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A pre-pandemic infection could explain why some patients develop long COVID

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

By Rick Sobey, Boston HeraldA pre-pandemic common cold coronavirus infection may help set the stage for long COVID, according to Boston researchers who have been looking to explain why some patients end up facing the long-lasting, debilitating symptoms.The researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital teamed up with experts in immunology and virology to look for clues about long COVID in blood samples from patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases.The team found that among these patients, those who developed long COVID were more likely to have expanded, pro-inflammatory antibodies specific to a coronavirus that causes the common cold.A person’s viral history, especially prior infection and expansion of antibodies against a pre-pandemic coronavirus, could prime the immune system for developing long COVID, according to the researchers.“Our study offers evidence and explanation for why some of our patients may be experiencing the persistent and wide...

What to know about over-the-counter Narcan

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

By Tanaz Meghjani, Bloomberg NewsNarcan, an emergency opioid overdose reversal treatment, will soon be available at U.S. pharmacies without a prescription for about $45. The Food and Drug Administration approved Emergent BioSolutions Inc.’s spray for over-the-counter use in March. It’s the first opioid antidote to be available without a prescription, which will ease access for thousands of patients and their families.Here’s what you need to know about it:Does Narcan work on heroin and fentanyl overdoses?Narcan nasal spray is a lifesaving treatment for people who overdose on opioids, including fentanyl and heroin.Related ArticlesHealth | Ask the Pediatrician: What is the best backpack for my child? Health | Mayo Clinic Minute: What you should know about enteroviruses and babies Health | As the heat cranks up, Boston Public Schools will remain open on first day of year, officials say Health | Long COVID research: A pre-pandemi...

What income do I need to afford a $700,000 house?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

By Ruben Caginalp, Bankrate.comDoes your dream home have a $700,000 price tag? That’s well above the National Association of Realtors’ median price for a home, which in July 2023 was $406,700. Whether you can afford such a pricey purchase will depend on a variety of factors, including your salary and the interest rate of your mortgage.Use Bankrate’s mortgage calculator to figure out how much you need to make to afford a $700,000 home:Assuming a 30-year fixed mortgage and a 20 percent down payment of $140,000, at an interest rate of 6.5 percent, your monthly principal and interest payment would be $3,539. That’s more than $42,000 per year on principal and interest alone.Round that monthly figure up to around $4,200 to account for property taxes, homeowners insurance and potential HOA fees, all of which vary widely. That makes your total annual housing bill $50,400.Now apply the common rule of thumb that you shouldn’t spend more than about a third of your income on housing. The $50,40...

Hungry? Here's where to dine during San Diego Restaurant Week

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- It's like an eight day holiday for San Diego foodies when this biannual event makes it's return. San Diego Restaurant Week will bring an abundance of fall flavors just one day after the autumn equinox on Sunday, Sept. 24. Presented by the California Restaurant Association, over 100 participating restaurants throughout San Diego County will offer daily dining deals until Sunday, Oct. 1. The Forum Carlsbad adds three new stores Prix-fixe menu options will be available at participating restaurants, with discounted deals at casual and five-star restaurants. To put that in perspective, foodies can enjoy two-course lunches and three-course dinners starting at just $20 and increasing in $10 increments.Here's a list of the restaurants involved in San Diego Restaurant Week:North County-- Pamplemousse Grille-- Draft Republic San Marcos-- Vintana-- 20|Twenty-- 333 Pacific-- Piper at at The Seabird Resort-- Toasted Gastrobrunch-- Casa de Bandini-- Ponto Lago-- Glass BoxEast Count...

Dr. Richard Moriarty, who helped create ‘Mr. Yuk’ poison warning for kids, dies at 83

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dr. Richard W. Moriarty, a retired pediatrician from Pittsburgh who helped create the bright green Mr. Yuk sticker that warns kids away from poisonous substances, has died. He was 83.Moriarty passed away on Thursday, according to Jeffrey Fugh of the funeral home John A. Freyvogel Sons Inc., which is handling arrangements in Pittsburgh.Moriarty was involved in establishing and developing the Pittsburgh Poison Center, where he served as director. He died at UPMC Shadyside hospital several months after undergoing surgery, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.He told the newspaper that the response by children in focus groups to the Mr. Yuk sticker’s sickly green color and upset face was instrumental — “the Mr. Yuk symbol was designed by kids for kids.” The poison awareness campaign began in 1971.He grew up in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood and attended the University of Pittsburgh for college and its medical school, where he was a longtime f...

