Damian McNamara is a journalist for Medscape Medical News and MDedge. He worked full-time for MDedge as the Miami Bureau covering a dozen medical specialties during 2001-2012, then as a freelancer for Medscape and MDedge, before being hired on staff by Medscape in 2018. Now the two companies are one. He uses what he learned in school – Damian has a BS in chemistry and an MS in science, health and environmental reporting/journalism. He works out of a home office in Miami, with a 100-pound chocolate lab known to snore under his desk during work hours.
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Giving flu and COVID-19 shots at same time appears safe, effective: Study
“It’s a small study, but it’s certainly encouraging to know that there didn’t seem to be a big decrease in immunogenicity either way and the...
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VENUS: Ustekinumab appears superior to vedolizumab for refractory Crohn’s disease
“This study adds to the literature, aiming to position these newer biologics in the treatment algorithm,” Dr. Farrah Monzur said.
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Prebiotic in development shows promise for reducing GERD symptoms
A prebiotic therapy in development significantly reduced the number of days per month that people with gastroesophageal reflux disease experienced...
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‘Smart toilet’ with AI automatically scans stool for blood and consistency
"There is such a need for removing the uncertainty of the patient recall about bowel movement frequency and appearance," said Dr. Sonia Grego.
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Surprising percentage of biopsy samples found retained in GI endoscopes
While some endoscopists guess the rate is about 10%-15%, it’s actually a lot more common, which exposes a need for diligent processing between...
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GI and liver diseases linked to alcohol spiked during pandemic
"At the early phase, people might be asymptomatic. By the time people develop symptoms it might be too late. That's why it's important to ask,"...
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Moderna announces first data showing efficacy of COVID-19 vaccine booster in development
The data "reinforce ... confidence that our booster strategy should be protective against these newly detected variants."
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FDA, CDC urge pause of J&J COVID vaccine
Treatment for traditional blood clots, such as the drug heparin, should not be used for these clots.
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Study IDs most common lingering symptoms 8 months after mild COVID
“We see that a substantial portion of health care workers suffer from long-term symptoms after mild COVID-19.”
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About one in five clinicians considers quitting because of pandemic
“There are a substantial number of employees and trainees who are experiencing major stress and work disruptions because of the pandemic.”
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Less sleep, more burnout linked to higher COVID-19 risk, study shows
For each additional hour of sleep at night, risk for COVID-19 dropped by 12%.