Category Archives: Transhuman News

Older age, male sex, and other medical conditions not associated with heightened risk .Unlike Asian ethnicity, obesity, overcrowding, socializing, and people-facing roles.

People with allergic conditions such as hay fever, rhinitis, and atopic eczema, may have a lower risk of COVID-19 infection, especially if they also have asthma, finds a large, population-based study of UK adults, published online in the respiratory journalThorax.

And contrary to the findings of recent studies, older age, male sex, and other underlying conditions arent linked to a heightened risk of infection, the research indicates.

But Asian ethnicity, obesity, household overcrowding, socializing indoors with other households, and holding down a people-facing role other than in health and social care are all independently associated with a heightened risk of developing COVID-19, the findings show.

A growing body of evidence suggests that at least some risk factors for developing COVID-19 may differ from those which predispose to severe disease and the need for intensive care, say the researchers.

To explore this further and glean what contribution demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle, diet, medical treatment and underlying conditions might make to the risk of developing COVID-19, the researchers captured detailed information on potential risk factors for the infection among UK adults between May 2020 and February 2021.

All participants were asked to provide information on their age, household circumstances, job, lifestyle, weight, height, long-standing medical conditions, medication use, vaccination status, diet, and supplement intake when they joined the study and then again in subsequent months.

Out of 16,081 eligible people, 15,227 completed at least one subsequent monthly follow-up questionnaire 30 days or more after joining the study; and 14,348 completed the final questionnaire on or before 5 February 2021.

The average age of the participants was 59; 70% were women; and 95% identified their ethnic origin as white.

In all, 446 participants (almost 3%) had at least one episode of confirmed COVID-19 infection, as determined by swab (PCR or lateral flow) test during the study period, and 32 were admitted to hospital.

The researchers accounted for an array of potentially influential factors: age: sex: length of participation in the study: ethnicity: testing frequency: ethnicity; education; deprivation; household income; housing type; number of people per bedroom; schoolchildren at home; ownership of a pet dog; shielding; socialising with other households; visits to shops and other indoor public places; travel to work or study; frontline worker status; physical activity; alcohol intake; weight (BMI); asthma; allergies; use of immune suppressant drugs, inhaled corticosteroids, and bronchodilators; BCG vaccination status; fruit, vegetable, and salad intake; and use of nutritional supplements.

Certain factors consequently emerged as being independently associated with increased odds of developing COVID-19.

People of Asian/Asian British ethnicity were more than twice as likely to become infected as their white counterparts.

Similarly, household overcrowding; socializing with other households in the preceding week; number of visits to indoor public places; a people-facing role other than in health and social care; and overweight/obesity were all associated with a heightened risk.

And the greater the number of people sharing a household and the higher the number of visits made to indoor public places, the higher were the odds of becoming infected, the findings showed.

But atopic (triggered by allergens) disease, which includes eczema/dermatitis and hay fever/allergic rhinitis, was independently associated with 23% lower odds of developing the infection than it was in those without atopic disease or asthma.

And among those who had atopic disease and asthma, the risk was even lower: 38%.This association held true even after factoring in the use of steroid inhalers.

Taking drugs to dampen down the immune system response (immunosuppressants) was also associated with 53% lower odds of COVID-19 infection, although this may reflect greater shielding from infection by these patients, say the researchers.

But age, sex, other medical conditions, diet, and supplement use werent associated with infection risk.

This is an observational study, and as such, cant establish cause. And the researchers acknowledge some limitations to their study.

These include no oversight of swab testing and reliance on the results of routine testing that will usually have been prompted by symptoms, so potentially missing those with symptomless infection.

Participants also volunteered themselves, so some ethnic minorities, particularly people of black, African, and Caribbean ethnicities, were underrepresented in the study.

Nevertheless, the researchers conclude: This large, population-based prospective study shows that there is limited overlap between risk factors for developing COVID-19 versus those for intensive care unit admission and death, as reported in hospitalized cohorts.

Reference: Risk factors for developing COVID-19: a population-based longitudinal study (COVIDENCE UK) by Hayley Holt, Mohammad Talaei, Matthew Greenig, Dominik Zenner, Jane Symons, Clare Relton, Katherine S Young, Molly R Davies, Katherine N Thompson, Jed Ashman, Sultan Saeed Rajpoot, Ahmed Ali Kayyale, Sarah El Rifai, Philippa J Lloyd, David Jolliffe, Olivia Timmis, Sarah Finer, Stamatina Iliodromiti, Alec Miners, Nicholas S Hopkinson, Bodrul Alam, Graham Lloyd-Jones, Thomas Dietrich, Iain Chapple, Paul E Pfeffer, David McCoy, Gwyneth Davies, Ronan A Lyons, Christopher Griffiths, Frank Kee, Aziz Sheikh, Gerome Breen, Seif O Shaheen and Adrian R Martineau, 30 November 2021 2021, Thorax.DOI: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2021-217487

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People With Allergic Conditions Such As Hay Fever and Eczema May Have a Lower Risk of COVID-19 Infection - SciTechDaily

Topical asivatrep, a transient receptor potential vanilloid subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1) antagonist, has been shown to be more effective than placebo in patients with mild to moderate atopic eczema. This was the finding from a Phase III trial by researchers from the Department of Dermatology, Hallym University, South Korea.

