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☆ Another perk of weight-loss drugs? Eli Lilly's Zepbound may alleviate sleep apnea, too
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Hilary Brueck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

GLP-1 drugs were originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes. Drugmakers are discovering the injections may also aid weight loss, heart issues, and sleep apnea. AdvertisementAnother new indication for injectable GLP-1 drugs: better sleep. On Wednesday, drugmaker Eli Lilly announced positive results from a large, phase-3 clinical trial, testing Zepbound (the drug name for tirzepatide) as a treatment for sleep apnea. Related storyAlready, GLP-1 drugs have been indicated for the treatment of:ObesityHeart diseaseAdvertisementIn clinical trials, GLP-1 drugs have also shown some promise for treating other conditions, including:Non-alcoholic fatty liver diseaseAddictionDepressionParkinson's and Alzheimer'sCancerThese breakthroughs may be tied to the gut-brain connectionScientists think that the main reason GLP-1 drugs work well is because of their effect on our body's gut-brain connection.

Persons: —, drugmaker Eli Lilly, Eli Lilly, KATERYNA, Daniel Drucker, GLP, Eric Topol Organizations: Service, Food and Drug Administration, American Diabetes Association, University of Toronto

☆ Biotech startup Seed Health is betting its profits on AI-powered medical science
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Natalie Rose Goldberg | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

On Thursday, Seed Health launched CODA, a computational biology platform funded by its consumer business profitability. Seed Health has been in the business of microbiome scientific breakthroughs since its founding in 2015, but its biggest success to-date may have been becoming profitable as a bioscience startup. Katz's co-founder and co-CEO at Seed Health, Raja Dhir, said CODA and the accompanying data set will help to standardize microbiome science methods, which has long been an issue in the field. CODA's first applications are in metabolic health, brain health, longevity, and menopause, research areas chosen because they have already been identified as areas of human health where early CODA data displayed the strongest evidence. Seed Health has been working on several efforts around pioneering microbiome science for human and planetary health, and many in the field believe the approach is destined to have wider applications.

Persons: Katz, Ara Katz, Eran Segal, Eric Topol, transcriptome, Katz's, Raja Dhir, Dhir, Arpana Gupta, Goodman, There's, Segal, Joseph Petrosino, Petrosino Organizations: Seed, Seed Health, CNBC, Weizmann Institute of Science, Scripps Research Institute, UCLA, Luskin Microbiome, Baylor College of Medicine, Center, Metagenomics, Microbiome Research

☆ It may be time to break out the masks against Covid, some experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“And since the masks that are most effective are N95 that are now readily available, that’s the kind of mask you should wear,” he added. But the agency doesn’t make a broad recommendation for everyone to adopt masks. Morris Brown College in Atlanta announced a return to mandated physical distancing and masks just one week after classes started in August. And pediatricians are poised for the typical return-to-school surge in all kinds of respiratory illness, whether colds, flu or Covid. “The virus is always lurking, waiting for openings, so I think Covid is just going to be a bit of a roller coaster, probably forever,” Wachter said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Jonathan Reiner, “, ” Reiner, Biden, ”, Reiner, Eric Topol, ” Topol, ” What’s, Robert Wachter, ” Wachter, haven’t, Peter Chin, Topol, Dr, Sara Bode, Bode, It’s, ‘, ” Chin, Hong, You’ve, you’ve, Amanda Musa, Brenda Goodman, Deidre McPhillips, Meg Tirrell Organizations: CNN, George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, US Centers for Disease Control, CDC, Scripps, Research, Covid, Department of Medicine, University of California San, University of California, Morris Brown College, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, American Academy of Pediatrics ’, School Health, Internal Locations: Covid, Florida, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, Atlanta, Columbus , Ohio, Washington

Scientists are keeping an eye on the new lineage, named BA.2.86, because it has 36 mutations that distinguish it from the currently-dominant XBB.1.5 variant. So far there is no evidence that BA.2.86 spreads faster or causes more serious illness than previous versions. COVID infections and hospitalizations have been rising in the U.S., Europe and Asia, with more cases in recent months attributed to the EG.5 "Eris" subvariant, a descendant of the Omicron lineage that originally emerged in November 2021. But many countries have drastically reduced testing of patients and their efforts to analyze the genomes of the viruses causing new COVID cases. Updated COVID booster shots now being developed have been designed to target the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5.

Persons: Emily Elconin, Wesley Long, Eric Topol, Topol, Long, Moderna, Eris, Deena Beasley, Nancy Lapid, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, Moderna Inc, Pfizer, World Health Organization, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, CDC, EG, Omicron, Houston Methodist Hospital, Scripps Research, COVID, U.S, Pfizer Inc, Thomson Locations: Waterford , Michigan, U.S, Europe, Asia, United States, Israel, Denmark, La Jolla , California

☆ What to Know About the New Dominant Covid Variant
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Dana G. Smith | More About Dana G. Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The variant was identified in China in February 2023 and was first detected in the United States in April. It is a descendant of the Omicron variant XBB.1.9.2 and has one notable mutation that helps it to evade antibodies developed by the immune system in response to earlier variants and vaccines. That advantage may be why EG.5 has become the dominant strain worldwide, and it could be one reason Covid cases have started to rise again. Diagnostic tests and treatments such as Paxlovid continue to be effective against it, Dr. Pekosz said. “My main concern is for the people at high risk,” Dr. Topol said.

Persons: Pekosz, Eric Topol, Topol, ” Organizations: EG, Scripps Research Locations: China, United States, La Jolla, Calif

☆ New Covid variant: EG.5 is on the rise as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations go up
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —There’s a new coronavirus variant topping the leaderboard in the United States: EG.5. And it represents another incremental tweak to the virus rather than a major evolutionary leap like the original Omicron strain. This mutation has appeared in other coronavirus variants before. EG.5 also now has its own offshoot, EG.5.1, that adds a second mutation to the spike. Topol says the US can’t afford to delay its Covid-19 vaccine rollout.

