Researchers Invent Way To Spot Signs Of Lyme Disease Sooner
In other news, about 28% of young American people aged 12 to 19 show signs of prediabetes; a science team has found microplastics in live human lung tissue for the first time; and a California startup is trying to convert pollutant gasses into a new kind of artificial meat.
The Boston Globe:
New Lyme Diagnostic Could Pinpoint Disease Earlier
The first signs of spring are propelling people to the outdoors. But as locals flee concerns of COVID-19, another disease lurks in the shadows: Lyme. With the tick-borne illness making its annual resurgence in the region, researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine say they have discovered a new way to identify the disease, looking at an antibody generated in response to the infection, that can help people receive more effective treatment. (Bartlett, 4/3)
In other public health news —
The Washington Post:
Over A Quarter Of 12-To-19-Year-Olds Have Prediabetes, Research Shows
U.S. residents on the cusp of developing Type 2 diabetes include about 28 percent of youths ages 12 to 19, according to research published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. They have a condition known as prediabetes, which means that the level of sugar (glucose) in their blood is higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as having full-fledged diabetes. The researchers found that the percentage of youths with prediabetes has more than doubled in recent years, going from just under 12 percent in 1999 to 28 percent by 2018. (Searing, 4/5)
Press Association:
Scientists Discover Microplastics In Live Human Lungs For First Time
Scientists have discovered microplastics in live human lungs for the first time. Researchers from the University of Hull and Hull York Medical School also found microplastics in the deepest section of the lung, which was previously thought to be impossible due to how narrow the airways are. Microplastics have previously been found in human cadaver autopsy samples, but this is the first study to show them in lungs from live people. (Dickinson, 4/6)
CBS News:
The Newest Meatless Meat Is Made From Air
A California startup is doing its part to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions by creating a new kind of "meat" that's made from air. CBS News was given an exclusive sneak peak at a product that physicist Lisa Dyson says has the taste and texture of meat, but does not come from animals. It's created using a fermentation process, similar to making yogurt. But instead of using microbes that consume milk and sugar, it's made from microbes that eat oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. (Evans, 4/5)
In news about health and race —
The Washington Post:
Fewer Patients Of Color Have Health-Care Providers Who Look Like Them
Only 22.2 percent of Black adults and 29.2 percent of Hispanic and Latino adults surveyed consider their usual health-care providers to share their race or ethnicity, and about a quarter of Hispanic and Latino respondents said their provider is of their same race or ethnicity and speaks to them using their preferred language. (Blakemore, 4/5)
KHN:
Why Black And Hispanic Seniors Are Left With A Less Powerful Flu Vaccine
At Whitman-Walker Health, Dr. David Fessler and his staff administer high-dose influenza vaccine to all HIV-positive and senior patients. Although the vaccine is roughly three times as expensive as standard flu vaccine, it seems to do a better job at protecting those with weakened immune systems — a major focus of the nonprofit’s Washington, D.C., clinics. At the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, meanwhile, Dr. Melissa Martinez runs a drive-thru clinic providing 10,000 influenza vaccines each year for a community made up largely of Black and Hispanic residents. It’s open to all comers, and they all get the standard vaccine. (Allen, 4/6)
