Health & Fitness

A U.K. patient with a severely weakened immune system had COVID-19 for almost a year and a half, scientists reported, underscoring the importance of protecting vulnerable people from the coronavirus. There’s no way to know for sure whether it was the longest-lasting COVID-19 infection because not everyone gets tested, especially on a regular basis like this case. But at 505 days, “it certainly seems to be the longest reported infection,” said Dr. Luke Blagdon Snell, an infectious disease expert at the Guy’s & St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Snell’s team plans to present several “persistent” COVID-19 cases at an infectious diseases meeting in Portugal this weekend. Their study investigated which mutations arise — and whether variants evolve — in people with super long infections. It...

What Are the Symptoms of BA.2? | Health.com Skip to content Top Navigation Close this dialog window Explore Health.com Close this dialog window Share & More Close this dialog window View image What Are the Symptoms of BA.2? Common Signs of the Omicron Subvariant this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.

Photo: rangizzz (Shutterstock) Intermittent fasting was once hailed as a powerful strategy for weight loss, but the latest science shows it’s not exactly a miracle solution after all. First: Intermittent fasting is the process of scheduling all of your eating for the day within a narrow time window, typically 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Other types of intermittent fasting include the “5:2” method, in which a person eats normally for five days a week and fasts on the other two. The idea is that by restricting eating to designated times, it will decrease one’s caloric intake, which will ultimately lead to weight loss. It’s understandable why so many would believe intermittent fasting could be the key to weight loss. After all, a 2017 statement from the American Heart Association vouched for the pr...

CNN  —  An investigation continues into cases of acute hepatitis with unknown causes among children who had adenovirus infections. In a health advisory Thursday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention alerted health care providers and public health authorities to the investigation and recommended that providers consider adenovirus testing in children with hepatitis when the cause is unknown, adding that testing the blood in whole – not just blood plasma – may be more sensitive. The advisory notes that “a possible association between pediatric hepatitis and adenovirus infection is currently under investigation.” Last week, public health officials ...

NEWS 8’S SUSAN SHAPIRO IS LIVE FROM ONE OF THE AFFECTED FARMS, BRUBAKER FARMS IN MOUNT JOY. REPORTER: QUITE A LOT OF ACTIVITY HEER, WHERE WE HAVE CONFIRMED AVIAN FLU HAS BEEN DETECTED. THE USDA HAS BEEN ON SITE ALONG WITH THE COMPANY CALLED LEWIS ENVIRONMENTAL. THE FEDERAL AGENCY REPORTED YESTERDAY THAT AVIAN FLU WAS FOUND AT TWO COMMERICAL LAYER FLOCKS IN LANCASTER COUNTY. AFFECTING A TOTAL OF ABOUT TWO MILLION CHICKENS. THIS STRAIN OF AVIAN FLU IS HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS AND IS ALMTOS 100% FATAL. BUT IT DOES NOT AFFECT HUMANS. THIS IS THE SECOND OUTBREAK IN LANCASR TECOUNTY OF AVIAN FLU. AVIAN FLU WAS DETECTED LAST WEEKEND AT NEARBY KREIDER FARMS AND ALMOST ONE AND A HALF MI LLION BIRDS WERE EUTHANIZED. THIS FARM IS IN THE SIX MILE RADIUS OF KREIDER FARMS. THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF A...

By Maggie Brown, WRAL multiplatform producer Durham, N.C. — While the latest COVID-19 subvariant of omicron, BA.2, is not as severe as previous variants, health experts are still concerned the virus could mutate and evade vaccines. David Montefiori, a viral expert at Duke University, said Thursday that vaccines are holding up well against the latest variants of COVID-19. But that could change as the virus continues to mutate, especially among people who have not received a booster shot. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, half of all eligible Americans have not yet received a booster shot. Research shows that people who were vaccinated several months ago, or have not yet received a booste...

CNN  —  In a blow to believers in time-restricted eating – a form of intermittent fasting where people only eat during a restricted window during the day – researchers in China have found the method has no significant benefits compared with simple calorie restriction in battling obesity. “Our data suggest that caloric intake restriction explained most of the beneficial effects of a time-restricted eating regimen,” according to researchers at Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China. “Bottom line, the determinant of weight loss, as well as reductions in body fat, visceral fat, blood pressure, and glucose and lipid levels, is dependent on reducing calorie intake, rega...

Analysis of thousands of tumours from NHS patients has identified a 'treasure trove' of new clues about the causes of cancer. In the biggest study of its kind, researchers at Cambridge University Hospitals looked at the genomes of more than 12,000 people with cancer in England. They spotted 58 new patterns in their DNA, called mutational signatures, suggesting there are causes that scientists are not yet aware of. The researchers hope the discovery will allow future studies to work out the root of these cancer-causing mutations. Scientists were aware of just 51 mutational signatures before the new find, including changes caused by smoking or UV light. Identifying these signatures also allow doctors to look at each patient's tumour and match it to specific treatments and medications. Howev...

Dr. Michael Daignault For years now, we’ve continued to debate whether salt is actually “bad” for our health. And in discussing healthy diet and lifestyle choices with both my ER patients and friends alike, the common thread is the failure to distinguish between salt and sodium. They are often incorrectly used interchangeably. Sodium is a mineral and metallic element symbolized by “Na” on the Periodic Table. It is an essential nutrient and ion necessary to maintain our body’s fluid balance, contract and relax muscles, and conduct nerve impulses. But we need only a minimal amount of daily sodium to accomplish these goals. Salt is a chemical compound of only 40% sodium and predominantly 60% chloride, or “NaCl.” Know your risk:Are you at risk for a heart attack during your workout? Salt has ...

The engineered rodents would look exactly like the native white-footed mice. But each of their cells would carry genetic code, specially tailored in an MIT lab, for resistance to the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. White-footed mice are a key reservoir for the harmful bacteria. Joanna Buchthal, a graduate student at MIT Media Lab and research director of the Mice Against Ticks project, looked for ticks recently on Nantucket. Jimmy Day/MIT Media Lab Because mice breed so quickly and prolifically, the scientists are betting the genes of the new rodents would predominate soon after their release. The immunized mice, they hope, would curb the spread of Lyme, which has increased dramatically here in recent years and is now the most common infectious disease on the island. If fewer mice carr...