The Balancing Act

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Latest Medical News from Doctor TV

COVID-19 vaccine trials cannot tell us if they will save lives

Vaccines are being hailed as the solution to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the vaccine trials currently underway are not designed to tell us if they will save lives, reports Peter Doshi, Associate Editor at The BMJ today. [...]

Tocilizumab doesn't ease symptoms or prevent death in moderately ill COVID-19 inpatients

The drug tocilizumab (Actemra) does not reduce the need for breathing assistance with mechanical ventilation or prevent death in moderately ill hospitalized patients with COVID-19, according to a new study led by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), casts doubt on earlier research suggesting that tocilizumab, which is commonly prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other conditions, might be an effective treatment for patients with worsening cases of COVID-19. [...]

CDC redefines COVID-19 close contact, adds brief encounters

U.S. health officials Wednesday redefined what counts as close contact with someone with COVID-19 to include briefer but repeated encounters. [...]

Gut bacteria linked to weight gain following chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer

Approximately 30% of breast cancer patients who receive chemotherapy treatment gain weight, though it is unclear why this phenomenon occurs in some women but not in others. Beyond weight gain, chemotherapy is also known to increase the risk of high blood pressure and glucose intolerance, a prediabetes condition. Although this is a familiar phenomenon, the mechanisms underlying these processes have not yet been identified. A new study, just published in the journal BMC Medicine, suggests that gut bacteria are partially responsible for metabolic changes that lead to weight gain following chemotherapy treatment. [...]

Novel bioresorbable, tissue-healing surgical device approved by FDA

A new surgical tendon fixation system that not only re-attaches damaged tissues but also facilitates healing as it is absorbed by the body has been granted 510(k) clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, indicating that the device is "as safe and effective" as other legally marketed devices and is ready to go to market. Named CITRELOCK, the initial device of Acuitive Technologies' CITREGEN material is composed of a citrate-based synthetic biomaterial co-invented by Penn State's Jian Yang and Northwestern University's Guillermo Ameer. [...]

Diagnostic, therapeutic advance for rare neurodegenerative disorder

Mayo Clinic researchers, along with national and global collaborators, have developed a potential test for Machado-Joseph disease, or spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3)—a disease that has no cure. They also have clarified the role of a gene target associated with the disease. [...]

Dual brain imaging provides insight into neural basis of patient-clinician relationship

The potential impact of the patient-clinician relationship on a patient's response to treatment is widely accepted. But until now, little was known about which parts of the brain may play a role in that interaction and which specific behaviors can influence clinical response, which is critically important to optimizing patient-clinician interactions for clinical benefit. [...]

Highly effective tumor detection strategy for common childhood brain tumors

A team of scientists at Texas A&M University, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital have developed a way to more accurately both detect and monitor a common type of pediatric brain cancer, setting the stage for giving clinicians a real-time view into how the cancer responds to treatment. [...]

Volunteer in Oxford COVID vaccine test dies in Brazil: officials

A volunteer participating in clinical trials of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University has died in Brazil, officials said Wednesday, though it was unclear whether he received the vaccine or a placebo. [...]

Could reducing painful procedures help premature infants' brains?

Premature infants born earlier than 28 weeks gestation who experience fewer needle pokes while receiving life-saving care in the neonatal intensive care unit may have better growth of a part of the brain called the thalamus. The new study is published in the October 21, 2020, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The thalamus is a structure at the center of the brain. One of its functions is to relay sensory information from the body to the rest of the brain, where it is then interpreted as sensations like pain, touch or temperature. [...]