Month: April 2022

High blood pressure could be treated by a single injection twice a year, ending the need for daily pills for millions of Britons. Scientists from Queen Mary University of London and Barts Health NHS Trust are to begin trialling Zilebesiran, a drug that prevents the production of a protein that constricts the blood vessels. Around one in three adults in Britain suffers from high blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, aneurysm and dementia. Many people take daily pills such as ACE inhibitors, with around 15 million prescriptions for the drugs issued by the NHS each year. Researchers are hoping to recruit around 630 patients worldwide for a three-year trial, with 100 of those patients hailing from across the UK, and have already enrolled t...

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NEW YORK (AP) — Three out of every four U.S. children have been infected with the coronavirus and more than half of all Americans had signs of previous infections, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers estimated in a report Tuesday. The researchers examined blood samples from more than 200,000 Americans and looked for virus-fighting antibodies made from infections, not vaccines. They found that signs of past infection rose dramatically between December and February, when the more contagious omicron variant surged through the U.S. For Americans of all ages, about 34% had signs of prior infection in December. Just two months later, 58% did. “I did expect it to increase. I did not expect it to increase quite this much,” said Dr. Kristie Clarke, co-leader of a CDC team that t...

A 4-year-old boy in central China has been infected with H3N8 bird flu, making it the first time that the virus has been confirmed in humans. Scientists believe that a previous strain of the virus – which is also found in horses and dogs – was responsible for the 1889 pandemic. The boy, from Zhumadian City in Henan Province, developed fever and other symptoms on April 5 and was hospitalized on April 10 when his condition worsened, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement. “On the 24th, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a test on the patient specimen sent from Henan Province and the result was positive for the H3N8 avian influenza virus,” NHC said in the statement. The child had been in contact with chickens...