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RSV Antibody Treatment Effective For Babies

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Newborns can be effectively protected against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection through the use of nirsevimab, a monoclonal antibody treatment, researchers report. Babies treated with nirsevimab had an 83% reduced risk of hospitalization due to RSV infection, researchers reported May 1 in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. The antibody treatment also reduced the risk of intensive care admissions by 81% and instances of lower respiratory tract infections by 75% in children younger than 1 year old, results show. Nirsevimab also was more effective in preventing RSV-related hospitalizations in infants older than 3 months (81%) compared to those 3 months or younger (76%), researchers report. “Our findings indicate that the benefits of nirsevimab observed in clinical trials are also evident in real-world settings, effectively reducing the burden of RSV disease in infants and, consequently, health-care use,” concluded the team led by senior researcher Seyed Moghadas, a professor of computational epidemiology and vaccine science with York University in Ontario, Canada. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  recommends that all babies be protected from RSV by one of two methods. An expectant mother can pass on protection by getting an RSV vaccine while pregnant, or a newborn can be given antibody treatment to protect them against RSV. To check the effectiveness of nirsevimab, researchers combined data from 27 studies conducted during the 2023-2024 RSV…  read on >  read on >

Follow-Up Test For High Blood Pressure Condition Not Worthwhile, Researchers Say

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A test commonly used to confirm a condition linked to high blood pressure is often inaccurate, causing doctors to skip treatment that might improve patients’ heart health, a new study says. The test checks for primary aldosteronism, a condition that affects up to 30% of people with high blood pressure, researchers said. Getting rid of this inaccurate test could “improve diagnostic accuracy and reduce time to treatment. This represents a large paradigm shift in the field of hypertension,” the research team led by Dr. Alexander Leung, an associate professor of medicine with the University of Calgary in Canada, said in a news release. Primary aldosteronism involves overproduction of the hormone aldosterone, which regulates levels of sodium and potassium in the bloodstream, according to the Cleveland Clinic. People with the condition tend to retain salt, increasing their blood pressure, researchers said. Excellent treatments for primary aldosteronism are available, but fewer than 1% of patients are diagnosed and treated due to the complicated process of dialing in a diagnosis, researchers said in background notes. One test used to confirm primary aldosteronism is the seated saline suppression test (SSST), researchers said, In the SSST, patients are given a saline IV drip while doctors test blood samples for levels of aldosterone. To see if the SSST truly helps dial in primary aldosteronism, researchers recruited 156 for a clinical trial…  read on >  read on >

Follow-Up Test For High Blood Pressure Condition Not Worthwhile, Researchers Say

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A test commonly used to confirm a condition linked to high blood pressure is often inaccurate, causing doctors to skip treatment that might improve patients’ heart health, a new study says. The test checks for primary aldosteronism, a condition that affects up to 30% of people with high blood pressure, researchers said. Getting rid of this inaccurate test could “improve diagnostic accuracy and reduce time to treatment. This represents a large paradigm shift in the field of hypertension,” the research team led by Dr. Alexander Leung, an associate professor of medicine with the University of Calgary in Canada, said in a news release. Primary aldosteronism involves overproduction of the hormone aldosterone, which regulates levels of sodium and potassium in the bloodstream, according to the Cleveland Clinic. People with the condition tend to retain salt, increasing their blood pressure, researchers said. Excellent treatments for primary aldosteronism are available, but fewer than 1% of patients are diagnosed and treated due to the complicated process of dialing in a diagnosis, researchers said in background notes. One test used to confirm primary aldosteronism is the seated saline suppression test (SSST), researchers said, In the SSST, patients are given a saline IV drip while doctors test blood samples for levels of aldosterone. To see if the SSST truly helps dial in primary aldosteronism, researchers recruited 156 for a clinical trial…  read on >  read on >