2 Kentucky men exonerated in 1990s killing awarded more than $20 million

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Two Kentucky men exonerated for a decades-old killing have settled with the city of Louisville for $20.5 million after spending more than 20 years in prison, lawyers for the men said Friday.A judge dismissed murder charges against Garr Keith Hardin and Jeffrey Dewayne Clark in 2018 for the 1990s slaying of 19-year-old Rhonda Sue Warford. Authorities at the time alleged the two men killed Warford as part of a satanic ritual.Attorneys for the men brought a civil lawsuit in 2018 that alleged police misconduct and a conspiracy to hide evidence in the case. The attorneys said two additional defendants in the civil suit, the Meade County Sheriff’s office and Kentucky State Police, have not yet reached a settlement with the men.“Today’s settlement says loudly and clearly that Keith Hardin and Jeffrey Clark are innocent, and that Louisville detectives and supervisors responsible for this injustice will be held accountable,” said Nick Brustin, a New York-based la...

Kroger agrees to pay up to $1.4 billion to settle opioid lawsuits

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

One of the nation’s largest grocery chains is the latest company to agree to settle lawsuits over the U.S. opioid crisis.In a deal announced Friday, the Kroger Co. would pay up to $1.4 billion over 11 years. The amount includes up to $1.2 billion for state and local governments where it operates, $36 million to Native American tribes and about $177 million to cover lawyers’ fees and costs.Kroger currently has stores in 35 states — virtually everywhere save the Northeast, the northern plains and Hawaii. Thirty-three states would be eligible for money in the deal. The company previously announced settlements with New Mexico and West Virginia.Over the past eight years, prescription drug manufacturers, wholesalers, consultants and pharmacies have proposed or finalized opioid settlements totaling more than $50 billion, including at least 12 others worth more than $1 billion. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments later this year on whether one of the larger settlemen...

COVID-19 numbers spike in B.C. but no more cases of new variant are detected

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

VANCOUVER — British Columbia is experiencing a spike in COVID-19 numbers, with cases, test positivity, hospitalizations and deaths all up in recent weeks.The BC Centre for Disease Control says in a monthly report that 447 people tested positive in tests funded by the province’s medical services plan in the week ending Sept. 2, more than triple the 133 cases in the week ending Aug. 12. Positivity doubled to about 18 per cent in the same period.The increase in COVID-19 numbers comes after the detection of Canada’s first known case of the BA. 2.86 variant last month in B.C., but the centre says that remains the province’s only known case of the new strain.On Sept. 7, a total of 241 people with COVID-19 were in hospital across the province, with weekly admissions spiking from 95 in the week ending Aug. 12 to 136 two weeks later, before dipping to 119 new cases.The centre says the number of deaths rose from eight in the first week of the reporting period to 15, then dip...

The FAA is considering mandating technology to warn pilots before they land on the wrong runway

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

The Federal Aviation Administration indicated Friday that it is moving toward requiring that planes be equipped with technology designed to prevent close calls around airports.Many new airline jets are equipped with some of this technology, but older ones are not, and neither are many private planes.The FAA asked an internal advisory panel to make recommendations on how to require systems that would alert pilots if they are lined up to land on the wrong runway or a taxiway, or when the runway they have chosen is too short.The FAA said the move is part of its effort to eliminate “serious close calls.” The National Transportation Safety Board has started investigations into seven such incidents since January. Planes typically have GPS-based systems that warn pilots if they are in danger of hitting the ground or an obstacle. Providers such as Honeywell augment those systems with more information during taxi, takeoffs and landings to reduce the risk of close calls or “runway incursions....

Judge orders Louisiana to remove incarcerated youths from the state’s maximum-security adult prison

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A federal judge on Friday ordered that incarcerated youths be removed from a temporary lockup at a former death row building in Louisiana’s adult maximum-security prison by Sept. 15 after critics argued the youths are kept in unsafe conditions and don’t receive adequate schooling or mental health services. Juvenile detainees and their advocates allege that youths have been held in harmful conditions at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, suffering through dangerous heat waves, extended confinement to their cells, foul water and inadequate schooling. Proponents have argued that the space is needed to house “high-risk” aggressive youths, many of whom have been involved in violent incidents at other detention facilities, and that locking them up at the adult prison keeps the community safe.Attorneys said U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick, who ruled from the bench in a Friday morning hearing, found that conditions at Angola were unconstitutional and t...