Howard G. Smith, MD, AM
PENTA Medical Network
617-488-9699
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HealthNews RoundUp - 4th Week of February 2022
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REPORTS
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Exercise Makes Your Fat Healthier
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/9JzvAmLtvfI
Lifelong exercise not only keeps your body fat from over-accumulating but it also fine tunes its metabolic activity helping to prevent diabetes, obesity, and cancer. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen make these claims after comparing the fat cells from 20 something male couch potatoes with those from 60 something men who either avoided exercise, exercised moderately, or exercised vigorously and consistently.
The studies confirmed that mitochondria, the metabolic engines in fat cells and, in fact, all cells suffer a natural decline in number and function with age. Those men who exercised the most over their lifetimes had fat cells with the most mitochondria and best-preserved mitochondrial activity. These vigorous mitochondria remove damaging oxygen free radicals that facilitate nasty and cancerous mutations. They also better participate in glucose metabolism preventing diabetes and obesity.
So lifelong exercise is a fountain of youth for your fat keeping it both attractive and functionally beneficial.
#exercise #fat #adiposetissue #mitochondria #cancer #diabetes #obesity
exercise, fat, adiposetissue, mitochondria, cancer, diabetes, obesity
Vaccination Prevents Long CoVid
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/RBjk196t8U8
Fully vaccinated and vaccinated and boosted persons are at least half as likely as unvaccinated persons to experience long CoVid symptoms should they develop a CoVid infection. On the other hand, those who received vaccination after their infections were only 12% less likely to report continuing CoVid symptoms. The UK Health Security Agency reviewed 15 studies from around the world that shed light on vaccination effectiveness in preventing or improving long CoVid symptoms. Eight studies looked at vaccination before CoVid infection and 7 looked at vaccination after infection.
Fully vaccinated adults of any age were 54 to 83% less likely experience 7 of the 10 most commonly reported long CoVid symptoms. Vaccination was best able to prevent long CoVid symptoms for those 60 years and older and least likely to prevent them for those 19 to 35 years of age. Those who got only one of the two vaccinating doses saw no protective effect.
CoVid vaccination after a documented CoVid infection and the appearance of long CoVid symptoms led to improvement in the long CoVid symptoms in 57%, no change in 25%, and a worsening of symptoms in 18%.
The bottom line: CoVid vaccination is most effective for preventing long CoVid if it occurs before any infection. Second best but still helpful is vaccination following infection. Be proactive.
https://ukhsa.koha-ptfs.co.uk/cgi-bin/koha/opac-retrieve-file.pl?id=fe4f10cd3cd509fe045ad4f72ae0dfff
#longCovid #vaccination
longCovid, vaccination
How Effectively Do Rapid Antigen Tests Diagnose Omicron?
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/YT89x809C88
The 3 common rapid antigen tests currently in use in the US have similar analytic sensitivities for the Omicron variant as they do for the Delta variant but all tests were incapable of detecting infection when low levels of virus were present. Researchers at Harvard report these findings after testing 30 known Omicron positive samples and 30 known Delta positive samples with each of 3 rapid antigen tests: the BinaxNOW CoVid-19 Antigen Card, the iHealth COVID-19
60 Antigen Rapid Test, and the FlowFlex COVID-19 Antigen Home Test. Levels of virus in each sample were determined using the Roche PCR assay.
In general, all 3 tests were equally capable of diagnosing the presence of Omicron and Delta with fairly similar sensitivities. The Binax and the FlowFlex tests were both only decisively positive for slightly higher levels of virus than the iHealth test. All tests were decisively negative for low virus levels. None of the tests could detect low virus levels with Ct values, that is amplification values, of 30 or greater. In an intermediate range of virus level, Ct’s between 20 and 30, the iHealth test was the most sensitive followed by the FlowFlex and then the Binax test.
Buying Recommendations? iHealth followed by FlowFlex and then Binax. You can buy them at most drugstores for $10-12 per test and online for slightly less.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.02.17.22271142v1.full.pdf
#covid #rapidantigentests #pcr #Ct
covid, rapidantigentests, pcr, Ct
Good and Bad News About the Omicron Subvariants
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/OsPEBimYMVs
The good news: studies from South Africa show that the Omicron subvariant BA.2 that I call Omicron 2, while appearing to spread faster than Omicron 1, does not cause more severe disease. The bad news: researchers in Denmark have identified a subtype of Omicron 2, so-called BA.2+H78Y, that is even better than Omicron 1 or 2 at evading preexisting CoVid immunity from either vaccination or natural infection and threatens to become the dominant Omicron form.
The South African group utilized their national clinical databases and laboratory test data that pinpoint the Omicron subtype of each infection to compare the risks of hospitalization and the most severe disease in hospitalized patients for those persons infected with Omicron2 versus Omicron1. Studying a total of 680,555 CoVid positive persons during the months of December 2021 through January 2022, the risk of hospitalization was not statistically different for those infected with Omicron2 versus Omicron1. The same was true for those hospitalized persons who progressed to having the most severe CoVid Omicron infections.
Not all studies agree that Omicron2 has similar toxicity to Omicron1 as a recent one from Japan shows the opposite.
