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Taking the COVID-19 antiviral Paxlovid does not appear to improve Long COVID symptoms in a meaningful way, a new study finds. Those results are a blow to the millions of people living with the condition, which currently has no approved treatment or cure.Paxlovid has long been a source of hope for those with Long COVID. Scientists don’t know exactly what causes Long COVID, but many have hypothesized that viral material lingers in the body, potentially causing long-lasting symptoms including fatigue, the inability to exercise, brain fog, and more. Given that theory, a drug like Paxlovid, which stops the virus from multiplying and reduces the amount of it in the body, seemed to many like a promising treatment.But the new study, which was published June 7 in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that ...

Lately, the biggest news in Alzheimer’s has been around a new drug treatment that can slow cognitive decline by nearly 30% among people in the early stages of the disease. In coming months, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to make a decision about another such promising therapy.But in addition to pharmaceutical interventions, which are expensive and require repeated infusions, making sustained lifestyle changes can also slow the progression of the disease, and possibly even prevent further decline, according to a new study.In the trial, an intensive program of diet, exercise, stress reduction, and social interaction slowed the progression of cognitive decline as measured on standard tests for dementia, and even improved some people's symptoms. The study was conducted by Dr...

A new sexually transmitted fungal infection has been detected for the first time in the U.S., health experts announced Wednesday.A study, published in the journal JAMA Dermatology on Wednesday, reported that the first known U.S. case of this new form of ringworm was discovered in a man from New York City in his 30s. The man had gone on a trip to England, Greece, and California, and when he came back to New York City, he developed tinea—a type of skin rash—on his penis, buttocks, and limbs. The new form of ringworm is “highly contagious,” according to a New York University’s (NYU) Langone Health press release about the study. The study, which was conducted by experts at the medical center and elsewhere, found that the new fungal infection can take months to clear up, even when the patient r...

The threat of bird flu to humans appears to be growing. As outbreaks of H5N1—a dangerous strain of avian influenza—continue to affect cows in the U.S., Canada, South America, Europe, and Asia, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on June 5 the first-ever case of a human infection with H5N2, a different strain of avian influenza. The infection was fatal.The case was first reported to the WHO on May 23 by health officials in Mexico City, where a 59-year-old man with several other health conditions was hospitalized. Before reporting shortness of breath, diarrhea, and nausea, the man had been bedridden for three weeks. Testing by the national lab showed that the man had H5N2, and further genetic sequencing confirmed the strain. Unlike the recent U.S. cases of H5N1 in people, the patien...