A little about: Weekly Gravy

All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

A Divided America Is Stressing Out, Survey Finds

By | | Add a Comment

A fractured America is causing people’s stress levels to go through the roof, a new American Psychological Association (APA) survey has found. Overall, the results indicate that loneliness and emotional disconnection have become a defining feature of American life. “This year’s findings show that people across the nation are not just feeling divided, they’re feeling disconnected,” APA’s CEO Arthur Evans Jr. said in a news release. “Research tells us that a sense of isolation and social fragmentation can have real consequences for our ability to manage stress and stay healthy.” More than 6 of 10 U.S. adults said that societal division is a significant source of stress in their lives, according to results of the 2025 Stress in America survey. Half or more said they felt isolated (54%); left out (50%); or lacking companionship (50%) often or some of the time. And nearly 7 in 10 people (69%) said they needed more emotional support in the past year than they received, up from 65% last year, the APA said. Adults who cited societal division as a source of stress were more likely to: Lose patience with family members (60% versus 49% of those not significantly stressed by division). Cancel plans (55% versus 37%). Struggle to plan for the future (53% versus 37%). Those feeling high levels of loneliness also struggled with their well-being, reporting more…  read on >  read on >

Exercise Benefits Women With Advanced Breast Cancer, Experts Say

By | | Add a Comment

Exercise can help women with advanced breast cancer better withstand both cancer treatments and the ravages of the disease, a new clinical trial shows. A nine-month program of supervised aerobic and resistant exercise improved muscle mass and strength among women with advanced breast cancer, particularly in their arms and legs, researchers found. The women put on nearly 2 pounds of additional muscle mass within the first three months, compared to a control group that didn’t have exercise classes, researchers found. While muscle mass did decline over time, the women still had just under a pound of extra muscle after six months compared to the control group, researchers added.  “The results from our study are important since lean body mass is linked to better treatment tolerance, prognosis and overall health, and increased muscle strength correlates with improved quality of life and lower mortality risk,” said researcher Anne May, a professor of clinical epidemiology of cancer survivorship at the University Medical Center Utrecht in The Netherlands. “This supports the call for exercise, and specifically supervised exercise with a resistance exercise component, to be integrated as a standard component of cancer care for patients with metastatic breast cancer,” May added in a news release. For the study, researchers recruited 357 patients with stage 4 breast cancer between 2019 and 2022. The women were being treated in hospitals in…  read on >  read on >

Exercise Benefits Women With Advanced Breast Cancer, Experts Say

By | | Add a Comment

Exercise can help women with advanced breast cancer better withstand both cancer treatments and the ravages of the disease, a new clinical trial shows. A nine-month program of supervised aerobic and resistant exercise improved muscle mass and strength among women with advanced breast cancer, particularly in their arms and legs, researchers found. The women put on nearly 2 pounds of additional muscle mass within the first three months, compared to a control group that didn’t have exercise classes, researchers found. While muscle mass did decline over time, the women still had just under a pound of extra muscle after six months compared to the control group, researchers added.  “The results from our study are important since lean body mass is linked to better treatment tolerance, prognosis and overall health, and increased muscle strength correlates with improved quality of life and lower mortality risk,” said researcher Anne May, a professor of clinical epidemiology of cancer survivorship at the University Medical Center Utrecht in The Netherlands. “This supports the call for exercise, and specifically supervised exercise with a resistance exercise component, to be integrated as a standard component of cancer care for patients with metastatic breast cancer,” May added in a news release. For the study, researchers recruited 357 patients with stage 4 breast cancer between 2019 and 2022. The women were being treated in hospitals in…  read on >  read on >

