Some health products haven’t been tested for the benefits that they claim to produce. Blue-light blocking lenses are promoted as helping sleep cycles, but there is no evidence to support this.
The head lice drug ivermectin is being touted as a coronavirus killer. But studies suggest it would need to be taken in mega-doses far higher than those currently used, with unknown side-effects.
Ofer Raban, University of Oregon and Yuval Dor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Conventional trials to test coronavirus vaccines are paradoxically slowed down by actions to curb the disease’s spread. Human challenge trials are more controversial, but could speed up the process.
As Russia fast tracks a coronavirus vaccine, scientists worry about skipped safety checks – and the potential fallout for trust in vaccines if something ends up going wrong.
As antimicrobial resistance increases, the options for treating serious infections dwindle. Doctors need reliable information about which treatments to try out.
Further tests are needed but a trial showed that, when compared against placebo treatment, those given the drug had a 79% lower risk of developing severe disease.
The race is on to develop a vaccine for the COVID-19 coronavirus. Australian researchers are leading several major clinical trials that might help bring an end to the deadly disease.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a crippling, progressive neurodegenerative disease for which there is no cure. Now it seems that a diabetes drug may help some cases.
Immunosenescence — the decline of immune system function with age — means that vaccines are not as effective in older adults, the demographic most susceptible to many diseases, including COVID-19.
Severe scrutiny of two major papers, including one about the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, is part of science’s normal process of self-correction.
The body has many natural defenses against viruses and other pathogens. One antiviral molecule produced in the body is nitric oxide and it is created when we breathe in through the nose.
It usually takes 10 years for a new vaccine to complete clinical trials, but we’ve been promised a COVID-19 vaccine in 12 to 18 months. Even if such fast-tracked development is possible, is it wise?
The FDA has sped up its approval process for coronavirus treatments, creating a new division to expedite the regulatory process. But is safety being sidelined for speed?
Professor of Bioethics & Medicine, Sydney Health Ethics, Haematologist/BMT Physician, Royal North Shore Hospital and Director, Praxis Australia, University of Sydney