People with coronary heart disease should take beta-blockers to increase their survival and quality of life. If you’re at risk for a heart attack, aspirin and other antiplatelet medicines can help.

However, during hot weather events, when heart attacks are already more common, these safeguards could backfire. These cardiac drugs are being taken by a disproportionately large percentage of people who experience non-fatal heart attacks in hot weather, according to a study published on August 1 in the journal Nature Cardiovascular Research.

Patients who take these two medications had a higher risk, according to Kai Chen, an assistant professor in the Yale School of Public Health Department of Epidemiology (Environmental Health) and the study’s first author. “They should particularly take measures during heat waves.”

The use of air conditioning or a public cooling facility is one of these safety precautions.

Heart attacks can be triggered by air pollution, cold temperatures, and other external environmental variables. Hot temperatures may also have this effect, as evidence is mounting. It remains to be seen, however, which persons are most susceptible to these climatic extremes.

Methods

From May through September of 2001 to 2014, researchers investigated 2,494 cases of non-fatal heart attacks in Augsburg, Germany, that occurred during the hottest months (May through September).

Heart attacks were found to be more common in prior studies when participants were exposed to extremes of heat or cold. They also predicted that the rate of heat-related heart attacks would jump by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius once the earth had warmed (3.6 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit).

The current study analyzed the pharmaceutical use of individuals before to their heart attack based on previous studies.

It was done in a way that allowed the patients to serve as their own controls in the data analysis. In this study, the heat exposure on the day of the heart attack and the same weekdays were compared to see whether there were any differences. The researchers looked examined the temperature exposure of patients who suffered a heart attack on June’s third Thursday in comparison to exposure on “control” Thursdays in June.

Two drugs have been linked to adverse events.

Heart attacks were more likely to occur on the hottest days when beta-blockers or antiplatelet medicines were used compared to control days. There was a 63% increase in risk related to antiplatelet drug usage and a 66% increase associated with beta-blocker use. There was a 75% increase in risk for those who used both medications. On hot days, non-users of these drugs had no higher risk of a heart attack.

It’s important to note that this study only demonstrates a correlation, not causation, between drugs and heart attacks. Patients may have been more susceptible to heart attacks in hot weather because of the medicines they were given, but it’s also plausible that their preexisting heart condition explains both the prescriptions and the increased risk of cardiac arrest.

The drug may be to fault, at least according to one piece of evidence.

To their surprise, researchers found that younger patients (25 to 59 years old) had lower rates of coronary heart disease than those who were 60 or older. Although older individuals had more severe cardiac disease, beta-blockers and antiplatelet medicines made younger patients more vulnerable to heat-related heart attacks.

Another indication that these two forms of drugs may put people at greater risk: Others have not shown a link between heat-related cardiac arrests and their drugs, for the most part (Statins were an exception.). Statins can increase the risk of a heart attack by more than triple when taken by younger people.)

Chinese researchers have hypothesized that some of the drugs may make it difficult to maintain a stable temperature. In the future, he intends to investigate these connections further.

Climate change may increase the risk of heart attacks for some persons with cardiovascular illness, according to the findings.

Nature Cardiovascular Research has published the study. The German Foundation for Heart Research, the University of Augsburg, and the University Hospital of Augsburg, Germany, provided funding for the study.

There were two authors: Professor Robert Dubrow and Alexandra Schneider, a researcher at Germany’s Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen. Susanne Breitner, Kathrin Wolf, Margit Heier, and Annette Peters, all of the Helmholtz Zentrum, were the other co-authors of this paper.

Jakob Linseisen of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and University Hospital Augsburg, Timo Schmitz, Wolfgang von Scheidt, and Christa Meisinger of University Hospital Augsburg, and Bernhard Kuch of the Hospital of Nördlingen (Germa) make up the German Research Center.

Peters works at the German Research Center for Cardiovascular Research, Brietner works at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, and Heier works at the Universitätsklinikum Augsburg sburg.

Researchers from NYU Langone Health reported on Tuesday that a surgical team had successfully transplanted the heart of a genetically modified pig into a human patient who had passed away as part of an ongoing research study.