Concussions Increase Traffic Crash Risk For Weeks After

By | | Add a Comment

Folks who’ve had a recent concussion might not want to get behind the wheel anytime soon. Concussion victims are more likely to wind up in a traffic crash and that increased risk is highest during the first four weeks after their brain injury, researchers reported Nov. 6 in BMJ Open. A concussion causes brain problems that can affect driving skills, including insomnia, dizziness, depression, brain fog and slowed reaction times, researchers said. “I worry that sometimes a concussion requires more recovery time than most people realize,” lead researcher Dr. Donald Redelmeier, a scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto, Canada, said in a news release. “Rushing things might lead to another injury including a life-threatening traffic crash,” he said. For the study, researchers analyzed medical records for more than 3 million patients in Ontario who suffered either a concussion or an ankle sprain between April 2002 and March 2022. They identified more than 425,000 people who were treated for concussion and 2.6 million with an ankle sprain. People with a concussion had an overall 49% higher risk of being in a traffic crash than those who’d sprained their ankle, the study found. But their risk was six times higher in the first month following a concussion, researchers noted. About 1 in every 13 concussion patients wound up injured…  read on >  read on >

Concussions Increase Traffic Crash Risk For Weeks After

By | | Add a Comment

Folks who’ve had a recent concussion might not want to get behind the wheel anytime soon. Concussion victims are more likely to wind up in a traffic crash and that increased risk is highest during the first four weeks after their brain injury, researchers reported Nov. 6 in BMJ Open. A concussion causes brain problems that can affect driving skills, including insomnia, dizziness, depression, brain fog and slowed reaction times, researchers said. “I worry that sometimes a concussion requires more recovery time than most people realize,” lead researcher Dr. Donald Redelmeier, a scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto, Canada, said in a news release. “Rushing things might lead to another injury including a life-threatening traffic crash,” he said. For the study, researchers analyzed medical records for more than 3 million patients in Ontario who suffered either a concussion or an ankle sprain between April 2002 and March 2022. They identified more than 425,000 people who were treated for concussion and 2.6 million with an ankle sprain. People with a concussion had an overall 49% higher risk of being in a traffic crash than those who’d sprained their ankle, the study found. But their risk was six times higher in the first month following a concussion, researchers noted. About 1 in every 13 concussion patients wound up injured…  read on >  read on >

Check Your City: Air Pollution Linked to Slower Marathon Times

By | | Add a Comment

Does the city you run in make a difference? Researchers say yes, it does. When marathon runners hit the wall or fall behind their goal pace, they often blame fatigue, weather or nutrition. However, a study from Brown University published in Sports Medicine suggests a less obvious, environmental culprit: air pollution. Researchers analyzed a dataset of 2.6 million marathon finish times from major U.S. races, including those in Boston, New York City and Los Angeles, spanning 17 years and matched it to estimated pollution levels from weather stations.  They found a direct link between slower average finish times and higher concentrations of fine particulate matter known as PM2.5. The data also showed that the fastest runners were more affected by this effect. PM2.5 refers to tiny pollutants smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter. These particles are often the focus of air-quality health advisories, because they can travel deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, causing inflammation and chest constriction, reports The New York Times. The study revealed a measurable slowdown tied to PM2.5 levels. For every increase of one microgram per cubic meter increase in these tiny particles, the average finish time for runners dropped. Men were 32 seconds slower for every one microgram/cubic meter increase. Women were 25 seconds slower for every one microgram/cubic meter increase. In other words, on a day with…  read on >  read on >

Patch Eases Peanut Allergies Among Children

By | | Add a Comment

Treatment with an experimental peanut protein patch can help young children safely build tolerance to peanuts, a new study says. More than 70% of children treated with the Viaskin Peanut Patch could tolerate at least three to four peanut kernels without a reaction after three years, researchers are scheduled to report Saturday in Orlando at a meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Nearly half of the kids could tolerate even larger amounts of peanut, researchers noted. The patch delivers small amounts of peanut protein through the skin, with the goal of reducing the risk of severe allergic reactions, researchers said. “These results show that ongoing treatment with the peanut patch continues to improve tolerance and remains safe over time,” lead researcher Dr. Matthew Greenhawt said in a news release. He’s an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine. Peanut allergies affect about 2% of children in the U.S., researchers said in background notes. “For parents of toddlers with peanut allergies, this kind of approach may one day offer a peace of mind by reducing the risk of having an allergic reaction, including severe reactions, from accidental exposure,” Greenhawt said. For the new study, researchers tracked 91 toddlers who got a placebo patch during an earlier clinical trial of the peanut patch. After that trial, the…  read on >  read on >

