Shrinkage of one of the brain’s key memory centers appears to herald thinking declines, a new study finds. The region in question is the hippocampus, a two-sided structure located roughly above each ear and embedded deep within the brain’s temporal lobe. It’s long been known to play a crucial role in the storage and transference of short- and long-term memory. The new research was published Nov. 15 in the journal Neurology. It focused on brain scan data collected from 128 people averaging 72 years of age. A team led by Dr. Bernard Hanseeuw, of Harvard Medical School in Boston, used the scans to track changes in brain levels of amyloid plaques or tau tangles. Both are linked to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. The team also used the scans, which were taken annually, to chart any changes in the size of an individual’s hippocampus over the course of seven years. People who showed the most significant shrinkage in their hippocampus were also most likely to display thinking declines over the study period, Hanseeuw’s group reported. This seemed to occur independently of changes in levels of either amyloid or tau, they noted. They estimated that hippocampus shrinkage might account for 10% of thinking declines. “These results suggest that neurodegenerative diseases other than Alzheimer’s are contributing to this decline, and measuring the hippocampus volume may help us…  read on >  read on >

For many women with breast cancer, struggles with sexual issues becomes a hidden burden, new research shows. Because most patients don’t feel comfortable talking over these issues with a doctor, many turn to online patient-support forums for advice. The new study found that three-quarters of breast cancer patients admitted to some form of sexual dysfunction, most often vaginal dryness or pain upon penetration. However, instead of going to physicians for advice, “women with breast cancer are taking the initiative to fill the gap in their care for sexual symptoms by seeking, innovating and sharing solutions amongst themselves,” concluded a team led by Christiana von Hippel. She’s a graduate researcher at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in Boston. In the study, von Hippel’s group conducted a survey of 501 adult members of the popular Breastcancer.org online forum community. Seventy percent said they had remained sexually active at the time they completed the survey. About two-thirds identified as heterosexual, and about two-thirds were partnered. Forty-seven percent said they’d been very or extremely satisfied with their sex lives prior to cancer treatment, but 44 percent also said they’d experienced a significant worsening of their sex life post-diagnosis.  Vaginal dryness and/or pain upon penetration were the most common issues cited, and 57% of respondents said they’d never discussed the sexual side effects of…  read on >  read on >

Oral nicotine pouches might be marketed as an alternative to cigarettes, but they do little to curb smokers’ nicotine cravings, a new study finds. The pouches – which contain nicotine powder and other flavorings, but no tobacco leaf – take too long to provide the nicotine “spike” that eases cravings, researchers report in the Nov. 15 issue of journal Addiction. Current smokers still get a much greater nicotine spike and much sharper relief from craving symptoms when they take a puff than when they use either low- or high-dose nicotine pouches, the results showed. The spike of nicotine from smoking occurs within about five minutes, said lead researcher Brittney Keller-Hamilton, of Ohio State University’s Cancer Control Program. By comparison, nicotine pouches take 30 minutes to an hour to hit peak effectiveness, researchers said. It’s reasonable to see how the instant gratification from cigarette smoking would be more appealing than oral nicotine pouches for smokers deep in the need for a nicotine fix, Keller-Hamilton said. At the same time, researchers are concerned that the pouches could appeal to young people, increasing nicotine addiction in a younger population while doing nothing to stem cancer risk among smokers. “Our challenge is to approach regulation of nicotine pouches to limit their appeal among young people while making them more appealing to adult smokers who would see health benefits by…  read on >  read on >

Retatrutide, an experimental weight-loss drug that could compete against blockbusters Wegovy and Zepbound, may work wonders for obese folks with liver disease, new research shows. A wider study, published in June, found that retatrutide helped obese people lose about a quarter of their starting weight over an 11-month period. Now, findings from a subset of participants in that trial showed that retatrutide also culled excessive fat from around the livers of obese people — essentially curing many from a dangerous condition called fatty liver disease. The research was funded by Eli Lilly and Co., which is developing retatrutide. “The implications of this trial are, we could wipe out the fat very early in the course of this disease, before it becomes a real threat to the liver and, potentially, reduce the long-term cardiac, metabolic, renal [kidney] and liver-related harm from obesity,” said sub-study lead Dr. Arun Sanyal, of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond. “We are encouraged by these results and how they can potentially help tackle a disease that is currently without any approved therapies,” added Sanyal, who directs VCU’s Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health. The weight-loss results from the larger trial were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in June. The newer data, from a subset of patients with liver disease, was presented Nov. 13 at a meeting…  read on >  read on >

Social media platforms are spouting a steady stream of unsafe skin care trends, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. This is National Healthy Skin Month, and board-certified dermatologists are putting a spotlight on five unsafe practices you might come across while perusing social media. Performing cosmetic treatments at home People are microneedling, injecting fillers and using lasers to remove unwanted hair in videos taken at home. “This is something I find really concerning,” said Dr. Sara Moghaddam, a board-certified dermatologist in Selbyville, Del. “For example, at-home microneedling, also known as derma-rolling, is dangerous due to risk of infections and improper techniques.” Dr. Oyetewa Oyerinde, an assistant professor of dermatology and director of the Skin of Color Clinic at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, warns that an unsafe cosmetic procedure can look perfectly harmless on someone’s social media platform. “My patients will see people who document their entire experience performing a cosmetic procedure on TikTok or on Instagram,” Oyerinde said. “I tell patients, even if their immediate effect looks good to you — and they may be using filters and other things to make it look good — you have no idea if they ended up in the emergency room afterward because of a bad reaction.” Trying nasal tanning spray Self-tanner applied to the skin is a safe way to gain a lovely glow,…  read on >  read on >