Day: August 29, 2022

Categories : General InterestTags :

Half of Teens Trust Fake Health News

On By ModernMedia
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A new study has found that teenagers have a hard time discerning between fake and true health messages. Only 48% of the participants trusted accurate health messages (without editorial elements) more than fake ones. Meanwhile, 41% considered fake and true neutral messages equally trustworthy and 11% considered true neutral health messages less trustworthy than fake health messages. The results highlight a need for better training of teenagers to navigate a world where fake health news is so widespread.

Health mis- and disinformation are a serious public health concern, with an increased spread of fake health news on social media platforms in the last few years. Previous research has shown that online health messages are mostly incomplete and inaccurate and have potentially harmful health information. Fake health news can lead to poor health choices, risk-taking behaviour, and loss of trust in health authorities.

“There has been an explosion of misinformation in the area of health during the COVID pandemic,” said principal investigator Dr Radomír Masaryk, of Comenius University.

While most research on message credibility has focused on adults, Dr Masaryk and his colleagues investigated whether teenagers are similarly equipped.

“As adolescents are frequent users of the internet, we usually expect that they already know how to approach and appraise online information, but the opposite seems to be true” Dr Masaryk said.

The researchers found that 41% of teenagers couldn’t tell the difference between true and fake online medical content. Additionally, poor editing of health messages was not perceived as a sign of low trustworthiness. These latest findings were published in Frontiers in Psychology.

Teenagers and the media

As so-called ‘digital natives’, modern teenagers are the world’s most well-connected group, with 71% of the world’s youth using the internet.

Studies have shown that teens increase their risky behaviour in response to positive portrayals of risky behaviour in the media, such as smoking and drinking. On the other hand, online health information that supports information provided by professionals can lead to healthy lifestyle changes, self-care, and treatment compliance.

Teenagers look at the structural features of a website, such as language and appearance, to evaluate online information. For example, authoritative organisations, trusted brands, or websites with business-like language tend to be more trusted.

Previous research on message trustworthiness with adolescents identified five editorial elements that deduced perceived message credibility: superlatives, clickbait, grammar mistakes, authority appeal, and bold typeface. Based on this prior study, the researchers developed a method to evaluate the effects of manipulation with content and format of health online messages on their trustworthiness in an adolescent sample.

They presented 300 secondary school students (aged between 16 and 19 years old) with seven short messages about the health promoting effects of different fruits and vegetables. The messages had different levels: fake message, true neutral message, and true message with editorial elements (superlatives, clickbait, grammar mistakes, authority appeal, and bold typeface). Participants were then asked to rate the message’s trustworthiness.

The participants were able to discern between overtly fake health messages and health messages whether true or slightly changed with editing elements; 48% of participants trusted the true neutral health messages more than the fake ones. However, 41% of participants considered fake and true neutral messages equally trustworthy and 11% considered true neutral health messages less trustworthy than fake health messages.

Clickbait less likely to work

“Putting trust in messages requires identification of fake versus true content,” said Dr Masaryk.

In the case of health messages that seem plausible and reasonable, teenagers could not tell the difference between true neutral health messages and health messages with editorial elements. Teenagers did not seem to decide on the trustworthiness of a message based on editing cues.

“The only version of a health message that was significantly less trusted compared to a true health message was a message with a clickbait headline,” continued Dr Masaryk.

The results highlight a need for better instruction of teenagers to spot editing cues that give away the quality of a piece of information. The authors suggest focusing on health literacy and media literacy training, and skills such as analytical thinking and scientific reasoning.

“Analytical thinking and scientific reasoning are skills that help distinguish false from true health messages,” Dr Masaryk concluded.

Source: Frontiers

Categories : VaccinesTags :

One Step Close to a Universal Flu Vaccine

On By ModernMedia
Syringe withdrawing from vaccine vial
Photo by Mufid Majnun

A new universal flu vaccine protects against diverse variants of both influenza A and B viruses in mice, according to a new study published in the journal PLOS Pathogens.

The researchers designed a single, universal influenza vaccine candidate with key cross-protective, less variable parts of the influenza A and B viruses: multi-neuraminidase protein subtypes known to be major antiviral drug targets and the universally conserved M2 ectodomain protein.

