Delayed emergencies: The composition and magnitude of non-respiratory emergency department visits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Importance: COVID-19 has been associated with excess mortality among patients not diagnosed with COVID-19, suggesting disruption of acute health care provision may play a role.

Objective: To determine the degree of declines in emergency department (ED) visits attributable to COVID-19 and determine whether these declines were concentrated among patients with fewer comorbidities and lower severity visits.

Design: We conducted a differences-in-differences analysis of all commercial health insurance claims for ED visits in the first 20 weeks of 2018, 2019, and 2020.

Irisin: A myokine with locomotor activity.

The mechanisms underlying alterations in brain functions in response to physical exercise are not fully understood. The present study examined the central effect of irisin, a 112 amino acid polypeptide hormone secreted from the skeletal muscle after exercise, on the locomotion in rats. Central administration of irisin significantly increased the locomotion.

Central and peripheral irisin differentially regulate blood pressure.

Introduction: Irisin is a newly identified 112 amino acid hormone, derived as a product of fibronectin type III domain containing 5 (FNDC5), which is highly related to metabolic activity in skeletal muscle and brown fat. The effects of irisin on cardiovascular functions are unknown.

Purpose: To explore the effects of central and peripheral irisin on cardiovascular functions.