Nuts, Seeds OK For People With Diverticulitis, Study Says

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Patients with diverticulitis often try to control the digestive condition by cutting nuts, seeds and popcorn out of their daily diet. But that’s not necessary, a new study has found. Nuts and seeds do not increase the risk of diverticulitis, according to findings published May 5 in the Annals of Internal Medicine. “Our findings refute the widely held belief that dietary intake of particulate matter [like nuts or seeds] should be avoided to prevent diverticulitis,” wrote the team led by senior researcher Dr. Anne Peery, a gastroenterologist with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. However, people can lower their risk of diverticulitis by adopting one of four common health-focused diets, researchers found. “We assessed diet quality and found that multiple healthy diet patterns were associated with a reduced risk for incident diverticulitis in women,” researchers wrote. As people age, they develop small pouches that bulge outward in weak spots along the walls of the colon. These pouches are called diverticula. Diverticulitis occurs when one of these pouches becomes infected or inflamed. Symptoms can include abdominal pain, fever, nausea, vomiting, cramping, constipation or diarrhea.  “Patients with diverticulitis often attempt to control their diet with a particular focus on avoiding nuts and seeds,” assuming that the grainy particles could lodge in a pocket and cause inflammation, the research team wrote. To test this tactic, researchers…  read on >  read on >

Nuts, Seeds OK For People With Diverticulitis, Study Says

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Patients with diverticulitis often try to control the digestive condition by cutting nuts, seeds and popcorn out of their daily diet. But that’s not necessary, a new study has found. Nuts and seeds do not increase the risk of diverticulitis, according to findings published May 5 in the Annals of Internal Medicine. “Our findings refute the widely held belief that dietary intake of particulate matter [like nuts or seeds] should be avoided to prevent diverticulitis,” wrote the team led by senior researcher Dr. Anne Peery, a gastroenterologist with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. However, people can lower their risk of diverticulitis by adopting one of four common health-focused diets, researchers found. “We assessed diet quality and found that multiple healthy diet patterns were associated with a reduced risk for incident diverticulitis in women,” researchers wrote. As people age, they develop small pouches that bulge outward in weak spots along the walls of the colon. These pouches are called diverticula. Diverticulitis occurs when one of these pouches becomes infected or inflamed. Symptoms can include abdominal pain, fever, nausea, vomiting, cramping, constipation or diarrhea.  “Patients with diverticulitis often attempt to control their diet with a particular focus on avoiding nuts and seeds,” assuming that the grainy particles could lodge in a pocket and cause inflammation, the research team wrote. To test this tactic, researchers…  read on >  read on >

Men Worse Off Than Women For 20 Top Health Problems Worldwide

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Men are much more likely than women to die early from the world’s 20 leading health problems, a new global study shows. Sickness and death was higher in men than women in 2021 for 13 of the top 20 causes of injury and illness, including COVID-19, traffic injuries, heart problems, lung ailments and liver diseases, researchers reported May 1 in The Lancet Public Health. “Our findings shine a light on the significant and unique health challenges faced by males,” co-lead investigator Vedavati Patwardhan, a research scientist with the University of California-San Diego, said in a news release. “Among these challenges are conditions that lead to premature deaths, notably in the form of road injuries, cancers, and heart disease,” Patwardhan continued. “We need national health plans and strategies to address the health needs of men throughout their lives, including interventions targeting behavioral risks such as alcohol use and smoking that typically begin at a young age.” Women tend to live longer, but they endure higher levels of illness during their lifespan, researchers added.  Muscle and bone conditions, mental health problems and headaches are among the non-fatal diseases that plague women, results show. For the study, researchers analyzed data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021, the largest and most comprehensive effort to track illness and death from disease around the world. The effort focused on…  read on >  read on >

Men Worse Off Than Women For 20 Top Health Problems Worldwide

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Men are much more likely than women to die early from the world’s 20 leading health problems, a new global study shows. Sickness and death was higher in men than women in 2021 for 13 of the top 20 causes of injury and illness, including COVID-19, traffic injuries, heart problems, lung ailments and liver diseases, researchers reported May 1 in The Lancet Public Health. “Our findings shine a light on the significant and unique health challenges faced by males,” co-lead investigator Vedavati Patwardhan, a research scientist with the University of California-San Diego, said in a news release. “Among these challenges are conditions that lead to premature deaths, notably in the form of road injuries, cancers, and heart disease,” Patwardhan continued. “We need national health plans and strategies to address the health needs of men throughout their lives, including interventions targeting behavioral risks such as alcohol use and smoking that typically begin at a young age.” Women tend to live longer, but they endure higher levels of illness during their lifespan, researchers added.  Muscle and bone conditions, mental health problems and headaches are among the non-fatal diseases that plague women, results show. For the study, researchers analyzed data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021, the largest and most comprehensive effort to track illness and death from disease around the world. The effort focused on…  read on >  read on >

