COVID Vaccines: Moderna Creates More Than Twice Anti-bodies As Pfizer - Study

 

Moderna Inc.’s Covid vaccine generated more than double the antibodies of a similar shot made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE in research that compared immune responses evoked by the two inoculations. 

The study is one of the first to compare levels of antibodies produced by the two vaccines, which are thought to be one of the important components of the immune response. It didn’t examine whether the antibody differences led to a difference in efficacy over time between the two shots, which both were more than 90% effective in final-stage clinical trials.

The research looked at antibody levels against the coronavirus spike protein in about 1,600 workers at a major Belgium hospital system whose blood samples were analyzed 6 to 10 weeks after vaccination. The participants hadn’t been infected with the coronavirus before getting vaccinated. Levels among those who got two doses of the Moderna vaccine averaged 2,881 units per milliliter, compared with 1,108 units per milliliter among those who received two Pfizer doses. 

The results, published Monday in a letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggested the differences might be explained by the higher amount of active ingredient in the Moderna vaccine -- 100 micrograms, versus 30 micrograms in Pfizer-BioNTech -- or the slightly longer interval between doses of the Moderna vaccine -- four weeks, versus three weeks for Pfizer-BioNTech.  

The antibody response to vaccines among >1600 health care workers:
--@Moderna_tx significantly exceeded Pfizer
(median titer 3836 vs 1444 U/mL)
--Prior covid higher than no prior infection
(median titer 9461 vs 1613 U/ML)https://t.co/QurRfa68Xi… @JAMA_current pic.twitter.com/x0DhN95thI

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol)August 30, 2021

Outside researchers said it was premature to conclude that the difference in antibody levels was medically important. 

 “I would urge caution in making the conclusion that because Moderna demonstrated a slightly higher peak on average that its efficacy will be slower to wane,” said David Benkeser, a biostatistician at Emory University, in an email. “Such a conclusion requires a host of assumptions that have not yet been evaluated.” 

Both vaccines produce high levels of antibodies, he noted, and other studies have shown even relatively low levels of antibodies are protective.

Still, it’s possible that higher initial antibody levels might correlate with longer duration of protection against mild breakthrough infections, said Deborah Steensels, a microbiologist at Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg, a large hospital in Belgium, who was lead author on the study.  Also, if higher antibody levels are confirmed to be important, then the Moderna vaccine might be better for immunocompromised people who don’t respond well to vaccines, she said.

Pfizer said in a statement that its vaccine “continues to be highly efficacious” in preventing Covid-19, including against severe cases and hospitalization. A continuing analysis of its final-stage study has shown a decline of efficacy against symptomatic infection over time, the drugmaker said, but initial trial data also show that a third dose of the existing vaccine at least six months after the first two significantly raises neutralizing antibody levels.

Moderna’s vaccine was associated with a two-fold risk reduction against breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections compared to Pfizer’s in a review of people in the Mayo Clinic Health System in the U.S. from January to July. The results were reported in a separate study released ahead of publication and peer review on Aug. 9.

  

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Don't Consume Herbal Liquids After 14 Days Of Preparation, NAFDAC Warns

The National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration and Control has warned Nigerians to avoid taking herbal liquids after 14 days of preparation as this could be risky to their health. Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, its Director General, gave the advice in a statement issued to commemorate the World Herbal Medicine Day which holds annually on Aug. 31.

Adeyeye advised Nigerians to use herbal medicines with caution to prevent avoidable deaths and complications.

According to her, for safety reasons, no liquid herbal formulation should be ingested after days of preparation and such medicines should always be kept refrigerated.

“After 14 days, if it is liquid, it may start to develop bacteria that can make people sick.

“The general public should use herbal medicines with care because you don’t know the quantity that you are supposed to take.

“The fact that it is natural doesn’t mean it is not toxic,’’ she stressed.

She explained that toxicity was not about the volume consumed, but that something could be in micro quantity and could kill.

“Just because you prepared the concoction in your house doesn’t mean you can drink it like water. It may be dangerous,’’ she cautioned.

