POLITICO Playbook: Biden lays out his agenda

POLITICO

2020-10-24 22:42:48

• Vaccinated Vets' Home patient gets virus

  A new confirmed case of COVID-19 has cropped up at the long-term veterans’ care facility in Lebanon. The resident was fully vaccinated, though is said to be asymptomatic. The facility, the Edward C. Allworth Veteran's Home, was the site of one of the first outbreaks of coronavirus in Oregon last spring. In early March, two residents there were diagnosed with COVID-19, marking the first case in Oregon of the virus in a long-term care facility.Read Full StoryCoronavirusVirusVaccinesVaccine DosesPatient CareInfection ControlVetsDisease PreventionVaccinated Vets ' HomeICUDisease ControlPfizer VaccineIntensive Care BedsVeteransConfirmed Cases

• This new artificial heart responds to the patient

  London (CNN Business) — Heart disease is the world's biggest killer, and around one in five people in developed countries will suffer heart failure in their lifetime. In the worst cases, the only treatment is a transplant. But with more hearts failing than being donated, patients can spend years on a waiting list.Read Full StoryArtificial HeartHeart FailureHeart DiseaseCardiologyArtificial SensorsHuman BloodPatient InfectionsHeart TransplantCNN BusinessFrenchCarmatCEThe European UnionImperial College LondonTimeAlain Carpentier

• The CDC is tracking a recent uptick in Covid-19 cases. Its chief says spring breakers and eased restrictions concern her

  Top US health officials say they're encouraged by the accelerating Covid-19 vaccinations.Read Full StoryCdcJohnson & JohnsonNursing HomesCovid-19 VaccineVaccination RatesInfection ControlDisease ControlAmericansWhite HouseCNNPfizerCDC DataCovid-19 CasesRestrictionsSpring BreakersAnthony FauciTom FriedenAsa Hutchinson

• Genome sequenced for pesky pumpkin pathogen

  Pumpkin growers dread the tiny tan scabs that form on their fruit, each lesion a telltale sign of bacterial spot disease. The specks don't just mar the fruit's flesh, they provide entry points for rot-inducing fungus and other pathogens that can destroy pumpkins and other cucurbits from the inside out. Either way, farmers pay the price, with marketable yields reduced by as much as 90%.Read Full StoryGenome ProjectGenome ResearchPathogensGenomesGenesGeneticsResearch ScientistsUniversity Of IllinoisPhytopathologyBacterial Spot DiseasePlant TissuesEnzymesRot-inducing FungusInfectionCrop Plants

• Near-Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging Detects Liver Fat Content

  Researchers at the Tokyo University of Science have applied a new imaging technique in a way that may allow clinicians to assess liver fat content without having to take biopsies. Called near-infrared hyperspectral imaging, the method can highlight fat distribution in liver tissue, potentially helping clinicians to diagnose and assess conditions such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).Read Full StoryLiver DiseaseLiver CancerFatty LiverLiversFat TissueHuman LiverHuman TissueLiver FailureNAFLDJapaneseBiomedical Optics ExpressViaLiver TissueLiver Fat ContentMouse Liver

• Texas State reports 15 new COVID-19 cases

  Texas State’s COVID-19 dashboard added 13 new student cases and two new faculty/staff cases March 24. According to the dashboard, 65 cases are considered active. A total of 215 students and 30 faculty/staff have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 30 days. The dashboard states that numbers include positive...Read Full StoryCovid-19JournalismPublic HealthState DepartmentState ServicesDepartment Of HealthTexas State 'sThe Student Health CenterThe University Star 'sDisease Control WebsiteStudentsCOVID-19 UpdatesCivic ResponsibilityToday

• How long after the second Moderna vaccine is it effective?

