FROM POSITIVE TO NEGATIVE TO POSITIVE AGAIN—THE MYSTERY OF WHY COVID-19 REBOUNDS IN SOME PATIENTS WHO TAKE PAXLOVID
Scientists have proposed possible explanations for rebounds after nirmatrelvir/ritonavir treatment. Timing – maybe medication is started too early in the disease. Perhaps If you get started right away, maybe you suppress the virus, and the immune system doesn’t rev up in the way it normally would. It has been suggested that 5 days might not be a long enough treatment course.
Full Access: JAMA
INJECTABLE GEL MIGHT HELP RELIEVE CHRONIC LOW-BACK PAIN DUE TO DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE
In experimental hydrogel injected into spinal discs appears to relieve pain and improve function in patients with chronic low-back pain caused by degenerative disc disease (DDD). The gel is injected directly into worn discs using X-rays to guide the needle, it goes in as a heated liquid that cools off and creates kind of a Fix-a-Flat, filling the disc back up and returning the biomechanical integrity of the disc.
Full Access: Webmd
MONKEYPOX IN MULTIPLE COUNTRIES
The CDC has raised the monkeypox alert to level 2 as the number of confirmed and suspected cases of the virus reached 1,019 infections in 29 countries, including 30 reported cases in the US. Though the agency said the risk to the general public is low, Americans are encouraged to “practice enhanced precautions” by avoiding close contact with sick people or animals, particularly those with skin lesions.
Full Access: CDC
EXPLORATION OF PRIMARY CARE CLINICIAN ATTITUDES AND COGNITIVE CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH PRESCRIBING ANTIBIOTICS FOR ASYMPTOMATIC BACTERIURIA
In this survey study of 551 primary care clinicians, 392 (71%) reported that they would prescribe antibiotics for asymptomatic bacteriuria. Prescribing antibiotics for asymptomatic bacteriuria was more common among medical maximizers and family medicine physicians and was less common among resident physicians and clinicians in the US Pacific Northwest.
Full Access: JAMA
ALCEDIAG ANNOUNCES FIRST BLOOD TEST TO DIAGNOSE BIPOLAR DISORDER
French mental health diagnostics company Alcediag announced the results of a study that identified six blood biomarkers as major hallmarks of bipolar disorder. The six biomarkers identified match modifications in the RNA sequence of genes associated with bipolar disorder. This test, with high diagnostic performance, specificity and sensitivity greater than 80%.
Full Access: Helio