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Researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research In Australia have discovered that a new drug compound can prevent long COVID symptoms in mice, a major breakthrough that could pave the way for future treatment of this debilitating condition. In this world-first study, mice treated with an antiviral compound, developed by a multidisciplinary team at WEHI, were protected from long-term brain and lung dysfunction, two hallmark symptoms of long COVID. (4/20)

A study in China has found that COVID-19 is associated with poor sperm quality, researchers reported earlier this month in Scientific Reports. ... "Further research is needed to observe the long-term effect of COVID-19 on sperm quality or reproductive outcomes," the study authors wrote. "In addition, there may be a need to constantly monitor the SARS-CoV-2 infection and integrate screening and diagnosis of the disease in the management of male infertility." (Dall, 4/21)

Unsupervised use of psilocybin, or “magic mushrooms,” has accelerated among all age groups in the United States, but especially among adolescents and people 30 and older, a new study found. “The prevalence of psilocybin use in 2023 rose dramatically over the prior five years since states began liberalizing policy in 2019,” said study coauthor Dr. Andrew Monte, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. (LaMotte, 4/21)

High blood pressure earned its reputation as the silent killer by causing heart attacks, heart failure, and strokes. It’s also been a suspect in dementia. Some studies have hinted at a correlation between lower blood pressure and fewer dementia cases, but they were too small and too short to lend statistical significance to the link. It’s also been noted that people with untreated high blood pressure carry a 42% higher risk of developing dementia. (Cooney, 4/21)

Pork carnitas products sold at Aldi stores nationwide maybe contaminated with pieces of metal, according to a public health alert from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The FSIS says the fully cooked pork carnitas were produced from April 1-2 and have an establishment number "Est. 46049" inside the USDA mark of inspection. (Esteban, 4/21)

Herbert J. Gans, an eminent sociologist who studied the communities and cultural bastions of America up close and shattered popular myths about urban and suburban life, poverty, ethnic groups and the news media, died on Monday at his home in Manhattan. He was 97. A refugee from Nazi Germany who became one of the nation’s most influential social critics, Dr. Gans taught at Columbia and other leading universities for 54 years, wrote a dozen books and hundreds of articles and shaped the thinking of government and corporate policymakers, colleagues in sociology and a wide public audience. (McFadden, 4/21)

"We don't have a lot of details," said CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook. "But the bottom line is, you know, he had all these underlying conditions. He had the stroke, which is [when] you have too little blood supply to the brain. That can cause death in a number of ways, including shutting down the ability— the centers in the brain that allow you to breathe normally, and even the centers that allow the heart to work correctly." (Moniuszko, 4/21)