year after its widely publicized launch, a new survey from the Pew Charitable Trusts shows. “There is an opportunity and a need for state and local leaders to launch inclusive awareness campaigns in the months ahead,” lead researcher and Pew senior manager Tracy Velázquez said in a statement, CNN reported. “The federal government’s most recent investment into 988 shows a commitment to building a strong crisis care infrastructure in the country — one that is critically important, given the many people experiencing mental health and substance use issues,” Velázquez added. The 988 line began last year after it was changed from 1-800-273-TALK. It was previously called the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Pew surveyed more than 5,000 adults in April, finding that once people knew about the 988 crisis line, about 7 in 10 said they were somewhat or highly likely to use it. Respondents also had some concerns about where calling the line might lead them. About 2 in 5 of those surveyed worried that calling 988 would lead to police arriving at their home, being forced to go to the hospital, being charged for services they couldn’t afford or having other people learn about the call. Race played a part in the results: Twice as many white… read on > read on >

The supplement known as 5-HTP is available in both natural and synthetic versions and is used by some people to treat a variety of wellness issues. Here’s a look at what this supplement is, its safety profile, side effects and drug interactions, and the potential health benefits that 5-HTP has to offer you for a balanced lifestyle. What is 5-HTP? In your body, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) is a chemical produced naturally from the essential amino acid called tryptophan. The U.S. National Library of Medicine states that it’s the forerunner of serotonin. Natural supplements that contain 5-HTP are made from a plant called Griffonia simplicifolia that’s native to countries in West Africa such as Congo, Sierra Leone and Ghana, according to the University of Texas El Paso. A review published in the International Journal of Molecular Science by researchers from the University of Turin in Italy found that in recent years, scientific breakthroughs have also allowed for the production of some synthetic 5-HTP supplements. 5-HTP benefits Because 5-HTP is converted into serotonin (also known as 5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT) in the body, it provides a number of potential benefits for your overall health and well-being. Depression The Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database rates 5-HTP as “possibly effective” for treating depression, according to the National Library of Medicine, and it may work as well as some antidepressant drugs that are… read on > read on >

Social media presents a “profound risk” to young brains, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy warned on Tuesday. In a report, Murthy warned about the risks of social media use for young people and called on policymakers, tech companies, researchers and parents to “urgently take action.” “There are ample indicators that social media can also have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents,” Murthy said. The full effect of social media isn’t well understood, he noted. “Adolescents are not just smaller adults,” Murthy told The New York Times. “They’re in a different phase of development, and they’re in a critical phase of brain development.” Among the concerns are that if kids are using social media frequently they may actually be altering their developing brains, specifically in the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. These are important for emotional learning, emotional regulation, impulse control and social behavior. This “could increase sensitivity to social rewards and punishments,” the report stated. Reaction to the report was enthusiastic. “Today’s children and teens do not know a world without digital technology, but the digital world wasn’t built with children’s healthy mental development in mind. We need an approach to help children both on and offline that meets each child where they are while also working to make the digital spaces they inhabit safer… read on > read on >

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FDA Grants Full Approval to Paxlovid to Treat COVID-19

U.S. Nursing Homes Fail to Report Many Serious Falls, Bedsores: Study

Got Smallpox Vaccine as a Child? You’re Probably Immune to Mpox

Ketamine Beats Shock Therapy in Easing Tough-to-Treat Depression

Exercise Might Boost Your Tolerance for Pain

Nowhere Safe to Play: ‘Play Deserts’ Keep Kids from Fun Physical Activity

More Older Americans Use Online ‘Patient Portals’ to Access Care

Most Americans Don’t Know What 988 Suicide Crisis Hotline Is For: Poll

5-HTP Supplement: What Is It, and Can It Help You?

U.S. Surgeon General Warns That Social Media Can Harm Teens’ Mental Health