Menu

Blog

Page 7543

Apr 18, 2020

Feline Coronavirus (FCoV) RT-PCR

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health

Feline Coronavirus (FCoV) is a common viral infection in cats. It generally causes asymptomatic infection, but can cause mild diarrhea. As yet poorly understood changes in the virus can give rise to mutants that lead to the development of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). Most cats infected with a FCoV eliminate virus following infection, but some cats may develop a persistent infection. These cats are generally asymptomatic, can shed large amounts of virus in feces, and serve as a continual source of infection for other cats in the environment. Continual circulation of FCoV within a cat population may increase the chance that a virulent FIP strain might emerge. While the pathogenesis of FIP is poorly understood, it is now believed that detection and removal of persistently infected and shedding cats in a multi-cat household can reduce the risk of FIP emergence within that population.

In response to the increased interest within the cat breeding and cat owning community, the Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University now offers a fecal RT-PCR test for FCoV. This test can be used to identify asymptomatic FCoV shedding cats so steps can be taken to isolate them from other cats or to prevent their introduction to a resident population. Samples required for the fecal RT-PCR screening test are 2–5 grams fresh feces. When screening an individual cat in a multi-cat household it is important to positively identify the source of the fecal sample. Mixing of fecal samples from multiple cats may result in an inaccurate result. Feces should be stored in a clean plastic bag to prevent dehydration.

In clinical FIP suspect cats, the test can also identify FCoV in ascites fluid, whole blood, plasma, serum or fresh tissues (kidney, liver, or spleen). Samples from FIP-suspects should include 1–2 ml of fluid (ascites, whole blood, serum, or plasma) or 1–2 grams of fresh tissues.

Apr 18, 2020

Hospital turns to high-dose vitamin C to fight coronavirus

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Idk I already got the flu after the flu shot and I had to take like 100 vitamin c tablets which I would not suggest but I got over whatever it was in no time.


A hospital has reportedly turned to vitamin C as a treatment for the coronavirus, after reports emerged from China that doses well in excess of daily Dietary Reference Values (DRV) showed promise.

Apr 18, 2020

Covid-19 is shattering US cancer care

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

American oncologists are rushing to prioritise the patients at greatest risk, institute new protections, and learn from their collective experiences, Bryn Nelson reports.

A patient in Washington, newly diagnosed with breast cancer, fought to get her lumpectomy surgery rescheduled after it was cancelled indefinitely. 1 A stuffy nose required another patient in Massachusetts with a recurrent brain tumour to undergo multiple layers of screening before he could receive his immunotherapy infusion. 2 A patient with bladder cancer in North Carolina couldn’t get immunotherapy at all because of a lack of surgical masks and gloves. 3 Then he was denied a surgical alternative because he needed a covid-19 test first. Since he hadn’t been admitted to a hospital with serious covid-19 symptoms, he didn’t meet the testing criteria.

Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on cancer care throughout the US as medical centres scramble to cancel or rearrange surgeries or treatments, tackle a continuing shortage of tests and supplies, and devise new safety protocols to protect a highly susceptible patient group.

Apr 18, 2020

Seeking COVID-19’s New Hope in Scripps Research’s Collection of Old Drugs

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

In an effort to find an effective antiviral drug against SARS-CoV-2. Calibr, the drug development division of Scripps Research, is leveraging a unique resource—the ReFRAME drug collection. The ReFRAME drug collection comprises over 14,000 compounds that have been approved by the FDA for other diseases. A medicine identified from this resource could be rapidly repurposed.

Apr 18, 2020

COVID-19 — Natural Antivirals and Immune Boosters

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health

Natural antiviral and immune boosters (elderberry, curcumin, echinacea, quercetin etc), a new practical guide by Forever Healthy Foundation: “… We identified 50 natural substances and mixtures recommended for preventing infection with SARS-CoV-2 or lessening the severity of symptoms of COVID-19. As there hasn’t been enough time for the scientific community to conduct clinical trials on the effects of any of the compounds on SARS-CoV-2, we chose to recommend substances with established safety that have shown strong antiviral/immunomodulatory effects in previously conducted clinical trials or clinical practice.

This resulted in a final recommendation for 8 natural compounds, 4 that have shown activity against other coronaviruses and that have strong immunomodulatory effects (see Recommended Based on Scientific Literature) along with 4 further compounds that have traditionally been used for prevention/treatment of viral infections with a long record of efficacy and safety (see Recommended Based on Clinical Practice).

Additionally, we found there is some supporting evidence for 23 more substances, discussed in the Potentially Useful section…” https://brain.forever-healthy.org/plugins/servlet/mobile?con…/101057620


This Practical Guide is part of Forever Healthy’s “Maximizing Health” initiative that s eeks to holistically review the world’s leading medical knowledge on various health-related topics and turn it into actionable information.

Continue reading “COVID-19 — Natural Antivirals and Immune Boosters” »

Apr 18, 2020

Antibody tests suggest that coronavirus infections vastly exceed official counts

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Study estimates a more than 50-fold increase in coronavirus infections compared to official cases, but experts have raised concerns about the reliability of antibody kits.

Apr 18, 2020

Aubrey de Grey on the need of getting policymakers in the crusade against aging (March 2020)

Posted by in category: life extension

Cuenta con S/T en Español.

Aubrey de Grey during a panel discussion organized by the Foresight Institute, tells the importance of getting policymakers on board to further propel the crusade against aging and death.

Continue reading “Aubrey de Grey on the need of getting policymakers in the crusade against aging (March 2020)” »

Apr 18, 2020

Coronavirus Outbreak? No Worries, Nanotechnology Is There to Help!

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health, nanotechnology

Many researchers from all around the world have joined forces to fight the ongoing coronavirus outbreak that very recently originated in Wuhan, China. As always, nanotechnology does have a solution for almost every problem we face, including now-struggling global health: a nanoparticle-based coronavirus vaccine was successfully developed.

Apr 18, 2020

How did the Bubonic Plague make the Italian Renaissance possible?

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, economics, food

The Black Death (1347−1350) was a pandemic that devastated the populations of Europe and Asia. The plague was an unprecedented human tragedy in Italy. It not only shook Italian society but transformed it. The Black Death marked an end of an era in Italy, its impact was profound, and it resulted in wide-ranging social, economic, cultural and religious changes.[1] These changes, directly and indirectly, led to the emergence of the Renaissance, one of the greatest epochs for art, architecture, and literature in human history.

The Impact of the Plague of Italy

To Black Death spread to Italy from modern-day Russia. Genoese merchants spread the plague while fleeing a Mongol attack on their trading post in Crimea. The plague was carried and spread by the fleas that lived on the Black Rat and brought to Italy on the Genoese ships.[2] The population of Italy was ill prepared for the spread of the disease. There had been a series of famine and food shortages in the region, and the population was weak and vulnerable to disease, and furthermore, the population did not have any natural resistance to the disease. Italy was the most urbanized society in Europe, Milan, Rome, Florence, and other Italian centers among the largest on the continent.[3].

Apr 18, 2020

Podcast #44: The Post Covid-19 Future, Part 1, Urban and Social Issues with Cindy Frewen

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health

“If a severe pandemic materializes, all of society could pay a heavy price for decades of failing to create a rational system of health care that works for all of us.”–Irwin Redlener.