Publisher Health

Individuals who contract COVID-19 while pregnant face a higher risk of having a very preterm birth, as well as any preterm birth, according to a large study led by researchers at UC San Francisco.
Risk of very preterm birth, which occurs at less than 32 weeks of gestation, was 60 percent higher for people infected with COVID-19 at some point in their pregnancy, while the risk of giving birth at less than 37 weeks (all preterm births) was 40 percent higher in those with infection. For those who also had hypertension, diabetes and/or obesity as well as COVID-19, the risk of preterm birth rose 160 percent.
The paper was published online July 30, 2021, in The Lancet Regional Health — Americas.
“Preterm birth is associated with many challenging outcomes for pregnant people and babies, and very preterm births carry the highest risk of infant complications,” said lead and corresponding author Deborah Karasek, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, and researcher with the California Preterm Birth Initiative at UCSF.
“Our results point to the importance of preventative measures to reduce COVID-19 infection among pregnant people to prevent preterm birth, including vaccination,” she said. “Pregnant people may have concerns about vaccines and the health of their baby, so being able to have an open dialogue that values those concerns, describes evidence about safety, and conveys the risks posed by COVID-19 infection during pregnancy is critically important.”
On July 30, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued updated guidance strongly recommending that all pregnant individuals get vaccinated against COVID-19. Pregnant people are considered a high-risk population for COVID-19 infection, yet less than a quarter have received at least one dose of vaccine, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

At least two judges in Ohio have made receiving Covid-19 vaccinations a condition of probation. While judges have leeway in setting such rules, it’s a murky area, experts said.As cases of coronavirus infections rise in Ohio, some judges have attached unusual conditions for those released on probation: Get a Covid-19 vaccine or face being sent to prison.On Aug. 4, Judge Christopher A. Wagner of the Court of Common Pleas in Hamilton County told Brandon Rutherford, who was convicted on drug offenses, that as part of his release on “community control,” or probation, he must receive the vaccination within 60 days.“I’m just a judge, not a doctor, but I think the vaccine’s a lot safer than fentanyl, which is what you had in your pocket,” the judge told Mr. Rutherford, 21, according to a transcript provided by the judge’s office on Monday.“I’m going to order you, within the next two months, to get a vaccine and show that to the probation office,” the judge said. “You violate, you could go to prison.”On June 22, another Court of Common Pleas judge, Richard A. Frye in Franklin County, gave Sylvaun Latham, who had pleaded guilty to drugs and firearms offenses, up to 30 days to receive the vaccination, according to court records. If Mr. Latham violated that condition and others, he could go to prison for 36 months. Mr. Latham agreed to be vaccinated, the records show.The sentences were a unique breakthrough in the public health debate taking place in the United States about how civil liberties intersect with mask and vaccination mandates.The judges’ decisions go to the heart of how personal freedoms are being examined through the lens of public health in a pandemic. David J. Carey, the deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, said he saw no “clear cut” violation of civil rights.“It is a potentially murky area,” he said. “There is certainly a legitimate concern around ordering someone to do something that pertains to their bodily autonomy. They need to have a compelling reason to have to do so.”“The question here is whether there is such a compelling interest, and whether it pertains to the purposes of probation,” Mr. Carey added. “Judges do have a lot of leeway in imposing conditions on behavior while on probation. But that leeway is not unlimited. They still need to establish it has a clear connection to a person’s individual case.”In Ohio, as in the rest of the country, private businesses can impose their own requirements on employees and patrons. Federal government employees are required to be vaccinated or face regular testing, but state and local government institutions set their own rules. In Ohio, more than 800 school districts and other local entities function independently, Dan Tierney, a spokesman for Gov. Mike DeWine, said on Monday.Mr. DeWine said Ohio was a state that exemplified the dual risk of infection. “Those who are vaccinated are safe, those who are not vaccinated are not safe,” he said.Asked about his decision, Judge Frye said in an email on Monday that he had issued vaccine orders three times so far, and none of the defendants raised medical or religious objections.