Turning to the newest Omicron viral subtype, the BA.2+H78Y, its defining mutation on the ORF3A spike protein is believed to promote better immune evasion from existing anti-CoVid antibodies but also more intense cell destruction than Omicron1 when it enters a cell. The fact that this new subtype is spreading faster than Omicron1 or the original Omicron2 is proof that its immune evasion is superior.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.02.17.22271030v1.full.pdf
https://twitter.com/COVIDnewsfast/status/1495248561209962496
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405580821000273
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.02.14.480335v1.full.pdf
#CoVid #omicron #subvariant #subtype #BA2 #BA1
CoVid, omicron, subvariant, subtype, BA2, BA1
Childhood Insomnia Becomes Lifelong
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/NcvCgecD2c8
Some 43% of elementary school aged children with insomnia continue to suffer from it into adolescence and young adulthood. This from a Penn State longitudinal study of 502 children initially studied when they were 5 to 12 years of age with followup evaluations 7 and 15 years later when they were at median ages of 16 years and 24 years.
In addition to the 43% who were chronic insomniacs 27% of the group experienced durable remissions of their insomnia by adolescence. Another 19% of the children experienced insomnia that waxed and waned through adolescence into adulthood. Looking at those children without insomnia, about 15% of them developed it as adolescents and continued to suffer from it into adulthood. Another 21% of those without insomnia in childhood or adolescence developed it as adults.
The take home: a majority, that is 58%, of those children who developed insomnia up through their teen years continue to suffer from it as young adults.
#insomnia #children #adolescents #adults
insomnia, children, adolescents, adults
The Omicron BA.2 Subvariant Evades All Current Antibody Drugs
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/YTKEt_tUi5c
The BA.2 subvariant of the Omicron variant has 6 additional mutations and 3 deletions that permit it to escape neutralization by the only two remaining monoclonal antibodies shown to capably neutralize the original Omicron subvariant. Virologists at NYU report this finding after studying the neutralizing effects of various monoclonal antibodies and cocktail mixtures of them against native CoVid, the Delta variant, and the two sub variants of Omicron.
This new study shows that the two remaining drugs that showed neutralizing activities against Omicron1, Delta, and the original CoVid, Sotrovimab and the Evusheld antibody cocktail, fail to neutralize Omicron2. Both the Regeneron and the Lilly antibody cocktails, effective against the original Covid virus and the Delta variant, show no useful neutralizing strength against either Omicron1 or Omicron2.
This is bad news for those who are looking to our current antiviral antibodies as medications for control of the disease. This puts a greater onus on preventive agents like Pfizer’s Paxlovid and Merck’s molnupiravir, both protease inhibitors that may be administered orally.
Meanwhile, our vaccinations and boosters themselves are running out of steam against the latest variants. We do need a new generation of vaccines. Let’s go Moderna and Pfizer: quit just milking your existing products and give us some cutting edge protection.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.02.15.480166v1.full.pdf
#CoVid #omicron #ba1 #ba2 #sotrovimab #evusheld #antibodycocktails
CoVid, omicron, ba1, ba2, sotrovimab, evusheld, antibodycocktails
Forth CoVid Shot Is Protective
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/i0ImNC_9tn8
A 4th shot of either the Moderna or Pfizer CoVid vaccine bumps CoVid neutralizing antibodies and actual Omicron virus neutralization by a factor of 8 to 10 fold while preventing both infections and hospitalizations. These conclusions come from an Israeli study comparing the CoVid immunity and health status of 274 health care workers who received 4th shots representing a second booster of mRNA CoVid vaccines with 245 matched controls who received only 3 shots of the same vaccines. These booster shots were given roughly 5 months after each of the previous shots.
Looking first at the effect of the 4th shot on the recipients’ immune status, the 4th dose of either mRNA vaccine restores the IgG anti-CoVid antibody levels to those following the 3rd dose representing a 9-10 fold boost in antibody level from that prior to the 4th shot. In terms of live Omicron virus neutralization capability, the 4th shot of Pfizer bumped it 10.6 fold and the 4th shot of Moderna bumped it 18.8 fold
Looking at cellular immunity, the 4th dose of the Pfizer increased the proportion of responders a modest 10% from 50 to 60% with no significant increase in the numbers of activated T cells. On the other hand, the 4th dose of Moderna increased the proportion of responders from 61 to 87% and the numbers of activated T cells from 72 to 203.
Looking at vaccine efficiency for preventing any Omicron infection, the 4th shot of Pfizer reduced the incidence by 30% while that of Moderna reduced it by 11% for an average of 20.5%. Then looking at the vaccine efficiency for preventing more symptomatic CoVid infections, the 4th of Pfizer reduced the incidence by 43% while the 4th of Moderna reduced it by 31% for an average of 37%. Moderna’s 4th shot capabilities seemed lower than Pfizer’s but that is likely due to the fact that the first 3 shots of Moderna were overall more effective.
These stats seem unimpressive until you consider that these efficiencies are boosts over and above the protection seen for the 3 shots alone. Let’s review the graph I showed you last week for the 3rd shot effectiveness and add to it this data from a 4th shot. Adding that 4th shot brings the vaccine effectiveness preventing severe CoVid back up from 65% toward 100%.