The treatment was the first of its kind and represents a step forward in the investigation into the viability of modifying the organs of non-human animals to successfully transplant them into humans who need such a procedure.

The recipient, Lawrence Kelly, who was from Pennsylvania and was 72 years old, was diagnosed as having brain death. His family generously gave his body to the research team so that they could explore the viability of the modified pig heart in a human body after the person had passed away.

After completing the transplant on Kelly back in June, the research team went on to do the procedure on another deceased victim, this time it was New York City resident Alva Capuano, who was 64 years old.

After an operation in January at the University of Maryland, in which a pig heart was successfully implanted into a living human, these transplants followed suit. That beneficiary passed away in March.

According to Dr. Robert Montgomery, head of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, the procedures enabled a more in-depth investigation of how well the bodies of the transplant recipients handled the pig hearts.

He stated that “we can undertake much more regular monitoring,” adding that this will allow us to “truly sort of comprehend the biology” and “fill in all of the unknowns.”

He also mentioned that their research was one of a kind since they made an effort to simulate settings that are found in the real world. For instance, they did not employ any experimental equipment or pharmaceuticals.

The investigators are now working on publishing additional information regarding the study.

“He went out a hero,” said people.

Researchers had to travel out of state to obtain the heart, which had genetic modifications aimed at several factors, such as modulating the organ’s growth and reducing the chance that the recipient’s immune system would reject it. To obtain the heart, researchers had to travel out of state.

Dr. Nader Moazami, the surgical director of heart transplantation at NYU Langone Health, commented that because of the trip, the team was able to simulate the conditions that are present during a conventional heart transplant.

“It was around an hour and 15-minute flight from New York, which is typical of the distance that we take hearts for clinical transplantation,” said Moazami, who conducted the transplant. “It is typical of the distance that we take hearts for clinical transplantation.”

Kelly, a former sailor who was involved in an accident that left her brain dead, was the recipient of the heart. Alice Michael, who was engaged to Kelly, gave her consent for his body to be donated for scientific study.

They had planned to remove his liver, but they were unable to locate a suitable recipient. Then, New York University contacted me about this study that they were conducting. And without even thinking about it, I replied in the affirmative, knowing that he would have welcomed the opportunity. “He had a passion for assisting others,” she stated.

“When they asked me, I didn’t have to give it much thought. I immediately said yes. I was aware that it was ground-breaking research, and I knew that he would have wanted to participate in it, so I just immediately responded positively. It was difficult since I had to wait to bury him after he passed away. On the other hand, perhaps in the long term, he will be able to assist a great number of people.

Michael said, “He was a hero in life, and he went out a hero,” referring to the deceased man.

Following the heart transplant, the researchers conducted tests for three days to evaluate how well the recipient’s body absorbed the new heart, all the while the body of the recipient was being kept alive by mechanical means, including breathing.

According to a news statement issued by the medical center, “No symptoms of early rejection were seen, and the heart functioned correctly with routine post-transplant drugs and without further mechanical support.”

In addition, the researchers reported that they could not find any symptoms of infection with porcine cytomegalovirus (pCMV). This virus has been the subject of concern among specialists since there is a possibility that it could be a barrier to the transplantation of pig organs into human recipients.

An innovative approach for the study of transplants

According to Moazami, there is a new procedure that involves testing how well organ transplantation works by using the donated body of a deceased individual. In September, a team at NYU Langone led by Montgomery successfully transplanted a kidney from a genetically modified pig into a human donor who had passed away. This was the first time that this method had been used for research purposes.

According to Moazami, even if the study is a step in the right direction, there is still a lot more work to be done before a method like this can be made widely available outside of the context of research.

According to what he had to say, “there is still a long way to go before we proceed from here to clinical transplantation to maintain a patient for the longer term.” “There are still a great number of questions that need to be answered,” the speaker said.

According to him, one of the most significant limitations of the study was its duration; the organ and recipient were only monitored for 72 hours after the transplant. In addition, there is a possibility that the reaction of human bodies that have already passed away to the process could be very different from that of living people. To have a better understanding of the transplant recipients’ long-term prognosis, additional research is required.

