Scientists discover high levels of protein in the blood could predict which coronavirus patients will need to be put on ventilators The protein, known as suPAR, is a marker of disease severity and aggressiveness as well as activating of the immune system Patients without the virus typically had suPAR levels of five ng/mL or less, … Read more
Scientists are in a race against time to test both existing drugs and experimental therapies in the hope one of them can slow down the spread of the coronavirus. Among those are medications used to treat cancer, high blood pressure, gout, heartburn and depression. Researchers believe the pills may help with a variety of conditions … Read more
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued emergency use approval to Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG for an antibody test to help determine if people have ever been infected with the coronavirus. Roche, which also makes molecular tests to identify active COVID-19 infections, said its antibody test has a specificity rate of 99.8 … Read more
Common blood pressure pills DO NOT make coronavirus worse: Tablets taken by 6.6million Britons make ‘no difference’ to the severity of the illness, three major studies find ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers do not lead to worse illness Animal studies last month suggested the pills could warp shape of human cells US researchers say … Read more
Convalescent plasma has been used to treat infections for at least a century, dating back to the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. It was also trialed during the 2009-2010 H1N1 influenza virus pandemic, 2003 SARS epidemic, and the 2012 MERS epidemic. Convalescent plasma was used as a last resort to improve the survival rate of patients … Read more
The only certainty is that the future of travel is uncertain. Some experts predict that things will not return to normal for two to three years, and that many companies will go out of business in the next six months. We hope this is not the case, but we’ll all have to get used to … Read more
Coronavirus may cause an increased risk of blood clots and blockages in the brain and could lead to a stroke, according to a new study by University College London. The small study focused on six patients with confirmed COVID-19 who had suffered a stroke caused by the sudden loss of blood circulation to the brain. … Read more
The coronavirus may cause deadly blood clots, further scientific research has today revealed. Irish doctors discovered the infection can cause ‘hundreds of small’ blockages in the lungs. These clots may then damage lung function, which the scientists say is ‘undoubtedly’ causing deaths. If respiratory failure occurs, it can cause low oxygen levels, putting strain on … Read more
Patients with blood and lung cancers are three times more at risk of dying of coronavirus than people with other tumors, study finds Researchers looked at coronavirus patients with multiple forms of cancer in comparison with coronavirus patients without tumors People with blood and lung cancers were at a three-times greater risk of dying from the … Read more
Noise pollution can give you CANCER: Loud noises from roads and airports ‘can lead to DNA damage, high blood pressure and could cause tumours’, study on mice claims Mice were exposed to loud aircraft noises and their health was assessed Constant exposure to loud noises raised blood pressure of the mice In mice already with … Read more