“Ohio law allows judges to impose reasonable conditions of probation, intended to rehabilitate the defendant and protect the community,” Judge Frye said. He said that, based on medical evidence, the vaccination would protect others and keep those on probation safer as they search for or keep jobs.Sharona Hoffman, a professor and co-director of the Law-Medicine Center at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law, said it was unusual to pair sentencing with the vaccine.“Judges get creative in order to keep people out of jail,” she said. “They impose all sorts of sentences and, again, this is to the benefit of the person. And if you are going to be out in the community, you can’t run around infecting people with Covid.”In some states, such as Georgia, judges have offered reduced sentences if defendants get vaccinated, WSB-TV in Atlanta reports. Early this year, prisoners in Massachusetts were offered the possibility of reduced prison sentences for receiving the vaccine, but the decision was later rescinded.Michael Benza, a senior instructor at Case Western’s School of Law, said he believed other judges in other states were setting similar conditions for probation, but he was not certain it was a broad practice across the country..css-1xzcza9{list-style-type:disc;padding-inline-start:1em;}.css-3btd0c{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:1rem;line-height:1.375rem;color:#333;margin-bottom:0.78125rem;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-3btd0c{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.5rem;margin-bottom:0.9375rem;}}.css-3btd0c strong{font-weight:600;}.css-3btd0c em{font-style:italic;}.css-w739ur{margin:0 auto 5px;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-weight:700;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.3125rem;color:#121212;}#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-w739ur{font-family:nyt-cheltenham,georgia,’times new roman’,times,serif;font-weight:700;font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.625rem;}@media (min-width:740px){#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-w739ur{font-size:1.6875rem;line-height:1.875rem;}}@media (min-width:740px){.css-w739ur{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.4375rem;}}.css-9s9ecg{margin-bottom:15px;}.css-uf1ume{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:justify;-webkit-justify-content:space-between;-ms-flex-pack:justify;justify-content:space-between;}.css-wxi1cx{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:column;-ms-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column;-webkit-align-self:flex-end;-ms-flex-item-align:end;align-self:flex-end;}.css-12vbvwq{background-color:white;border:1px solid #e2e2e2;width:calc(100% – 40px);max-width:600px;margin:1.5rem auto 1.9rem;padding:15px;box-sizing:border-box;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-12vbvwq{padding:20px;width:100%;}}.css-12vbvwq:focus{outline:1px solid #e2e2e2;}#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-12vbvwq{border:none;padding:10px 0 0;border-top:2px solid #121212;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-rdoyk0{-webkit-transform:rotate(0deg);-ms-transform:rotate(0deg);transform:rotate(0deg);}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-eb027h{max-height:300px;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition:none;transition:none;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-5gimkt:after{content:’See more’;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-6mllg9{opacity:1;}.css-qjk116{margin:0 auto;overflow:hidden;}.css-qjk116 strong{font-weight:700;}.css-qjk116 em{font-style:italic;}.css-qjk116 a{color:#326891;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;-webkit-text-decoration-color:#326891;text-decoration-color:#326891;}.css-qjk116 a:visited{color:#326891;-webkit-text-decoration-color:#326891;text-decoration-color:#326891;}.css-qjk116 a:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}By adding vaccination to conditions that included employment, the judges were staying within the probation order, he said, but added: “I think the problem for this type of order is if the defendant would challenge it, I think there is a significant chance that order would be found to be improper. It is a compulsion for a medical procedure.”In court, Mr. Rutherford told the judge, “no, not really,” when asked whether he was scared about inoculation. “I just never went to get it,” Mr. Rutherford said, according to the transcript.Carl Lewis, the lawyer for Mr. Rutherford, could not be reached on Monday. But Mr. Rutherford, speaking to WCPO 9 News recently, said he did not want to be vaccinated.Brandon Rutherford was ordered by a judge in Ohio to receive the Covid-19 vaccine as a condition of his probation.WCPO“I don’t plan on getting it. I don’t want it,” he said. “So, for him to tell me that I have to get it in order for me to not violate my probation is crazy because I’m just trying to do what I can to get off this as quickly as possible, like finding a job and everything else, but that little thing can set me back.”Judge Wagner, in response to questions on Monday, said in an email that “judges make decisions regularly regarding a defendant’s physical and mental health, such as ordering drug, alcohol, and mental health treatment.”He added that Mr. Rutherford was in possession of fentanyl, “which is deadlier than the vaccine and COVID 19.”

