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COVID Patient’s Infection Lasts Record 613 Days—and Accumulated Over 50 Mutations

A Covid-19 patient with a weakened immune system incubated a highly mutated novel strain over 613 days before succumbing to an underlying illness, researchers in the Netherlands found.

The patient, a 72-year-old man with a blood disorder, failed to mount a strong immune response to multiple Covid shots before catching the omicron variant in February 2022. Detailed analysis of specimens collected from more than two dozen nose and throat swabs found the coronavirus developed resistance to sotrovimab, a Covid antibody treatment, within a few weeks, scientists at the University of Amsterdam’s Centre for Experimental and Molecular Medicine said. It later acquired over 50 mutations, including some that suggested an enhanced ability to evade immune defenses, they said.

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The 20-month-long SARS-CoV-2 infection is the longest known, according to the researchers, who are presenting the case at a medical meeting in Barcelona next week. While his mutant virus wasn..

Doctors Need to Get Better at Recognizing Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy

Whether fictional or fact-based, Munchausen syndrome by proxy grips the public. Media depictions in The Sixth Sense and Sharp Objects and real-life news coverage of Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s December 2023 release from jail are hard to look away from. The most well-known cases—real or dramatized—are often the starkest ones, but Munchausen by proxy comes in subtler, harder-to-detect forms too.

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“The media are fascinated, but they tend to depict the most extreme cases,” says Dr. Marc D. Feldman, distinguished life fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and author of Dying to Be Ill: True Stories of Medical Deception.

So how do more health care providers develop the skills to recognize this form of medical child abuse and report it to the appropriate authorities?

What Is Munchausen by proxy?

Munchausen by proxy “is a form of abuse in which a caregiver feigns, exaggerates, or induces illness in another person. Typically, the caregiver is the mother..

Scotland Pauses Prescribing Puberty Blockers to Under-18s

Scotland’s only gender clinic for young people has paused prescribing puberty blockers for new patients under 18 years old after the National Health Service (NHS) in England banned children from receiving the gender treatment last month.

Puberty blockers are used to delay puberty changes by stopping the body from making sex hormones including testosterone and estrogen. They can be prescribed to treat gender dysphoria, the clinical term for psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity.

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The Sandyford Clinic, based in Glasgow, announced that new patients aged 16 and 17 “will no longer be prescribed gender affirming hormone treatment until they are 18 years old,” the clinic wrote in an update on its website. Existing patients currently receiving treatment will not be affected.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC), the national health branch that oversees the clinic, said in a ..

World Health Organization, experts reach landmark agreement on how to define airborne diseases

The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
The Geneva-based U.N. health agency released a technical document on the topic on Thursday. It said it was the first step towards working out how to better prevent this kind of transmission, both for existing diseases like measles and for future pandemic threats.
The document concludes that the descriptor «through the air» can be used for infectious diseases where the main type of transmission involves the pathogen traveling through the air or being suspended in the air, in line with other terms such as «waterborne» diseases, which are understood across disciplines and by the public.
WHO DIRECTOR CALLS FOR WORLD PANDEMIC TREATY TO PREPARE FOR DISEASE X
Almost 500 experts contributed to the definition, including physicists, public health professi..

Having trouble sleeping? It could be for this surprising reason, experts say

When creating an ideal sleeping environment, you might think of lighting, temperature and sound — but what about food?
What you eat during the day can have a surprising impact on how well you sleep at night, according to experts.
«Food choice is an essential consideration for ensuring good sleep quality. Some types of food promote sleep while others may cause sleep disruption,» Dr. Chelsie Rohrscheib, head sleep expert at Wesper, a sleep analysis company in New York, told Fox News Digital.
LACK OF SLEEP COULD BE A FACTOR IN A 'SILENT EPIDEMIC,' EXPERTS WARN
Here's what to know.
If after eating you’re struggling to fall asleep, waking up often during the night or experiencing heartburn, acid reflux or indigestion, your food choices could be the culprit, according to Dr. Raj Dasgupta, chief medical adviser at Sleepopolis in California.
Other warning signs include experiencing restlessness or stomach discomfort, needing more frequent bathroom breaks at night, or waking up ..

