By Nancy Lapid
May 10 (Reuters) - The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.
New drug helps COVID-19 patients breathe on their own
When a new monoclonal antibody drug was added to treatments being given to hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were still breathing on their own, the drug - lenzilumab from Humanigen Inc - significantly improved their odds of not needing invasive mechanical ventilation, researchers found. The 540 patients in the randomized trial were already receiving a variety of standard treatments. Half of them also received lenzilumab via three intravenous infusions. In a paper posted on Wednesday on medRxiv ahead of peer review, the research team reported that patients in the lenzilumab group had a 54% better chance of surviving without needing mechanical ventilation. In patients receiving steroids and Gilead Sciences antivira
By Syndicated Content
By Nancy Lapid
(Reuters) – The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.
New drug helps COVID-19 patients breathe on their own
When a new monoclonal antibody drug was added to treatments being given to hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were still breathing on their own, the drug – lenzilumab from Humanigen Inc – significantly improved their odds of not needing invasive mechanical ventilation, researchers found. The 540 patients in the randomized trial were already receiving a variety of standard treatments. Half of them also received lenzilumab via three intravenous infusions. In a paper posted on Wednesday on medRxiv ahead of peer review, the research team reported that patients in the lenzilumab group had a 54% better chance of surviving without needing mechanical ventilation. In patients receiving ste
Texas delegation requests close to $2 billion in funding request earmarks
Over half of the Texas delegation requested funds, including eight Republicans.
An American Airlines plane makes its way towards the runway before taking off at DFW International Airport on Monday, November 16, 2020.(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)
Earmarks are back.
The congressional practice of members essentially hand-picking projects was banned from Congress in the early 2000s after it became synonymous with “pork barrel” legislation. But it’s been given another chance under a new system.
Twenty-one members from Texas’ 35-member congressional delegation the 6th Congressional District in North Texas currently is open requested a total of close to $2 billion for fiscal 2022. Every Texas Democrat and eight Texas Republicans Reps. Dan Crenshaw of Houston, August Pfluger of San Angelo, Pete Sessions of Waco, Troy Nehls of Richmond, John Carter of Round Rock, Beth Van Duyne of Irving, Mich
Mental
Health (PRISM) project integrates implementation research for scaling up sustainable, evidence-based mental health interventions with research capacity-building activities for East Asia. The mental health implementation research hub, based in Thailand and including China, will focus on reducing the treatment gap and support for community-residing older adults, with a particular focus on elders with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in Specific aims are to: (1) empirically test a culturally adapted
Getting-To-Outcomes (GTO) implementation support model aimed at enhancing the delivery of an evidence-based physical exercise intervention for narrowing the treatment gap for older persons with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia in Thailand; (2) build individual and institutional capacity for the implementation of mental health intervention research in Thailand and China; (3) improve Thai and Chinese policy makers’ capacity for using research for eviden
NIH to invest $29 million to address COVID-19 disparities
To bolster research to help communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19, the National Institutes of Health is funding $29 million in additional grants for the NIH Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities. This funding was supported by the American Rescue Plan. The awards will provide $15 million to 11 teams already conducting research and outreach to help strengthen COVID-19 vaccine confidence and access, as well as testing and treatment, in communities of color. An additional $14 million will fund 10 new research teams to extend the reach of COVID-19 community-engaged research and outreach.
“The goal of this effort is to foster community-engagement research in communities which have been hit hardest by the pandemic,” said Gary H. Gibbons, M.D., director, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). “The alliance is designed to meet people where they are with the help of trusted m