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Older people have vaccines available to prevent severe influenza and COVID-19, but there’s been nothing to protect against the third respiratory virus that contributed to this season’s wretched “triple-demic.” Until now. Two major pharmaceutical companies published clinical trial results this week that pave the way for an RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccine to be available for adults by the time next cold and flu season rolls around. “RSV continues to be the last of the major winter respiratory viruses for which we don’t have a vaccine, but as these two articles in the New England Journal of Medicine indicate, we’re getting close,” said Dr. William Schaffner. He is medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, in Bethesda, Md. The companies — GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Janssen — both have RSV vaccine candidates that can prevent severe illness in seniors, results show. The GSK vaccine provides 94% protection against severe lower respiratory tract RSV, and about 83% protection against lower respiratory tract infections overall, said Dr. Leonard Friedland, vice president and director of scientific affairs and public health for GSK U.S. Vaccines. “We’re very, very pleased and excited because this is the first time that an RSV vaccine has made it through phase 3 and has published data in a peer-reviewed journal,” Friedland said. The Janssen vaccine also provided good protection in a phase 2b… read on > read on >

Talk about the stuff of nightmares. You have extremely itchy skin at bedtime, not to mention a pimple-like rash. What is it? Those are fairly clear signs of scabies, a microscopic parasitic infestation where mites burrow under your skin and lay eggs there. Scabies infection comes from prolonged contact, not just a quick brush against someone else’s skin. It can also be passed through bedding or clothing. “Anyone who is diagnosed with scabies, as well as his or her sexual partners and other contacts who have had prolonged skin-to-skin contact with the infested person, should be treated,” the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises. What is scabies? This “human itch mite” lives and lays eggs in the upper layer of the skin, according to the CDC. About 200 million people worldwide have scabies at any one time, including up to 10% of children in poor areas, according to the World Health Organization. Once the eggs hatch, the larvae can travel to the skin’s surface, spreading to other areas or other people, according to the Mayo Clinic. What does scabies look like? It may resemble hives, tiny bites, knots under the skin or even eczema-like scaly patches, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). Sores may develop from scratching. Under magnification, the mite is creamy-white, has eight legs and a round body. It… read on > read on >

Following a healthy plant-based diet after a diagnosis of prostate cancer may help prevent the disease from progressing or recurring, a new study suggests. Men who ate a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains had a 52% lower risk of cancer progressing and a 53% lower risk of recurrence, compared with men who had the lowest amounts of plants in their diet, the researchers found. “Progressing to advanced disease is one of many pivotal concerns among patients with prostate cancer, their family and caregivers and their physicians,” said lead researcher Vivian Liu, a clinical research coordinator at the Osher Center for Integrative Health at the University of California, San Francisco. “These findings may directly inform clinical care by providing diet recommendations as guidance for managing their health and reducing morbidity for the most common cancer facing U.S. men, in addition to having other positive health benefits for preventing other chronic diseases,” Liu said. A plant-based diet may have these benefits because fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants and anti-inflammatory components, as well as dietary fiber that improve glucose control and reduce inflammation, she explained. Also, this diet reduces potentially harmful exposures to animal-based foods, such as hormones and heterocyclic amines created during high-temperature cooking, which have been linked to prostate cancer in particular, Liu said. Diets high in animal protein may also increase insulin… read on > read on >

A new study builds upon earlier evidence that vaping isn’t any healthier than smoking. In analyzing epithelial cells taken from the mouths of vapers, smokers and people who had never vaped or smoked, researchers found that vapers and smokers had more than twice the amount of DNA damage as found in non-users. Those who vaped or smoked more frequently had higher DNA damage. Epithelial cells line the mouth. DNA damage is an early change associated with an increased risk for cancer and inflammatory diseases. “For the first time, we showed that the more vapers used e-cigarettes, and the longer they used them, the more DNA damage occurred in their oral cells,” said senior study author Ahmad Besaratinia. He is a professor of research population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles. “The same pattern held up in smokers,” Besaratinia said in a school news release. In the study, the researchers recruited 72 healthy adults who were interviewed and underwent biochemical testing. The study participants were divided into three groups: vapers who had never smoked cigarettes; smokers who had never vaped; and people with no history of smoking or vaping. The researchers also collected data on how often, and for how long, participants had smoked or vaped. They asked vapers what devices and flavors they used. The investigators then collected… read on > read on >

Ramen danger: A steaming cup of instant noodles is a big cause of scald injuries in children, researchers report. A new study that examined pediatric admissions at University of Chicago Medicine for burn injuries caused by hot liquids found that nearly one-third were caused by instant noodles between 2010 and 2020. “Anecdotally, it felt like every other child we were consulted on for a burn was injured by instant noodles, so we wanted to dive into the data to see what the trend really was,” said senior author Dr. Sebastian Vrouwe, assistant professor of surgery at UChicago Medicine. “Our hope is to develop the groundwork for future burn prevention programming, as essentially all childhood burns are in some way preventable,” he said in a system news release. Researchers from the UChicago Medicine’s Burn Center reviewed 790 cases, attributing 31% to instant noodles. The research team also found that Black children and kids who lived in areas with lower Childhood Opportunity Index (COI) scores were more likely to suffer these scald burns than their peers. Broadly stated, the COI is a measure of social, economic, educational and health conditions in neighborhoods. Being unsupervised led to higher risk. About 40% of instant noodle burns occurred when kids were alone. While the study examined only data from UChicago Medicine’s Burn Center, researchers suspect the statistics speak to a… read on > read on >

