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Researchers say they have developed a blood test for schizophrenia. More than 3 million people in the United States have schizophrenia, a disorder marked by hallucinations and delusions, or a related psychotic illness. The new test, which is expected to be available later this year from MindX Sciences, identifies markers in the blood that objectively measure a person’s risk for schizophrenia, allowing doctors to tailor treatments to their individual biology. “Schizophrenia is hard to diagnose, especially early on, and matching people to the right treatment from the beginning is very important,” said senior study author Dr. Alexander Niculescu, a professor of psychiatry and medical neuroscience at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. “Psychosis usually manifests in young adulthood — a prime period of life,” he explained in a university news release. “Stress and drugs, including marijuana, are precipitating factors on a background of genetic vulnerability. If left unchecked, psychosis leads to accumulating biological damage, social damage and psychological damage.” His team published its research Feb. 8 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. For their study, they followed psychiatric patients for more than a decade, identifying biomarkers that predicted high rates of hallucination and delusions, as well as future related hospitalizations. They also examined which biomarkers were targets of existing drugs. The work builds on previous studies by Niculescu, who is also a staff psychiatrist at… read on > read on >

Pickleball has become the darling of older folks trying to stay in shape, but new research shows that with that popularity has come a surge in serious injuries. Bone fractures related to pickleball have increased 90-fold over the last 20 years, with most injuries occurring in adults ages 60 to 69, finds a new analysis presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in San Francisco. “Despite its reputation as a low-impact sport, pickleball can pose serious risk for players, especially if they have weaker bones from osteoporosis,” researcher Dr. Kurt Spindler, an orthopaedic surgeon at Cleveland Clinic in Florida, said in a meeting news release. “It’s important to understand your risk profile of injury and to speak with your physician to see how you can lower your risk.” Pickleball, which resembles its cousin tennis, is played with a perforated plastic ball and wooden paddles on a badminton-sized court. It is the fastest growing sport in the country, with the number of players rising from 4.8 million in 2021 to 8.9 million in 2023, according to USA Pickleball. Importantly, the new analysis only looked at fractures, not some of the most common injuries like sprained ankles or damage to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Other common pickleball injuries include rotator cuff injuries, worsening of arthritis and Achilles tendon tears/strains,… read on > read on >

Novo Nordisk has settled lawsuits against two Florida businesses that claimed to sell copycat versions of its popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. The Danish drugmaker announced the settlements Friday, according to NBC News. The move capped a legal battle that began in late November when the company filed 12 lawsuits against clinics, medical spas and compounding pharmacies in the United States that claimed to offer semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy. Novo Nordisk, which holds the patent on semaglutide, does not supply the ingredient to outside groups, NBC News noted. Semaglutide is used to treat type 2 diabetes and is a popular, injectable weight-loss drug. With the settlements announced last week, Florida-based Cosmetic Laser Professionals Med Spa and Nuvida Rx Weight Loss are permanently barred from claiming that their compounded drugs have approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Novo Nordisk said. They are also forbidden from “misleading” advertising and using any Novo Nordisk trademarks or logos in their products. The settlement gives both companies a year to make the necessary changes. Compounded drugs are custom-made. Ingredients are combined, mixed or altered for an individual patient. While these drugs are not FDA-approved, they are often sought when approved medications are in short supply. As use of semaglutide for weight control has soared, many patients with diabetes who depend on it to… read on > read on >