TRPVI is a non-selective cation channel which is expressed by keratinocytes, mast cells and sensory neurons related to itch, especially itch related to the release of histamine. Moreover, in vitro study data suggests that antagonism of TRPVI can suppress the atopic eczema-like symptoms by accelerating recovery of the skins barrier. More specifically, in animal models of atopic eczema-like dermatitis, topical asivatrep, has demonstrated improvements in eczema symptoms and the barrier function of the skin. In a dose ranging clinical study in adults with atopic eczema, topical asivatrep 1% was found to provide the greatest improvement in disease severity.

For the present study, the Korean team used a 1% formulation of asivatrep based on the results of the dose ranging study, for a Phase III, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Included patients were aged 12 years and older, with mild to moderate atopic eczema, defined by an investigators global assessment (IGA) score of 2 (mild) or 3 (moderate), and which affected between 5 and 30% of their body. The primary efficacy endpoint of the trial was the proportion of patients with an IGA score of 0 or 1 (i.e., clear or almost clear) after 8 weeks of treatment. Secondary endpoints included changes in EASI score, a pruritus visual analogue scale (VAS) score and a sleep disturbance score at several time points, including week 8.

Findings

A total of 240 patients with a mean age of 25.6 years (45.6% female) were included in the analysis with 157 assigned to topical asivatrep. Most (58.3%) had moderate severity atopic eczema. However, due to withdrawals and patient violations, the final analysis was based on a sample of 231 patients (153 asivatrep).

After 8 weeks of treatment, the proportion of patients achieving an IGA score of 0/1 was 36% in the asivatrep group and 12.8% in the placebo arm (p < 0.001). With respect to EASI scores, the greatest difference was observed at week 8 (44.3% vs 21.4%, asivatrep vs placebo, p < 0.001), with 9.8% of those receiving asivatrep achieving an EASI90 (i.e., 90% reduction in EASI score) compared to only 2.6% in the placebo group (p = 0.046).

There were also significant reductions in pruritus VAS scores and measures of sleep disturbance with asivatrep. In terms of safety, topical asivatrep was well tolerated and while the incidence of treatment-emergent adverse effects was slightly higher with asivatrep compared to placebo, the difference was non-significant.

The authors concluded that treatment with asivatrep cream, as a first-in-class topical agent, may be a novel treatment for patients with atopic eczema.

Citation

Park CW et al. Asivatrep, a TRPV1 antagonist, for the topical treatment of atopic dermatitis: Phase 3, randomized, vehicle-controlled study (CAPTAIN-AD). J. Allergy Clin Immunol 2021

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Topical asivatrep, a TRPVI antagonist, effective for adults with atopic eczema - Hospital Healthcare Europe

I caught Omicron variant in LONDON around the same time it was discovered in South Africa, doctor claims

A doctor who was one of the worlds first people to be infected with the Omicron Covid variant believes he caught it in London, it was reported.

Elad Maorwas in the UK for a conference for three days until November 23, around the time the more virulent strain was detected by researchers in South Africa.

The 45-year-old Israeli cardiologist stayed for four nights at a hotel in Islington and experienced symptoms after returning home, then tested positive on November 27.

I got the Omicron in London, for sure, he toldThe Guardian.

That is interesting because that was 10 days ago in London really, really early.

The father-of-three explained he took a PCR test on November 20 after arriving in the UK and again the next day, in accordance with Israeli travel regulations, with both results negative.

When he arrived back inTel Aviv on November 24, he had a third PCR test, which also came back negative.

He said the only reasonable explanation is that he got infected on the last day of the meeting or possibly at the airport because the third PCR was too early to detect the infection.

Continued here:
Omicron variant news Having asthma, hay fever or eczema REDUCES risk of covid infection by a massive 4... - The Sun

New research will delve further into the benefits of superfine Merino wool when it comes to skin conditions such as eczema.

Research has previously shown that wearing superfine Merino wool significantly improves the severity and symptoms of eczema.

Now Australian Wool Innovation is aiming to validate the successful Australian and US-based skin health studies that already exist by assessing wool's impact on childhood eczema sufferers across different climates throughout the world, teaming up with researchers in Chicago, USA and Trondheim, Norway.

How different skin types might be affected by wool will also come under scrutiny.

