‘Shocking’: One-Third Of Young Adults May Face Severe COVID-19 Risks, Especially If Smoking
“I think most young adults don’t think they’re at risk,” author Dr. Charles Irwin Jr., director of the UCSF Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, told The San Francisco Chronicle. “To me, that was shocking to find that smoking contributed so much to being at risk. ” Research-related news is on strokes, rheumatoid arthritis drugs, cardiac injuries, and dengue fever, as well.
San Francisco Chronicle:
One-Third Of Young Adults May Be At Risk Of Severe COVID-19, Especially If They Smoke Or Vape
One-third of young people across the country may be at risk of getting seriously sick with COVID-19, especially if they smoke or vape, according to a UCSF study published Monday in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Smoking was the most common risk factor for severe COVID-19 complications among otherwise largely healthy young people, the study found. (Moench, 7/13)
CIDRAP:
Strokes With COVID More Severe, Tied To Higher Rates Of Death, Disability
Ischemic strokes linked to COVID-19 are more severe, lead to worse functional outcomes, and are associated with a higher rate of death, according to a study published late last week in Stroke. (7/13)
CIDRAP:
Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Tied To Fewer Deaths In COVID Patients
Two new studies have revealed that the rheumatoid arthritis drug tocilizumab is associated with lower death rates in COVID-19 patients receiving mechanical ventilation. Tocilizumab blocks interleukin-6 (IL-6), an inflammatory protein involved in a potential "cytokine storm" that can lead to respiratory failure in coronavirus patients. (Van Beusekom, 7/13)
Modern Healthcare:
Coronavirus Associated With Heart Damage, Study Finds
More than half of COVID-19 patients showed some form of heart damage in scans after their illness, according to a recent study that adds to mounting evidence showing the virus may cause cardiac injury. An observational analysis of more than 1,200 confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients across 69 countries between April 3 and April 20 found heart abnormalities in 55% after they underwent echocardiograms, with 1 in 7 experiencing severe cardiac disease. (Johnson, 7/13)
AP:
Dengue Prevention Efforts Stifled By Coronavirus Pandemic
To slow the spread of the coronavirus, governments issued lockdowns to keep people at home. They curtailed activities that affected services like trash collection. They tried to shield hospitals from a surge of patients. But the cascading effects of these restrictions also are hampering efforts to cope with seasonal outbreaks of dengue, an incurable, mosquito-borne disease that is also known as “breakbone fever” for its severely painful symptoms. (Milko and Ghosal, 7/12)
Also —
NPR:
Coronavirus Sparks New Interest In Using Ultraviolet Light To Disinfect Indoor Air
High up near the ceiling, in the dining room of his Seattle-area restaurant, Musa Firat recently installed a "killing zone" — a place where swaths of invisible electromagnetic energy penetrate the air, ready to disarm the coronavirus and other dangerous pathogens that drift upward in tiny, airborne particles. Firat's new system draws on a century-old technology of fending off infectious diseases: energetic waves of ultraviolet light, known as germicidal UV or GUV, are delivered in the right dose to wipe out viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms. (Stone, 7/13)
The Wall Street Journal:
Scientists Hoped Summer Temperatures Would Tamp Down Covid-19 Cases. What Happened?
Just a few months back, some scientists hoped summer conditions might help tamp down coronavirus transmission. Yet case counts of the novel coronavirus are surging in the U.S., recently hitting another single-day record of new infections. There are three likely reasons. (Toy, 7/13)
