Health & Fitness

People who were hospitalized with COVID-19 are at risk of a diabetes diagnosis.Credit: Bruna Prado/AP/Shutterstock People who get COVID-19 have a greater risk of developing diabetes up to a year later, even after a mild SARS-CoV-2 infection, compared with those who never had the disease, a massive study1 of almost 200,000 people shows. The research, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology earlier this month, is one of a growing number of studies2 showing that COVID-19 can increase a person’s risk of diabetes, months after infection. “When this whole pandemic recedes, we’re going to be left with the legacy of this pandemic — a legacy of chronic disease” for which health-care systems are unprepared, says study co-author Ziyad Al-Aly, chi...

When doctors and scientists scoured for a cure to COVID-19 during the early days of the pandemic, initial studies suggested a number of potential cures that turned out to be bogus. But few dubious solutions have had the staying power of ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug used to treat large farmyard animals. Ivermectin has been promoted as an “alternative” COVID cure by the likes of podcast host Joe Rogan—who has supported the horse deworming drug over COVID vaccines, even using it himself—and doctors have prescribed the treatment to COVID patients. In small doses, ivermectin can be prescribed to treat head lice or other parasites in humans, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved the drug as a COVID treatment. In the U.S., ivermectin prescriptions soared to 88,000 per ...

The drug has been touted by many despite showing no success. March 30, 2022, 11:19 PM • 4 min read Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this article The antiparasitic drug ivermectin did not reduce the risk of being hospitalized with COVID-19, according to a large study published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine. Ivermectin was popularized as an alternative COVID-19 treatment despite a lack of strong evidence it helps. The recent study is among the largest that has failed to show a benefit. In the study, researchers in Brazil compared more than 1,300 patients, some given ivermectin and others given a placebo, and found no difference between the groups. "In this randomized trial, the administration of ivermectin did not result in a lower incidence of medical ...

Replacing standard lighting with UV-LED lights could be a powerful tool in stopping the spread of COVID-19, say U of T Scarborough researchers. The same lightbulbs used in offices and public spaces can destroy coronaviruses and HIV, according to a new study from U of T Scarborough. Researchers killed both viruses using UV-LED lights, which can alternate between white light and decontaminating ultraviolet (UV) light. With a cheap retrofit, they could also be used in many standard lighting fixtures, giving them a “unique appeal” for public spaces, says Christina Guzzo, senior author of the study. “We’re at a critical time where we need to use every single possible stop to get us out of this pandemic,” says Guzzo, an assistant professor in the department of biological sciences. “Ev...

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Unified Government Public Health Department said there are a handful of active Tuberculosis (TB) cases in the county. The health department said that while there are fewer than 10 patients with the disease, some of the strains are resistant to multiple antibiotics that are normally used to treat the illness. State and county health leaders are working to make sure that the patients are getting treatment and that disease doesn’t spread to even more people. They are also investigating where the small outbreak started and spread. Experts said there is minimal risk to the general public at this time. Kauffman Center ending all COVID-19 restrictions beginning Monday The health ...

Enlarge / A vial of COMIRNATY (Pfizer/BioNTech) and a vial of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. Covid-19 Coverage View more stories The mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna have proven highly effective at priming our immune systems to fight the pandemic coronavirus—preventing substantial amounts of infection, severe disease, and death throughout several waves of variants. But, despite their similar design and efficacy, the two vaccines are not exactly the same—and our immune systems don't respond to them in the same way. An early hint of this was some real-world data that found startling differences in the effectiveness of the two vaccines, despite both shots performing nearly identically in Phase III clinical trials—95 per...

A man watched his penis turn black and rot after he injected it with cocaine. The horrifying tale was reported by doctors in New York. They said the 35-year-old unnamed man turned up at the emergency room at BronxCare Hospital Center in agony. He had spent the past three days in “excruciating” and worsening pain in the penis, scrotum, groin area and right foot. The pain started almost immediately after he injected the class A drug cocaine into the dorsal vein of the penis, which runs the full length of the shaft. It wasn’t the first time he had chosen the mind-boggling method of delivering his high. The man admitted to having injected cocaine into the dorsal vein at least twice in the past fortnight, although without any obvious problems. He s...

Close to 1 million San Diegans qualify now for the COVID-19 vaccine booster, yet have still not received their dose, the County Health and Human Services Agency announced today. Of the 2,182,257 San Diegans eligible, 969,219 remain unboosted, prompting County health officials to remind them that having all the recommended vaccines can prevent getting and spreading COVID-19. “The COVID-19 vaccines are the best defense we have to further slow the spread of the pandemic,” said Wilma J. Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer. “Although cases are comparatively low from the January peak, the pandemic is not over. Every San Diegan should get all recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses so that we’re better protected against the virus and its likely variants.” Fourth Doses Availa...

Women who use antibiotics for at least two months during their 50s suffer an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's, study finds Using antibiotics at the age of 50 or older could increase a woman's risk of developing Alzheimer's, a new study finds Women who took the drugs had a brain that was on average three to four years older than their peers There was also a noticeable degradation effect, as women who had taken the drugs further back scored worse of cognitive tests Experts believe this is due to how the gut microbiome, and the bacteria in it, is affected by the drugs  If you or someone you know suffered cognitive decline, Alzheimer's or a similar condition after taking antibiotics contact us at Mansur.Shaheen@mailonline.com By Mansur Shaheen U.S. Deputy Health Editor...

The anti-parasitic drug ivermectin, which has surged in popularity as an alternative treatment for Covid-19 despite a lack of strong research to back it up, showed no sign of alleviating the disease, according to results of a large clinical trial published on Wednesday. The study, which compared more than 1,300 people infected with the coronavirus in Brazil who received either ivermectin or a placebo, effectively ruled out the drug as a treatment for Covid, the study’s authors said. “There’s really no sign of any benefit,” said Dr. David Boulware, an infectious-disease expert at the University of Minnesota. The researchers shared a summary of these results in August during an online presentation hosted by the National Institutes of Health, but the full data set had not been published unt...