Howard G. Smith, MD, AM
PENTA Medical Network
617-488-9699
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HealthNews RoundUp - 2nd Week of April 2020
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Angiotensin Blood Pressure Drugs OK With CoVid19
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/lPZiZXc-JNA
Angiotensin receptor blockers and Ace inhibitor anti-hypertensive medications may actually help coronavirus victims fighting for their lives. Several weeks ago I reported studies that questioned the safety of such drugs since the virus appears to interact with the angiotensin system.
A pre-published Chinese study looked at 126 CoVid19 patients treated with angiotensin drugs versus other blood pressure medications. The new data reveals that those patients treated with angiotensin-type drugs demonstrate 42% less harmful inflammation, tend to suffer critical disease progression 41% less often, and have a 35% lower death rate.
As we learn more about this brand new coronavirus, treatment guidance changes. That’s medical science for you.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.31.20038935v1.full.pdf
#covid19 #covid19 #hypertension #angiotensin #arb #aceinhibitor
covid19, covid19, hypertension, angiotensin, arb, aceinhibitor
Good News: Chinese Show Hydroxychloroquine Fights CoVid19
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/Pi8bv4AhqMk
Hydroxychloroquine definitely helps eradicate severe novel coronavirus infections. This is the conclusion of a randomized Wuhan University study looking at 62 hospitalized CoVid19 patients that was just pre-published online.
Those in the experimental group received hydroxychloroquine 400 mg/day in additional to conventional medical and respiratory therapy. Those receiving the med were 47% more likely to clear their pneumonia and enjoy faster temperature normalization. The only 4 patients who deteriorated during the study did not receive hydroxychloroquine.
Preliminary studies like this give us hope that there are weapons we can use against this virus. The drug may help in desperate cases and further study may support more widespread use.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.22.20040758v2.full.pdf
#covid19 #coronavirus #hydroxychloroquine
covid19, coronavirus, hydroxychloroquine
More Good News:
French Show Hydroxychloroquine + Azithromycin Fights CoVid19 Better
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/wEDQ78_nlZU
Hydroxychloroquine with added azithromycin (Zithromax) eradicates CoVid19 virus in the blood of infected patients even better than hydroxychlorquine alone. A pre-published preliminary French study followed 36 CoVid19 patients hospitalized for treatment in Marseilles.
14 patients received hydroxychloroquine 600 mg/d alone and 6 of them also received treatment with a Z-pack. The data revealed a significant drop in nasal virus over a 5 day period. By that time, only 50% of hydroxychloroquine-treated patients had virus and none of those treated with both drugs had it.
This news is exciting but not established fact. These drugs each have side effects, some deadly, and must be careful monitored.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2020.105949
#covid19 #coronavirus #hydroxychloroquine #azithromycin #zithromax
covid19, coronavirus, hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, zithromax
Bad News: CoVid19 Drug Cocktail May Kill You
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/KEvEg0yTHgk
Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin or Zithromax, currently being tested as both prophylaxis and therapy for CoVid19 infections, work together to induce dangerous electrocardiographic changes. This the conclusion of NYU cardiac electrophysiologists studying 84 CoVid19 patients treated at their hospital.
After 3-4 days of therapy with this drug cocktail, 11% of CoVid19 patients developed a prolonged QT interval of greater than 500 milliseconds. This EKG change is associated with sudden cardiac death due to severe arrhythmias.
These drugs may turn out to be lifesaving but they are not for do-it-yourselfers. Their use requires careful and repeated cardiac monitoring. Using hydroxychloroquin and Zithromax yourself may prevent CoVid19 but only because you die first.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.02.20047050v1.full.pdf
#covid19 #coronavirus #hydroxychloroquine #zithromax #azithromycin #arrhythmia #qtinterval
covid19, coronavirus, hydroxychloroquine, zithromax, azithromycin, arrhythmia, qtinterval
FDA Approves First Rapid CoVid19 Antibody Test
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/LYEluacRGEI
Cellex of North Carolina has developed the first rapid test for CoVid19 antibodies circulating in the bloodstream. This test is 95% accurate, delivers a result in 15-20 minutes, and has won FDA emergency use authorization. The Mayo Clinic developed its own antibody test.