Adeyeye noted that the problem associated with herbal medicines was that many people did not understand that it should be scientifically driven.

“If you prepare herbal medicine in liquid form you don’t know how stable the medicine will be in water. If it is not stable and it is degrading to another thing, it may hurt.

“Those who engage in hawking herbal preparations on the streets under the scorching sun, the heat generated by the sun may have a way of causing decomposition of the active ingredients in the medicines being sold.

“This may pose significant health risks to those buying and consuming these preparations.

“That’s why herbal medicines in Nigeria have to be handled with care. Some people take herbal medicines like vaccines.

“Herbal medicines are derived from plants mostly, sometimes from animals in few cases while vaccines are from human or animal cells that have been programmed to elicit immunologic effects in the body.’’ She added

Adeyeye also advised against simultaneous use of both herbal and conventional medicines by members of the public.

“If someone is using herbal medicine and a conventional medicine simultaneously, there may be a problem.

“Let’s say that a medicine is supposed to lower blood pressure or lower sugar level for diabetes and a person takes conventional medicine and the sugar level is lowered and he then takes herbal remedy, that person may go into a shock.

“This means that the level of sugar in the blood is too low because the two are now working synergistically.

“Sometimes herbal medicines may actually reduce the effectiveness of the conventional medicine. That’s why studies need to be done because there is drug-herbal medicine interaction that may cause a lot of harm.

“Whoever is taking herbal medicine should talk to his or her pharmacist and medical doctor for professional advice,’’ she stated.

Adeyeye, however, called for collaboration between herbal medicine practitioners and medical researchers to achieve rapid development of the herbal medicine industry in the country.

The D-G noted that NAFDAC in March 2019 set up herbal medicine product committee before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out to advance research in herbal medicines.

According to her, the goal of setting up the committee is to make sure that the herbalist and the researcher are collaborating.

“So, whatever the herbalist knows from ancestral history that does not have research to back it up, collaboration with researchers will enable that herbal medicine to be advanced to be listed by NAFDAC if it’s deemed safe.

“Right now, there is no single herbal medicine that has gone through full clinical trial the way clinical trial is supposed to be done.

“There could be herbal medicines that have been used to treat a symptom of COVID-19 or whatever, but it has not been published in which case, it is not an official clinical trial,’’ she said.

  

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WHO Backs Local Therapies For COVID-19

As the African Traditional Medicine Day (ATMD) holds today, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, has harped on promotion of the continent’s rich and diverse medicinal plants and herbs in improving well-being.

She said for generations, the vast majority of people in Africa had relied on traditional medicine as trusted and affordable source of healthcare needs.

The Botswanan submitted that as part of the COVID-19 response, promising local therapies were emerging.

She said: “In Cameroun for example, the Ministry of Health has approved two products as complementary therapies for COVID-19. Madagascar’s herbal remedy, COVID-Organics Plus Curative, is in Phase III trials and encouraging preliminary results have been reported. We look forward to the final results of this trial, and of trials underway for different products in 12 other African countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Uganda and South Africa.”

Moet noted that with the support of national and district authorities, traditional health practitioners are leading the charge in building buy-in for COVID-19 prevention measures and referring patients for timely care. This, she explained, is contributing to strengthening and building confidence in health systems throughout Africa.

The physician said, at the highest levels, the pandemic has improved awareness of the value of traditional medicine, adding that investing more in research and development would harness homegrown solutions to improve well-being on the continent and other parts of the world.

The official went on: “Natural remedies are burgeoning in popularity in western countries and have a long history in China, India and other places. Major pharmaceutical companies are also looking to Africa for new active ingredients. With the right partnerships and investments, tried-and-tested African traditional medicines could find a broad global market.

“WHO and other multilateral organisations are playing key roles in supporting capacity development in the traditional medicine sector, including the development of local manufacturing.

“Recently, we looked back on the progress achieved in the Second Decade of African Traditional Medicine from 2011 to 2020 and in the implementation of the Regional Strategy on Enhancing the Role of Traditional Medicine in Health Systems 2013–2023.”

