@vatan In this double-blind trial, 22 healthy men ages 23 to 58 were randomly split into two groups. One group drank 11 ounces of nonalcoholic lager every day for four weeks, while the other drank lager with 5.2% alcohol (comparable to Budweiser). At the end of the four weeks, analyses of blood and fecal samples revealed an increase in more than 20 types of helpful bacteria in the men's digestive tracts in both groups. Neither group saw significant changes in body weight, body fat, or cardiometabolic biomarkers such as blood sugar or LDL cholesterol, the researchers report.

@milind The common teaching in ophthalmology is that SO can be prevented if the inciting eye is removed within 10-14 days of the injury. But, as stated above, there are reported cases of SO within 5 days of eye trauma, so the 10-14 day "rule" isn't absolute. As a practical matter, given the extremely low incidence of SO after routine ophthalmic surgery, prophylactic treatment is really only considered in cases of ruptured globes.

Elevated levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1) are associated with a reduced risk for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), new research shows. The study also linked a higher ratio of total cholesterol to HDL with an increased risk for ALS. These findings, investigators note, point to potential future biomarkers in screening for ALS and perhaps an approach to reduce risk or delay onset of ALS in the longer term.

@anupam Urine tests of 327 women resulted in 187 (57%) positive and 98 (30%) negative results, along with 42 (13%) samples with incomplete data, the researchers reported. In contrast, drug testing of newborn meconium was positive in 273 (83%) cases, negative in 42 (13%), and was not performed in 12 (4%) ― for a rate of concordance of 41%. Concordance of urine/meconium occurred more frequently in male newborns (65%) compared to females (35%). It is unclear biologically why there is such a difference based on the sex of the infants' test and is an area that needs further investigation.

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is a manifestation of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Although most DVT is occult and resolves spontaneously without complication, death from DVT-associated massive pulmonary embolism (PE) causes as many as 300,000 deaths annually in the United States.

@rajanya The mean age was 52.8 years and women were 88%. Patients who were older and had a higher dose or longer duration of levothyroxine prescriptions were more likely to make a delayed follow-up visit during the pandemic. Changes in TSH were larger among the delayed-visit groups than the scheduled-visit group. We found increased risks of elevated TSH levels during the pandemic among the delayed visit groups, particularly those with delayed visit of 30 or more days (TSH > 4.5 mIU/L, aRR [95% CI] = 1.72 [1.60–1.85]; and TSH > 10 mIU/L, aRR [95% CI] = 2.38 [2.16–2.62]).

About four in 10 COVID patients have some sort of taste loss, according to a new study. Many COVID-19 patients report losing their sense of taste as well as their sense of smell, but scientists have been skeptical because the two senses are closely related and it was relatively rare for people to lose their taste sense before the COVID pandemic, says the Monell Chemical Senses Center, a nonprofit research institute in Philadelphia.

Estrogen supplementation is associated with a reduced risk of death from COVID-19 among postmenopausal women, new research suggests. Among postmenopausal women aged 50-80 years with verified COVID-19, those receiving estrogen as part of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for menopausal symptoms were less than half as likely to die from it than those not receiving estrogen, even after adjustment for confounders.

@manju Cataracts are a problem faced by millions of elderly Americans yearly, many of whom will require surgical replacement of their own lens with an artificial one, known as a psuedophakos or intra-ocular lens. These lenses come in many configurations, such as single-focus (like glasses for distance vision), multi-focal lenses (like bifocal glasses), and hi-tech variable-focus lenses (like real eyes). In 2006, the last reporting year, there were over 2.5 million procedures performed — an increase of 43% over 10 years. While the vast majority of cataract surgery is safe and effective, there is a 1%-2% chance of retinal detachment over the rest of the patient’s lifetime. If this occurs and is not treated promptly, patients can completely lose their vision in the effected eye. While researchers are examining non-surgical treatments for cataracts, surgery is currently the only real treatment or cure. The market leader in intra-ocular lenses, Alcon Laboratories, had sales of $1.2 billion in 2010. Alcon recently merged with Novartis.

@insiya You can take several steps at home to reduce earache pain. Try these options to ease the ear pain:
Apply a cold washcloth to the ear.
Avoid getting the ear wet.
Sit upright to help relieve ear pressure.
Use over-the-counter (OTC) ear drops.
Take OTC pain relievers.
Chew gum to help relieve pressure.
Feed an infant to help them relieve their pressure.