These antibody tests, unlike the CoVid19 RT-PCR virus RNA tests, determine if the virus has stimulated a patients immune system. It may not become positive as quickly as the viral test, but it could predict if a given person has become immune to CoVid19.
Such information will help us determine when we can safely relax lockdown and which newly-protected persons may return to work.
https://www.fda.gov/media/136622/download
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/928150
#covid19 #coronavirus #antibody #testing
covid19, coronavirus antibody, testing
Speaking Could Spread Coronavirus
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/pnIqIxyUzA8
Those infected with CoVid19 but asymptomatic could spew virus as they speak. Aerosol engineers at UCDavis raise this possibility as the result of their studies of respiratory particles generated by speech.
Their studies reveal that particles spring from lung fluids, waft up airways, and spew out the mouth as you speak. Louder speech generates more particles. Droplets spread farther as they dry.
The droplets generated would be stopped by N95 masks but many go right through simple cloth masks. There’s no proof yet that such droplets have virus, but chances are.....
The bottom line: stay up to 30 feet from non-family. A mask or bandana helps but won’t completely protect you.
Sima Asadi, Nicole Bouvier, Anthony S. Wexler, William D. Ristenpart. The coronavirus pandemic and aerosols: Does COVID-19 transmit via expiratory particles? Aerosol Science and Technology, 2020; 1 DOI: 10.1080/02786826.2020.1749229
Sima Asadi, Anthony S. Wexler, Christopher D. Cappa, Santiago Barreda, Nicole M. Bouvier, William D. Ristenpart. Aerosol emission and superemission during human speech increase with voice loudness. Scientific Reports, 2019; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-38808-z
Sima Asadi, Anthony S. Wexler, Christopher D. Cappa, Santiago Barreda, Nicole M. Bouvier, William D. Ristenpart. Effect of voicing and articulation manner on aerosol particle emission during human speech. PLOS ONE, 2020; 15 (1): e0227699 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227699X
#covid19 #coronavirus #speaking #shouting #aerosol
covid19, coronavirus, speaking, shouting, aerosol
Hot Brew Healthier Than Cold
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/Uj_TiSZN1v4
Cold brew coffee is the latest fad but it contains fewer of the antioxidants that help us prevent heart disease, stroke, cancer, respiratory ills, and neurologic deterioration. Researchers at Philadelphias Thomas Jefferson University studied hot and cold brews of light and dark coffee roasts.
Their studies show that hot brewing dark roasted coffee extracts the most antioxidants from coffee. Cold brewing dark roast or brewing light roasted coffee hot or cold fails to deliver these desirable compounds but yields more caffeine.
So you can enjoy coffee brewed hot or cold. If you drink coffee with your health in mind, go ahead and brew it in the old-fashioned way with boiling hot water.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200402134618.htm
#coffee #antioxidants #coldbrew #hotbrew
coffee, antioxidants, coldbrew, hotbrew
=========================
Face Masks Protect The Healthy From CoVid19
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/YuYpoIHu81c
Wearing masks reduces a healthcare worker’s risk of infection by 80% and the general public’s risk by 55%. This from a Chinese meta-analysis of 21 eligible studies.
A deeper dive into the numbers reveals that no health care worker wearing an N95 mask contracted the virus. At the other extreme, family of an infected loved one at home have a 60% chance of infection since mask wearing turns out to be inconsistent.
This study screams, “ Wear a mask outside your home and religiously if you have virus in your home!” Even so, you must physically distance to reduce your infection chances from 55% to a bare minimum.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.03.20051649v1.full.pdf
#covid19 #coronavirus #mask
covid19, coronavirus, mask
Masks Won’t Block Virus From CoVid19 Patients
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/1YsBXJhgE4w
Cotton and even surgical masks can’t filter live virus from a CoVid-laden cough. A small South Korean study had 4 CoVid patients cough into a petri dish wearing a 3 layer surgical mask, a 2 layer cotton mask, or no mask at all.
Ninety-five percent of the virus went through the surgical mask and 72% went through the cotton mask. The outer surfaces of both types of mask were flush with live virus.
