News by Subject Medicine & Health

People who regularly use psychoactive substances report experiencing a variety of negative impacts since the COVID-19 pandemic began, including increased usage and fear of relapse or overdose, highlighting the need for improved supports and services, including better access to safe supply programs, according to a new CAMH survey published in the International Journal of Drug Policy.

COVID-19 can enter the body via the lungs and gut, and a new study suggests the gut's immune response alone may not provide adequate whole-body immunity from the virus. Blood samples analyzed from COVID-19 patients revealed that immune cells triggered by the gut's response to infection were limited in number when compared to immune cells triggered elsewhere in the body. While more research is needed, these findings could have implications for planned oral COVID-19 vaccines.

Researchers from NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine's Infectious Diseases Translational Research Programme have identified two new proteins that play a critical role in the ability of EV-A71 to invade the central nervous system. One of these proteins is a druggable target, which means that there are drugs available that target this protein and which could potentially be used to limit the neurological complications associated with this illness.

Ensuring COVID-19 vaccine access for refugee and displaced populations, and addressing health inequities, is vital for an effective pandemic response. Yet, vaccine allocation and distribution has been neither equitable nor inclusive, despite that global leaders have stressed this as a critical aspect to globally overcoming the pandemic.

A COVID-19 vaccine that could provide protection against existing and future strains of the COVID-19 coronavirus, and other coronaviruses, and cost about $1 a dose has shown promising results in early testing.

Anyone sexually active under age 30 should be offered testing for chlamydia and gonorrhea, according to a new guideline from the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).