Health News

Dialysis patients benefit from a third COVID vaccination dose

Just like diseases, vaccines cause the body to form an immunological memory. This memory can prevent a second infection or illness caused by the same pathogen. “Put simply, specific immunity is based on antibodies that prevent infection and on immune cells that can kill infected cells,” explains Professor Nina Babel, head of the Center for […]

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Patients can take treatment holidays from kidney cancer pills

Now you’re safe to take a treatment holiday from a life-saving kidney cancer pill which causes terrible side effects More than 15,000 Britons are taking daily pills to treat advanced kidney cancer The highly effective medication causes progressively worse side effects  A study has shown a treatment holiday has no impact on life expectancy   Patients with […]

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One-half of patients with low-risk prostate cancer switch from active surveillance to active treatment

Nearly half of men initially managed with active surveillance for “low-risk” prostate cancer transition to definitive treatment – such as surgery or radiation therapy—within a few years after diagnosis, reports a study in The Journal of Urology, an Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA). “These population-based data show that while the number of […]

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Patients who miss multiple GP appointments stay missing from healthcare

Research into the healthcare journey shows that patients who miss appointments with their GP are also less likely to attend hospital outpatient appointments.    Patients who missed more than two GP appointments (on average) per year, were at least three times more likely to miss outpatient appointments compared to those who missed no GP appointments.   “Missingness” from outpatient mental health services was especially high and it was also associated with “irregular discharge” from in-patient care.    However, the researchers were […]

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Patients of color less likely to get specialist care

(HealthDay)—People of color are consistently less likely to see medical specialists than white patients are, a new U.S. study finds, highlighting yet another disparity in the nation’s health care system. Researchers found that compared with their white counterparts, Black Americans, Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans had significantly fewer visits to doctors of various specialties—ranging from […]

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Why COVID patients become critically ill

Researchers at Amsterdam UMC have discovered why patients become seriously ill after being infected with the coronavirus. They identified that aberrant antibody responses are the main cause of becoming critically ill. In addition, they identified a drug that can counteract this derailed immune response, which may be used to treat seriously ill COVID patients in […]