  With more and more people getting vaccinated every single day, you might have some questions about the vaccines, including the Moderna variety. Most importantly, when will the vaccine become effective once you’ve received both doses of it?. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, better known as the CDC, says...Read Full StoryModernaCdcCovid-19 VaccineFeverThe VaccinesVaccine DosesDisease ControlDisease PreventionCDCHeadachesScientistsTirednessSocialChills

• Brain Infections Help Us Understand What Causes Alzheimer‘s Disease

  Will antimicrobials be the future treatment for Alzheimer’s?* Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from PixabayClassic AD Etiology: Amyloid CascadeAlzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common type of neurodegenerative disease. Its prevalence can only increase as the aging population continues to increase too, owing to improving healthcare. For many decades, the infamous etiology for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the “amyloid cascade hypothesis” wherein misfolded amyloid-beta peptides accumulate in the brain. This forms amyloid plaques that disrupt functions of neurons and trigger chronic neuroinflammation — leading to AD [1].Inflammation: recruitment of immune cells that release toxic (and inflammatory) chemicals that damage targeted cells (e.g., virus-infected cells or bacterial cells).Chronic inflammation: when inflammation is not halted or properly regulated which, thus, damages nearby (bystander) normal cells — an acknowledged root cause of many diseases.Today, treatments and interventions based on the “amyloid cascade hypothesis” have been disappointing. None of the dugs targetting amyloid-beta peptides passed clinical trials. This is not because the hypothesis is false, but rather it is unclear what initiated the formation of amyloid-beta peptides in AD, to begin with [2].* Image from authorNovel AD Etiology I: Microbial InfectionIn a symposium held in 2017 [3], renowned speakers conveyed their research supporting the causal roles of microbes in the development of AD:Professor Ruth Itzhaki on HSV-1 and ADDr Judith Miklossy on spirochetes (Treponema pallidum) and ADProfessor Brian Balin on Chlamydia pneumoniae and ADThese three microbes have been extensively researched and, thus, being the main highlights being showcased in the symposium [3]. These pathogenic microbes can induce neuropathological hallmarks of AD — such as amyloid plaques and tangles — via a variety of mechanisms. However, many other microbes have been associated with AD, but with comparably less research being done on them [4]. This list of AD-related microbes are illustrated herein:* Image from the author: List of different microbes that have been associated with AD.Novel AD Etiology II: Antimicrobial ProtectionBack to basics: What are the functions of amyloid-beta peptides? Aside from hindering routine neuronal activities, it also serves as an antimicrobial peptide! [5–7] That surprised many academicians. An obvious logic here is that amyloid-beta peptides form and accumulate over the years as a result of persistent or continuous microbial infections in the brain [2].Antimicrobial peptides: the first line of defense against microbial infections; common types include defensins, cathelicidin, and lactoferrin that are secreted by innate immune cells.No wonder AD is an age-related disease. No wonder herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) has been recognized as a highly likely etiological agent in AD as HSV-1 is included in the antimicrobial spectrum of amyloid-beta peptides [4,5].AD Etiology RefinedBy looking at AD from a different biochemical perspective, that is with the involvement of antimicrobial peptides, existing theories are beautifully synthesized. Unbeknownst to us, our immune system deploys antimicrobial peptides in response to the constant, never-ending battle with pathogenic microbes. Alzheimer's disease may be an unfortunate casualty of this if the antimicrobial peptides — microbes crossfire takes place in the brain.“Research data on a microbial cause of AD have been ignored or dismissed for three decades, very unfortunately for those who developed AD during that period and who therefore had no chance of benefitting from the information,” writes Ruth Itzhaki, Professor Emeritus of Molecular Neurobiology [8].Even though Prof. Itzhaki’s applications for funding to conduct AD clinical trials based on antivirals have been denied many times, research can only move forward. “Now is the time to rectify the situation by determining and then using the best means of treatment at hand,” Prof. Itzhaki further commented.The Future TreatmentDiverse microbes — bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa — are contributive to AD. Microbes have co-evolved with complex eukaryotes like humans, either for the better (symbiosis) or worse (dysbiosis/adversaries). Can fighting these adversaries with antimicrobials prevent the formation of amyloid-beta plaques and, thus, prevent/treat AD?In a nationwide, population study that successfully reduced the risk of developing AD by 90% with antiherpetic drugs [9]. Furthermore, a clinical trial is currently assessing the efficacy of valacyclovir (an antiherpetic drug) in preventing the development of AD (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03282916).A pilot study in 2019 administered lactoferrin — an antimicrobial peptide commonly present in our body — to AD patients. Treatment outcomes were remarkable with the AD patients showing improved cognitive functioning and decreased blood levels of amyloid-beta peptides and other oxidative and inflammatory biomarkers [10].Could future therapy for AD be based on antimicrobials? Or detecting prior microbial exposures and, consequently, design suitable medical intervention(s)? Indeed, interventions based on a firmly-grounded etiological basis should work.* Hand photo created by freepik - www.freepik.comReferencesJack et al. (2010). Hypothetical model of dynamic biomarkers of the Alzheimer’s pathological cascade.Weiling et al. (2014). Potential role of antimicrobial peptides in the early onset of Alzheimer’s disease.Fulop, T et al. (2018). Role of Microbes in the Development of Alzheimer’s Disease: State of the Art — An International Symposium Presented at the 2017 IAGG Congress in San Francisco.Ashraf et al. (2018). The Possibility of an Infectious Etiology of Alzheimer Disease.Soscia et al. (2010). The Alzheimer’s disease-associated amyloid beta-protein is an antimicrobial peptide.Bourgade et al. (2015). beta-Amyloid peptides display protective activity against the human Alzheimer’s disease-associated herpes simplex virus-1.Bourgade, K., Le Page, A., Bocti, C., Witkowski, J.M., Dupuis, G., Frost, E.H., et al. (2016). Protective Effect of Amyloid-beta Peptides Against Herpes Simplex Virus-1 Infection in a Neuronal Cell Culture Model.Itzhaki, R.F. (2018). Corroboration of a Major Role for Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 in Alzheimer’s Disease.Tzeng et al. (2018). Anti-herpetic Medications and Reduced Risk of Dementia in Patients with Herpes Simplex Virus Infections-a Nationwide, Population-Based Cohort Study in Taiwan.Mohamed et al. (2019). A pilot study on the effect of lactoferrin on Alzheimer’s disease pathological sequelae: Impact of the p-Akt/PTEN pathway* This article was originally published here with modifications. Follow me to see more articles like this....FollowBrain ResearchDrugsChronic DiseaseChronic InfectionChronic InflammationBrain CellsClker-Free-Vector-ImagesChlamydiaMolecular NeurobiologyAntiherpeticHerpes Simplex Virus TypeIAGG CongressAlzheimer DiseaseNeurodegenerative DiseaseThe Brain