“We thought that in 72 hours, we could learn all the things that we would learn if we had extended this a little bit more,” Moazami said, noting that the short time frame limited the expense of the study and allowed the recipient’s body to be returned to his family more quickly. In addition, Moazami noted that the short time frame allowed for the body of the recipient to be returned to his family more quickly.

“We considered that 72 hours was a sufficient amount of period for our short-term study, to learn all of the things that we required — that three days, versus five days, versus seven days, wouldn’t make a difference.” Would it make a difference if we did it in three days instead of one month? Yes, without a doubt. However, at this point, it would have been quite challenging to accomplish that.”

The practice of transplanting organs from animals into humans raises several additional ethical concerns. One of these concerns is whether or not the potential benefits of using a pig heart that has been genetically modified outweigh the potential dangers that a patient would face if they waited for a human organ to become available.

A connection on a personal level and an uncharted territory

The investigation holds some significance for Montgomery on a personal level. He is a person who has received a human heart transplant, and he has stated that one of the things that drive him to work hard is the fact that it is so difficult to get a transplant.

“As I was recovering from my sickness, it became very evident to me that the current model is flawed. “It’s a broken model, and we need a renewable resource, an alternative source of organs that doesn’t require one person to pass away for another person to have a chance at life,” he added. “It’s a paradigm that’s collapsing.”

“My whole illness was all about informing me about the reality of that and changing the way I think, not that it’s not important to continue doing what we’re doing, but we’ve got to move this in a completely different direction,” she said. “It’s not that it’s not important to continue doing what we’re doing, but we’ve got to move this in a completely different direction.”

In most cases, the demand for organ transplantations in the United States substantially outweighs the number of donor organs that are now available. As of the 7th of July, there were 106,074 people on the waiting list for organ transplants, with 3,442 persons on the waiting list for heart transplants. Daily, there are an average of seventeen persons pass away while waiting for an organ transplant.

Moazami noted that transplants from animals could one day be effective in the pediatric setting, which is a setting in which patients can face even greater obstacles in getting a human organ transplant promptly. It may be possible to employ organs from animals as a “bridge” to purchase more time till a better suitable human organ becomes available.

“Perhaps the best way to study this is maybe to use it as a bridge to a human transplant if you will,” Moazami said. “So that any patient who needs an organ would get this heart with the caveat that when a human heart becomes available that matches the recipient, we swap it out again.” Moazami was referring to the possibility of using the artificial heart as a bridge to a human transplant.

The most recent subvariant of the new coronavirus to become prevalent in Europe, the United States, and other parts of the world is also, in many respects, the most dangerous one that has been seen yet.

It would indicate that the BA.5 subvariant of the basic Omicron variant is more contagious than any other type of virus that has come before it. It also appears to be more adept at evading our antibodies, which suggests that it may be more prone to cause initial infections as well as subsequent recurrences.

Vaccinations and booster shots continue to be the most effective form of protection. Even booster shots that are unique to Omicron are currently being developed, and they have the potential to improve the efficacy of the best vaccines against BA.5 and its genetic relatives in the coming months.

However, BA.5’s unending journey across the other half of the earth serves as a powerful warning that the COVID epidemic is far from done. On his Substack, Eric Topol, who is the founder and head of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California, said, “We’re not done yet, by any stretch of the imagination.”

Vaccines and previous infections continue to provide the best protection against the worst possible outcomes, which are widespread cases of hospitalization and mortality. But the raw case numbers are rising at an alarming rate all across the world, which has major repercussions for possibly millions of people who are at an increased risk of developing a chronic condition.

Equally concerning is the fact that the most recent wave of infections is providing the coronavirus with the opportunity, as well as the time, to evolve into variations and subvariants that are much more hazardous. Irwin Redlener, the founding director of Columbia University’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness, recently gave an interview to The Daily Beast in which he stated that “the development of variants currently is a freight train.”

In other words, it is impossible to stop.

In February, BA.5 was discovered for the first time in viral samples collected in South Africa. In May, it had already established its dominance in Europe and Israel, displacing earlier forms of the fundamental Omicron variant and also contributing to an increase in the number of daily COVID cases reported around the world, which went from approximately 477,000 a day at the beginning of June to 820,000 a day this week.