Don’t expect to sweat away the heart risks posed by sugary sodas and drinks, a new study warns. Canadian researchers found that even if the recommended 150 minutes of weekly physical activity protects against cardiovascular disease, it’s not enough to counter the adverse effects of sugar-sweetened beverages. “Physical activity reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease associated with sugar-sweetened beverages by half, but it does not fully eliminate it,” said researcher Jean-Philippe Drouin-Chartier, an assistant professor with Université Laval’s Faculty of Pharmacy in Quebec, said in a university news release. Researchers noted that sugar-sweetened drinks are the largest source of added sugars in the North American diet. For the study, they analyzed data on about 100,000 adults who were followed for an average of three decades. Those who consumed sugar-sweetened beverages more than twice a week had a higher risk of heart disease, regardless of their physical activity levels. With daily consumption, the risk of heart disease is even higher, researchers noted. Drouin-Chartier noted that the sugary drinks in the study included sodas, lemonade and fruit cocktails. The study didn’t specifically consider energy drinks, but those also tend to contain heavy doses of sugar. Artificially sweetened drinks were not associated with higher risk of heart disease, the researchers found. “Replacing sugar-sweetened beverages by diet drinks is good, because it reduces the amount of sugar. But the… read on > read on >

Being active may help ease ongoing cancer pain. That’s the key takeaway from a study of more 10,600 people with a history of cancer and over 51,000 without the disease. A team led by Erika Rees-Punia of the American Cancer Society and Christopher Swain of the University of Melbourne in Australia asked participants about their usual physical activity and their pain levels. Among both groups of participants, more physical activity was tied to less intense pain. The extent of the link between activity and pain was similar among both groups, which researchers said indicates that exercise may reduce cancer-related pain the same way it does for other types of pain. U.S. guidelines recommend between 2.5 and 5 hours a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, or between 1.25 and 2.5 hours of vigorous activity. Among participants who had had cancer, those exceeding the guidelines were 16% less likely to report moderate-to-severe pain compared to those who didn’t meet guidelines, the study found. Researchers also found that participants who were consistently active or who became active in older adulthood reported less pain than folks who stayed inactive. The findings were published Feb. 12 in the journal Cancer. “It may feel counterintuitive to some, but physical activity is an effective, non-pharmacologic option for reducing many types of pain,” Rees-Punia said in a journal news release. “As our study… read on > read on >

Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound can lead to better heart health for people struggling with excess weight or diabetes, a University of Michigan cardiologist says. However, these medications help the heart best when combined with lifestyle changes like more exercise and a healthy diet, according to Dr. Eric Brandt, director of preventive cardiology at the University of Michigan Health Frankel Cardiovascular Center in Ann Arbor. “I recommend to my patients that while they are taking them that they set better lifestyle habits,” Brandt said in a university news release. “This includes eating more whole plant-based foods, reducing calories from sugary beverages, stopping smoking, using stress reducing techniques such as meditation and committing to an exercise regimen.” Poor diet and obesity are both independent risk factors for heart disease, Brandt said. In fact, diet has now eclipsed tobacco as the top contributor to premature death. Healthy lifestyle habits remain the first-line treatment for obesity, elevated cholesterol and high blood pressure, he said. “However, sometimes lifestyle changes are not enough, and this is the case for many people,” Brandt said. “Fortunately, there are now more treatments for obesity that are effective at helping with weight loss.” Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound and Mounjaro are all GLP-1 agonists. They work by mimicking a hormone in the body that decreases appetite, Brandt said. A 2023 study in the New… read on > read on >

FRIDAY, Feb. 9, 2024 (healthDay News) — Super Bowl party spreads famously include nachos, wings, burgers, hot dogs and other unhealthy fare, but one expert offers some advice on how to make watching the game a healthy affair. “Think about what food you anticipate will be there,” said Dr. Bethany Agusala, director of UT Southwestern Medical Center’s William T. and Gay F. Solomon General Internal Medicine Clinic in Dallas. “If you have a health condition or dietary restrictions and you’re not sure if there’s going to be something good you can eat, you might think about bringing a healthy dish, like a veggie tray or a salad.” If you’re hosting a Super Bowl party, recognize that some guests will have health concerns such as diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Try to offer fruits, vegetables, whole grains and salsas so your guests aren’t forced to eat high-salt or high-sugar foods, she suggested. “It’s best to eat foods at these parties where you’re combining sources of protein and healthy fats,” Agusala advised. “Healthier protein options would be foods like bean dip, chicken and fish.” “You could also have complex carbohydrates like vegetables and whole grains,” she added. “These are broken down more slowly, so they won’t cause blood sugar spikes.” Agusala listed what foods to look for and what foods you should avoid while watching… read on > read on >