Findings from a new University of Kentucky College of Medicine and College of Health Sciences study add to growing evidence that resistance exercise has unique benefits for fat loss.
The Department of Physiology and Center for Muscle Biology study published in the FASEB Journal found that resistance-like exercise regulates fat cell metabolism at a molecular level.
The study results in mice and humans show that in response to mechanical loading, muscle cells release particles called extracellular vesicles that give fat cells instructions to enter fat-burning mode.
Extracellular vesicles were initially understood as a way for cells to selectively eliminate proteins, lipids and RNA. Recently, scientists discovered that they also play a role in intercellular communication.
The study adds a new dimension to how skeletal muscle communicates with other tissues by using extracellular vesicles, says John McCarthy, Ph.D., study author and associate professor in the UK Department of Physiology.
“To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of how weight training initiates metabolic adaptations in fat tissue, which is crucial for determining whole-body metabolic outcomes,” McCarthy said. “The ability of resistance exercise-induced extracellular vesicles to improve fat metabolism has significant clinical implications.”
McCarthy’s research team was led by post-doc Ivan Vechetti, now at the University of Nebraska, in collaboration with the Center for Muscle Biology, directed by Joseph Hamburg Endowed Professor Charlotte Peterson, Ph.D.
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01DK119619.
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Materials provided by University of Kentucky. Original written by Elizabeth Chapin. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

UBC researchers have developed a method for monitoring bacterial responses to antibiotics in health-care settings that opens the door to personalized antibiotic therapy for patients.
Using microwave sensing technology, UBC Okanagan Assistant Professor Mohammad Zarifi and his team at the Okanagan Microelectronics and Gigahertz Applications (OMEGA) Lab have developed a low-cost, contactless, portable and reusable microwave sensor that acts as a fast and reliable evaluation tool for measuring antibiotic resistance.
According to the World Health Organization, over-prescription of antibiotics has led to growing resistance of bacteria towards drug treatments. As a result, the newly evolved “superbugs” have put a large strain on health-care systems globally, says Zarifi.
This newly developed sensor aims to combat the drawbacks of the current Antibiotic Susceptibility Test (AST), as it reduces the time and cost taken to conduct the test, while increasing the portability for AST to be used in remote regions.
“Many types of bacteria are continuously evolving to develop resistance to antibiotics. This is a pressing issue for hospitals around the globe, while sensor and diagnosis technology has been slow to adapt,” explains Zarifi, who teaches at the School of Engineering.
Existing AST practices are expensive and can take up to 48 hours to process results.
“Longer wait times can significantly delay the treatments patients receive, which can lead to further medical complications or even fatalities. This method showcases the requirement for a reliable, rapid and cost-effective detection tool,” he says.
The new sensor, developed by the UBC team, can differentiate bacterial growth variations before any visible cues are evident. Therefore, the dosage or type of antibiotics can be fine-tuned to combat the specific bacterial infection.
In the next phase of development, the OMEGA lab aims to integrate artificial intelligence algorithms with this sensing device to develop smart sensors, which would be a big leap towards personalized antibiotic therapy.
“Our ultimate goal is to reduce inappropriate usage of antibiotics and enhance quality of care for the patients,” says Zarifi. “The more quality tools like this that health-care practitioners have at their disposal, the greater their ability to combat bacteria and viruses.”
This research has been published in Nature Scientific Reports with financial and instrumental support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation and CMC Microsystems.
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New Edith Cowan University (ECU) research has found that people who eat a diet rich in vitamin K have up to a 34 percent lower risk of atherosclerosis-related cardiovascular disease (conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels).
Researchers examined data from more than 50,000 people taking part in the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health study over a 23-year period. They investigated whether people who ate more foods containing vitamin K had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease related to atherosclerosis (plaque build-up in the arteries).
There are two types of vitamin K found in foods we eat: vitamin K1 comes primarily from green leafy vegetables and vegetable oils while vitamin K2 is found in meat, eggs and fermented foods such as cheese.
The study found that people with the highest intakes of vitamin K1 were 21 percent less likely to be hospitalised with cardiovascular disease related to atherosclerosis.