New Drug Could Quell Uncontrolled High Blood Pressure

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An experimental drug might help people with uncontrolled high blood pressure, according to early clinical trial results. People taking lorundrostat experienced twice the decline in their systolic blood pressure than people taking a placebo, researchers reported recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. Systolic, the top number of a blood pressure reading, refers to the pressure within blood vessels during a heartbeat. “While blood pressure readings remained elevated at the end of this Phase II trial in some participants treated with lorundrostat, we find these results promising because almost all participants involved in the study were not able to sufficiently lower their blood pressure with medication before,” principal investigator Dr. Michael Wilkinson, an associate professor with the University of California-San Diego School of Medicine, said in a news release. Lorundrostat works by inhibiting the synthesis of the hormone aldosterone, which has been recognized as a driver of persistent high blood pressure, researchers said in background notes. “We were specifically studying a new approach to addressing imbalanced aldosterone, which is an often underrecognized cause for treatment-resistant hypertension,” said Wilkinson. For the clinical trial, researchers recruited 285 patients who had high blood pressure despite taking two to five blood pressure medications. High blood pressure or hypertension is defined as a systolic pressure of 130 or higher, or a diastolic pressure (the lower number) of 80 or…  read on >  read on >

New Drug Could Quell Uncontrolled High Blood Pressure

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An experimental drug might help people with uncontrolled high blood pressure, according to early clinical trial results. People taking lorundrostat experienced twice the decline in their systolic blood pressure than people taking a placebo, researchers reported recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. Systolic, the top number of a blood pressure reading, refers to the pressure within blood vessels during a heartbeat. “While blood pressure readings remained elevated at the end of this Phase II trial in some participants treated with lorundrostat, we find these results promising because almost all participants involved in the study were not able to sufficiently lower their blood pressure with medication before,” principal investigator Dr. Michael Wilkinson, an associate professor with the University of California-San Diego School of Medicine, said in a news release. Lorundrostat works by inhibiting the synthesis of the hormone aldosterone, which has been recognized as a driver of persistent high blood pressure, researchers said in background notes. “We were specifically studying a new approach to addressing imbalanced aldosterone, which is an often underrecognized cause for treatment-resistant hypertension,” said Wilkinson. For the clinical trial, researchers recruited 285 patients who had high blood pressure despite taking two to five blood pressure medications. High blood pressure or hypertension is defined as a systolic pressure of 130 or higher, or a diastolic pressure (the lower number) of 80 or…  read on >  read on >

Wildfire Smoke Flooded ERs With Asthma Cases

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Asthma attacks caused emergency room surges during the 2023 Canadian wildfires, with smoke-filled air sending hundreds to the hospital daily, a new study says. Daily asthma-related visits to Ontario hospitals increased nearly 24% during an early-June 2023 wildfire that blanketed the area with smoke, researchers reported today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. “The unprecedented wildfires of 2023 are a wake-up call that wildfires — a persistent feature of Canada’s landscape — are becoming more intense and prolonged in a changing climate, affecting millions of people,” concluded the research team led by Hong Chen, an assistant professor with the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health. However, a second wave of wildfire smoke that descended on Ontario later that same month did not result in an increase in asthma-related ER visits, researchers found. It’s likely that asthma patients caught unprepared for the first smoke event had taken precautions to help them get through future episodes, researchers speculated. “Ontario’s population was unaccustomed to heavy wildfire smoke episodes and was therefore unlikely to have adopted anticipatory measures or behaviors” prior to the first episode, researchers wrote. The second time around, they likely had access to asthma medications and had taken steps to avoid the smoky air, such as staying indoors and using air filters, researchers said. For the study, researchers analyzed data on ER visits…  read on >  read on >