The 4th doses of either vaccine did not lead to any significant adverse events but only the typical local ache at the vaccine site and mild systemic symptoms.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.02.15.22270948v1.full.pdf
#CoVid #boosters #4thshot #antibodies #neutralization #vaccineeffectiveness
CoVid, boosters, 4thshot, antibodies, neutralization, vaccineeffectiveness
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CPSC Recalls
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Mama & Me MINI Children’s Handbags Have Lead Contamination
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/t2iJiih6zoY
The CPSC and Kelly Wynne LLC are recalling Mama & Me MINI Children’s Handbags. These children’s handbags have metal zipper sliders, zipper 0-rings, d-rings, rivets and studs that contain lead levels exceeding the federal lead content ban. Lead is neurotoxic if ingested by young children. About 1,050 of these bags were sold at nordstrom.com and at kellywynne.com. If your child has one of these handbags, do not let them use it. Contact the website from which you made the purchase, and they will provide you will a postage-paid shipping label with which to return the handbag for a refund. For more information, contact Kelly Wynne LLC at 1-512-472-5762 or via email at recall@kellywynne.com.
#mamaandme #children #handbags #lead #toxicity #recall
mamaandme, children, handbags, lead, toxicity, recall
Bebe au Lait Wooden Infant Teethers Present Choking Risks
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/g8jDSKkK7SM
The CPSC and Bebe au Lait have recalled Bebe au Lait Wooden Infant Teethers. These teether’s beaded strings may untie, release the bead, and create a choking hazard for young children. About 8600 of these tethers were sold in the US and 10 were sold in Canada at Target, other nationl retailers, and online at Bebeaulait.com, Zulily.com, and other websites. Immediately take these tethers away from your babies and toddlers and contact Bebe au Lait by phone at 1-800-270-9398 or via email at recall@bebeaulait.com to arrange for store credit.
https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2022/Bebe-au-Lait-Recalls-Teethers-Due-to-Choking-Hazard
#bebeaulait #teethers #beads #choking #recall
bebeaulait, teethers, beads, choking, recall
Festive Lights Hanukkah Menorahs are Flammable
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/1RNykeiQ6lU
The CPSC and Marshalls now recall Festive Lights Hanukkah Menorahs in the shapes of llama, brontosaurus, stegosaurus, T-rex, castle, rainbow, rainbow platform, and emojis. These menorahs are composed of resin and medium density fiberboard that may ignite and burn. About 7900 of these menorahs were sold nationwide at Marshalls, HomeGoods, and Homesense stores. Since it’s not the season for menorah use, you have plenty of time to return any of these that your purchased to Marshalls, HomeGoods, and Homesense stores for a full refund or a store gift card. For more information about this recall or to arrange for a remote refund contact Marshalls at 1-888-627-7425, HomeGoods at 1-800-888-0776, or Homesense at 1-855-660-4663.
#menorahs #marshalls #homegooods #homesense #flammable #fires #burns #recall
menorahs, marshalls, homegooods], homesense, flammable, fires, burns #recall
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FDA Recalls
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Snak Yard Dried Plums/Saladitos have Lead Contamination
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/7w_5yPXpEpM
The FDA and Alli and Rose LLC announce the recall of Snak Yard Dried Plums/Saladitos. This product has potential lead contamination. It was sold at Costco Wholesale in Alaska, California, Oregon and Washington state. If you bought this product, return it to your local Costco for a refund. For more information about this recall, call Alli & Rose LLC by phone at 1-828-446-8420 or via email at customerservice@alli-rose.com.
https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/dried-plums-recall-information
#allirose #snakyard #driedplums #saladitos #lead #recall
allirose, snakyard, driedplums, saladitos, lead, recall
Frozen Custard Apple Pulp has Salmonella
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/mcuxYHLsLCw
The FDA and Vadilal are recalling Valdilal Frozen Custard Apple Pulp. This product is contaminated with salmonella. This bacterium can cause serious and sometimes life-threatening infections in the very young, elders, and those with immunosuppression. The batch codes involved include KWHO and KRQO. Do not consume this product but return it to the point of purchase, For additional information, call Valdilal at 1-732-333-1209.
#valdilal #custardapplepulp #salmonella #infection #recall
Valdilal, custardapplepulp, salmonella, infection, recall
Family Dollar Stores have a Rodent Problem
Vidcast: https://youtu.be/MiMWjWPrJVk
The FDA and Family Dollar Inc. have recalled a slew of products that have been shipped to various Family Dollar retail stores from a Family Dollar Distribution Center in West Memphis, Arkansas. This warehouse was found to be infested with rats and other rodents. Products from this warehouse may be contaminated with salmonella and include drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, dietary supplements, pet food, and human food. If you recently bought any of these products from Family Dollar stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, or Tennessee, return them to the point of purchase for a refund. For more information, contact Family Dollar Customer Service at 1-844-636-7687.
#familydollar #rodents #rats #salmonella #recall
familydollar, rodents, rats, salmonella, recall
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