Every week, HEADlines brings you the latest news, stories and commentaries in education and healthcare. This week, get insights on the latest developments in healthcare. |
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Anti-viral pills, a new weapon for the pandemic
In recent weeks, two pharmaceutical companies, Merck and Pfizer, have announced promising trial results for their anti-viral oral pills, which reduces COVID hospitalisation and death rates by 50% and 89% respectively.
Nature looks at five key factors that could determine how the new COVID-19 anti-virals shape the course of the pandemic. - Will the drugs work against variants of concern? More studies will need to be done to determine its efficacy against known COVID variants;
- How effective are the new anti-virals? Thus far, both companies have only provided broad headline numbers. Until full details of the clinical trials are released, some crucial details are still missing for scientists to draw conclusions about the drugs' efficacy;
- Are the treatments safe? Both drugs were reported to be well tolerated by participants, but some features of the drug pose limitations and concerns;
- Could the coronavirus become resistant to anti-virals? Drug resistance is a familiar problem in treating viral infections. Combination therapies will likely be needed and more research required to determine what works;
- Who will be able to access the new drugs? Availability of drugs to mid- to low-income countries and access to speedy accurate tests would determine how widespread their use would be.
Ultimately, treatments alone are not likely to end the pandemic, but they will add to our armoury of weapons to fight disease progression and spread of the virus. |
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Healthcare in the Spotlight |
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First spotted in South Africa, the new variant carries an “extremely high number” of mutations which may drive further waves of disease by evading the body’s defenses. |
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It’s becoming clear that “coinfections” happen all the time. Just how bad are they? |
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Emerging science of chronic pain is beginning to influence care — not by creating new treatments, but by legitimising chronic pain so that doctors take it more seriously. |
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Developed by Dementia Singapore, the innovative care solution harnesses the power of technology to facilitate the safe return of a person living with dementia swiftly back to his or her family when things go wrong. |
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After the FDA's approval of Biogen's anti-amyloid drug to treat Alzheimer's, other pharma firms have followed suit, hopeful for approval. But questions still linger whether anti-amyloid treatments actually help cognition. |
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Research show that practicing qigong helps reduce pain, improve mental health and increase physical fitness and flexibility. |
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Cross-protective antibodies from Dengue and Zika last far longer than previously thought, scientists have found in a massive study involving more than 4,000 children in Nicaragua. |
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Source: The Guardian
It’s easy to despair at the climate crisis, or to decide it’s already too late – but it’s not. Here’s how to keep the fight alive. |
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That's all for the week! |
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