The vitamin pills do not prevent bone fractures in most people or protect against many other diseases, adding to questions about medical guidance many now take for granted.
Tag Archives: New England Journal of Medicine
After New Abortion Laws, Some Patients Have Trouble Obtaining Miscarriage Treatment
Surgical procedures and medication for miscarriages are identical to those for abortion, and some patients report delayed or denied miscarriage care because doctors and pharmacists fear running afoul of abortion bans.
A Cancer Trial’s Unexpected Result: Remission in Every Patient
The study was small, and experts say it needs to be replicated. But for 18 people with colorectal cancer, the outcome led to “happy tears.”
Reprogrammed Cells Attack and Tame Deadly Cancer in One Woman
Another patient who had the same treatment did not survive. But the demonstration of the technique could help with other cancers.
Doctors fish out more than a dozen tiny maggots from man’s eye
Enlarge / Illustration of a Oestrus ovis, sheep botfly (credit: Getty | Nastasic)
On Wednesday, doctors in France reported a rare case of tiny sheep bot fly larvae—aka maggots—infesting the outer surface of a man’s eyeball.
The small, spiky larvae were seen slithering around the man’s peeper, explaining the redness and itchiness he was experiencing. Doctors counted more than a dozen of the disturbing grub-like critters outside the eyeball and surrounding tissue. To clear out the bloodsuckers, doctors had no choice but to pluck them out, one by one, using forceps. The doctors also prescribed topical antibiotic treatments in case they missed any bugs.
Sheep bot flies, or Oestrus ovis, are found worldwide in areas with sheep. They typically deliver their squirmy offspring to the nostrils of sheep and goats. The larvae mature in their nasal nurseries, then fall to the ground and pupate in the environment before transforming into parasitic pests. But, on rare occasions, adult female flies become bleary-eyed and lay festering broods in a human eyeball, causing a disease called ophthalmomyiasis. This is typically a dead end for the flies; the larvae generally don’t make it to adulthood in the human eye. But if you think the unfortunate infestation is nothing to wince at, you’d be incorrect.
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Omicron Blunted Vaccine Protection Among Adolescents
The vaccines shielded adolescents only against life-threatening Covid, not less severe illness, scientists reported. Still, hospitalizations remained rare in children, compared with adults.
FDA Panel Rejects Lilly’s Cancer Drug Tested Only in China
The panel debated whether overseas trials could be applied to a more diverse U.S. population. The decision may affect other Chinese drug trials, and spotlights the high cost of immunotherapy.
A New Vaccine Strategy for Children: Just One Dose, for Now
Myocarditis, a rare side effect, occurs mostly after the second dose. So in some countries, officials are trying out single doses for children.
What’s A ‘Race-Free’ Approach to Diagnosing Kidney Disease?
The most common method of assessing the condition may make Black patients seem less ill than they really are, some experts say. A new report calls for scrapping the formula.
Study of Covid Booster Shot Benefits Fans Debate Over Extra Doses
Independent experts, including government scientists, were skeptical of the research from Israel, which included limited data over a short period.
Medical Journals Call Climate Change the ‘Greatest Threat to Global Public Health’
An editorial published by more than 200 journals worldwide warned of ‘catastrophic harm to health that will be impossible to reverse.’
Heart Problem More Common After Covid-19 Than After Vaccination, Study Finds
The research did not assess the risks specifically for young males, who are the most likely to develop the rare side effect.
Tapping Into the Brain to Help a Paralyzed Man Speak
In a once unimagined accomplishment, electrodes implanted in the man’s brain transmit signals to a computer that displays his words.
New Therapy for Aggressive Prostate Cancer Improves Survival
The experimental treatment relies on radioactive molecules that seek out tumor cells, a strategy that may be useful against other cancers.
Medical Journals Reluctant to Take on Racism, Critics Say
An editor’s departure at JAMA is bringing calls for a sharper focus on racism and its consequences.
Are the Tokyo Olympics Safe? Health Experts Urge a Rethinking
Public health specialists suggest the Games’ safety plans put athletes and others at risk, and the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, an Olympic partner, calls for cancellation.
Pfizer Vaccine Is Highly Effective Against Variants, Studies Find
Two studies showed the vaccine to be more than 95 percent effective at protecting against severe disease or death from the variants first identified in South Africa and the U.K.
Can the Covid Vaccine Protect Me Against Virus Variants?
Vaccines do a good job of protecting us from coronavirus, but fear and confusion about the rise of variants have muddled the message. Here are answers to common questions.
Blood Clots Linked to AZ Vaccine Stem From Rare Antibody Reaction
New studies from Germany and Norway examined cases involving mostly younger people who developed serious and sometimes fatal blood disorders.
A ‘Game Changer’ for Patients With Esophageal Cancer
A drug that unleashes the immune system offers a rare glimmer of hope for those with a cancer that resists most treatments.
Delayed Skin Reactions Appear After Vaccine Shots
Doctors are reporting additional, minor symptoms that appear several days after people have received their shots.