The researchers, from the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University, report that mice vaccinated with an immune stimulating virus-like particle displaying multiple neuraminidase subtypes and conserved M2 portions of antigens were protected against influenza A seasonal variants and pandemic potential viruses (H1N1, H5N1, H3N2, H9N2 and H7N9) and influenza B (Yamagata and Victoria lineage) viruses containing substantial antigenic variations.

Viral variants emerge when flu pathogens change their major surface haemagglutinin protein that binds to host receptor molecules. Continuous mutational changes in the flu haemagglutinin proteins result in immune escape and sever disease.

Current influenza vaccines are based on strain-specific immunity to haemagglutinin, a highly variable target of immune protection. The effectiveness of the seasonal vaccine is unpredictable and could be below 20% because of continuous changes in haemagglutinin proteins. Influenza therefore remains a significant risk to human health worldwide.

“We developed a single, universal vaccine entity that induced immunity to conserved M2 ectodomain and multi subtype neuraminidase proteins and was found to be effective in conferring broad cross protection against antigenically diverse influenza A and B viruses in young and aged mice,” said Professor Sang-Moo Kang, senior author of the study. “This study provides impactful insight into developing a universal influenza vaccine inducing broad immunity against both flu A and B variants in young and aged populations.”

This study supports a novel strategy for creating a universal vaccine against influenza A and B viruses. A single construct displaying multiple cross protective proteins has the capacity to induce immunity to M2 and multi-subtype neuraminidase proteins of influenza A and B viruses, as well as offer broad cross protection against sickness and mortality under lethal flu virus challenges in mice, according to the study.

Vaccinating mice with this universal vaccine candidate induced broad neuraminidase inhibition, M2 ectodomain specific antibodies and T cell immune responses. Comparable cross protection was induced in aged mice.

The study warrants further testing of this unique, universal va ccine candidate in ferrets, which have similar respiratory tracts to humans.

Source: Georgia State University

Categories : GeneticsTags :

Mucus: An ‘Amazing’ Trait that Evolved so Many Times

On By ModernMedia
Runny nose and sneezing symptoms
Photo by Britanny Colette on Unsplash

Mucus is ubiquitous in nature, from saliva to slugs, and serves many useful functions such as protection of tissues and lubrication. A new study published in Science Advances reveals just how these gooey substances evolved in nature, and how they easily evolve from genes that code for normal proteins.

Comparing mucin genes in 49 mammal species, scientists identified 15 instances in which new mucins appear to have evolved through an additive process that transformed a non-mucin protein into a mucin.

The scientists propose that each of these “mucinisation” events began with a non-mucin protein. At some point, evolution tacked a new section onto this non-mucin base: one consisting of a short chain of amino acids that are decorated with sugar molecules. Over time, this new region got duplicated, with multiple copies added on to elongate the protein even further, making it a mucin.

The doubled regions, called “repeats,” are key to a mucin’s function, say University at Buffalo researchers.

The sugars coating these sections protrude outward like the bristles of ­a bottle brush, granting mucins the slimy property key to many important tasks that these proteins carry out.

“I don’t think it was previously known that protein function can evolve this way, from a protein gaining repeated sequences. A protein that isn’t a mucin becomes a mucin just by gaining repeats. This is an important way that evolution makes slime. It’s an evolutionary trick, and we now document this happening over and over again,” said Omer Gokcumen, PhD, associate professor of biological sciences.

“The repeats we see in mucins are called ‘PTS repeats’ for their high content of the amino acids proline, threonine and serine, and they aid mucins in their important biological functions that range from lubricating and protecting tissue surfaces to helping make our food slippery so that we can swallow it,” said Stefan Ruhl, DDS, PhD, interim dean of the UB School of Dental Medicine and professor of oral biology. “Beneficial microbes have evolved to live on mucus-coated surfaces, while mucus can at the same time also act as a protective barrier and defend against disease by shielding us from unwanted pathogenic intruders.”

“Not many people know that the first mucin which had been purified and biochemically characterised came from a salivary gland,” Prof Ruhl added. “My lab has been studying mucins in saliva for the last 30 years, mostly because they protect teeth from decay and because they help balance the microbiota in the oral cavity.”

