Patients with dementia may benefit from being referred to specialist palliative care—a branch of medicine that focuses on optimizing quality of life and providing relief from symptoms—but who should be referred, and when? A recent analysis of published studies on the topic found a lack of consensus regarding referral criteria for palliative care in patients […]
Abnormal sodium levels in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 predict death or respiratory failure
Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and abnormal sodium levels in the blood have an increased risk of experiencing respiratory failure or dying, according to a study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. “This study shows for the first time that patients presenting at the hospital with COVID-19 and low sodium are […]
CAR T-cell therapy generates lasting remissions in patients with multiple myeloma
In a major advance in the treatment of multiple myeloma, a CAR T-cell therapy has generated deep, sustained remissions in patients who had relapsed from several previous therapies, an international clinical trial has found. In a study posted online today by the New England Journal of Medicine, trial leaders report that almost 75% of the […]
Vitamins and steroid combination in sepsis patients do not improve recovery, organ failure or death in clinical trial
A Phase III clinical trial at Emory University and 42 other U.S. sites has determined that a vitamin and steroid combination given to critically ill patients with sepsis did not improve recovery, organ failure or death, when compared to a placebo. The findings of the clinical trial, which ended early, were published today in the […]
Scientists repair injured spinal cord using patients’ own stem cells
Intravenous injection of bone marrow derived stem cells (MSCs) in patients with spinal cord injuries led to significant improvement in motor functions, researchers from Yale University and Japan report Feb. 18 in the Journal of Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery. For more than half of the patients, substantial improvements in key functions—such as ability to walk, […]
COVID patients treated with hepatitis drug cleared infection quickly
Coronavirus patients treated with a experimental hepatitis drug were FOUR times more likely to have cleared the infection within seven days, study finds Peginterferon-lambda is a man-made form of a naturally occurring protein that calls for immune cells to attack a virus and is mainly used to treat hepatitis Receptors for the drug are found […]
COVID vaccine advised for Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers
All Alzheimer’s disease patients and their family caregivers should be vaccinated against COVID-19, the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America says. “Getting vaccinated is one of the most important steps families affected by Alzheimer’s disease can take to protect themselves and their loved ones,” said Dr. J. Wesson Ashford, chair of the foundation’s medical, scientific and memory […]
U.S. Food and Drug Administration Approves Opdivo (nivolumab) in Combination with Cabometyx (cabozantinib) as First-line Treatment for Patients with Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma
PRINCETON, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE) January 22, 2021– Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) today announced that Opdivo (nivolumab) 240 mg (injection for intravenous use) every two weeks or 480 mg every four weeks in combination with Cabometyx (cabozantinib) 40 mg once daily tablets was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the first-line treatment […]
Hospitals, Nursing Homes Fail to Separate COVID Patients, Putting Others at Risk
Nurses at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center were on edge as early as March when patients with COVID-19 began to show up in areas of the hospital that were not set aside to care for them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had advised hospitals to isolate COVID patients to limit staff exposure and […]
Big data can help doctors predict which COVID patients will become seriously ill
The pandemic continues to pose huge challenges to health services worldwide. Hospitals are in crisis as the pace of new COVID-19 cases outstrips their capacity. What makes things particularly difficult is that the coronavirus doesn’t affect everyone in the same way. Being able to better predict which patients will get seriously ill would allow hospitals […]