Semaglutide Brings Significant Weight Loss in Obese Patients
In a clinical trial, participants taking semaglutide lost 15 percent of their body weight, on average.
Pulse Oximeters and Coronavirus: Devices Have Higher Error Rate in Black Patients
A study showed that the devices, which measure oxygen levels in the blood, were three times more likely to give misleading readings in people with dark skin.
Hearing Aids Could Use Some Help
The vital medical devices could be inexpensive and available over the counter. But efforts have stalled under the F.D.A.
Covid Patient Study Shows Some Benefit From an Arthritis Drug
Baricitinib had previously attracted some scrutiny from experts, who were unsure when it would most help their patients.
Many Trial Volunteers Got Placebo Vaccines. Do They Now Deserve the Real Ones?
Some vaccine experts worry that “unblinding” the trials and giving all of the volunteers vaccines would tarnish the long-term results.
Navy Research Confirms Need for Strict Coronavirus Testing Protocols
Two new studies clarify how Covid-19 spreads among young adults and expose the limits of quarantine measures.
An Explanation for Some Covid-19 Deaths May Not Be Holding Up
Recent studies have created doubts about an agent in cytokine storms, and suggest that treatments for it may not help.
Covid-19 and Beyond: How Trump Has Hurt America’s Health
Downplaying the dangers of the pandemic and politicizing public health measures was grossly negligent and cost untold lives.
In a First, New England Journal of Medicine Joins Never-Trumpers
Editors at the world’s leading medical journal said the Trump administration “took a crisis and turned it into a tragedy.”
A Man Died After Eating a Bag of Black Licorice Every Day
Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital said the unusual case highlighted the risk of consuming too much glycyrrhizic acid, which is found in black licorice.
New Treatment for Lou Gehrig’s Disease Shows Promise
A study of their therapy and clinical trials of other experimental treatments are offering glimmers of hope that paralysis from the disorder can be slowed.
Moderna Coronavirus Vaccine Test in Monkeys Shows Promise
This coronavirus vaccine developed by government researchers and Moderna enabled the animals to quickly clear the infection from their lungs.
Gut Microbes Might Keep Malnourished Children From Growing
Bacteria in the small intestine may drive inflammation that makes it harder for children to get the calories and nutrients they need.
First Coronavirus Vaccine Tested in Humans Shows Early Promise
The vaccine, developed by government scientists and Moderna, a biotech company, appeared safe and provoked an immune response in 45 people in a study.
Many Medical Decision Tools Disadvantage Black Patients
Doctors look to these digital calculators to make treatment decisions, but they can end up denying black patients access to certain specialists, drugs and transplants.
The Pandemic Claims New Victims: Prestigious Medical Journals
Two major study retractions in one month have left researchers wondering if the peer review process is broken.
Two Huge Covid-19 Studies Are Retracted After Scientists Sound Alarms
The reports, published in two leading journals, were retracted after authors could not verify an enormous database of medical records.
First-Time Gun Owners at Risk for Suicide, Major Study Confirms
Men were eight times as likely to kill themselves by gunshot than non-owners. Women were 35 times as likely.
Scientists Question Medical Data Used in Second Coronavirus Study
Medical records from a little-known company were used in two studies published in major journals. The New England Journal of Medicine has asked to see the data.
Scientists Question Major Hydroxychloroquine Study
Experts demanded verification of data and methods used in a study of drugs to treat Covid-19. The study suggested the drugs might have increased deaths.
Scientists Question Validity of Major Hydroxychloroquine Study
Experts are demanding verification of data and methods used in a study of malaria drugs used to treat Covid-19. The study suggested the drugs may have increased deaths.
Remdesivir Coronavirus Trial: Federal Scientists Finally Publish Data
A clinical trial led to the authorization of the only drug shown to work in Covid-19 patients. But until now, few experts had seen the numbers.
Is the Pandemic Sparking Suicide?
Psychiatrists are confronted with an urgent natural experiment, and the outcome is far from predictable.
Coronavirus May Pose a New Risk to Younger Patients: Strokes
Doctors have reported a flurry of cases in Covid-19 patients — including a healthy 27-year-old emergency medical technician in Queens. After a month in the hospital, he is learning to walk again.
Cats Can Transmit the Coronavirus to Each Other, but They Probably Won’t Get Sick From It
The six cats in a laboratory experiment cleared the virus from their bodies on their own. And there are no reports of humans contracting the virus from cats.
Blood Pressure Drugs Don’t Increase Coronavirus Risk, Studies Find
People taking widely used medicines did not face higher rates of infection or more severe illness, new research indicates.
‘It’s Really a Gift’: Israeli Hospitals Let Relatives Say Goodbye Up Close
A hospital spokesman asked why family members were barred from coronavirus wards when journalists could visit in protective gear. His bosses had no good answer.
How Does the Coronavirus Compare With the Flu?
As new cases appear on the West Coast, some — including the president — are comparing it to the seasonal flu. Here’s a close look at the differences.