While marriage can be hard work, a new survey suggests it can also be a powerful elixir for happiness. Adults who are married report being more satisfied with their lives than those in any other type of relationship, the Gallup poll showed. “Any way you analyze those data, we see a fairly large and notable advantage to being married in terms of how people evaluate their life,” poll author Jonathan Rothwell, principal economist at Gallup, told CNN. In the survey, which included data spanning from 2009 to 2023, more than 2.5 million American adults were asked how they would rate their life, with zero being the worst rating and 10, the highest. Then, respondents were asked what they thought their happiness level would be in five years. To be considered thriving, people had to rank their present life as a seven or higher and their future life as an eight or higher. Over the survey period, married people consistently reported higher happiness levels, ranging from 12% to 24% higher depending on the year. The gap remained even when researchers adjusted for age, race, ethnicity, gender and education. Experts offered up a few reasons why marriage might be integral to happiness. “At its bare minimum, the concept of commitment implies the experience of being bonded with another. At its very best, it means being bonded with someone who… read on > read on >

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced that it is cracking down on air pollution. Specifically, the agency introduced a tougher air quality standard that takes aim at fine particulate matter — the tiny bits of pollution that can penetrate the lungs — by lowering the allowable annual concentration of the deadly pollutant that each state can have. “This final air quality standard will save lives and make all people healthier, especially within America’s most vulnerable and overburdened communities,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in an agency news release announcing the change. “Cleaner air means that our children have brighter futures, and people can live more productive and active lives…” The EPA noted that “a broad and growing body of science” links particulate matter to serious, and often deadly, illnesses such as lung cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, neurological disorders, asthma attacks and stroke. Reaction to the new standard was enthusiastic. “The Biden administration is taking lifesaving action to protect people and rein in deadly pollution,” Abigail Dillen, president of the nonprofit law organization Earthjustice, said in the EPA news release. “The science is crystal clear. Soot, otherwise known as fine particle pollution, is a killer. It is driving heart disease, our asthma epidemic, and other serious illnesses. The people who suffer most are children and older Americans who live in communities of color and low-income… read on > read on >

Is ‘practice makes perfect’ true for the male erection, too? That’s the suggestion from a Swedish study involving amorous male mice. It found that getting erections regularly was important to the rodents’ overall erectile function. The key seemed to lie in connective tissue cells called fibroblasts. These cells have long been known to populate penile tissue, but their role has remained unclear, explained researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. “Fibroblasts are the most abundant cells in the penis of both mice and humans, but they have been neglected in research,” said study lead author Eduardo Guimaraes, a researcher at the department of cell and molecular biology at Karolinska. “Now we can show, using a very precise method called optogenetics, that they have a very important role in regulating blood flow in the penis, which is what makes the penis erect,” he said in an institute news release. The findings were published Feb. 8 in the journal Science. Of course, many studies conducted in mice don’t translate to humans. But the Swedish team said that — size aside — the penises of mice and men aren’t dissimilar. “The basic mechanisms of erection are very similar in all mammals regarding anatomy, cell structure and so on,” principal investigator Christian Göritz explained. “However, there is one difference between humans and most mammals — they have a bone… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Blood Test to Predict Schizophrenia Shows Promise

As Pickleball’s Popularity Has Soared, So Have Injuries

Novo Nordisk Settles Lawsuits Over Copycat Versions of Ozempic, Wegovy

You Probably Can’t ‘Exercise Away’ the Calories in Sodas: Study

Exercise Can Be a Painkiller for Cancer Patients

A Cardiologist Answers Your Questions on New Weight-Loss Meds

Score Big With a Healthy, Tasty Super Bowl Feast

Is Marriage a Prescription for Happiness? Poll Says Yes

Biden Administration to Tighten Air Pollution Standards

Use It or Lose It? Mouse Study Reveals Key to Healthy Erections