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Combat veterans who suffered traumatic brain injuries due to explosive blasts may have markers in their spinal fluid similar to those of Alzheimer’s disease, new research finds. “Previous research has shown that moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries may increase a person’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” said senior study author Dr. Elaine Peskind, of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and the University of Washington School of Medicine. “What is lesser known is whether mild traumatic brain injuries from military training and combat may also increase a person’s risk. Our study found that these concussions may indeed increase a person’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease.” Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head, an injury as in a motor vehicle crash, or in service personnel, blast and impact injuries. In a mild TBI, also known as a concussion, person may lose consciousness for up to 30 minutes. The new study — published online March 13 in the journal Neurology — included 51 military veterans who suffered concussions from at least one war zone blast or a combination of blast and impact injuries. They were compared to 85 vets and civilians who had not experienced a TBI. On average, those in the concussion group had experienced 20 blast concussions and two impact concussions. Participants took thinking and memory tests… read on > read on >

The blockbuster weight-loss medication Zepbound (tirzepatide) appears to help folks quickly shed pounds regardless of how overweight they are, or how long they’ve lived being overweight or obese. Those are the findings of two separate analyses of a major trial of the injected drug that was funded by maker Eli Lilly. “Regardless of baseline BMI, tirzepatide consistently reduced body weight versus placebo in people with obesity,” said study co-lead author Dr. Louis Aronne. He directs the Comprehensive Weight Control Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. Aronne spoke in a news release from the European Congress on Obesity, which will be held in Venice, Italy, in May. The Congress is releasing the research ahead of the meeting. The findings stem from a large study of hundreds of overweight or obese people, with or without a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. “Overweight” was defined as a BMI between 27 and 30, and “obesity” as a BMI of 30 or above. After undergoing a three-month “intensive lifestyle intervention” focused on diet and exercise, patients were randomized to receive either Zepbound or a placebo injection for 18 months. According to Aronne and colleagues, Zepbound far surpassed placebo in terms of weight loss, regardless of how overweight patients were at the start of the trial. For example, while nearly all patients taking the drug lost at least… read on > read on >

Do you struggle to sleep during the week and play catch up on the weekend? Do you toss and turn all night long and start the day in a fog? Are you a napper? Or are you among the lucky folks who have no problem getting enough shuteye? Researchers at Penn State University report that most Americans fit one of these four descriptions — and how people sleep is a good predictor of their long-term health. “Sleep is an everyday behavior. Sleep is also modifiable,” said lead researcher Soomi Lee, director of the Sleep, Stress, and Health (STEALTH) laboratory at Penn State. “Better sleeping habits can make many significant differences, from improving social relationships and work performance to promoting long-term healthy behaviors and healthy aging.” Her team looked at data from more than 3,600 participants in the Midlife in the United States study. Researchers looked at participants’ self-reported sleep habits. That included how long they sleep, whether they’re satisfied with their sleep, their daytime alertness and chronic health conditions. More than half of participants were identified as insomnia sleepers — struggling to doze off then sleeping only a little. Over a 10-year period, this sleep style was associated with a significantly higher likelihood of heart disease, diabetes, depression and other chronic health conditions. Researchers said the study primarily included healthy adults, so it may not… read on > read on >

College students who use drugs like Adderall to help them focus on their studies may be setting themselves up for trouble. Researchers asked 700 undergraduates across the United States about drugs commonly used by students — including ADHD medications like Adderall, cannabis, nicotine, alcohol, MDMA and ecstasy. They also asked about students’ academic performance and physical and mental distress. They found that using one substance appears to prime the brain for using others. Lead author Lina Begdache, an associate professor of health and wellness studies at Binghamton University, State University of New York, said the finding is important because many students use these so-called “study drugs” without understanding how they affect the brain. Adderall is a medication prescribed to help people with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) focus. “Since these are prescribed medications to promote focus in individuals who actually have ADHD, students may think that they are safe to use and that the drug may give them an academic edge,” she said in a university news release. Instead of an edge, students may find one substance leads to another, Begdache warned. Researchers linked use of one substance to generally poorer mental health and lower ability to fight off stress. And less frequent use led to mental distress — potentially promoting continued use. The findings were published recently in the International Journal of Psychological and Behavioral… read on > read on >

