As the World Health Organization cautioned on Monday that using plasma from COVID-19 survivors to treat other patients is still an experimental therapy, American scientists challenged a key statistic cited by U.S. officials as grounds for emergency approval of the treatment. In announcing the approval on Sunday, President Donald Trump and two of his top health officials spoke of the same stunning statistic — that the treatment had reduced deaths by 35 percent, the New York Times reported. Dr. Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, went so far as to say that 35 out of 100 COVID-19 patients “would have been saved because of the administration of plasma.” But many scientists, including a researcher on the Mayo Clinic study from which the statistic was supposedly gleaned, said Monday they could not ascertain where the number came from and that Hahn had appeared to overstate the treatment’s benefits, the Times reported. “Do I know where the 35 percent comes from?” said Dr. Arturo Casadevall, one of the May Clinic study’s main authors who hails from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. “No.” The actual data from the Mayo Clinic study shows that, among a group of more than 35,000 patients, when plasma was given within three day of diagnosis, the death rate was about 22 percent, compared with 27 percent when it was…  read on >

It may seem like a paradox, but giving someone a gift to help them save money is a sure way to make them hate it. The reason: It will make the recipient feel inferior to you, researchers say. In contrast, a gift that helps a recipient save time is taken as a compliment. The findings, from a series of experiments, are outlined in a study recently published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research. “Most of us have this belief that any gift we give is going to be appreciated — but the way a gift is presented can influence how people feel about it,” said study co-author Grant Donnelly, assistant professor of marketing at Ohio State University, in Columbus. “When you don’t have time, you’re perceived as busy and in high demand. There’s something high-status about that, compared to not having enough money, which is seen as low status,” Donnelly said in a university news release. In one experiment, the researchers asked 405 people how they felt about receiving a gift they thought was intended to save them either time or money. Those who received a gift that was intended to save them money were more likely to say it made them feel embarrassed, ashamed and bad, compared to those who received a time-saving gift. “They thought the gift-giver was implying they…  read on >

It may seem like a paradox, but giving someone a gift to help them save money is a sure way to make them hate it. The reason: It will make the recipient feel inferior to you, researchers say. In contrast, a gift that helps a recipient save time is taken as a compliment. The findings, from a series of experiments, are outlined in a study recently published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research. “Most of us have this belief that any gift we give is going to be appreciated — but the way a gift is presented can influence how people feel about it,” said study co-author Grant Donnelly, assistant professor of marketing at Ohio State University, in Columbus. “When you don’t have time, you’re perceived as busy and in high demand. There’s something high-status about that, compared to not having enough money, which is seen as low status,” Donnelly said in a university news release. In one experiment, the researchers asked 405 people how they felt about receiving a gift they thought was intended to save them either time or money. Those who received a gift that was intended to save them money were more likely to say it made them feel embarrassed, ashamed and bad, compared to those who received a time-saving gift. “They thought the gift-giver was implying they…  read on >

With the arrival of late summer, it’s essential to know the signs of heat exhaustion and how to intervene before it escalates to a more severe condition like heat stroke, emergency medicine experts say. Heat exhaustion comes with symptoms including: heavy sweating; breathlessness; a fast, but weak, pulse; headache; dizziness; nausea or vomiting. “Heat exhaustion can happen to anyone overexerting themselves in extreme heat,” said Dr. Laura Burke, an emergency medicine physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. “If symptoms are severe, call for medical help right away.” Some people have an increased risk of heat exhaustion, including: People with heart disease or high blood pressure. People over age 65. Infants and children. People with sunburn, which impairs the cooling mechanism of the skin. If heat exhaustion occurs and appropriate measures are not taken to cool down, it can sometimes escalate to a life-threatening condition called heat stroke. “During heat stroke, the body can no longer cool itself down through sweating, which can result in damage to major organs,” Burke said in a hospital news release. Symptoms of heat stroke include hot and dry skin, a fever higher than 102 degrees Fahrenheit, headache, confusion and unconsciousness. “If you see someone suffering from heat stroke, try to cool the person down by getting to shade or into the air conditioning. Apply cool water with…  read on >

The Trump administration has blocked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from regulating a wide swath of laboratory tests, including ones for the coronavirus. The new policy, which was posted Wednesday and is strongly opposed by the FDA itself, stunned health experts and laboratories because of its timing, the Washington Post reported. The change could result in unreliable coronavirus tests getting on the market, potentially worsening the testing crisis in the United States, experts told the newspaper. The one thing the change won’t do is solve testing shortages, because those are due mostly to a lack of the swabs and chemical reagents needed to perform COVID-19 tests, the Post reported. However, supporters claimed it could help get innovative tests to market more quickly. They said that the FDA review process sharply slowed testing at the beginning of the pandemic, and that the new policy could guard against future bottlenecks, the Post reported. Administration officials told the Post that the decision was made for legal reasons. But FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn staunchly opposed the change, arguing that such authority is critical during a public health emergency like the pandemic, the newspaper reported. The tests affected by the change are those developed by and used at laboratories regulated under the federal government’s Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments program, the newspaper said. Such labs are in big academic medical…  read on >