• AstraZeneca's new data showing Covid vaccine slightly less effective than suggested doesn't worry experts

  Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has released additional data that it said confirms the efficacy of its Covid-19 vaccine after questions about interim clinical trial results were raised in the US by an independent agency. But the additional data suggests the vaccine is slightly – but not significantly – less effective than the interim results suggested.Read Full StoryAstrazenecaCovid-19 VaccineCovid VaccineVaccine TrialPublic HealthPfizerClinical PracticeNIHMedical DrugsLa Trobe UniversityMater Health ServicesVaccine EfficacyDrugs Approval ProcessesSymptomatic DiseaseInfectious DiseasesMene Pangalos

• State drops Wright Center from COVID-19 vaccine provider list

  The Wright Center for Community Health was dropped from the state’s network of COVID-19 vaccine providers effective this week, meaning it will no longer receive any new vaccines from the state unless or until it’s reinstated. All of the center’s vaccine administration sites in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties were removed...Read Full StoryCovid-19 VaccineVaccinesVaccinationPublic HealthHealth DepartmentHealth DataCenter Of Disease ControlMedical DirectorThe-Times-TribuneState DataBilling RegulationsScheduled AppointmentsState LawCommunications DirectorGuidance

• Changing upper respiratory microbiome in children related to SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility

  Researchers tested the nasopharyngeal microbiome of children up to 21 years old and found the microbiome changes with age. Specific bacteria, whose abundance also changes with age, are associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection susceptibility and severity. SARS-CoV-2 has infected hundreds of millions across the globe,...Read Full StoryRespiratory TractRespiratory DiseaseOn ChildrenSarsPublic HealthRespiratory SymptomsBacterial InfectionsRSVLatinoHispanic-AmericanD.Greater CorynebacteriumRespiratory MicrobiomeRespiratory InfectionsRespiratory Viruses