Moeti said WHO’s evaluation revealed that 40 African nations now have policy frameworks for traditional medicine, up from only eight in 2000.

The public health specialist said communities have been mobilised to participate in raising awareness on traditional medicine.

Similarly, Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, told journalists, yesterday, that to achieve rapid development of the herbal medicine industry in Nigeria, there was need for both herbal medicine practitioners and researchers to collaborate.

To this end, she said her organisation set up an herbal medicine product committee in March 2019 before the advent of the novel coronavirus, to advance research in herbal medicine.

Adeyeye made the disclosure in Abuja ahead of today’s continental event.

The NAFDAC DG, in a statement by the agency’s Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, confirmed many of the herbal products are being subjected to review by different agencies of government nationwide.

The pharmacist advised Nigerians to use herbal medicines with caution to prevent avoidable deaths and complications.

To the Director, Pax Herbal Clinics Ewu, Edo State, Rev Fr. Anselm Adodo, traditional medicine is a holistic discipline involving use of indigenous herbalism combined with aspects of African spirituality.

He said about 80 per cent of Africa’s population relies on traditional medicine for their basic health needs.

“In some cases, traditional medicine is the only healthcare service available, accessible and affordable to many people on the continent. In this case, the significant contribution of traditional medicine as a major provider of healthcare services in Africa cannot be underestimated,” he added.

  

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The Effect Of Acid Rain On Natural Health

Environmental pollution can lower the pH of precipitation, creating acid rain. This type of acid precipitation can directly kill some organisms, like trees and fish, devastating ecosystems.

While impacts of acid rain on humans is not very dramatic, it can indirectly cause health problems, particularly lung issues. Acid rain has decreased since the late 1970s in North America, where tighter U.S. regulations have improved air quality.

Acid Rain

All rainwater has a slightly acidic pH level due to ambient levels of carbon dioxide in the air. Certain industrial pollutants, however, can decrease the pH excessively, causing it to pose a danger to the environment. Sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides, for example, can have a dramatic effect on rainwater's pH.

Rain contaminated by these compounds changes the pH of water and soil, making them more acidic. Certain trees and fish have adapted to specific pH levels and changes in pH can kill them, leaving parts of forests, lakes and rivers devoid of life.

Direct Effect of Acid Rain on Humans

While acid tends to bring to mind the image of corrosive chemicals dissolving metals and other materials, acid precipitation does not have direct effects on human health. Acid rain does not have an acidic enough pH to burn human skin.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Swimming in an acidic lake or walking in an acidic puddle is no more harmful to people than swimming or walking in clean water." While acid rain cannot burn your skin, it is linked to several indirect health effects.

Indirect Effects of Acid Rain

Everything is connected in air quality. While acid rain cannot harm humans directly, the sulfur dioxide that creates it can cause health problems. Specifically, sulfur dioxide particles in the air can encourage chronic lung problems, like asthma and bronchitis.

Additionally, the nitrogen oxides that create acid rain promote the formation of ground-level ozone. While ozone high above the Earth helps block ultraviolet radiation, ground-level ozone promotes severe lung problems like chronic pneumonia and emphysema.

When acid rains fall at places located at higher altitudes, acid rains lead to thick acidic fog that hangs low, affecting visibility and causing irritation to eyes and nose. Acidic fog also affects trees and plants and causes their leaves to turn brown and wilt.

Apart from the effects of acid rain on air quality, acid rains also greatly affect environmental balance. Acid rain falling directly on trees and crops can harm them. Runoff from acid rain leaches minerals such as aluminum from soil, thereby decreasing its pH and making the soil acidic. Acidic soil is detrimental for the growth of crops and results in damaged harvests.

When the acidic runoff flows into lakes, rivers and seas, it disturbs the balance of these aquatic ecosystems and causes injury or even death of aquatic organisms. Imbalance in aquatic ecosystems has an adverse effect on fishing industry.

