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People taking weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy need to drop them in the days or weeks prior to surgery, a new study warns. Folks on one of these drugs — known as GLP-1 receptor agonists — have a 33% higher risk of developing pneumonia by breathing in their own vomit during surgery, researchers found. “Aspiration during or after endoscopy can be devastating,” said researcher Dr. Ali Rezaie, medical director of the GI Motility Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. “If significant, it can lead to respiratory failure, ICU admission and even death,” Rezaie said. “Even mild cases may require close monitoring, respiratory support and medications including antibiotics. It is important we take all possible precautions to prevent aspiration from occurring.” People are typically asked to fast prior to surgery because general anesthesia can cause nausea, and they might inhale and choke on their own vomit. Unfortunately, part of the way that GLP-1 receptor agonists help prompt weight loss is by slowing the digestion process, researchers said. That means it takes longer for food to pass through the stomach. These results jibe with guidance issued last year by the American Society of Anesthesiologists that calls for screening for weight-loss drug use before surgery, and informing patients of the risks involved. Further, another study published earlier this month in the journal JAMA Surgery found… read on > read on >

Children who are obese face double the odds of developing multiple sclerosis later in life, a new study warns. The overall odds for any one child to develop the neurodegenerative illness remains very low. However, the Swedish researchers believe the link could help explain rising rates of MS. “There are several studies showing that MS has increased over several decades and obesity is believed to be one major driver for this increase,” wrote a team led by Claude Marcus, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. “Thanks to our prospective study design, we can confirm this theory.” The findings will be presented in May at the European Congress on Obesity in Venice. For the study, Marcus and his colleagues tracked data from 1995 through 2020, compiled by the Swedish Childhood Obesity Treatment Register. Almost 22,000 children were covered by that database, and their incidence of MS later in life was compared to that of similar, non-obese children from the general Swedish population. Rates of cases of newly diagnosed MS were tracked till 2023. The result: While 0.06% of the non-obese children went on to develop MS, the rate more than doubled, to 0.13%, among people who had been obese during childhood. Two-thirds of cases occurred in females, the study found, which mimics the general ratio of MS observed in women compared to men. MS was diagnosed… read on > read on >

Folks suffering from dry eyes might have a problem with the naturally occurring bacteria found on the surface of their eyes, a new study suggests. There are key differences in the microbes found on dye eye patients compared to folks with normal eyes, researchers found. “Once we understand the eye microbiota properly, it will improve disease diagnosis at an early stage,” said lead researcher Alexandra Van Kley, a professor at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. Researchers found the specific bacteria species most prevalent in people with normal eyes were Streptococcus and Pedobacter. On the other hand, more Acinetobacter species were present in people with dry eye. “We think the metabolites produced by these bacteria are responsible for dry eye conditions,” researcher Pallavi Sharma, a graduate student in Van Kley’s lab, said in a university news release. “We are performing further research to understand the metabolic pathways associated with the Acinetobacter to better understand the disease.” For the study, researchers collected swab samples from the eyes of 30 volunteers, and then performed genetic analysis to determine the eye microbiome of each person. The researchers also believe that there’s a strong connection between the gut microbiome and the bacteria found in the eyes, Sharma said. “Any alteration in the gut microbiome affects other organs and can lead to disease,” Sharma said. “Therefore, we are… read on > read on >

Some pain-relieving skin products contain potentially harmful doses of the numbing agent lidocaine and should be avoided, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns. These creams, gels, sprays and soaps are marketed for topical use to relieve the pain of cosmetic procedures like microdermabrasion, laser hair removal, tattooing and piercing, the FDA said. The agency has issued warning lettings to six companies that are marketing products containing concentrations of lidocaine heavy enough to harm people, particularly after cosmetic procedures that could cause the cream to be absorbed more readily through the skin. Products containing lidocaine over 4% can contribute to health problems like an irregular heartbeat, seizures and breathing difficulties, the FDA explained. They also can interact with other medications or supplements a person is taking. “These products pose unacceptable risks to consumers and should not be on the market,” Jill Furman, director of the Office of Compliance in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in an agency news release. “We are committed to using all available tools to stop the sale of these illegal high-risk products.” The companies and products covered by the warning letters include: TKTX Company: TKTX Numb Maximum Strength Pain Reliever, Mithra+ 10% Lidocaine, TKTX During Procedure Numbing Gel 40% and J-CAIN cream [LIDOCAINE] 29.9% SeeNext Venture, Ltd.: NumbSkin 5% Lidocaine Numbing Cream (15 grams), NumbSkin 5% Lidocaine… read on > read on >

