A recent letter published in the journal Nature Aging by medical staff who worked in hospitals in Wuhan during the COVID-19 pandemic assessed cognitive trajectories over 2.5 years in older coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) survivors. Over one-tenth of the world’s population has had COVID-19. As the number of COVID-19 survivors increases, disease surveillance is increasingly crucial…

In a recent study published in Nature Medicine, researchers investigated the effects of recombinant shingles vaccines on dementia. ​​​​​​​Study:  The recombinant shingles vaccine is associated with lower risk of dementia . Image Credit: Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock.com Background Varicella-zoster virus (VZV), or human herpesvirus 3, causes varicella (chickenpox) and shingles. Given the potential for adverse repercussions…

In a recent study published in the journal Science Advances, researchers analyzed survey data from individuals in India to understand mortality and life expectancy during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. They found that life expectancy in India fell by 2.6 years in 2020, with 1.19 million excess deaths, disproportionately affecting younger age groups, females,…

A 2022 study suggesting that blocking a single molecule could protect against severe illness in COVID-19 has led to a $15 million federal grant supporting a comprehensive effort to learn more – with finding a solution to long COVID at the center of the new research. Since that study's publication, scientists at The Ohio State…

A recent study published in the British Medical Journal examined  trends in long-term vaping among adults in England between 2013 and 2023. Study:  Trends in long term vaping among adults in England, 2013-23: population based study. Image Credit: Elena Belodedova / Shutterstock.com Recent trends in e-cigarette use Electronic cigarettes are effective…

A new method that can rapidly determine whether a virus is infectious or non-infectious could revolutionize the response to future pandemics.  Called FAIRY (Fluorescence Assay for vIRal IntegritY), the assay can screen viruses against virucidal antivirals in minutes, allowing for the effectiveness of antiviral measures, such as disinfectants that break the chain of infection, to…

During the peak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, there was an increase in maternal mortality in Chile. This is confirmed by a natural population experiment based on data from the Department of Health Statistics and Information (DEIS) of the Chilean Ministry of Health. The research was published in PLOS Global Public Health. In a collaborative study,…

A recent JAMA Network Open study determines whether the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic influenced the increase of neonatal mortality in the United States. Study:  Social Distancing During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Neonatal Mortality in the US . Image Credit: Jessica Montgomery / Shutterstock.com How did the pandemic affect prenatal care? The…

In a recent study posted to the bioRxiv preprint* server, researchers in Japan evaluated the virological characteristics of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) KP.3.1.1 variant. SARS-CoV-2 BA.2.86.1.1, viz., the JN.1 variant, has outpaced XBB lineages by the start of 2024. It emerged from the BA.2.86.1 variant with an L455S substitution within the…

In a recent study published in the journal BMJ, researchers conducted a registry-based study comprising 343,066 infants across Denmark, Sweden, and Norway to investigate if COVID-19 infections or vaccinations during the first trimester were associated with increased risk of congenital anomalies. Of the 11 anomaly subgroups investigated, 10 had adjusted odds ratios (aORs) …