Following a cyberattack on the largest health insurer in the United States last month, health care providers continue to scramble as insurance payments and prescription orders continue to be disrupted and physicians lose an estimated $100 million a day. That estimate was generated by First Health Advisory, a cybersecurity firm that specializes in the health industry, according to the American Medical Association (AMA). “This massive breach and its wide-ranging repercussions have hit physician practices across the country, risking patients’ access to their doctors and straining viability of medical practices themselves,” AMA President Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld said in a news release. “Against the backdrop of persistent Medicare cuts, rising practice costs and spiraling regulatory burdens, this unparalleled cyberattack and disruption threatens the viability of many practices, particularly small practices and those in rural and underserved areas,” he added. “This is an immense crisis demanding immediate attention.” How did the crisis begin? The security breach was first detected on Feb. 21 at Change Healthcare, part of Optum Inc., which is in turn owned by UnitedHealth Group. In a report filed that day with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, UnitedHealth Group told government officials that it had been forced to sever some of Change Healthcare’s vast digital network from its clients. It hasn’t yet been able to restore all of those services. In its latest update on… read on > read on >

Nurses who specialize in anesthesia have issued new guidelines to reduce the risk that patients taking weight-loss drugs like Ozempic or Wegovy throw up during surgery. “These medications have exploded in popularity,” said Micah Walden, of the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) Practice Committee. “This means additional preparation for patients, anesthesia providers and the surgical team to help minimize risks of complications during a procedure.” Because general anesthesia can cause nausea, patients are usually asked to fast before surgery. But a study published last week in the journal JAMA Surgery found these weight-loss drugs — called GLP-1 receptor agonists — slow digestion, so it takes longer for food to leave the stomach. That increases a patient’s risk of vomiting or aspiration while under anesthesia. GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic, Wegovy (semaglutide), Saxenda (liraglutide) or Zepbound (tirzepatide) were originally designed to manage type 2 diabetes, but they have become a popular way to lose weight. They make patients feel full sooner, so they eat less. As a precaution, the AANA committee said providers may need to do extra screenings such as an ultrasound of the patient’s stomach before surgery. If the examination indicates that the stomach is not empty or the imaging is inconclusive, the surgical team may consider delaying an elective surgery or proceeding as “full stomach” to reduce the risk of vomiting and aspiration while… read on > read on >

Researchers are zeroing in on the reasons why women who battle depression may be more likely than men to develop heart disease. A study published March 12 in the journal JACC: Asia underscores the need to tailor prevention and management strategies according to sex-specific factors, researchers said. This “may help in the development of targeted prevention and treatment strategies” for the heart health risks faced by depressed patients, said corresponding author Dr. Hidehiro Kaneko, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Tokyo in Japan. Depression in the third-leading cause of disease worldwide. It has been linked to an increased risk of heart problems including heart attack, angina, stroke and death. Women who are depressed are at a greater risk of heart problems than their male peers with depression, but the reasons have not been understood. For this study, Kaneko’s team evaluated data from nearly 4.2 million people who were listed in a Japanese health claims database between 2005 and 2022. Of those, nearly 2.4 million were men. Researchers looked at participants’ weight, blood pressure and fasting laboratory test results at their initial exam. Those with depression had previously received that diagnosis. Researchers found that women with depression were more likely than men to have one of the heart problems investigated — heart attack, stroke, angina, heart failure and atrial fibrillation. Researchers suspect women… read on > read on >