While studying saliva, the team noticed that a small salivary mucin in humans called MUC7 was not present in mice, but they had a similarly sized salivary mucin called MUC10.

It turned out the two mucins were not evolutionarily related. But what the research uncovered next was a surprise. While MUC10 did not appear to be related to MUC7, a protein found in human tears called PROL1 did share a portion of MUC10’s structure. PROL1 looked a lot like MUC10, minus the sugar-coated bottlebrush repeats that make MUC10 a mucin.

“We think that somehow that tear gene ends up repurposed,” Assoc Prof Gokcumen said. “It gains the repeats that give it the mucin function, and it’s now abundantly expressed in mouse and rat saliva.”

The scientists wondered whether other mucins might have formed the same way. They began to investigate and discovered multiple examples of the same phenomena. Though many mucins share common ancestry among various groups of mammals, the team documented 15 instances in which evolution appeared to have converted non-mucin proteins into mucins via the addition of PTS repeats.

And this was “with a pretty conservative look,” Assoc Prof Gokcumen said, noting that the study focused on one region of the genome in a few dozen mammal species. Slime is an “amazing life trait,” he said, curious whether the same evolutionary mechanism might have driven the formation of some mucins in slugs, slime eels and other critters. More research is needed to find an answer.

“How new gene functions evolve is still a question we are asking today,” said Petar Pajic, a UB PhD student in biological sciences and the study’s first author. “Thus, we are adding to this discourse by providing evidence of a new mechanism, where gaining repeated sequences within a gene births a novel function.”

“I think this could have even broader implications, both in understanding adaptive evolution and in possibly explaining certain disease-causing variants,” Pajic added. “If these mucins keep evolving from non-mucins over and over again in different species at different times, it suggests that there is some sort of adaptive pressure that makes it beneficial. And then, at the other end of the spectrum, maybe if this mechanism goes ‘off the rails’ – happening too much, or in the wrong tissue – then maybe it can lead to disease like certain cancers or mucosal illnesses.”

Source: EurekAlert!

Categories : Cardiovascular Disease Expert OpinionTags :

Consensus Decision Pathway for Nonstatin Therapies Released

On By ModernMedia
Source: Wikimedia Commons CC0

An expert consensus decision pathway on the role of nonstatin therapies for LDL-C lowering in the management of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk reduction has been published to address the recent development and commercial availability of newer nonstatin agents. The American College of Cardiology drafted the decision pathway in order to bridge gaps in expert guidance on the topic.

The 2022 ACC Expert Consensus Decision Pathway on the Role of Nonstatin Therapies for LDL-Cholesterol Lowering in the Management of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Diseases Risk is available online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. It was endorsed by the National Lipid Association.

The document provides guidance on clinical scenarios not covered in the 2018 AHA/ACC Guideline on the Management of Blood Cholesterol and refines criteria for treating individuals determined by baseline LDL-C levels. The clinical policy focuses on individuals at very high-risk as well as not very high-risk of future ASCVD events, individuals currently with or without a clinical diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia, primary prevention for individuals with and without diabetes, and individuals with statin-associated side effects. The writing committee also addresses factors to consider in the clinician-patient discussion reinforcing patient preference with regard to the addition of nonstatin therapies.

Source: EurekAlert!

Categories : Substance UseTags :

Surprising Trends among Vaping Teens Reveal Vulnerable Groups

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Nery Zarat on Unsplash

A study published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine used survey data from US high school students to determine how prevalent vaping is in different sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity groups. They found dramatic differences and surprising patterns in vaping rates across these identity markers.

Vaping is on the rise among teens, with half of all US high school students in having tried vaping at least once and a third of these students vaping regularly.

From 2019–2020, the popularity of disposable e-cigarette use among US high school students who currently vaped went up by 1000%, from 2.4% to 26.5%, according to the CDC. Since nicotine in e-cigarettes is highly addictive, and e-cigarette use in teens leads to higher risks of smoking regular cigarettes later in life, researchers wanted to know more about which groups of teens are currently vaping and possible predisposing factors.

The study, which uses survey data of over 38 000 high school students from 2015–2019, fills in a wide gap that exists in e-cigarette studies: research on vaping prevalence among young people at the intersections of more than one minoritised identity.

The study uncovered significant differences in the prevalence of current e-cigarette use between lesbian and heterosexual girls when comparing across racial groups. 

