COVID-19 Trends Among Individuals Aged 0–24 Years, United States
According to the January 13, 2021 issue of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, studies consistently have shown that children, adolescents, and young adults are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infections. Children and adolescents have had lower incidence and fewer severe COVID-19 outcomes than adults, but cases among these groups have increased since summer 2020, with weekly incidence higher in each successively increasing age group. Trends among children and adolescents aged 0–17 years paralleled those among adults. Risk for disease introduction and transmission among children in child care centers and elementary schools might be lower than for high schools and institutions of higher education. To enable safer in-person learning, schools and communities should implement fully and adhere strictly to multiple mitigation strategies, especially universal and proper mask wearing, to reduce both school and community COVID-19 incidence to help protect students, teachers, and staff members from the disease.
Alcohol Consumption, Cardiac Biomarkers, And Risk Of Atrial Fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an arrhythmia with a major impact on public health due to its increasing prevalence in aging populations and its association with adverse outcomes, including stroke and heart failure (HF), with more than a doubling of mortality risk. The effect of alcohol on AF risk has remained ambiguous since there is inconsistent evidence on the relation of alcohol intake with incident AF at lower doses. As reported in the January 13, 2021 issue of the European Heart Journal, researchers assessed the association between alcohol consumption, biomarkers, and incident AF across the spectrum of alcohol intake in European cohorts. In contrast to other cardiovascular diseases such as HF, even modest habitual alcohol intake of 1.2 drinks/day was associated with an increased risk of AF, which needs to be considered in AF prevention. Compared to drinking no alcohol at all, just one alcoholic drink a day was linked to a 16% increased risk of AF over a median follow-up time of nearly 14 years.
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY CORNER
Targeting Cartilage EGFR Pathway For Osteoarthritis Treatment
There currently is no cure for osteoarthritis (OA), but a group of scientists believe they have discovered a method through which a simple knee injection could potentially stop the disease's effects. Researchers previously found that mice with cartilage-specific epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) deficiency developed accelerated knee OA. To test whether the EGFR pathway can be targeted as a potential OA therapy, investigators constructed two cartilage-specific EGFR overactivation models and showed that they could target a specific protein pathway in mice, place it in overdrive, and halt cartilage degeneration over time. Building on that finding, they were able to demonstrate that treating mice with surgery-induced knee cartilage degeneration through the same pathway could reduce the cartilage damage and knee pain dramatically via the state of the art of nanomedicine. Findings were published in the journal Science Translational Medicine on January 13, 2021.
Infection Trains The Host For Microbiota-Enhanced Resistance To Pathogens
The microbiota shields the host against infections in a process known as colonization resistance. How infections themselves shape this fundamental process remains largely unknown. Scientists from five institutes of the National Institutes of Health show in an article published in the January 15, 2021 issue of the journal Cell that gut microbiota from previously infected hosts display enhanced resistance to infection. This long-term functional remodeling is associated with altered bile acid metabolism leading to the expansion of taxa that utilize the sulfonic acid taurine that helps the gut recall prior infections and kill invading bacteria, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kpn). Taurine is found naturally in bile acids in the gut. The poisonous gas hydrogen sulfide is a byproduct of taurine and low levels of it allow pathogens to colonize the gut, but high levels produce enough byproduct to prevent colonization. Supplying exogenous taurine alone is sufficient to induce this alteration in microbiota function and enhance resistance.
More December 2020 - January 2021 TRENDS Articles
SIR ISAAC AND THE WHOLE BIRD
Discusses political polarization and new opportunities to produce bipartisan solutions for physical and mental health problems. Read More
117TH CONGRESS IS UNDERWAY
looks at some major appropriations that were enacted for fiscal year 2021. Read More
HEALTH REFORM DEVELOPMENTS
points out how the incoming Biden administration may undo certain policies of the previous administration and indicates some mechanisms for doing so. Read More
DEVELOPMENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION
lists some funding made available by the enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 and also refers to additional financial assistance provided in a separate coronavirus-relief package. Read More
QUICK STAT (SHORT, TIMELY, AND TOPICAL)
COVID-19 Trends Among Individuals Aged 0-24 Years, United States
Alcohol Consumption, Cardiac Biomarkers, And Risk Of Atrial Fibrillation
Targeting Cartilage EGER Pathway For Osteoarthritis Treatment
Infection Trains The Host For Microbiota-Enhanced Resistance To Pathogens Read More
AVAILABLE RESOURCES ACCESSIBLE ELECTRONICALLY
When Back To School Meets Stay At Home
Equity-Minded Faculty Workloads: What Can And Should Be Done Now
2021 Federal Health Insurance Exchange Weekly Enrollment Read More
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND SOCIAL DETERMINANTS
Examines the issue of how personal behavior and social determinants interact to influence health status. Read More
GENTRIFICATION IMPACTS ON HEALTH
Pertains to a discussion regarding whether the gentrification of urban neighborhoods is a net benefit or is harmful. Read More