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NEWS:
What You Need To Know About The Delta Variant
For more than 40 years, UCI infectious disease researcher Michael Buchmeier has studied coronaviruses, and he’s one of the leading experts on SARS-CoV-2, the version of the virus causing the COVID-19 pandemic. As a more lethal mutation of the virus, called the delta variant, sparks another wave of cases, he offers his expertise about this threat.
How does the delta variant differ from the original form of the COVID-19 coronavirus?
The form of the original coronavirus is really not clear. If, as we think, SARS-CoV-2 appeared in humans after jumping from an animal host, such as a bat, then the sequence may have already contained mutations in its genome that allowed that species jump. Many of the so-called emerging diseases represent jumps from a zoonotic animal host to humans.
The power of this genetic flexibility is characteristic of RNA viruses. This flexibility results in the produ
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Full-Dose Blood Thinners Reduce The Need For Organ Support In Moderately Ill Covid-19 Patients, But Not In Critically Ill Patients
A large clinical trial conducted worldwide shows that treating moderately ill hospitalized COVID-19 patients with a full-dose blood thinner reduced their need for organ support, such as mechanical ventilation, and improved their chances of leaving the hospital. However, the use of this treatment strategy for critically ill COVID-19 patients requiring intensive care did not result in the same outcomes. The formal conclusions from the trial, which was supported in part by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, appear online in The New England Journal of Medicine.
“These results make for a compelling example of how important it is to stratify patients with different disease severity in clinical trials. What might help one subgroup of patients might be of no benefit, or even harmful, in another,” said NHLBI Director Gary H. Gibbons,
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International Experts Outline Diabetes Remission Diagnosis Criteria
People with type 2 diabetes should be considered in remission after sustaining normal blood sugar levels for three months or more, according to a new consensus statement from the Endocrine Society, the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, Diabetes UK and the American Diabetes Association published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
About 10% of the U.S. population has diabetes, and these numbers continue to rise. People with type 2 diabetes can achieve “remission” by sustaining normal blood sugar levels for at least three months without taking diabetes medication. There is still a lot of uncertainty around how long remission will last and what factors are associated with a relapse. A person may require ongoing support to prevent a relapse or a hyperglycemic episode, and the long-term effects of remission on mortality, heart health and q
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Patient Safety Movement Foundation Calls For Action In Advance Of Second Annual #Uniteforsafecare Event
The second annual #UniteForSafeCare event is scheduled for Friday, September 17th in conjunction with World Patient Safety Day. The event is hosted by the Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF) and co-convened with The Leapfrog Group to bring global awareness to the lack of safety in healthcare and the fact that more than three million people die each year as the result of unsafe care. The event will explore how the public and other stakeholders can call for high reliability in healthcare, as well as the World Health Organization’s 2021 theme of “safe maternal and newborn care.”
As part of this year's event, leadership from the Patient Safety Movement Foundation will coordinate demonstrations on both the east and west coasts in honor of World Patient Safety Day. Patient Safety Movement Foundation CEO Dr. David B. Mayer will continue his walk which began in February 2020 to raise awar