Environmental Successes

In some ways, the reduction of acid rain in the United States is one of the biggest successes of environmental policy. Since the 1970s, various laws have reduced the emission of sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides from power plants, including the Clean Air Act of 1970 and the Canada-United States Air Quality Agreement of 1991.

The longest continuous rain-chemistry monitoring station in North America, the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forrest in New Hampshire, found that hydrogen ion concentration (pH) decreased by roughly 60 percent since the 1960s.

The EPA estimates that the reduction in the acid rain-producing emissions has saved $50 billion in health care costs. Despite the overall positive picture, some areas in New England are still recovering.

  

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Millet Based Diets Can Reduce Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes - New Study

A new study has shown that eating millets reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and helps manage blood glucose levels in people with diabetes.
The study indicates the potential to design appropriate meals with millets for diabetic and pre-diabetic people as well as for non-diabetic people as a preventive approach.

Drawing on research from 11 countries, the study published in Frontiers in Nutrition shows that diabetic people who consumed millets as part of their daily diet saw their blood glucose levels drop 12-15% (fasting and post-meal), and blood glucose levels went from diabetic to pre-diabetes levels.
The HbA1c (blood glucose bound to hemoglobin) levels lowered on average 17% for pre-diabetic individuals, and the levels went from prediabetic to normal status. These findings affirm that eating millets can lead to a better glycemic response.

The authors reviewed 80 published studies of which 65 were eligible for a meta-analysis involving about 1,000 human subjects, making this analysis the largest systematic review on the topic till date, said International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

"No one knew there were so many scientific studies undertaken on millets' effect on diabetes. These benefits were often contested, and this systematic review of the studies published in scientific journals has proven that millets keep blood glucose levels in check, reducing the risk of diabetes, and has shown just how well these smart foods do it," said Dr. S Anitha, the study's lead author and a senior nutrition scientist at International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

"Diabetes contributed to very high disease burden from 1990-2016 in India. Diabetes-related health expenditure was over $7 million. There is no easy solution, and it requires a lifestyle change, and diet is a very important part of this. This study provides one part of the solution useful for individuals and governments. How we use this and implement it into programs needs careful planning," said Hemalatha, Director, National Institute of Nutrition (NIN).

Raj Bhandari, one of the study's authors and a representative on the Indian National Technical Board of Nutrition, noted that additional attention to our health has been accelerated due to Covid-19 and diabetics are even more vulnerable to the virus. "Our diets play a critical role and if we could bring millets back as a major part of our diet, we would not only help in controlling diabetes, but we would also be adding important nutrients to our plate."

According to the International Diabetes Association, diabetes is increasing in all regions of the world. India, China and the US have the highest numbers of people with diabetes. Africa has the largest forecasted increase of 143% from 2019 to 2045, the Middle East and North Africa 96% and South East Asia 74%. The authors urge the diversification of staples with millets to keep diabetes in check, especially across Asia and Africa.

Strengthening the case for returning millets as staples, the study found that millets have a low average glycemic index (GI) of 52.7, about 30% lower glycemic index (GI) than milled rice and refined wheat, and about 14-37 GI points lower compared to maize. All 11 types of millets studied were either low (<55) or medium GI (55-69), GI being an indicator of how much and how soon a food increases blood sugar level. The review concluded that even after boiling, baking and steaming (most common ways of cooking grains) millets had lower GI than rice, wheat and maize.

 

"Millets are traditional foods consumed in India. Use of locally available millets as dietary diversification coupled with good lifestyle modifications would help reduce not only Type II diabetes but also gestational diabetes.," said study co-author Professor Kowsalya Subramaniam, (Food and Science Nutrition), Registrar at Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women (deemed to be university) in Tamil Nadu.

 

"The global health crisis of undernutrition and over-nutrition coexisting is a sign that our food systems need fixing. Greater diversity both on-farm and on-plate is the key to transforming food systems. On-farm diversity is a risk mitigating strategy for farmers in the face of climate change while on-plate diversity helps counter lifestyle diseases such as diabetes. Millets are part of the solution to mitigate the challenges associated with malnutrition, human health, natural resource degradation, and climate change. Trans-disciplinary research involving multiple stakeholders is required to create resilient, sustainable and nutritious food systems," said Dr. Jacqueline Hughes, Director General ICRISAT.