At the end of June, BA.5 established itself as the predominant variant in the United States. Cases have not yet grown; the daily average has been about 100,000 since May. Since then, this has been the case. But as BA.5 continues to outcompete less transmissible subvariants, we could see a shift in this situation in the coming weeks.

Topol provided an unambiguous justification for BA.5’s rise to power. Whereas the changes that caused many earlier versions primarily damaged the spike protein of the virus — the component of the virus that assists it is grabbing onto and infecting human cells — BA.5 has alterations throughout its structure. Topol stated in his writing that “BA.5 is highly distinct and exceedingly fit,” thereby marking a notable change from all previous variations.

Due to the ubiquitous nature of BA.5’s alterations, the subvariant is now less recognizable to the antibodies that we have built up as a result of vaccinations, booster shots, and previous infections. The fact that BA.5 can stealthily sneak past our immune systems is a contributing factor to the increasing number of cases of breakthrough and reinfection.

Epidemiologists have been warning the public for several months now that persistently high case rates—which they largely attribute, in large part, to a stubborn anti-vax minority in many countries—would facilitate ever more infectious and evasive variants and subvariant. This comes as no surprise to epidemiologists, who have been warning the public for several months now. The greater the number of infections, the greater the likelihood of major mutations.

In this regard, BA5 may be regarded as a sneak peek into the following months and years. A year ago, we had the opportunity to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 by blocking its primary transmission channels through the use of vaccines and social isolation.

But we didn’t. Restrictions placed on companies, schools, and gatherings of people have developed into politically explosive issues in many parts of the world. Even in many countries where vaccinations are readily available, vaccination rates have remained unacceptably low. In the United States, for instance, the number of people who have received all of their recommended vaccinations has leveled off at about 67 percent.

After 31 months have passed since the first COVID case was identified in Wuhan, China, the virus is still present. The virus will develop an increasing number of varieties as it continues to spread. The tragic dynamic that led to BA.5 almost inevitably led to that conclusion.

The circumstance is not completely without any chance of resolution. There is some evidence that BA.5 reduces the efficacy of the most potent messenger-RNA vaccinations. Moderna, a company that manufactures vaccines, has presented data showing that a booster injection it is creating specifically for Omicron and its children works barely a third as effectively against BA.5 as it did against earlier subvariants of the virus.

However, vaccination, booster shots, and having BA.5 in the past all provide some protection against the disease, albeit to a lesser extent. Eric Bortz, a virologist and public-health expert at the University of Alaska-Anchorage, told The Daily Beast that “even a boost of the original genome, or a recent infection,” will “create” some cross-protective antibodies to lower the severity of a new Omicron subvariant infection.

The more additional jabs you receive on top of your primary course, the more secure you will feel. Two primary vaccinations with an mRNA vaccine produced by Pfizer or Moderna in addition to a couple of booster shots provide, arguably, the best protection against the disease. “Take that fourth shot, for crying out loud!” Redlener said.

The difficulty is that in the United States, the only persons who are eligible for a second booster shot are those who are 50 years old or older or who have certain immunological problems. In addition, the Food and Drug Administration of the United States would not comment on whether or whether it will permit second boosters for younger people or when it will do so. When questioned by The Daily Beast regarding boosters for people under the age of 50, an FDA spokeswoman responded, “I have nothing to share at this moment.”

Someone made a mistake in the bureaucracy. The United States is poised to lose up to a million booster doses because there are not enough people willing to use them. Topol referred to this as “a grave waste,” which should have been made available to all people under the age of 50 who sought further protection.

To be fair, both Pfizer and Moderna are hard at work developing new boosters that are customized especially for Omicron subvariants of their respective viruses. On June 30th, a panel of advisors from the FDA gave its approval to these variant-specific boosters. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indicated that it is considering approving them for use in urgent situations for select Americans as soon as this fall.

However, there is a possibility that these jabs will appear too late, which is especially likely if they are highly specialized for a single recent subvariant and, as a result, ineffective against future subvariants. Topol stated in his writing that “variant-chasing” is a faulty strategy. “Who knows what will be the prevalent strain by the time a BA.5 vaccination booster could potentially be available?” “Who knows when that will be?”

