The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea A paper came out in Nature on July 22 that further underscores earlier studies that show that neither the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine nor chloroquine prevents SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – from replicating in lung cells. Most Americans probably...
Both self-imposed prevention measures such as hand-washing, mask-wearing and social distancing, as well as government-imposed social distancing can help mitigate and delay a COVID-19 epidemic, according to a new study published this week in PLOS Medicine by Alexandra Teslya of University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands and colleagues. The coronavirus disease COVID-19 has spread to nearly...
As many hospitals and health centers face dramatic drops in revenue from ramping down services during the coronavirus pandemic, donations from grateful patients and philanthropists become more important than ever. A new study looks for the first time at patients’ views of hospital fundraising, including legally allowable practices that encourage physicians to work with their...
An article published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine reports that 25 million dwellings that house 81 million Americans lack adequate space or plumbing to allow compliance with recommendations that a person who may have COVID-19 maintain physical separation from others in their household. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and...
The last few months have been particularly difficult for people living in a violent relationship. But a few glimmers of hope are finally emerging from the coronavirus nightmare. “For a lot of people, the shutdown has been an extreme situation with a lot of stress. Those of us who work with people on anger management...
While the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black and Hispanic Americans is no secret, federal officials have launched studies of the disparity that they hope will better prepare the country for the next great epidemic. The National Institutes of Health began the ambitious “All of Us” research project in 2018 with the goal of enrolling...
In advance of an upcoming road trip with her elderly parents, Wendy Epstein’s physician agreed it would be “prudent” for her and her kids to get tested for COVID-19. Seeing the tests as a “medical need,” the doctor said insurance would likely pay for them, with no out-of-pocket cost to Epstein. But her children’s pediatrician...
A new COVID-19 tracking tool that can tell Texans what is happening in real time in their own communities and anticipate how one person can infect dozens more was recently launched by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). TexasPandemic.org, developed by public health researchers in collaboration with biostatisticians and data scientists, is...
Curcumin, a natural compound found in the spice turmeric, could help eliminate certain viruses, research has found. A study published in the Journal of General Virology showed that curcumin can prevent Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) – an alpha-group coronavirus that infects pigs – from infecting cells. At higher doses, the compound was also found to kill virus...
Marked racial disparities exist in confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths, investigators say, and highlight urgent needs to ensure adequate testing and treatment are available to African Americans and safer working and living conditions are in place so they can better protect themselves. Also, more complete surveillance data is needed that always includes race, ethnicity and...