Study finds evidence of microplastics in brains and other organs

Two new studies have described the ways in which tiny microplastics can end up in humans' organs – and even in the brains of mice.
One of the studies, published in Environmental Health Perspectives on Apr. 10., involved feeding healthy mice microplastics over a period of four to eight weeks. Scientists later found that various organs in the mice were contaminated.
«In mice that ingested microspheres, we detected polystyrene microspheres in distant tissues including the brain, liver, and kidney,» the study's results section reads.
«Additionally, we report on the metabolic differences that occurred in the colon, liver, and brain, which showed differential responses that were dependent on concentration and type of microsphere exposure.»
SCIENTISTS REVEAL SIMPLE NEW PROCESS THAT MAY HELP ELIMINATE TOXIC CHEMICALS FROM EVERYDAY ITEMS
Another study published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials on Apr. 5 experimented on both humans and mice. Researchers found that patients under 5..

‘Forever chemicals’ found in US drinking water, map shows ‘hot spots’ of highest levels

The risk of having potentially harmful chemicals in your drinking water may depend on your zip code.
A study published in the journal Nature Geoscience on April 8 found that higher amounts of PFAS (perfluoroalkyl substances) were found in drinking water in certain parts of the U.S.
PFAS — also known as «forever chemicals» due to how slowly they break down — are a group of chemicals used during industrial processes and the manufacturing of consumer products.
SCIENTISTS REVEAL SIMPLE NEW PROCESS THAT MAY HELP ELIMINATE TOXIC CHEMICALS FROM EVERYDAY ITEMS
Two of the main chemicals are perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS).
There are many ways people can be exposed to these chemicals — including in drinking water.
To determine the prevalence of PFAS in the environment, researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney analyzed a global dataset of 273 studies dating back to 2004.
The studies included data for over 12,000 samples of surface wat..

‘Forever chemicals’ found in US drinking water, map shows ‘hot spots’ of highest levels

The risk of having potentially harmful chemicals in your drinking water may depend on your zip code.
A study published in the journal Nature Geoscience on April 8 found that higher amounts of PFAS (perfluoroalkyl substances) were found in drinking water in certain parts of the U.S.
PFAS — also known as «forever chemicals» due to how slowly they break down — are a group of chemicals used during industrial processes and the manufacturing of consumer products.
SCIENTISTS REVEAL SIMPLE NEW PROCESS THAT MAY HELP ELIMINATE TOXIC CHEMICALS FROM EVERYDAY ITEMS
Two of the main chemicals are perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS).
There are many ways people can be exposed to these chemicals — including in drinking water.
To determine the prevalence of PFAS in the environment, researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia, analyzed a global dataset of 273 studies dating back to 2004.
The studies included data for over 12,000 samples of..

The girl who can’t smile, plus ‘Ozempic babies’ and sleep-related disorders

THE GIRL WHO CAN'T SMILE – Tayla Clement, 26, has a rare disorder that makes it impossible for her to smile. She shares with Fox News Digital how she overcame years of bullying and trauma and learned to «smile in her own way.» Continue reading…
CANCER CONNECTION – Women with breast cancer could be at an increased risk for another type of cancer. Here's what to know. Continue reading…
OZEMPIC BABIES – Many women claim that taking Ozempic and Wegovy helped them become pregnant after periods of infertility. Experts explore the potential link. Continue reading…
FIGHTING FATIGUE – A nutritional biologist shares tips for boosting energy levels and keeping the mid-day slump at bay. Continue reading…
‘IRREVERSIBLE’ EFFECTS? – Puberty blockers could cause long-term infertility and other health issues in boys, a new study has found. Doctors urge caution. Continue reading…
‘SILENT EPIDEMIC’ – Lack of sleep can lead to a condition called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which a..

No, You Don’t Need to Chug Olive Oil

Forget morning coffee. Across the internet, people are broadcasting a different routine: drinking a shot of extra virgin olive oil after they climb out of bed.

Gulping down the oil that’s usually reserved for cooking has been a “gamechanger,” one TikToker said. “It gives my body a kickstart,” another chimed in.Others claim a shot (or more) of olive oil per day improves their gut health, boosts their metabolism, and makes their skin glow. Even celebrities, likeKourtney Kardashian and Ryan Seacrest, have trumpeted their love of olive oil shots.

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But are they pouring on the praise for good reason? We asked experts what they think of drinking a shot glass full of straight olive oil.

The health benefits of olive oil

Everyone needs fat in their diet, despite the bad rap that sometimes swirls around it. It’s an essential way our body stores energy, and it helps us absorb important vitamins like A, D, and E. “Don’t sleep on fats,” says Abbey Sharp, a Toron..