There are, fortunately, other options available. Of course, they use masks and engage in voluntary social separation. Post-infection treatments, such as the antiviral medication paxlovid, can also be beneficial. Redlener emphasized that now is not the time to give up on interventions that do not include pharmaceuticals.

But voluntarily donning masks and taking Paxil are just bandages on a wound that is festering on a global scale. The dramatic increase of BA.5 infections paves the way for the subsequent significant subvariant, which we’ll refer to as BA.6. It’s possible things will get even worse.

It is appearing more and more likely that we will have to deal with COVID for, well, the rest of our lives. According to Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington Institute for Health, “COVID is becoming like the flu.” This quote was given to The Daily Beast.

That is the same as endemic. An ever-present danger to the health of the population. The current influenza is not nearly as harmful as COVID, which is the primary distinction between the two. And it keeps evolving in ways that make the problem even more difficult to solve.

Central issues

• CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, in a call with journalists Friday, said a few patients with monkeypox likewise had syphilis, herpes, gonorrhea, or chlamydia contaminations.
• The rash that portrays monkeypox can look like herpes and syphilis, Walensky said.
• “Medical care suppliers shouldn’t preclude monkeypox in light of the fact that a patient has another determination or another STI,” Walensky told journalists.

Certain individuals as of late determined to have physically communicated illnesses may likewise have monkeypox, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, cautioning doctors that they need to watch and test for both since monkeypox can seem to be an STD.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said a few patients with monkeypox likewise had syphilis, herpes, gonorrhea, or chlamydia diseases. The rash that describes monkeypox can look like herpes or syphilis, Walensky said.

“It’s essential to know that monkeypox cases might introduce like a few physically sent diseases and could be confused with different conclusions,” Walensky said in a call with columnists Friday. Patients who have side effects ought to be assessed for all physically communicated diseases as well as monkeypox, she said.

“Medical services suppliers shouldn’t preclude monkeypox on the grounds that a patient has another conclusion or another STI,” Walensky told journalists.

The U.S. has affirmed 45 monkeypox cases across 15 states and Washington D.C. as of Thursday, as per the CDC. No passings have been accounted for. The momentum flare-up is strange on the grounds that the infection is spreading outside West and Central Africa, where the illness has been available for quite a long time. In excess of 1,300 cases have been accounted for all around the world across 31 nations, as per the CDC.

Monkeypox typically starts with side effects like seasonal influenza, including fever, migraine, muscle throbs, chills, fatigue, and enlarged lymph hubs. The illness then, at that point, advances to an excruciating rash that can spread all around the body. Most patients recuperate in two to about a month without explicit clinical treatment, as per the CDC.

Notwithstanding, a few patients during the ongoing flare-up have fostered a rash just on the privates or rear-end before they experience any flulike side effects, Walensky said. At times, patients fostered a rash with next to no side effects like this season’s virus, she said. By and large, the limited rash has not spread to different pieces of the body or just to a couple of regions, the CDC chief said.

Individuals determined to have monkeypox during the ongoing episode have detailed close actual contact with others tainted with the infection, Walensky said. The infection can spread through direct contact with wounds, natural liquids, or materials like garments or bedsheets.

Walensky said it’s muddled whether the infection can spread through semen or vaginal liquid like a physically communicated illness. The CDC likewise doesn’t know whether the infection can spread from individuals who are tainted yet have no side effects or gentle side effects.

Somewhere around 75% of monkeypox patients in the U.S. have revealed openness to the infection during worldwide travel, as per Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, a CDC official. Most of the cases have been accounted for among men who have intercourse with men, as per the CDC.

A couple of patients are uncertain about the way that they got monkeypox, which recommends the infection may be spreading inside the U.S. at a low level, McQuiston said. In any case, the CDC has not recognized any city or locale in the U.S. where there is an episode, she said.

“There are only these intermittent, inadequate cases that are don’t know the way in which they gained monkeypox,” McQuiston said. “Probably, they obtained it from somebody who as of late voyaged however they’re simply not certain,” she said.