Patch Eases Peanut Allergies Among Children

By | | Add a Comment

Treatment with an experimental peanut protein patch can help young children safely build tolerance to peanuts, a new study says. More than 70% of children treated with the Viaskin Peanut Patch could tolerate at least three to four peanut kernels without a reaction after three years, researchers are scheduled to report Saturday in Orlando at a meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Nearly half of the kids could tolerate even larger amounts of peanut, researchers noted. The patch delivers small amounts of peanut protein through the skin, with the goal of reducing the risk of severe allergic reactions, researchers said. “These results show that ongoing treatment with the peanut patch continues to improve tolerance and remains safe over time,” lead researcher Dr. Matthew Greenhawt said in a news release. He’s an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine. Peanut allergies affect about 2% of children in the U.S., researchers said in background notes. “For parents of toddlers with peanut allergies, this kind of approach may one day offer a peace of mind by reducing the risk of having an allergic reaction, including severe reactions, from accidental exposure,” Greenhawt said. For the new study, researchers tracked 91 toddlers who got a placebo patch during an earlier clinical trial of the peanut patch. After that trial, the…  read on >  read on >

Spinal Cord Injuries Put People At Risk For Chronic Health Problems

By | | Add a Comment

A spinal cord injury might be only the beginning of a person’s health woes, according to a new study. People who’ve suffered spinal cord injuries are more likely to develop an array of chronic health problems, researchers reported Nov. 4 in JAMA Network Open. High blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, stroke, heart disease, diabetes and a host of brain problems and psychiatric conditions are some of the problems likely to plague a person who’s had a traumatic spinal cord injury. This increased risk is regardless of the patient’s age, the location of their spinal cord injury or their prior health, researchers found. “The journey doesn’t end when patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries leave the hospital or rehab,” senior researcher Dr. Saef Izzy, a neurologist at Mass General Brigham in Boston, said in a news release. “Programs should be implemented to identify patients at risk so that we can better manage their chronic care and address health issues that put patients at higher risk of death,” he added. For the new study, researchers tracked the health of more than 1,000 spinal cord injury patients treated at Mass General Brigham and 1,700 treated by the University of California Health System between January 1996 and January 2024. Researchers matched these patients to similar folks without a spinal cord injury, and tracked them over a follow-up period of up…  read on >  read on >

Spinal Cord Injuries Put People At Risk For Chronic Health Problems

By | | Add a Comment

A spinal cord injury might be only the beginning of a person’s health woes, according to a new study. People who’ve suffered spinal cord injuries are more likely to develop an array of chronic health problems, researchers reported Nov. 4 in JAMA Network Open. High blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, stroke, heart disease, diabetes and a host of brain problems and psychiatric conditions are some of the problems likely to plague a person who’s had a traumatic spinal cord injury. This increased risk is regardless of the patient’s age, the location of their spinal cord injury or their prior health, researchers found. “The journey doesn’t end when patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries leave the hospital or rehab,” senior researcher Dr. Saef Izzy, a neurologist at Mass General Brigham in Boston, said in a news release. “Programs should be implemented to identify patients at risk so that we can better manage their chronic care and address health issues that put patients at higher risk of death,” he added. For the new study, researchers tracked the health of more than 1,000 spinal cord injury patients treated at Mass General Brigham and 1,700 treated by the University of California Health System between January 1996 and January 2024. Researchers matched these patients to similar folks without a spinal cord injury, and tracked them over a follow-up period of up…  read on >  read on >