Ever immersed yourself in a book and lost all sense of the time and place you’re currently in? That’s how reading can meld with mindfulness, one neuropsychologist explains. The experience can bring real mental health benefits, said Dr. Samantha Henry, an assistant professor of neurology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “Reading is a quiet pursuit that can be a more adaptive coping strategy than some other hobbies we engage in,” she said in a Baylor news release. Henry said that there’s a difference between typical reading and mindful reading. Very often, folks are reading for a goal: To read through a document or book within a specific timeframe, with the conscious aim of acquiring valuable knowledge. That’s fine, but it’s different from mindful reading, which focuses only on the pleasure of reading itself, without a set goal, and remaining fully present to understand whatever it is you are reading. According to Henry, you can prepare for mindful reading by practicing mindful breathing, which is often taught in meditation classes. “We can think of mindful reading in the way we think of mindful breathing, which is just focusing on your breath,” she explained. “Normally when we breathe, we don’t think about it because it’s automatic. Traditional reading can be that way too; to get to the destination of finishing that book. Try to slow… read on > read on >

Folks with genetically-driven stress are more likely to suffer heart attacks after nerve-wracking events or times of unrest, a new study shows. People with above-average genetic scores linked to neuroticism and stress were 34% more likely to experience a heart attack following stressful periods, researchers found. Further, these jittery individuals were more than three times as likely to have a heart attack during stressful times if they also had anxiety or depression. “We found people who are genetically predisposed to stress tend to have a strikingly higher probability of developing a heart attack after these stressful events,” said lead researcher Dr. Shady Abohashem, an instructor of cardiovascular imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. For the study, researchers analyzed data on nearly 18,500 participants in the Mass General Brigham Biobank, a program that captures genetic data for use in medical research. Researchers compared genetic stress scores among people who had a heart attack after stressful times against those who had a heart attack during calmer times and those who’d never had a cardiac event. For the study, periods considered to be highly stressful included: The 10 days after Christmas. The five days after presidential elections. The five days after major sporting events like Super Bowls or NBA playoffs involving Boston-area teams. People with above-average genetic stress scores had a 34% higher… read on > read on >

Out of a host of possible risk factors for dementia, three really stood out in a new analysis: Diabetes, air pollution and alcohol. British and American researchers used brain scans to focus on a neurological network they labeled a “weak spot” in the brain. This network is known to be vulnerable to the effects of aging, as well as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and other conditions. The neural network only begins to develop during adolescence, and also shows signs of degeneration earlier in old age, explained a team led by Gwenaëlle Douaud, an associate professor of clinical neurosciences at the University of Oxford. Her group examined brain scans from over 40,000 seniors, all of who also provided complex lifestyle and medical histories as part of the ongoing U.K. Biobank project. The study looked at the impact on the targeted neural network of 161 different risk factors for dementia. These included blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, weight, alcohol consumption, smoking, depressive mood, inflammation, pollution, hearing, sleep, socialization, diet, physical activity and education. Three risk factors appeared to weaken the network the most, Douaud said. “We know that a constellation of brain regions degenerates earlier in aging, and in this new study we have shown that these specific parts of the brain are most vulnerable to diabetes, traffic-related air pollution — increasingly a major player in dementia —… read on > read on >