Montreal, Canada’s third-biggest city, has detailed an episode, McQuiston said. Montreal lies right across the line from New York state and New England.

Monkeypox can likewise spread through respiratory beads when individuals have close, supported eye-to-eye contact, Walensky said. The infection isn’t remembered to wait in the air or send through brief times of shared airspace, for example, relaxed discussions at the supermarket, Walensky said. Monkeypox likewise isn’t remembered to spread from momentarily contacting a similar thing, for example, a door handle, she said.

Airborne transmission of monkeypox has not been accounted for, as indicated by Dr. Raj Panjabi, who drives the White House pandemic readiness office. The thing that matters is respiratory drops rapidly tumble to the ground while spray particles are a lot more modest and can wait in the air for a more extended timeframe, Panjabi said. Coronavirus, for instance, spreads through spray particles, which is one reason it’s so irresistible.

The national government has conveyed 1,400 immunization courses and 110 antiviral medicines for individuals who have had high-risk openings or monkeypox diseases, as indicated by Panjabi. The U.S. has additionally performed 300 tests such long ways for customary, the group of infections that incorporates monkeypox. At the point when individuals test positive for standard, they are dared to have monkeypox until the CDC in Atlanta affirms the analysis.

“We are attempting to make testing through general wellbeing labs more helpful and grow testing past general wellbeing labs through business accomplices,” Panjabi told correspondents on the call Friday.

The U.S. as of now has 72,000 dosages of the immunization Jynneos, a smallpox immunization that is likewise endorsed to battle monkeypox, promptly accessible in the essential public store, as per Dawn O’Connell, who drives the Health and Human Services office liable for stock. The maker Bavarian Nordic is additionally sending one more 300,000 dosages to the U.S., O’Connell told correspondents.

Jenner is a two-portion immunization supported by the Food and Drug Administration to forestall monkeypox in individuals ages 18 and more seasoned. The U.S. additionally has in excess of 100 million dosages of a more seasoned age smallpox immunization, ACAM2000, that can likewise forestall monkeypox disease. Smallpox and monkeypox are in a similar infection family, however, monkeypox is a lot milder.

The CDC for the most part suggests Jynneos over ACAM2000, in light of the fact that the last antibody can make extreme side impacts. The U.S. doesn’t presently have enough Jynneos dosages in the production network to immunize everybody in the U.S. in case of a general wellbeing crisis, McQuiston said. As a result, the Jynneos immunization is being given exclusively to individuals who might benefit the most from it, she said. ACAM2000 plays a part to play in immunizing individuals who are not in danger of secondary effects from the immunization to assist with keeping a satisfactory stockpile of Jynneos for the people who need it, she said.

A small clinical trial conducted by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center found that every single rectal cancer patient who received an experimental immunotherapy treatment had their cancer go into remission.

One participant, Sascha Roth, was preparing to travel to Manhattan for weeks of radiation therapy when the results came in, Memorial Sloan Kettering said. That’s when doctors gave her the good news: She was now cancer-free.

“I told my family,” Roth told The New York Times. “They didn’t believe me.”

These same remarkable results would be seen in 14 patients to date. The study was published Sunday in the New England Journal of Medicine. All of the patients had rectal cancer in a locally advanced stage, with a rare mutation called mismatch repair deficiency (MMR).

They were given six months of treatment with an immunotherapy drug called dostarlimab, from the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, which helped fund the research. Cancer vanished in every single one of them — undetectable by physical exam, endoscopy, PET scans, or MRI scans, the researchers said.

The drug costs about $11,000 per dose, The Times reports. It was administered to each patient every three weeks for six months, and it works by exposing cancer cells so the immune system can identify and destroy them.

“This new treatment is a type of immunotherapy, a treatment that blocks the ‘don’t eat me’ signal on cancer cells enabling the immune system to eliminate them,” CBS News medical contributor Dr. David Agus explains.

“The treatment targets a subtype of rectal cancer that has the DNA repair system not working. When this system isn’t working there are more errors in proteins and the immune system recognizes these and kills the cancer cells.”