Current e-cigarette use was higher in Black lesbian girls compared to Black heterosexual girls (18.2% vs 7.1%). The rate was also higher in multiracial girls who identify as lesbian compared to multiracial girls who identify as heterosexual (17.9% vs 11.9%). On the other hand, White lesbian girls were found to be at lower risk of current vaping compared to White heterosexual girls (9.1% vs 16.1%).

Among boys, there were no significant interactions between sexual orientation and race or ethnicity in relation to vaping prevalence. 

Previous surveys of gay and lesbian teens suggest that e-cigarette use might be a coping mechanism to deal with the stress of sexual orientation or gender identity-based discrimination or bullying, or a way to bond with others in their social circle, the authors say. However, prior studies have not reported how e-cigarette use prevalence among youth differ at the intersections of sexual orientation, sex, race, and ethnicity. 

One possible reason for finding disparities in e-cigarette use at the intersection of sexual orientation and race among girls, but not boys may be due to higher levels of targeted e-cigarette marketing toward queer women of color, the authors say. 

Prior research has found that when compared to White heterosexual young women (aged 18-24), bisexual Black and Hispanic women reported higher levels of exposure to ads for tobacco products, while there were no substantial differences in exposure to these ads among young adult men.

“For years, the tobacco industry has targeted marketing toward traditionally marginalised groups, whether in clubs, bars, Pride events, or through magazines,” said co-author Andy Tan, associate professor at the Annenberg School for Communication. “Sexual, racial, and ethnic minority youth are more likely to report engaging with online tobacco advertising including e-cigarette ads on social media.”

Source: University of Pennsylvania

Categories : Cardiovascular DiseaseTags :

Post-MI Polypill Slashes CV Mortality by 33%

On By ModernMedia
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A three-drug medication ‘polypill’ containing aspirin, ramipril, and atorvastatin is effective in preventing secondary adverse cardiovascular events in people who have previously had a heart attack, reducing cardiovascular mortality by 33% in this patient population. 

The study results were published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

“The results of the SECURE study show that for the first time that the polypill, which contains aspirin, ramipril, and atorvastatin, achieves clinically relevant reductions in the recurrent cardiovascular events among people who have recovered from a previous heart attack because of better adherence to this simplified approach with a simple polypill, rather than taking them separately as conventional,” said Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, who led the trial.

Standard therapy for patients recovering from myocardial infarction includes three different drugs: an antiplatelet agent (like aspirin); ramipril or a similar drug to control blood pressure; and a lipid-reducing drug, such as a statin. However, adherence is poor over 50% of patients not taking their medications.

“Although most patients initially adhere to treatment after an acute event such as an infarction, adherence drops off after the first few months. Our goal was to have an impact right from the start, and most of the patients in the study began taking a simple polypill in the first week after having a heart attack,” Dr Fuster explained.

“Adherence to treatment after an acute myocardial infarction is essential for effective secondary prevention,” said José María Castellano, MD, study first author.

Scientists at the Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) and Ferrer developed the polypill. It was first shown that prescription of their polypill significantly improved treatment adherence among patients recovering after a myocardial infarction, in the FOCUS study.

The CNIC team launched the SECURE study, an international randomised clinical trial, to determine whether the improved treatment adherence with the polypill translated into a reduction in cardiovascular events. The polypill analysed in the study, marketed as Trinomia, contains aspirin (100mg), the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor ramipril (2.5, 5, or 10mg), and atorvastatin (20 or 40mg).

“The polypill, being a very simple strategy that combines three essential treatments for this type of patient, has proved its worth because the improved adherence means that these patients are receiving better treatment and therefore have a lower risk of recurrent cardiovascular events,” added Dr Castellano.

SECURE included 2499 patients from seven European countries recovering after a heart attack. Study participants (average age 76 years, 31% female) were randomised to receive standard therapy or the CNIC polypill. The study population included 77.9% with hypertension, 57.4% with diabetes, and 51.3% with a smoking history.

Researchers analysed the incidence of four major cardiovascular events: death from cardiovascular causes, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, and need for emergency coronary revascularisation. The study followed patients for an average of three years and produced conclusive results: patients taking the CNIC polypills had a 24% lower risk of these four events than patients taking the three separate drugs.