Persons: CNN —, it’s, David Ho, ” Ho, ”, Eric Topol, Anne Hahn, Dan Barouch, virologist, ” Topol, Mandy Cohen, Topol, Dr, Sanjay Gupta Organizations: CNN, EG, US Centers for Disease Control, Columbia University, Scripps, Research, World Health Organization, Yale School of Public Health, Harvard University, US Food and Drug Administration, CDC, CNN Health, FDA Locations: United States, Northeast, FL, Ireland, France, Japan, China, Boston

☆ Watch Jim Cramer's full interview with Dr. Eric Topol
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWatch Jim Cramer's full interview with Dr. Eric TopolCramer interviewed Dr. Eric Topol, founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, on Thursday.

☆ Dr. Topol discusses new Covid variant, stresses the importance of getting vaccinated, masking and testing
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailDr. Topol discusses new Covid variant, stresses the importance of getting vaccinated, masking and testingCramer spoke with Dr. Eric Topol, founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, on Thursday.

☆ The CDC is considering testing airline poop and toilet waste for COVID-19 as anxieties rise about China's virus spread
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The US is considering testing airline wastewater for COVID-19 to track the virus. Wastewater tests showed the presence of COVID-19 variants up to two weeks before people tested positive using nasal swabs. Three infectious disease experts told Reuters that testing wastewater collected on airplanes would be more effective at tracking the virus than testing travelers on entry. According to the South China Morning Post, the Malaysian government has announced that they will start screening toilet water on flights from China to track the virus. They will not, however, be testing travelers upon arrival to Malaysia.

☆ U.S. considers airline wastewater testing as Covid surges in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The United States this week also expanded its voluntary genomic sequencing program at airports, adding Seattle and Los Angeles to the program. "Previous Covid-19 wastewater surveillance has shown to be a valuable tool and airplane wastewater surveillance could potentially be an option," she wrote. French researchers reported in July that airplane wastewater tests showed requiring negative Covid tests before international flights does not protect countries from the spread of new variants. They found the omicron variant in wastewater from two commercial airplanes that flew from Ethiopia to France in December 2021 even though passengers had been required to take Covid tests before boarding. Osterholm and others said mandatory testing before travel to the United States is unlikely to keep new variants out of the country.

The United States this week also expanded its voluntary genomic sequencing program at airports, adding Seattle and Los Angeles to the program. "Previous COVID-19 wastewater surveillance has shown to be a valuable tool and airplane wastewater surveillance could potentially be an option," she wrote. French researchers reported in July that airplane wastewater tests showed requiring negative COVID tests before international flights does not protect countries from the spread of new variants. They found the Omicron variant in wastewater from two commercial airplanes that flew from Ethiopia to France in December 2021 even though passengers had been required to take COVID tests before boarding. Osterholm and others said mandatory testing before travel to the United States is unlikely to keep new variants out of the country.

☆ Factbox: What are the new BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 coronavirus variants, and why it matters
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Julie Steenhuysen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The following describes the new coronavirus subvariants and how they may impact people. WHAT ARE BQ.1 AND BQ.1.1? In early July, BA.5 became the dominant subvariant of the coronavirus circulating in the United States, but in October it started giving way to BQ.1 and BQ.1.1. A study of blood from three dozen adults showed the shot increased neutralizing antibodies against the BA.4/BA.5 Omicron subvariants by fourfold compared with the original shot after one month. read moreIt is not yet clear whether that will translate into higher protection against the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 subvariants, but their close relationship to BA.5 may work in the booster's favor.

☆ Updated Covid-19 boosters offer protection, but new studies suggest they don't offer an edge against Omicron
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Similar immune responsesThe studies have important limitations, and they aren’t the final word on the updated boosters. In Barouch’s study, antibody concentrations were 15 times higher after the original boosters, rising from 184 to 2,829. They were 17 times higher after the updated shots, jumping from 211 to 3,693. After waiting the recommended three months since his last Covid-19 infection, President Joe Biden got an updated booster Tuesday and urged eligible Americans to do the same. Worobey says that when the strains are combined as they are in the updated boosters, they actually end up competing.

☆ If You’re Hunting for Heresy, You Aren’t a Scientist
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Allysia Finley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo stirred a hornet’s nest when he released an analysis of state death and vaccine records that showed young men experienced an 84% increased risk of cardiac death within four weeks of receiving an mRNA vaccine. Actually, that’s unfair to hornets. They aren’t as mindless or vicious as the self-anointed experts attacking Dr. Ladapo. Eric Topol , director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute and one of America’s leading Covid scolds, condemned Dr. Ladapo’s study as “baseless, reckless, and irresponsible” because it seemingly contradicted the expert consensus that myocarditis caused by vaccines is “ typically mild and fully resolves in nearly all affected” (emphasis added).

☆ Is the Pandemic ‘Over,’ or Not?
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

President Biden finally dared to say it on Sunday, declaring in an interview on CBS ’s “60 Minutes” that the “pandemic is over.” Various public-health eminences are saying he’s wrong, but his comments recognize the reality of the disease at this stage and the public mood. The trouble is that his Administration still hasn’t lifted its official finding of a Covid public-health emergency. Eric Topol , the Scripps Research Translational Institute director who is one of America’s leading Covid scolds, tweeted “Wish this was true. What’s over is @POTUS’s and our government’s will to get ahead of it, with magical thinking on the new bivalent boosters. Ignores #LongCovid, inevitability of new variants, and our current incapability for blocking infections and transmission.”

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