Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Low-dose aspirin shows promise in treating flu-related vascular inflammation during pregnancy

A world-first study has found low-dose aspirin may treat flu-induced blood vessel inflammation, creating better blood flow to the placenta during pregnancy.

2 Jul 2024

FDA commercial pasteurization process kills H5N1 bird flu virus in milk

A study by FDA and USDA confirms that commercial milk pasteurization effectively inactivates the Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza virus in cattle milk. This ensures the safety of the U.S. milk supply against this virus.

2 Jul 2024

From Africa to Eurasia: Genetic insights into human migration and cold adaptation

"Who are we and where do we come from?" This quintessential question has intrigued humanity for millennia.

2 Jul 2024

Touch sensitivity deteriorates with age only in regions of the body with hairless skin

Like most primates, humans are remarkably touchy-feely. Starved of touch, we release more of the stress hormone cortisol, which causes the immune system to be down-regulated and the heart rate and blood pressure to go up.

2 Jul 2024

Pain doesn’t belong on a scale of zero to 10

Over the past two years, a simple but baffling request has preceded most of my encounters with medical professionals: "Rate your pain on a scale of zero to 10."

2 Jul 2024

Fruit flavored vapes and a nighttime dry cough - what's the connection?

Researchers examined the longitudinal association between exposure to electronic cigarette flavors and nocturnal dry cough.

2 Jul 2024

Bird flu virus detected in Alaskan polar bear

Researchers reported a natural infection of a highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus in a free-ranging juvenile polar bear in Alaska, highlighting the importance of wildlife health surveillance in detecting emerging pathogens.

2 Jul 2024

First global estimates of economic costs of genital herpes infections

Genital herpes infections and their related complications lead to billions of dollars in health care expenditures and productivity losses globally, according to the first ever global estimates of the economic costs of these conditions.

1 Jul 2024

NIH launches Phase 1 trial for innovative nasal COVID-19 vaccine

A Phase 1 trial testing the safety of an experimental nasal vaccine that may provide enhanced breadth of protection against emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is now enrolling healthy adults at three sites in the United States.

1 Jul 2024

Study links common infections to enhanced COVID-19 defense in children

Analyzing nasal swabs taken during the pandemic, researchers at Yale School of Medicine suggest that the frequent presence of other viruses and bacteria may have helped to protect children from the worst effects of COVID-19 by boosting their immune systems.

1 Jul 2024

Suppressing a protein turns ordinary fat into a calorie burner, study shows

New UCSF study shows that suppressing a protein turns ordinary fat into a calorie burner and may explain why drug trials attempting the feat haven't been successful.

1 Jul 2024

Study uncovers the role of mGluR1 in pruning early neural connections

Not everything in the brain is meant to last. As our brains assemble, trillions of neural connections have to be built or torn down at the right time and place.

1 Jul 2024

New study links childhood air pollution exposure to adult bronchitis

A new study brings fresh revelations about the connection between early-life exposure to air pollution and lung health later in life. A research team led by the Keck School of Medicine of USC has shown that exposure to air pollution during childhood is directly associated with bronchitis symptoms as an adult.

28 Jun 2024

Clinical trial seeks to evaluate safety of new EV-D68 treatment

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is sponsoring a clinical trial to evaluate the safety of an investigational monoclonal antibody to treat enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), which can cause severe respiratory and neurological diseases such as acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) – similar to polio. Scientists are striving to better understand AFM, which has emerged in the United States with spikes in cases every other year, primarily in the late-summer months over the last decade.

28 Jun 2024

Study shows how milking equipment spreads bird flu risk

Bird flu, or H5N1 virus, in unpasteurized milk is stable on metal and rubber components of commercial milking equipment for at least one hour, increasing its potential to infect people and other animals, report researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Emory University in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

28 Jun 2024

Infectious disease expert reveals airplane health risks and precautions

The TSA just reported an all-time high for the number of airline travelers screened, and major U.S. airlines expect to transport 271 million passengers this summer, a 6.3 percent increase from last year.

27 Jun 2024

Understanding the role of vaccination in mitigating long COVID brain fog

Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, 10 to 30 per cent of the general population has experienced some form of virus-induced cognitive impairment, including trouble concentrating, brain fog or memory loss.

27 Jun 2024

Experts call for better information and treatments for post-orgasmic illness syndrome

A study in the "International Journal of Impotence Research" reveals that sexual medicine experts find current information on post-orgasmic illness syndrome (POIS) inadequate, often referring patients for psychotherapy or prescribing antihistamines with limited symptom improvement.

26 Jun 2024

UCL's insights on vaccine technology transfers to low- and middle-income countries

A new science policy briefing on vaccine technology transfers to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), written by UCL researchers, informed discussions at the United Nations.

26 Jun 2024