The standout finding of the study is the effect of the polypill on the key outcome of cardiovascular-related death, which showed a relative reduction of 33%, from 71 patients in the group receiving standard treatment to just 48 in the polypill group. Importantly, the study found that patients in the polypill group had a higher level of treatment adherence than those in the control group, in line with the earlier FOCUS study, and in part such good adherence appears to explain the benefits of the simple polypill.

“The 33% reduction in cardiovascular mortality demonstrates the efficacy of treatment with Trinomia compared to standard treatment. These results ratify our purpose of making a positive impact in society and represent an important step in our mission to provide significant and differential value to people who suffer from serious health conditions,” explains Oscar Pérez, Chief Marketing, Market Access and Business Development Officer at Ferrer.

“The SECURE study findings suggest that the polypill could become an integral element of strategies to prevent recurrent cardiovascular events in patients who have had a heart attack. By simplifying treatment and improving adherence, this approach has the potential to reduce the risk of recurrent cardiovascular disease and death on a global scale,” added Dr Fuster.

Source: Mount Sinai

Categories : Diseases, Syndromes and ConditionsTags :

Tecovirimat Safe and Effective against Monkeypox

On By ModernMedia
Colourised transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox virus particles (green) cultivated and purified from cell culture. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Credit: NIAID

In a research letter published in JAMA, infectious disease experts reported on 25 monkeypox patients given tecovirimat therapy, with data showing that it is safe and effective for the treatment of monkeypox symptoms and skin lesions.

The recent global outbreak of monkeypox has led to more than 45 500 cases as of August 22, 2022. While symptoms usually resolve on their own in 2–4 weeks, a recent study showed that 13% of patients needed hospitalisation.

Tecovirimat (TPOXX) is an FDA-approved antiviral drug for the treatment of smallpox which limits viral spread in the body by inhibiting the release of the enveloped virus. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) allowed physicians to prescribe tecovirimat on a compassionate use basis to treat adults and children with orthopoxvirus infections, including monkeypox.

“We have very limited clinical data on the use of tecovirimat for monkeypox infection. There is much to learn about the natural progression of the disease and how tecovirimat and other antivirals may affect it,” said lead author Angel Desai, an adult infectious disease specialist.

The new study included patients referred to UC Davis Medical Center, between June 3 and August 13, 2022.

Patients with skin lesions in multiple body parts or in sensitive areas such as the face or genital region were offered oral tecovirimat treatment. The treatment was weight-based, given every 8 or 12 hours, and was taken within 30 minutes of a high-fat meal.

The researchers collected clinical data on evaluation for treatment and on day 7 and day 21 following the beginning of therapy.

In total, 25 male patients (ages 27–76 years) with confirmed monkeypox infection completed a course of tecovirimat therapy. Nine patients had HIV.

Only one patient had the smallpox vaccine (taken more than 25 years ago) and four others received a dose of JYNNEOS vaccination after symptoms started.

The study found that 92% of patients had lesions in their genital or anal area. While all patients had painful lesions, around half had fewer than 10 lesions over their entire body.

On average, the patients had symptoms or lesions for 12 days before they started their antiviral treatment. Fever was the most common symptom (76% of the patients), followed by fatigue (32%), sore throat (20%) and chills (20%). Other symptoms included backache (12%), muscle pain (8%), nausea (4%) and diarrhoea (4%).

All patients completed the tecovirimat therapy and tolerated their treatment well. They were treated for two weeks, except for one patient who was treated for 21 days.

On day 7 of therapy, 40% of patients had healed from their lesions. By day 21, 92% had healed and were pain-free.

The most reported adverse events on day 7 of therapy included: fatigue (28%), headache (20%), nausea (16%), itching (8%) and diarrhoea (8%).

“We have to be very careful in how we interpret the data. It is hard to differentiate the side effects due to therapy from those caused by the infection,” cautioned infectious diseases expert and co-author George Thompson.

This small study lacked a control group, limiting assessment of antiviral efficacy in terms of symptom duration and severity. Also, the time from symptom onset to starting the antiviral therapy varied among the patients.

The researchers called for large-scale studies to explore antiviral efficacy dosing and adverse events.

Source: UC Davis Health