New DNA-Based Blood Test Screens For Any Of 206 Species Of Viruses Known To Infect Humans

Pulmonary Medicine Blog By Dr Deepu

The New York Times (6/5, A14, Grady, Subscription Publication) reports that with “less than a drop of blood, a new test can reveal nearly every virus a person has ever been exposed to,” according to research published June 5 in the journal Science. The test, still considered “experimental, can be performed for as little as $25 and could become an important research tool for tracking patterns of disease in various populations.” In addition, it could “be used to try to find out whether viruses, or the body’s immune response to them, contribute to chronic diseases and cancer, the researchers said.”

        The Washington Post (6/5, Dennis) “Speaking of Science” blog reports that the “DNA-based blood test,” called VirScan, “works by screening the blood for antibodies against any of the 206 species of viruses known to infect humans.” The human “immune system, which churns out specific antibodies when it encounters a virus, can continue to produce those antibodies decades after an infection subsides.” the new blood test “detects those antibodies and uses them as a window in time to create a blueprint of nearly every virus an individual has encountered.”

        The NBC News (6/5, Fox) website points out the significance of the new test. Currently, “most blood tests are designed to look for one particular virus at a time.” Investigators “tested blood samples from 569 people from the United States, Peru, South Africa and Thailand.” While the test was “not perfect,” it proved to be “95 to 100 percent accurate” in people with HIV and hepatitis C.

        Also covering the story are the NPR (6/5, Greenfieldboyce) “Shots” blog, Health Day (6/5, Norton), Medical Daily (6/5, Bushak), and BBC News (6/5, Ball

Surgery May Benefit stage 3b Non Small Cell Lung Cancer

Pulmonary Medicine Blog By Dr Deepu

Health Day (6/5, Salamon) reports on a study published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery finding that for patients with stage 3b non-small cell lung cancer, patients who were treated with “a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment lived an average of almost 10 months longer than those receiving chemo and radiation alone.” The study made use of data from over 9,000 patients. Study author Dr. Varun Puri, assistant professor of cardiothoracic surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, explained that the findings indicate that “An experienced thoracic surgeon should evaluate these patients” for surgery.

Surgical Masks Help Healthcare Workers Avoid Spread Of Diseases

Pulmonary Medicine Blog By Dr Deepu

The NPR (6/23) “Goats and Soda” blog examines if surgical masks can help prevent the spread of disease. The CDC “recommends health care workers wear a mask with a respirator, called an N95 mask,” that can protect against MERS and other diseases by filtering out 95 percent of infectious particles. This type of mask is successful because they are “individually fitted to the wearer” and don’t work on people with facial hair or have breathing problems, such as asthma patients. While the standard surgical mask has been shown by one study to be “just as good as stopping influenza as N95 masks are,” according to a comparison published in JAMA, no study provides evidence that the “loose fitting” masks can help against MERS

FDA Clears Oral Device For Treating Sleep Apnea

Pulmonary Medicine Blog By Dr Deepu
MobiHealthNews (6/26, Comstock) reports the Food and Drug Administration has cleared the DentiTrac device, “an oral device for treating sleep apnea.” The device itself “is from Australian company SomnoMed and the tracker is from Braebon Medical Corporation” of Ontario, Canada. The piece notes that the device “is the first partner device to receive FDA clearance.”

One In Five MERS Cases Likely Fatal

Pulmonary Medicine Blog By Dr Deepu
Bloomberg News (6/26, Gale, Khan) reports that researchers in Hong Kong found that the MERS outbreak in South Korea “was fanned by three ‘superspreaders’ and followed a pattern of transmission similar to the SARS epidemic more than a decade ago.” According to the lead investigator of the study, approximately one in five MERS cases will likely be fatal.