After six months or more of follow-up, the patients continued to show no signs of cancer — without the need for the standard treatments of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy — and cancer has not returned in any of the patients, who have now been cancer-free for a range of six to 25 months after the trial ended.

“Amazing to have every patient in a clinical trial respond to a drug, almost unheard of,” Agus said, adding that it “speaks to the role of personalized medicine — that is identifying a subtype of cancer for a particular treatment, rather than treating all cancers the same.”

Another surprise from the study was that none of the patients suffered serious side effects.

“Surgery and radiation have permanent effects on fertility, sexual health, bowel, and bladder function,” Dr. Andrea Cercek, a medical oncologist and principal investigator in the study, said in an MSK news release. “The implications for quality of life are substantial, especially in those where standard treatment would impact childbearing potential. As the incidence of rectal cancer is rising in young adults, this approach can have a major impact.”

“It’s incredibly rewarding,” Cercek said, “to get these happy tears and happy emails from the patients in this study who finish treatment and realize, ‘Oh my God, I get to keep all the normal body functions that I feared I might lose to radiation or surgery.'”

Researchers agree the trial needs to now be replicated in a much bigger study and noted that the small study focused only on patients who had a rare genetic signature in their tumors. But they say that seeing complete remission in 100% of patients tested is a very promising early signal.

Dr. Hanna K. Sanoff of the University of North Carolina’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, who was not involved in the study, said it is not yet clear if the patients are cured.

“Very little is known about the duration of time needed to find out whether a clinical complete response to dostarlimab equates to cure,” Dr. Sanoff wrote in an editorial accompanying the paper.

But she noted, “These results are cause for great optimism.”

The trial is expected to include about 30 patients, which will give a fuller picture of how safe and effective dostarlimab is in this group.

“While longer follow-up is needed to assess response duration, this is practice-changing for patients with MMRd locally advanced rectal cancer,” said study co-leader Dr. Luis Diaz Jr., head of the division of solid tumor oncology at MSK.

The indicators of positivity and incidence of COVID-19 cases in Puerto Rico continue at high levels, the Department of Health indicated in its most recent report on the epidemic situation, without being able to establish a downward trend in infections. An increase in the number of daily deaths associated with the coronavirus was also observed.

Given the current scenario, the Office of Epidemiology and Health Research recommended that the population keep prevention measures active, “use of masks, hand washing, physical distancing, opt for activities in open spaces, not crowded, and continue promoting vaccination. ”.

According to the report corresponding to epidemiological week 17 (April 24 to 30, 2022), as of May 1, 2022, Puerto Rico was on an increasing trend with a rate of 771.55 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, with a level high community transmission (red color). The positivity rate, on the other hand, was estimated at 21.47%.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) establish that for the classification of low level community transmission, positivity must be less than 4.9%. Within the analysis period from January 31 of this year, the positivity data reached a minimum value of 3.30% on March 10, 2022.

Regarding deaths, Health reported that “they remained stable” with a seven-day average of 2.3 daily deaths. However, an increase was observed in relation to epidemiological week 16 (April 17 to 23), when the average number of deaths was 0.6 deaths per day.

Broadly speaking, the level of transmission has been increasing during these past weeks, says the report. In epidemiological week 14, the number of municipalities that were in a high level of transmission was 68. For weeks 15 and 16, the high classification extended to the 78 municipalities of the archipelago, and continued in this way in week 17 , corresponding to the most recent report.

Health also stated in the report that, as of May 1, 2022, “Puerto Rico was on an increasing trend” in terms of hospitalized patients, with a seven-day moving average of 221.1 inmates, as well as a seven-day moving average of 18.6 people confined in intensive care units, classified as a “stable” trend. On Jan. 31, the number of hospitalizations was 484 with a seven-day moving average of 566.9 confined patients, including 100 in intensive care with a moving average of 113.7 people, so a “high trend,” the report said.

In its daily report, Health reported this Sunday 257 people hospitalized, including 44 pediatrics. Of the total number, 20 adults and two minors are confined in intensive care.

