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April 18, 2024 9:30 PM EDTA 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.The...

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.“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?...

Eli Lilly & Co.’s weight-loss drug Zepbound improved breathing problems in highly anticipated studies that may convince more insurers to cover the $1,000-a-month treatment. In two late-stage trials of patients with obstructive sleep apnea, a condition closely linked to obesity, Zepbound reduced the number of times breathing slowed or stopped during sleep by up to 63% from the baseline, Lilly said in a statement Wednesday. The result topped Jefferies analysts’ expectations that the trials would likely show a reduction of about 50% to 55%. Patients in the 52-week studies also lost up to roughly 20% of their body weight, Lilly said. Lilly said it plans to share full results from the trials at the American Diabetes Association conference in June. The drug giant plans to submit those result...

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, like Kourtney Kardashian and Ryan Seacrest, have trumpeted their love of olive oil shots. 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 oilEveryone needs fat in their diet, despite the bad rap that sometimes swirls aroun...