Americans eat too much salt and more than a dozen favorite and convenience foods are largely to blame. Nearly 90% of Americans exceed dietary guidelines for sodium intake, a risk factor for high blood pressure and heart disease. New research out of Canada put some familiar favorites at the top of the list. “The top 15 food category contributors to dietary sodium represent just over 50% of total dietary sodium intake for American adults, with pizza, breads, cold cuts, soups and burritos being the top five contributors,” the study authors said in a news release from the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences. At the top of the list is pizza with 5.3% of total dietary sodium intake, followed by breads, rolls and buns at 4.7%. After that is cold cuts and cured meats at 4.6%; soups at 4.4%; burritos and tacos with 4.3%; savory snacks at 4.1%; and poultry at 4%. Rounding out the bottom half of the list and comprising between 1.5% and 3.1% of sodium intake are cheese; pasta mixed dishes; burgers; meat mixed dishes; cookies, brownies and cakes; bacon, frankfurters and sausages; vegetables; and chicken nuggets. For the study, University of Toronto researchers used U.S. health survey data for 2017 to 2018. The survey asked respondents to recall what they ate. Education and food-labeling campaigns to get people… read on > read on >

A nasal spray that can reverse an opioid overdose should be sold over-the-counter, two expert panels to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended Wednesday. Research has shown that wider availability of naloxone — brand named Narcan — could save lives as the opioid epidemic rages on in this country. The FDA advisors voted unanimously in favor of making the drug easier to access after a daylong meeting that focused on whether untrained users would be able to safely and effectively use the nasal spray in emergencies, the Associated Press reported. The recommendation came despite concerns from some panel members about the clarity of the drug’s instructions and packaging, which caused confusion among some people in a company study. The manufacturer, Emergent Biosolutions, said it would revise the packaging and labeling to address those concerns, the AP reported. The FDA will make a final decision on the drug in the coming weeks. “Perfect should not be the enemy of the good, and the evidence we saw today provides clear indication that the drug can be used without the direction of a health care provider,” said panel member Dr. Brian Bateman, of Stanford University. In a statement, the American Medical Association applauded the panel’s decision. “The AMA believes greater access will occur when naloxone for overdose risk is just as easily accessible in a pharmacy, grocery… read on > read on >

A guy pops a little pill just before he expects to get frisky with his girlfriend. But the pill isn’t Viagra, as one might expect. Instead, it’s an on-demand contraceptive that will prevent pregnancy even if taken just before sex. Researchers think they’ve discovered a way to create such a contraceptive pill for men, by inhibiting an enzyme that’s key to a sperm’s ability to swim. Inhibiting this enzyme in lab mice using an experimental compound successfully prevented pregnancy, according to a new report published Feb. 14 in the journal Nature Communications. “The effect started within 30 minutes after dosing and the mice were completely infertile for the subsequent two hours,” said co-senior researcher Lonny Levin, a professor of pharmacology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. “By the following day, the mice were completely normal. The compound did not adversely affect the mice in any way, and their sexual behavior and ejaculate were completely normal,” he added. If proven to work in humans, such an approach “would be a tremendous advancement for the field,” said Christopher Lindsey, program officer at the U.S. National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, which helped fund the study. “The benefit of this is that unlike a hormonal approach where you’d have to take that drug for days, weeks, sometimes months, this would work similar to Viagra,”… read on > read on >

A nasal spray that can reverse an opioid overdose may become available for easier over-the-counter purchase. U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers are meeting Wednesday to discuss making generic naloxone hydrochloride available without requiring interaction with a pharmacist, CNN reported. Approval could happen later this year. Research shows that wider availability of the antidote could save lives in the growing U.S. opioid epidemic. The meeting of the FDA’s Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee and the Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee is a response to an application submitted last year by Emergent BioSolutions, Inc. of Baltimore. The FDA gave the company’s application priority review, CNN reported. Emergent has said in briefing documents that its nasal spray was designed to be administered by people who have no medical training. Naloxone is available in various strengths and applications. The spray is easier to administer than an injection, the company said. Naloxone is used to revive those believed to be overdosing on opioids. There are no known harmful effects if it is given to someone who is not on opioids. Although naloxone is already available without a prescription, it must be obtained directly from a pharmacist. Not all pharmacies stock it, CNN reported. “Allowing it to be over-the-counter in the same manner in every state really clears up some confusion and hopefully clears up some of that red… read on > read on >

How close a person lives to a major road could have an impact on their eczema risk. New research suggests that folks who live farther from one are less likely to develop the skin condition. A 13-year medical chart review focused on patients in Denver, from infants to age 18. Those with eczema were compared to an equal-sized control group of patients without the condition. In all, the study included more than 14,000 children. The researchers calculated the distance from their homes to a road with annual traffic of more than 10,000 vehicles a day. The risk of eczema (atopic dermatitis) dropped 21% for every 10-fold increase in distance from a major road, the study found. “In the end, we found children who lived 1,000 meters [0.6 miles] or more from a major road had 27% lower odds of atopic dermatitis compared to children who lived within 500 meters of a major road,” said lead author Dr. Michael Nevid, a fellow at National Jewish Health in Denver, who pursued this research after learning about a similar study in Asia. “This is an early association study, so more work needs to be done to examine the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the association,” Nevid said in a news release from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. The findings were published in a February online supplement… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Two Vaccines May Soon Shield Seniors Against RSV

Scabies: What It Is, Symptoms, Treatment & More

Switch to Plant-Based Diet Could Boost Prostate Cancer Survival

Smoking or Vaping? The DNA Damage May Be the Same

Why Instant Noodles Are a Danger to Your Kids

Avoid These 15 Foods to Lower Your Salt Intake

FDA Panel Says Opioid Overdose Antidote Safe to Sell Over-the-Counter

A Short-Term Birth Control Pill for Men? Mouse Study Hints Its Possible

FDA Panel Considers Making Opioid Antidote Drug Available Without Prescription

Living Near Busy Road Could Raise Your Odds for Eczema