 

This study is first in a series of studies that has been worked on for the last four years as a part of the Smart Food initiative led by ICRISAT that will be progressively released in 2021. Included are systematic reviews with meta-analyses of the impacts of millets on: diabetes, anaemia and iron requirements, cholesterol and cardiovascular diseases and calcium deficiencies as well as a review on zinc levels.

As part of this, ICRISAT and the Institute for Food Nutrition and Health at the University of Reading have formed a strategic partnership to research and promote the Smart Food vision of making our diets healthier, more sustainable on the environment and good for those who produce it," explained Joanna Kane-Potaka, a co-author from ICRISAT and Executive Director of the Smart Food initiative.

End of the article

  

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How Loud Noise Causes Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is a decrease in your ability to hear or understand speech and sounds around you. Hearing loss can happen when any part of the ear or the nerves that carry information on sounds to your brain do not work in the usual way. In some cases, hearing loss can be temporary. However, it can become permanent when vital parts of the ear have been damaged beyond repair. Damage to any part of the ear can lead to hearing loss.

Loud noise is particularly harmful to the inner ear (cochlea). A one-time exposure to extreme loud sound or listening to loud sounds for a long time can cause hearing loss. Loud noise can damage cells and membranes in the cochlea. Listening to loud noise for a long time can overwork hair cells in the ear, which can cause these cells to die. The hearing loss progresses as long as the exposure continues. Harmful effects might continue even after noise exposure has stopped. Damage to the inner ear or auditory neural system is generally permanent.

Damaged Hair Cells in Your Ears Can Lead to Hearing Loss

The average person is born with about 16,000 hair cells within their cochlea. These cells allow your brain to detect sounds. Up to 30% to 50% of hair cells can be damaged or destroyed before changes in your hearing can be measured by a hearing test. By the time you notice hearing loss, many hair cells have been destroyed and cannot be repaired.

After leaving a very loud event, such as a concert or football game, you may notice that you don’t hear as well as before. You might not hear whispers, sound might seem muffled, or you may hear ringing in your ears. Normal hearing usually returns within a few hours to a few days. This is because the hair cells, similar to blades of grass, will bend more if the sound is louder. But they will become straight again after a recovery period.

However, if loud noise damaged too many of the hair cells, some of them will die. Repeated exposures to loud noises will over time destroy many hair cells. This can gradually reduce your ability to understand speech in noisy places. Eventually, if hearing loss continues, it can become hard to understand speech even in quieter places.

Noise Can Also Damage Nerves in Your Ears

In addition to damaging hair cells, noise can also damage the auditory nerve that carries information about sounds to your brain. Early damage may not show up on your hearing test. It can create a ‘hidden hearing loss’ that may make it difficult for you to understand speech in noisy places. The effect of loud noise over time affects how well you might hear later in life. It also affects how quickly you might develop hearing problems, even after exposure has stopped.

 How Do We Hear?

We hear sound because of vibrations (sound waves) that reach our ears. We recognize those vibrations as speech, music, or other sounds.

Outer Ear
The outer ear—the part of the ear you see—funnels sound waves into the ear canal. The sound waves travel through the ear canal to reach the eardrum.

Middle Ear
The eardrum vibrates from the incoming sound waves and sends these vibrations to three tiny bones in the middle ear. These bones amplify, or increase, the sound vibrations and send them to the inner ear.

Inner Ear
The inner ear contains a snail-shaped structure filled with fluid called the cochlea. Sound vibrations create waves in the cochlear fluids. As the waves peak, they cause tiny hair cells to bend, which converts the vibrations into electrical signals. These tiny hair cells are called stereocilia (types of receptors that can detect sound).

Auditory Nerve
The auditory nerve carries the electrical signals from the inner ear to the brain. The brain interprets the signals as sound that you recognize and understand.

  

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