Skylar Kenney, Assistant Editor

Pairing semaglutide, a drug used to treat diabetes, with a minimally invasive endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) can provide significant weight loss benefits for patients who are not candidates for invasive weight loss surgery, according to a study presented at Digestive Disease Week 2021.

Supplements for Omega-3s often contain both EPA and DHA.

Programs that provide ongoing support to patients with painful conditions and complex medication regimens may also help them avoid using opioid pain medications or reduce the amount that they use, according to a study published in Rheumatology and Therapy.

According to the authors of the study, 60% of men and 50% of women participating in the study were not consuming as much vitamin C as was recommended.

Presented at the European Congress on Obesity, the analysis includes data from 121 trials with nearly 10,000 adult participants.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists' (ASHP) Pharmacy Residency Match program continued its growth trend with nearly 5500 pharmacy students and residents paired with residency positions in 2021.

In the summer of 2020, there were 2.5 times as many deaths per capita for Black Americans, compared to White Americans.

Slightly less than 1% of the pregnant patients died from COVID-19 compared to 3.5% of nonpregnant patients, according to the study findings.

Certain pre-existing conditions are common among people living with HIV/AIDS, which may contribute to the severity of their COVID-19 cases.

The study authors said that their findings show that cost-sharing may limit access to coverage and cause Medicaid to experience adverse selection.

Individuals affected by sleep disorders accumulated approximately $7000 more in overall health care expenses per year compared to those without a sleep disorder.

Loneliness and social isolation have been particularly significant problems for patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic, likely due to isolation and social distancing, according to a study published in Cancer.

Managing weight, blood pressure and cholesterol in children may help protect brain function later in life.

Data presented at the 2021 ESMO Breast Cancer Virtual Congress showed 29% of recurrent breast cancer biopsies showed conversion either from, or to, HER2-low expression.

According to the authors, increased arterial stiffness was found in young adults, which may impact heart health.

HSV-1 can spread to the fetal brain during pregnancy and cause lifelong neurological problems, such as cognitive dysfunction, learning disabilities, and dementia.

The percentage of patients who received an opioid among all ED visits during the 2018 shortage fell significantly from 11.5% pre-shortage to 8.5% during, and did not return to baseline once the shortage had ended.

The study authors noted that 340B participating hospitals may be better positioned to create and administer programs that support patients who are uninsured or underinsured, and those who may have job, transportation, and other social insecurities.

According to the study, helminth-infected mice developed significantly more severe symptoms after infection with a genital herpes virus (herpes simplex virus), results that the researchers believe are also transferrable to humans.

According to the authors of the study, the findings could lead to new therapies for inflammatory bowel disease and people who've had portions of their bowels removed due to conditions such as colon cancer and ulcerative colitis.

The authors of the study suggest that any patient with HZ should be tested for COVID-19, even if the individual has mild symptoms or no history of upper respiratory symptoms.

A study presented at the American Physiological Society annual meeting found links between skin pigmentation, vitamin D, and indicators of cardiovascular health, suggesting vitamin D deficiency could contribute to the high rate of heart disease among African Americans.

This indication has received accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response, though the results of confirmatory trials may change the approval status.

The study is most comprehensive analysis to date of changes in hospital mortality throughout the pandemic, reviewing data on more than 20,000 patients admitted to hospitals for COVID-19 over 9 months, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

The study also found that patients with comorbidities such as heart disease and diabetes were more likely to experience a high symptom burden.

Fatigue-inducing anemias caused by chronic diseases and inflammation may be treatable with a combination of inexpensive oral medications, according to a study published in Nature Communications.

Use of tranexamic acid is not associated with complications such as deep vein blood clots, heart attacks, seizures, or strokes or mini strokes when used in high-risk patients, according to a study published in Anesthesiology.

The authors of the study said this finding suggests that data from health care workers could be used to estimate the severity of future viruses more quickly.

Further, while there is ambiguity surrounding the treatment of IBD flare in patients with CDI, case reports suggest corticosteroid initiation after appropriate antibiotic therapy may be effective.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been linked to a 44% increase in insomnia disorder among health care workers at a medical-school affiliated health system, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.