For vitamin K2, the risk of being hospitalised was 14 percent lower.
This lower risk was seen for all types of heart disease related to atherosclerosis, particularly for peripheral artery disease at 34 percent.

Children’s heavy digital media use is associated with a risk of being overweight later in adolescence. Physical activity protects children from the adverse effects of digital media on their weight later in adolescence.
A recently completed study shows that six hours of leisure-time physical activity per week at the age of 11 reduces the risk of being overweight at 14 years of age associated with heavy use of digital media.
Obesity in children and adolescents is one of the most significant health-related challenges globally. A study carried out by the Folkhälsan Research Center and the University of Helsinki investigated whether a link exists between the digital media use of Finnish school-age children and the risk of being overweight later in adolescence. In addition, the study looked into whether children’s physical activity has an effect on this potential link.
The results were published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health.
More than six hours of physical activity per week appears to reverse adverse effects of screen time
The study involved 4,661 children from the Finnish Health in Teens (Fin-HIT) study. The participating children reported how much time they spent on sedentary digital media use and physical activity outside school hours. The study demonstrated that heavy use of digital media at 11 years of age was associated with a heightened risk of being overweight at 14 years of age in children who reported engaging in under six hours per week of physical activity in their leisure time. In children who reported being physically active for six or more hours per week, such a link was not observed.
The study also took into account other factors potentially impacting obesity, such as childhood eating habits and the amount of sleep, as well as the amount of digital media use and physical activity in adolescence. In spite of the confounding factors, the protective role of childhood physical activity in the connection between digital media use in childhood and being overweight later in life was successfully confirmed.
Activity according to recommendations
“The effect of physical activity on the association between digital media use and being overweight has not been extensively investigated in follow-up studies so far,” says Postdoctoral Researcher Elina Engberg.
Further research is needed to determine in more detail how much sedentary digital media use increases the risk of being overweight, and how much physical activity is needed, and at what intensity, to ward off such a risk. In this study, the amount of physical activity and use of digital media was reported by the children themselves, and the level of their activity was not surveyed, so there is a need for further studies.
“A good rule of thumb is to adhere to the physical activity guidelines for children and adolescents, according to which school-aged children and adolescents should be physically active in a versatile, brisk and strenuous manner for at least 60 minutes a day in a way that suits the individual, considering their age,” says Engberg. In addition, excessive and extended sedentary activity should be avoided.
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New research published in The Journal of Physiology found that otherwise healthy young people diagnosed with COVID-19, regardless of their symptom severity, have problems with their nervous system when compared with healthy control subjects.
Specifically, the system which oversees the fight-or-flight response, the sympathetic nervous system, seems to be abnormal (overactive in some instances and underactive in others) in those recently diagnosed with COVID-19.
These results are especially important given the emerging evidence of symptoms like racing hearts being reported in conjunction with “long-COVID.”
The impact of this alteration in fight-or-flight response, especially if prolonged, means that many processes within the body could be disrupted or affected. This research team has specifically been looking at the impact on the cardiovascular system — including blood pressure and blood flow — but the sympathetic nervous system is also important in exercise responses, the digestive system, the immune function, and more.
Understanding what happens in the body shortly following diagnosis of COVID-19 is an important first step towards understanding the potential long-term consequences of contracting the disease.
Importantly, if similar disruption of the flight-or-fight response, like that found here in young individuals, is present in older adults following COVID-19 infection, there may be substantial adverse implications for cardiovascular health.

A largescale new study provides further evidence that being overweight causes depression and lowers wellbeing and indicates both social and physical factors may play a role in the effect.
With one in four adults estimated to be obese in the UK, and growing numbers of children affected, obesity is a global health challenge. While the dangers of being obese on physical health is well known, researchers are now discovering that being overweight can also have a significant impact on mental health.
The new study, published in Human Molecular Genetics, sought to investigate why a body of evidence now indicates that higher BMI causes depression. The team used genetic analysis, known as Mendelian Randomisation, to examine whether the causal link is the result of psychosocial pathways, such as societal influences and social stigma, or physical pathways, such as metabolic conditions linked to higher BMI. Such conditions include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
In research led by the University of Exeter and funded by the Academy of Medical Sciences, the team examined genetic data from more than 145,000 participants from the UK Biobank with detailed mental health data available. In a multifaceted study, the researchers analysed genetic variants linked to higher BMI, as well as outcomes from a clinically-relevant mental health questionnaire designed to assess levels of depression, anxiety and wellbeing.