High levels of air pollution may increase young children’s risk of developing asthma and persistent wheezing, researchers warn. The findings “support emerging evidence that exposure to air pollution might influence the development of asthma,” according to a report by Torben Sigsgaard, of Aarhus University in Denmark, and colleagues. For the new study, the researchers analyzed data on more than 797,000 Danish children who were born between 1997 and 2014 and followed from ages 1 year up to 15 years of age. Nearly 123,000 of the children developed asthma or persistent wheezing, just before age 2 on average. The researchers then checked data on air pollution levels at the children’s home addresses, parents’ asthma, mothers’ smoking, parental education and income. After accounting for other potentially influential factors, the investigators found higher levels of asthma and persistent wheezing in children of parents with asthma and in children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy. Lower levels of asthma and persistent wheezing were found in children of parents with high levels of education and high incomes. The researchers also found that children exposed to higher levels of fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) were more likely to develop asthma and wheezing than those who weren’t exposed. In people with asthma, the airways become inflamed and produce extra mucus, which makes it difficult to breathe. The study was published online Aug.…  read on >

Back-to-school season can be a time of stress for many kids — even in the best of times. But pandemic fears add to the anxiety many kids will experience with the start of the 2020-2021 academic year, according to David FitzGerald, a child and adolescent psychologist at UConn Health in Farmington, Conn. “COVID-19’s continued presence for this year’s back-to-school season will bring with it more challenges than ever before,” he said in a university news release. “We need to model calm for the kids at all times, and provide as much structure as possible, especially during these unpredictable times.” FitzGerald said parents need to pay close attention to their children’s emotional health and well-being, and give them the support they need for a smooth transition back to class. Here are some tips to help reduce back-to-school and pandemic-associated anxiety, stress and behavior issues: Keep calm: Parents need to lead by example. Slow down and give your family extra time in the morning so you aren’t anxious and rushed. Teach kids to take deep breaths to calm themselves. Start a healthy routine: A nutritious diet, exercise and good sleep are important. Children need a routine and a serene, structured schedule. Keep informed: Parents need to know what is happening with the COVID-19 virus. Consult trusted health organizations and your local school district. Don’t rely on social…  read on >

Child abuse reports have plunged during the coronavirus pandemic, a troubling sign that the constraints of social distancing may mean thousands of cases are being missed, a new survey suggests. The survey, conducted by the Children’s National Alliance, found that children’s advocacy centers across the country reported serving 40,000 fewer children nationwide during the first six months of this year than the same period last year, the Washington Post reported. In 2019, more than 192,000 children were served by the centers while just over 152,000 were helped in 2020, a 21 percent drop, the survey showed. But in no way can the decline be viewed as good news, said Teresa Huizar, executive director of the alliance. “We have absolutely no reason to believe the actual incidence rate has declined,” she said. “What we really believe is that there are 40,000 fewer kids that haven’t been saved from abuse.” “What we were dreading did in fact happen,” Huizar told the Post. And the damage may be even more widespread, since the numbers from the centers, which receive referrals from child protective services departments and law enforcement, do not take into account all child abuse reports nationwide. A full third of U.S. counties don’t even have access to a children’s advocacy center, the Post reported. More than two-thirds of child abuse cases are reported by teachers and…  read on >

People with diabetes face a higher risk of developing complications from COVID-19, but a new survey reports they have also suffered more economic fallout from the pandemic. In June, 18% of people with diabetes were out of work compared to 12% of the general population. And one-third of people with diabetes have lost at least some income since the pandemic began versus about 29% of the general population, the survey released by the American Diabetes Association and dQ&A found. That loss of work and income can have immediate and serious consequences for people with diabetes. Nearly one in four people with diabetes — and half of those who’d lost income since the pandemic began — said they had to dip into savings, take out a loan or use their stimulus money to get their diabetes supplies. Worse, one in four people with diabetes have rationed their insulin, other medications or diabetes supplies. (Rationing insulin can lead to serious illness requiring hospitalization, and even death.) “When you lose your job, you lose your health insurance. When you lose your health insurance, you might ration your medicines, and then people end up with poorer outcomes. This was going on well before COVID, but now COVID has cast a very bright light on an existing problem,” said Tracey Brown, CEO of the American Diabetes Association. The new research…  read on >