Good morning. This is the report by Jonathan Spira. Now here is the pandemic news from around the world on the 1,238th day of the pandemic.
In the news we cover today, a new round of clinical trials in the United States from the NIH could help determine the most appropriate treatments for Long Covid patients and a new study has found that isometric exercises may be the best option for lowering blood pressure as opposed to other alternatives.
LONG COVID
The US National Institutes of Health on Monday announced several clinical trials to assess at least four potential treatments for Long Covid and these leads will lead to additional trials in the coming months that will test at least seven other therapies, including devices medical products, biological products and drugs.
The NIH is currently asking Long Covid patients to participate in these trials.
“Collectively, this integrated set of trials could inform clinical care in a wide range of Long Covid patients,” Acting NIH Director Lawrence A. Tabak said in a Monday press briefing. “Our hope is that these treatments will work, but we may learn that some interventions do not provide measurable relief and this will also inform patient care,” he added.
The new clinical leads are part of the agency’s Researching Covid to Enhance Recovery, or Recover initiative which began in 2021. It is the largest program in the world designed to understand, treat and prevent Long Covid.
OTHER HEALTH NEWS
For the first time since its inception, the US Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network may be open to organizations other than the nonprofit United Network for Organ Sharing. Until now, the system has only ever been run by UNOS, an organization that has come under heavy criticism for long transplant waiting lists, its organ management and high death toll. among people on waiting lists for organ transplants.
Last week, Congress approved legislation that would open up the network to other groups through competitive bidding. The bill is currently awaiting President Biden’s signature. He should sign the bill.
Meanwhile, a new study has found that exercises that engage muscles without movement — such as wall squats and planks — may be best for lowering a person’s blood pressure. The study – “Exercise Training and Resting Blood Pressure: A Large-Scale Pairwise and Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials” – was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine on Tuesday.
These exercises, known as isometric or static exercises, can be performed with or without weight, relying simply on the body’s own weight.
This article is originally nouvelles-du-monde.com