To examine which pathways may be active in causing depression in people with higher BMI, the team also interrogated two sets of previously discovered genetic variants. One set of genes makes people fatter, yet metabolically healthier, meaning they were less likely to develop conditions linked to higher BMI, such as high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. The second set of genes analysed make people fatter and metabolically unhealthy, or more prone to such conditions. The team found little difference between the two sets of genetic variants, indicating that both physical and social factors play a role in higher rates of depression and poorer wellbeing.
Lead author Jess O’Loughlin, at the University of Exeter Medical School, said: “Obesity and depression are both major global health challenges, and our study provides the most robust evidence to date that higher BMI causes depression. Understanding whether physical or social factors are responsible for this relationship can help inform effective strategies to improve mental health and wellbeing. Our research suggests that being fatter leads to a higher risk of depression, regardless of the role of metabolic health. This suggests that both physical health and social factors, such as social stigma, both play a role in the relationship between obesity and depression.”
Lead author Dr Francesco Casanova, of the University of Exeter Medical School, said “This is a robust study, made possible by the quality of UK Biobank data. Our research adds to a body of evidence that being overweight causes depression. Finding ways to support people to lose weight could benefit their mental health as well as their physical health.”
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Research from APC Microbiome Ireland (APC) at University College Cork (UCC) published today in the leading international scientific journal Nature Aging introduces a novel approach to reverse aspects of aging-related deterioration in the brain and cognitive function via the microbes in the gut.
As our population ages one of the key global challenges is to develop strategies to maintain healthy brain function. This ground-breaking research opens up a potentially new therapeutic avenues in the form of microbial-based interventions to slow down brain aging and associated cognitive problems.
The work was carried out by researchers in the Brain-Gut-Microbiota lab in APC led by Prof John F. Cryan, Vice President for Research & Innovation, University College Cork as well as a Principal Investigator at APC Microbiome Ireland an SFI Research Centre, based in in University College Cork and Teagasc Moorepark.
There is a growing appreciation of the importance of the microbes in the gut on all aspects of physiology and medicine. In this latest mouse study the authors show that by transplanting microbes from young into old animals they could rejuvenate aspects of brain and immune function. Prof John F. Cryan, says “Previous research published by the APC and other groups internationally has shown that the gut microbiome plays a key role in aging and the aging process. This new research is a potential game changer , as we have established that the microbiome can be harnessed to reverse age-related brain deterioration. We also see evidence of improved learning ability and cognitive function.” Although very exciting Cryan cautions that “it is still early days and much more work is needed to see how these findings could be translated in humans.”
APC Director Prof Paul Ross stated that “This research of Prof. Cryan and colleagues further demonstrates the importance of the gut microbiome in many aspects of health, and particularly across across the brain/gut axis where brain functioning can be positively influenced. The study opens up possibilities in the future to modulate gut microbiota as a therapeutic target to influence brain health” The study was led by co-first authors Dr Marcus Boehme along with PhD students Katherine E. Guzzetta, and Thomaz Bastiaansen.
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Research by Lancaster University scientists to create a COVID-19 vaccine which can be administered through the nose has taken a significant step forward.
The pre-clinical animal trials of the intranasal vaccine showed a reduction in both the impact of the disease itself and transmission of the virus.
The findings — published in the journal iScience — open the door to addressing global health and vaccine inequalities.
Researchers immunised hamsters with two doses of the vaccine, and found they showed complete protection from lung infection, inflammation and pathological lesions following exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Importantly, two doses of the intranasal vaccine were found to significantly reduce the virus “shedding” from the nose and lungs of the hamsters — suggesting the vaccine has the potential to control infection at the site of inoculation. This should prevent both clinical disease and virus transmission, to halt the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Virologist Dr Muhammad Munir led the study and worked alongside a team of scientists from Lancaster University, in collaboration with researchers from Texas Biomedical Research Institute, USA.