Masks will not keep an infected person’s virus from the air you breathe and from settling on the surfaces you touch. Wear your own mask and stay far away from everyone not in your family.
#covid19 #coronavirus #mask
covid19, coronavirus, mask
Our Current Coronavirus May Become Seasonal
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/iQk7i516CCE
A medical crystal ball suggests that CoVid19, like common influenza, may return each winter to test our resolve. Dutch and Michigan epidemiologists analyzed data covering over 13,0000 persons infected by multiple coronaviruses over 3-8 years.
Four of the seven coronaviruses implicated in these infections tend to reappear seasonally between December and May with a peak in January to February. Most cases were mild with the severe infections occurring in those under 5 years or over 50.
CoVid19, though, appears to be more vicious than these previous coronaviruses. We’d better be prepared for a long, seasonally-recurrent fight and pray for effective testing, vaccines, and therapy.
https://jcm.asm.org/content/48/8/2940
https://academic.oup.com/jid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/infdis/jiaa161/5815743
#covid19 #coronavirus #seasonal #influenza
covid19, coronavirus, seasonal, influenza
Nasal Gel Gums Up Pollen
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/H1zXuFDjnOY
Allergy sufferers! Coating nasal linings with a gel could reduce your seasonal misery without using stronger drugs. German researchers report this finding after studying 18 adults with known allergies.
The subjects were randomized to receive either gel or no treatment during 4 hour sessions in a pollen chamber. Nasal gel significantly squelched allergic nasal congestion and postnasal drip.
The study used Nascum-Plus, an oil-based solution with bio-adhesive properties, that’s not available in the US. Saline nasal gels by NeilMed, Ayr, and NasalGuard ARE available online. The effects may be less dramatic and the spray will require re-application, but nasal saline gel could reduce your symptoms and medication needs.
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/506129
#allergy #pollen #allergicrhinitis #nasalgel
allergy, pollen, allergicrhinitis, nasalgel
Lenox Tea Kettles Recalled
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/YVv8KkB7Q6o
The Continuum Sales and Marketing Co. of Port Washington, NY has recalled its Lenox 2.5 QT Whistling Stainless Steel Tea Kettle. These kettles are defective and can expel hot water while heating posing a burn hazard to consumers. These tea kettles have been sold at Burlington, HomeGoods, Home Sense, Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, Tuesday Morning, and Winners stores nationwide from September 2013 through November 2017 for between $30 and $50. If you have this product, immediately stop using it and contact Continuum at 1-800-669-6385 for a full refund if you have a proof of purchase. If you don’t have that proof, you’ll be eligible for a $30 refund.
https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2020/Continuum-Recalls-Lenox-Tea-Kettles-Due-to-Burn-Hazard
#recall #continuum #lenoxteakettle #burn
recall, continuum, lenoxteakettle, burn
Recall On Sonoma Wall Fan Heaters
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/12ZhSOTERWE
Stelpro Design of Quebec, Canada is recalling is Sonoma Wall Fan Heaters. An internal part fails to meet flammability standards and the unit is a fire hazard. If you have this heater installed, stop using it and call Stelpro at 1-844-783-5776 to arrange for a replacement.
https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2020/Stelpro-Design-Recalls-Sonoma-Wall-Fan-Heaters-Due-to-Fire-Hazard
#recall #stelpro #fan #heater #firehazard
recall, stelpro, fan, heater, firehazard
Musical Lili Llama Toy Recalled
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/6B6hRwUK_sM
The Manhattan Toy Co. is recalling its Musical Lili Llama Toy. The screws that attach the spinning flowers to the sides of the toy may become loose, fall off, and pose a choking hazard for young children. These toys were sold nationwide and in Canada through Amazon, the company’s website, and at independent toy stores. Take the toy away from your children and contact Manhattan Toy Co. for a free repair kit. Reach Manhattan Toy at 1-800-541-1345.
https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2020/Manhattan-Toy-Recalls-Musical-Lili-Llama-Due-to-Choking-Hazard
#recall #llamatoy #manhattantoy #choking
recall, llamatoy, manhattantoy, choking