Baseball season is near, and one orthopedic surgeon is warning young players and their coaches and parents about the very real danger of overuse injuries. Dr. Mark Cohen is a hand, wrist and elbow surgeon at Midwest Orthopaedics at RUSH, in Chicago. He’s also an official team physician for the Chicago White Sox. “I’m a huge baseball fan and have enjoyed treating professional and youth players for many years,” Cohen explained in a RUSH news release. “I love it when we can get a player back on the field. What concerns me is the rate at which Little Leaguers are experiencing big league conditions that may interfere with their body’s normal function as they grow.” Some of these “big league conditions” include simple chronic arm pain, but also torn ulnar collateral ligaments (UCLs) in the elbow, Cohen explained. UCLs often require extensive “Tommy John” surgeries — named after the first major leaguer to get the surgery back in 1974. According to one study of 261 youth and high school pitchers, published in 2023 in the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, one in four suffered some kind of injury to their arm over the course of their career. The longer they pitched, the higher their risk for these injuries and the need for surgery, the study found. “Ten years ago, Tommy John surgery was a… read on > read on >

People diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show a marked decline in their two-year risk for death once they start taking medication, new research shows. That was particularly true for deaths due to accidents and drug overdose. People taking ADHD drugs also showed no higher risk of dying from natural causes — suggesting the meds are safe for users’ heart health. Medications like Ritalin, Concerta and others probably lower users’ odds for an early death “by alleviating the core symptoms of ADHD and other psychiatric co-morbidities [illnesses], leading to improved impulse control and decision-making,” concluded a team led by Zheng Chang, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Better impulse control and healthier decisions help people with ADHD avoid tragedies like fatal accidents and drug overdoses, the researchers said. As Chang’s team noted, prior research has shown that people with ADHD face double the odds for deaths from “unnatural causes” — events such as accidents, suicide and unintended drug overdoses. Many people struggle with the decision to start ADHD medications, however, so the new study wanted to see if the drugs might lower death risks. Chang’s team gathered data from multiple Swedish health registries. In all, they amassed medical histories on almost 149,000 Swedes who’d been diagnosed with ADHD between the ages of 6 and 64. Within three months of their diagnosis, about 57% of… read on > read on >

When states let gun owners carry a firearm openly without a permit, death rates soar. Significantly more people died by firearms and suicides in states that have relaxed open carry laws, a nine-year study of death data from all 50 states shows. “Our analysis suggests that because of the change in the law, which provides easier access to firearms, we saw an increased firearm suicide rate and total suicide rate,” said principal study author Dr. Jose Diaz, a professor of surgery at the University of South Florida in Tampa. His team evaluated annual rates of firearm-related deaths, total suicides and total homicides from 2013 to 2021. Death data came from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During the study period, 19 states barred open carry or required a permit, and five states switched to open carry laws without a permit. Twenty-six states already allowed open carry without a permit before 2013. Over the study period, firearm deaths jumped 45% nationwide, from 33,636 in 2013 to 48,830 in 2021. Researchers found a significant link between more liberal gun laws and rates of firearm-related deaths. Total suicide rates rose by about 57%, while suicides by firearm rose 18% in states that switched to permitless open carry, the data showed. There was no link between permitless open carry laws and homicides related to firearms. Diaz said… read on > read on >

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Could War Zone Blasts Raise Veterans’ Odds for Alzheimer’s?

Zepbound Helps Obese People Shed Pounds, Regardless of Starting Weight

What’s Your ‘Sleep Type’? Research Reveals 4 Key Patterns

Taking ‘Study Drugs’ Like Adderall Could Be Gateway to More Drug Abuse

Cyberattack Leaves Health Care Providers Reeling Weeks Later

Precautions Needed When Folks Taking Ozempic, Wegovy Undergo Anesthesia

Depression May Be Tougher on Women’s Hearts Than Men’s

Youth Baseball Can Lead to Overuse Injuries: What Parents Need to Know

ADHD Meds Cut Odds for Early Death, Especially by Overdose

Permissive Gun Laws Linked to Higher Suicide Rates