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Human Treatments

Study opens way for new treatments by finding how Covid damages heart

Researchers have discovered how COVID-19 infection damages the heart tissue, paving the way for better treatments for the condition. The study conducted on a small group of people found that COVID-19 damaged the DNA in heart tissue, which was not detected in influenza samples. The researchers noted that while COVID-19 and influenza are both severe respiratory viruses, they appeared to affect cardiac tissue very differently. "In comparison to the 2009 flu pandemic, COVID has led to more severe and long-term cardiovascular disease but what was causing that at a molecular level was not known," said Arutha Kulasinghe from the University of Queensland, Australia. "During our study, we couldn't detect viral particles in the cardiac tissues of COVID-19 patients, but what we found was tissue changes associated with DNA damage and repair," Kulasinghe said. DNA damage and repair mechanisms are related to chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, atherosclerosis and neurodegenerative disord

Updated On : 03 Oct 2022 | 2:07 PM IST

60% people delay treatment due to lack of health cover, reveals survey

Around 60 per cent respondents have been delaying treatment due to lack of health cover and 67 per cent who have medical insurance find it difficult to understand, a study by Pristyn Care Data Labs said on Wednesday. According to the study conducted during August 1-25, 2022 by the startup firm, a vast majority of people want alternative treatments such as ayurveda, unani, siddha, homeopathy and naturopathy to be covered under health insurance. "India has the lowest rates of health insurance penetration and COVID-19 induced medical inflation has caused people to delay surgeries. Elective surgeries are not life-threatening but any delay can impact the overall quality of life," Pristyn Care co-founder Harsimarbir Singh said in a statement. With the rising costs of medical treatments in the country, as per the study, nearly 60 per cent of the respondents are delaying treatment due to the lack of any health cover. The survey based on inputs received from over 1,100 people and internal d

Updated On : 01 Sep 2022 | 1:02 AM IST

Covid treatments for better protection against future variants identified

Researchers have identified new therapies for COVID-19 that they say could provide better protection against future variants and outbreaks. An international team led by researchers from the University of Kent in the UK and the Goethe-University in Germany tested the sensitivity of different SARS-CoV-2 Omicron and Delta viruses to combinations of the four currently approved antiviral drugs with betaferon. Betaferon is a class of antiviral drug that is also naturally produced in the body and protect it from virus infections. The recent COVID-19 waves have caused fewer hospitalisations and deaths than the initial ones -- largely due to the immunity provided by vaccines, the researchers said. However, many people have defects in their immune systems and cannot effectively protect themselves from COVID-19 by vaccination and rely on effective antiviral therapies, they said. The researchers noted that threat of resistance formation for antiviral drugs, which can happen quickly and cause