Suicidal thoughts and contemplation of death haunt the minds of many rural Black men in the United States, a new study reports. One in three rural Black men said they had such dark thoughts within the past two weeks, University of Georgia researchers found. These thoughts are driven by childhood trauma, poverty and exposure to racism, all of which take a heavy toll on mental health as Black teens enter adulthood, researchers said. “We found when Black men were exposed to childhood adversity, they may develop an internal understanding of the world as somewhere they are devalued, where they could not trust others, and they could not engage the community in a supportive way,” said researcher Michael Curtis, a graduate of the University of Georgia’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Racial discrimination in particular predicted higher rates of suicidal thoughts, researchers found. Even Black men who reported positive childhood experiences struggled to maintain healthy relationships if they had experienced racial discrimination, results show. As a result, they were more likely to feel isolated and experience thoughts of suicide. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for Black people between the ages of 15 and 24, researchers said in background notes. Further, Black men die by suicide at a rate four times that of Black women. “We just know it’s bad, and particularly among young… read on > read on >

Seniors wound up with lower blood pressure after they were coached to get up and move more often, a new study says. Health coaching successfully reduced sitting time for a group of older adults by just over 30 minutes a day, according to a report published March 27 in the journal JAMA Network Open. Sitting less led to a reduction of nearly 3.5 points in the seniors’ average blood pressure, researchers said. By comparison, increased physical activity typically leads to an average 4-point reduction in blood pressure and weight loss an average 3-point reduction, they noted. “Our findings are really promising because sitting less is a change that may be easier for people than increasing physical activity, especially for older adults who are more likely to be living with restrictions like chronic pain or reduced physical function,” said lead researcher Dori Rosenberg, a senior scientific investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Research Institute in Seattle. Older adults typically sit between 65% and 80% of their waking hours, researchers said in background notes. Such sedentary behavior can lead to heart disease and diabetes. The new study involved 283 seniors ages 60 to 89 covered by Kaiser Permanente’s health system in Washington state. The seniors all received a tabletop standing desk, an activity tracker and 10 health coaching sessions during a six-month period. In these sessions, participants… read on > read on >

Living in a poor and unhealthy neighborhood could nearly double a person’s risk of heart disease and stroke, a new study says. The findings indicate that all the factors that make for a crummy neighborhood — air and water pollution, toxic sites, few parks, tons of traffic — play a significant role in heart health. So, too, do social and economic factors like low income, poor education, unemployment and lack of access to internet and health care. These environmental and social factors deliver a “dual hit” to the heart health of people trapped in lousy neighborhoods, said senior researcher Dr. Sarju Ganatra, director of the Cardio-Oncology Program and South Asian Cardio-Metabolic Program at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, Mass. “I was amazed to see the tight links and complex interplay between social and environmental factors on health outcomes,” Ganatra said. Even after adjusting for social factors like low income and poor education, “environmental factors played a crucial and independent role in determining various heart disease and other related health outcomes,” Ganatra added. For the study, researchers rated more than 71,000 U.S. census tracts using the Environmental Justice Index, a database combining demographic, environmental and health data gathered by multiple federal agencies. People living in neighborhoods beset by harmful environmental factors had about 1.6 times the rate of clogged arteries and more than double… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Another Study Warns of Surgery Risks for Folks Taking Ozempic, Wegovy

Obesity in Childhood Doubles Odds for MS in Young Adulthood

Eye’s ‘Microbiome’ Could Give Clues to Better Dry Eye Treatments

High-Strength Lidocaine Skin Creams Can Cause Seizures, Heart Trouble, FDA Warns

What Is ‘Mindful Reading’ and Can It Help Your Brain?

Stressed? Some Genes Could Raise Your Heart Attack Risk

These 3 Factors Make Your Brain More Vulnerable to Dementia

High Rate of Suicidal Thoughts Among Black Men in Rural America: Study

Just 30 Minutes Less Sitting Time Per Day Cuts Seniors’ High Blood Pressure

Living in Poor Neighborhoods Nearly Doubles Risk of Heart Attacks, Stroke