Appealing to citizen responsibility, Governor Pedro Pierluisi has reiterated that, despite the increase in cases, he will not impose further restrictive measures by executive order, unless an increase in hospitalizations endangers the country’s hospital system. Until now, the only mandatory measure for citizens in general is the use of a mask when attending mass events of 1,000 people or more.

President Joe Biden, 79, received the second booster dose of Pfizer’s vaccine against covid-19 on Wednesday, one day after the US health regulator authorized it for people over 50 years of age.

After giving a speech at the White House on the state of the pandemic, the president sat in a chair next to the presidential lectern, rolled up his left shirt sleeve and was vaccinated by a nurse, while journalists pelted him with questions about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Biden, who got his first brace six months ago, said the prick didn’t “hurt a bit . “

Minutes before getting vaccinated, Biden announced the launch of a web page where citizens can search for places to get vaccinated, take tests for covid and buy quality masks, and asked the population to apply booster doses.

“The reinforcements are vital to have an additional level of protection. That is why today I apply the second reinforcement dose. If you have not received the first reinforcement, please do not wait. Do it today ,” said the president.

In addition, he urged Congress to approve his budget project to guarantee that the Government can continue to acquire vaccines and medicines against covid-19.

“Congress, we need additional funding now. We can’t wait until we’re in the middle of another wave to act. It will be too late,” he said.

The US Food and Drug Administration authorized this Tuesday the second booster dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna covid-19 vaccines for those over 50 years of age and some immunosuppressed.

The second booster shot can start four months after the first.

The president, who applied the first booster six months ago, was vaccinated by a nurse at the White House after giving a speech to the press about the state of the pandemic in the country.

The United States began applying the first booster doses in September of last year for people at higher risk, and currently everyone over 12 years of age who has completed their vaccination schedule can receive it.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 65.5% of the US population has completed the vaccination schedule, and 44.8% of them have received their first booster dose. ).

The United States is the country hardest hit by the pandemic in absolute numbers, with 80 million infections and 944,000 deaths, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University. 

Several states in the United States will allow school students not to wear the mask in classrooms.

The White House spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, announced through her Twitter account that she had tested positive for covid-19, specifying that the president of the United States, Joe Biden, had tested negative.

“Yesterday I had two meetings respecting the distance with the president and it is not considered a case of contact,” he said, on the eve of Biden’s departure to Europe for NATO and European Union meetings on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in addition to a visit to Poland.

Psaki said she was vaccinated against covid-19 and that she only had “mild symptoms” for which she would undergo a five-day self-isolation period.

The spokeswoman had already been infected with covid-19 last October, which then prevented her from traveling with Biden to the G20 summit in Rome.

Psaki’s announcement comes as covid-19 cases are multiplying again, even in the entourage of the US president. The White House said on March 15 that Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, had been infected even though his wife had tested negative for the virus.

Biden leaves Wednesday for a long-awaited trip to Europe, aimed at cementing the alliance of Western countries in the face of Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine.

The US president will be in Brussels for summits of the Atlantic Alliance and the EU, and then will go to Poland, a US ally within NATO, which is receiving a large influx of Ukrainian refugees.

In recent days, a meeting planned for Saint Patrick’s Day at the White House between Joe Biden and Ireland’s Prime Minister, Micheál Martin, had to be canceled after the European ruler tested positive for covid-19 in Washington, although clarified that the US president had not been affected.

The meeting that was scheduled in the Oval Office between the two leaders was canceled and replaced by a video conference session after the Irishman, whose position is known as the Taoiseach, had to withdraw.

In addition, the White House also canceled an annual St. Patrick’s Day ceremony in which the Irish prime minister presents the US president with a bowl of clover grown in Ballinskelligs, in southwestern Ireland. This time, instead, Biden will “host a St. Patrick’s Day event” without the Taoiseach, the White House explained.

Martin was photographed sitting next to the Speaker of the House of Representatives (Lower), Democrat Nancy Pelosi, at the Irish Fund Gala event at the National Building Museum in Washington. But soon after he dropped out, due to a positive PCR test.

Joe Biden was at the same dinner, but a White House official said the president was not considered to be at risk and had not been tested. “He is not a close contact (to Martin), so the test will not be done.”