Associate Professor John Su is coordinating the international studies, having previously led a study through the Murdoch Children's Research Institute that proved wearing superfine Merino wool next to the skin reduced the severity of childhood eczema compared to cotton clothing.

He said that even with a small sample size of 40 children, the results showed that the effect was significant.

"In Australia we can say with some certainty that amongst the cohort that we dealt with that there were apparent benefits there," he said.

"The problem with that is you can't really generalise to all populations, so having different climates and different groups and also having a larger population to analyses just means that you can get clarification if we can reduplicate those findings across different countries and narrow down on how much potential benefit there could be."

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A/Prof Su said variables such as medication and weather conditions also played a role in how eczema presents in individual children, so having more data was essential.

While there has been research showing that wearing superfine Merino wool can benefit adult eczema sufferers, these studies will specifically babies and young children as they have the highest prevalence of eczema.

"In Melbourne about 30 per cent of infants have some eczema, in children as a whole it's somewhere around 15 to 20pc and then in adults around 7 to 10pc," A/Prof said.

"We're hoping if we can show wool's effect in the young age group we would be dealing with a lot of eczema sufferers and early intervention may have benefits as well."

The effort it will take to change public mindsets around wool's role in treating sensitive skin is also something scientists are keenly aware of.

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"The problem is we're dealing with decades of fixed ideas and what we had seen when we did our literature review is a lot of the general public feelings have been based on data from the mid 1900s as well as people's experience with the old kind of coarser wools and no one has really treated fabrics with much seriousness in eczema," A/Prof Su said.

Both international studies have been significantly delayed by COVID shutdowns with the Chicago research about a quarter of the way through and work in Norway still suspended but planned to start in early 2022.

The two studies, which will each recruit about 50 children, are expected to be complete by December 2022.

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The story Wool benefits for childhood eczema probed in further studies first appeared on Farm Online.

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Treating eczema with wool: international studies underway - The Land Newspaper

Cirrhosis is a prevalent disease worldwide. It is also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease.

It is a late stage of scarring of the liver tissues caused by many forms of liver diseases and conditions.

The scar tissues are called fibrosis. Too much fibrosis causes impaired liver function and eventually liver failure.

It means, each time your liver is injured, it tries to repair itself by forming scar tissue or fibrosis. As more and more scar tissue forms, it becomes difficult for the liver to function.

There are many causes of cirrhosis, such as obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, high alcohol consumption, hepatitis B or C infection, autoimmune diseases, cholestasis diseases, and iron or copper overload.

Its symptoms are usually slow to emerge. Early symptoms may include tiredness, weakness, loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss, nausea and sickness, and discomfort in one's upper right abdomen.

With declining liver function, cognitive impairments, confusion, memory loss, sleep disorders, and changes in personality may also develop.

The management of liver cirrhosis is centred on the treatment of the causes and complications. Liver transplantation can be required in some cases.

In order to reduce the risk of cirrhosis, you should eat a balanced diet and maintain a healthy weight. Excess body fat can damage the liver.

Reduction of risk of hepatitis B and C is necessary. Never share needles or engage in unprotected sex. Get hepatitis vaccinations.

You should speak to a doctor if any of the above mentioned symptoms is noticed. Detection in the early stages of the disease makes it easier to treat.

Continue reading here:
What is cirrhosis? what does it do? - The Daily Star

(Image source: Instagram @thebsimone)

The multifaceted B. Simone has undergone an abrupt hairstyle change to support her sister, Jordyn Genevie, who is currently battling complications stemming from topical steroid withdrawal syndrome (TSWS).

According to the National Eczema Association, the debilitating illness can arise from the use of potent topical steroids to treat skin conditions, such as eczema. Side effects can include burning, redness, wrinkling, pus-filled bumps, and hair loss.

The comedian and actress hit up social media via Instagram and YouTube to share her sisters journey.

I did the big chop in the name of love I love you baby @jordyngenevie and as long as Im living youll never go through anything alone. She had to cut her hair because she physically couldnt take care of it anymore. My sister loved her hair and I hate that she had to cut it off but theres so much healing in this. Jordyn, I cant physically go through TSW with you but we can start this beautiful healing journey together. What better way to start off and to cut off the dead weight? Im so proud of you and nobody understands what youve been going through for the past year.

I see you fight every single day and you look more beautiful to me now than ever. Its just hair, keep focusing on your spirit. I love you from the bottom of my heart to the depths of my soul. Ive never felt more beautiful and free. Thank you to my sister for giving me the courage to cut my hair while loving her, B. Simone wrote on IG.

Check out the video and photos of the sisters sharing their love for one another.

(Image source: Instagram @jordyngenevie)

(Image source: Instagram @jordyngenevie)

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B. Simone cuts her hair in support of sister battling illness - Rolling Out