Newswise — Welcome to the June 2020 Edition of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s (BIDMC) Research & Health News Digest. 

This edition’s update includes:

  • BIDMC-developed vaccines protect against COVID-19 in non-human primates, study finds
  • Researchers report sharp decline in patient visits for heart attack, stroke and cancer care during COVID-19 pandemic
  • Study confirms critically ill patients with COVID-19 benefit from mechanical ventilation
  • Reducing severe breathlessness and psychological trauma in COVID-19 ARDS patients
  • Researchers shed light on serotonin’s role in obstructive sleep apnea
  • International panel recommends unified approach for reporting placenta accreta spectrum
  • Study reveals concerning trend of brain bleeds in older adults
  • Stroke: Don't dismiss warning signs
  • Safe summer grilling

If any of these briefs pique your interest and you’d like to speak with one of our experts, please contact us at [email protected] or by contacting the BIDMC page operator at (617) 667-4700 by asking for pager ID #33880.

* * *

BIDMC-developed vaccines protect against COVID-19 in non-human primates, study finds

Dan Barouch, MD, PhD (Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, BIDMC), and colleagues reported in Science two studies of laboratory monkeys that suggest antibodies produced during recovery from COVID-19 provide immunity from the virus, whether triggered by infection or vaccine.

https://www.bidmc.org/about-bidmc/news/2020/05/covid-19-vaccine

 

Researchers report sharp decline in patient visits for heart attack, stroke and cancer care during COVID-19 pandemic

In a study led by Dhruv Kazi, MD, MSc, MS (Cardiology, BIDMC) and Kevin Tabb, MD (President & CEO, BILH), a team of researchers found that patient encounters for heart attack and stroke dropped by about a third and more than half, respectively, during the pandemic compared to patient visits during the same period in 2019. The researchers released a pre-print of the findings on MedRXiv.

https://www.bidmc.org/about-bidmc/news/2020/05/kazi-emergency-care-covid-19

 

Study confirms critically ill patients with COVID-19 benefit from mechanical ventilation

Ari Moskowitz, MD (Pulmonary Disease, BIDMC) and colleagues studied the respiratory characteristics and response of patients with COVID-19 respiratory failure treated with invasive mechanical ventilation at two tertiary care hospitals. The team’s results, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, supported the use of established respiratory therapy for treatment of COVID-19.

https://www.bidmc.org/about-bidmc/news/2020/05/ventilation

 

Reducing severe breathlessness and psychological trauma in COVID-19 ARDS patients

A Viewpoint article published in the Annals of American Thoracic Society and written by Rich Schwartzstein, MD (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, BIDMC), and colleagues, examines ventilation and medication strategies that can help avoid psychological trauma for severe COVID-19 survivors treated for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with medical ventilation. Schwartzstein asserts that outdated practices may lead to psychological trauma for patients who suffer from “air hunger” – a feeling of severe breathlessness.

https://www.bidmc.org/about-bidmc/news/2020/06/reducing-breathlessness-in-covid-patients

 

Researchers shed light on serotonin’s role in obstructive sleep apnea

In a paper published in the journal Nature Communications, a team of researchers led by Clifford Saper, MD (Neurology, BIDMC), demonstrated that the neurotransmitter serotonin plays a critical role in rousing the brain from sleep when CO2 levels rise. Building on previous work that identified the specific neural circuitry at work in brains of mice in simulated apnea conditions, the new findings could lead to potential new drug therapies to help patients with obstructive sleep apnea get more rest.

https://www.bidmc.org/about-bidmc/news/2020/06/sleep-apnea

 

International panel recommends unified approach for reporting placenta accreta spectrum

Under the leadership of Jonathan Hecht, MD, (Pathology, BIDMC), an international panel of experts were convened to create common technical language for pathologists and obstetricians that describe anatomic aspects of placenta accrete spectrum – a complication that occurs when the placenta attaches too deeply in the uterine wall – including the extent and location of abnormal placental invasion in the uterus or damage to surrounding organs. The new criteria and guidelines put forth by the panel are published in Modern Pathology.

https://www.bidmc.org/about-bidmc/news/2020/06/reporting-placenta-accreta-spectrum

 

Study reveals concerning trend of brain bleeds in older adults

According to a new analysis of data from the Framingham Heart Study, a decades-long research project of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, incidence of intracerebral hemorrhage – a type of stroke caused by bleeding throughout the brain and its ventricles – has stabilized among most age groups but has increased among those older than 75 years old. The unexpected trend was reported by study first author Vasileios-Arsenios Lioutas, MD, (Neurology, BIDMC), and colleagues in JAMA Neurology.

https://www.bidmc.org/about-bidmc/news/2020/06/risk-factors-of-intracerebral-hemorrhage

 

Stroke: Don't dismiss warning signs

Peter Zimetbaum, MD (Cardiovascular Medicine, BIDMC), and Alec Schmaier, MD (Cardiovascular Medicine, BIDMC) discuss the warning signs of a stroke.

https://www.bidmc.org/about-bidmc/wellness-insights/heart-health/2020/05/stroke-dont-dismiss-warning-signs

 

Safe summer grilling

Lori DeCosta, MS, RD-AP, LDN (Nutrition, BIDMC) shares tips for safe summer grilling.

https://www.bidmc.org/about-bidmc/wellness-insights/summer-health/2018/07/safe-summer-grilling