Research Roundup: The Latest Science, Discoveries, And Breakthroughs

MedPage Today: ECG Quirks Spotted After Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy
"We found that feminizing GAHT used in transgender women was associated with a prolongation of QTc and QTp and a decrease in TAmp, whereas masculinizing GAHT used in transgender men was associated with opposite observations. The magnitude of ECG variations, particularly QTc observed among the studied transgender subgroups before and after GAHT, was within 15 to 20 milliseconds and mimicked the magnitude of sexual dimorphism observed in cisgender adults," the investigators reported in JAMA Network Open. (Lou, 7/30)

CIDRAP: Data Show Good Flu Vaccine Efficacy In Pregnant, Nonpregnant Women And Older Adults 
In the United States, influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) was similar in pregnant and nonpregnant women of reproductive age, respectively, in the 2023-24 season, and the MF59-adjuvanted and high-dose quadrivalent inactivated flu vaccines were likewise comparably effective in older adults in any setting in 2022-23, two new studies conclude. (Van Beusekom, 7/29)

Newsweek: New Hope For People With Asthma & Eczema 
New understanding of a receptor key to allergic responses and anaphylaxis in conditions like asthma could offer a new treatment target for sufferers of a variety of conditions. This the promise of a study by researchers from China's Shenzhen and Wuhan universities, which have identified a mechanism that sustains the release of allergy-stimulating molecules from cells. (Millington, 7/29)

MedPage Today: Updated Evidence Favors Structured Exercise Programs For Atrial Fibrillation 
Evidence indicated that exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation had benefits for patients with atrial fibrillation (Afib or AF) in an updated meta-analysis. Across randomized trials, participants in rehab programs had significant improvements in Afib symptom severity, burden, episode frequency, episode duration, and recurrence over a mean follow-up of 11 months. (Lou, 7/29)

CIDRAP: Africa CDC Warns Of Exponential Mpox Spread In Guinea 
As African countries continue to grapple with multiple mpox outbreaks involving different clades and transmission patterns, officials from Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) today said Guinea’s outbreak is escalating exponentially, showing similar signs to a recent surge in Sierra Leone. ountries in West Africa were affected later than hot spots in central Africa such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, and Burundi. Unlike those countries, more recently affected locations in West Africa have seen outbreaks mainly involving clade 2 viruses, including the one that triggered global spread. (Schnirring, 7/24)