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A common drug used to prevent migraines might have an additional benefit — protecting women against stroke. Women taking the beta blocker propranolol to ward off migraines have a lower risk of strokes caused by blood clots, according to new research to be presented Thursday at a meeting of the American Stroke Association. The risk of stroke was as much as 52% lower in female migraine sufferers taking propranolol, which is available as a generic drug, researchers said. The drug did not have the same protective effect for men, however. “Migraine is an often-ignored risk factor for cardiovascular issues. Until recently, preventive treatments for people who have migraines were not available,” said lead researcher Mulubrhan Mogos, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, Tenn. About 20% of people suffer from migraines, researchers said in background notes. Migraine headaches occur three times more often in women than men, and they are associated with an increased risk of stroke. Beta blockers are commonly prescribed to help ward off migraine, and also are used to treat high blood pressure. For their study, researchers reviewed more than 3 million electronic health records from two large databases. They identified people with migraine who had a stroke, and then checked who was taking propranolol for migraine. “We initially looked at overall stroke and then ischemic (clot-caused) stroke… read on > read on >

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Journavx, a new pain reliever without the risks of addiction or overdose linked to drugs like Vicodin and OxyContin. The new pill, developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, is intended for short-term pain relief following surgery or injury, the Associated Press reported. While it provides a long-awaited alternative to opioids and over-the-counter painkillers like ibuprofen, research suggests its effectiveness is modest compared to standard opioid treatments. Unlike opioids, which bind to brain receptors to reduce pain but often lead to dependence and addiction, Journavx works differently. The medication blocks specific proteins that trigger pain signals before they reach the brain. “In trying to develop medicines that don’t have the addictive risks of opioid medicines, a key factor is working to block pain signaling before it gets to the brain,” Dr. David Altshuler, Vertex’s executive vice president and chief scientific officer, previously told the Associated Press. Studies of more than 870 patients who took Journavx after foot and abdominal surgery showed that the drug provided more relief than a placebo but was not more effective than a common opioid-acetaminophen combination pill. “It’s not a slam dunk on effectiveness,” Michael Schuh of the Mayo Clinic, a pharmacist who was not involved in the research, told the Associated Press. “But it is a slam dunk in that it’s a very different… read on > read on >

Calorie labels on restaurant menus are harming people with eating disorders, a new evidence review claims. These labels are meant to make it healthier to eat out at restaurants, by informing customers of the calorie content of food choices. But people diagnosed with eating disorders tend to respond poorly when presented with a menu featuring calorie labels, researchers reported Jan. 28 in the BMJ Public Health. Unhealthy responses included avoiding restaurants altogether, triggering harmful thoughts associated with eating disorders, and obsessing over the calorie counts. Some said that seeing these menu labels actually reinforced the beliefs behind their eating disorders, researchers added. “It’s definitely set my recovery back by a long way and I only feel safe eating at home now,” a patient with an eating disorder said in one of the studies included in the review. “Our study highlights that people with lived experience of eating disorders are frustrated at being left out of the conversation around calorie labels,” senior researcher Tom Jewell, a lecturer in mental health nursing at King’s College London, said in a news release. The obesity epidemic has caused policymakers to act without any thought to the impact on people with eating disorders, Jewell added. “Striking a balance between the positive and harmful impacts of calorie labels on menus is vital in any public health policies,” he said. “Policymakers should… read on > read on >

Most community crisis services did not expand following the launch of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, potentially blunting the effectiveness of the hotline, a new study says. Walk-in psychiatric services, mobile crisis response units and suicide prevention programs all declined following the launch of the 988 line in July 2022, researchers reported in a new study published Jan. 29 in JAMA Psychiatry. “The lack of meaningful growth in most crisis services may limit the long-run success of 988, in particular if callers feel that reaching out to 988 fails to result in access to appropriate sources of care,” lead investigator Jonathan Cantor, a policy researcher at the nonprofit research organization RAND, said in a news release. The 988 Lifeline provides a single easy-to-remember phone number for people in a suicidal or mental health crisis. It replaced the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which had been reachable through a 10-digit 800 number. The line is intended to help counsel people in crisis and, if necessary, connect them with a variety of mental health services. However, researchers suspected that mental health emergency response systems might not have been able to rapidly beef up their operations to handle the potentially increased workload from an easier-to-use crisis line. For example, the U.S. continues to have a shortage of psychiatric beds in many regions, as well as a limited and… read on > read on >

Weight-loss surgery can protect the liver health of patients with obesity and fatty liver disease, a new study reports. Patients had a 72% lower risk of developing serious complications of liver disease after undergoing weight-loss surgery, researchers reported in Jan. 27 in the journal Nature Medicine. They also had an 80% lower risk of their liver disease reaching an advanced, life-threatening stage, researchers found. These results show that the sort of weight loss associated with bariatric surgery can make a major difference in people with fatty liver disease, also called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), researchers said. “Currently, lifestyle intervention (diet and exercise) is the only therapeutic recommendation for compensated MASH-related cirrhosis,” senior investigator Dr. Steven Nissen, chief academic officer of the Cleveland Clinic Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute, said in a news release. “However, lifestyle changes alone rarely provide the weight loss and metabolic changes needed to reduce the risk of liver complications in this patient population,” he added. Obesity and diabetes are the leading cause of MASH, which is the most common form of chronic liver disease in the U.S., researchers said in background notes. The livers of people who are obese start accumulating fat, triggering a cascade of events ultimately leading to liver scarring, researchers said. An estimated 3 million people in the U.S. have liver scarring related to fatty liver disease. For… read on > read on >

Seniors whose cholesterol levels spike and plummet year-to-year could be at increased risk of dementia and failing brain health, a new study suggests. Those whose cholesterol fluctuated the most had a 60% increased risk of dementia, researchers report in findings published Jan. 29 in the journal Neurology. They also had a 23% increased risk of mild cognitive impairment, an early stage of brain aging that can lead to dementia, researchers found. “These results suggest that fluctuating cholesterol, measured annually, may be a new biomarker for identifying people at risk of dementia, providing more information than the actual cholesterol levels measured at a single time point,” lead investigator Zhen Zhou, a research fellow at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, said in a news release. High cholesterol levels in middle age have been identified as a risk factor of cognitive decline and dementia later in life, researchers mentioned in background notes. However, research into the impact of cholesterol on brain health in seniors has yielded mixed results. Some studies have said cholesterol has no impact on the brain in old age, while others have found that low cholesterol might actually increase dementia risk. For this study, researchers tracked the brain health of more than 9,800 people 65 and older who started off with no dementia or other memory problems. The participants’ cholesterol levels were measured at the… read on > read on >

“Hidden hunger” — low levels of essential vitamins or minerals — is common among people with type 2 diabetes, a new evidence review says Overall, as many as 45% of type 2 diabetics are suffering multiple deficiencies in vitamins, minerals and electrolytes, researchers reported Jan. 28 in the journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health. The review “exemplifies the double burden of malnutrition in action,” where people trying to manage their diabetes through diet wind up with nutritional deficiencies, concluded the research team led by Dr. Daya Krishan Mangal, an adjunct professor at the International Institute of Health Management Research in Jaipur, India. For the evidence review, researchers pooled results from 132 prior studies involving more than 52,500 participants between 1998 and 2023. Very low levels of vitamin D were the most common deficiency, affecting more than 60% of people with type 2 diabetes. Other common deficiencies included magnesium (42%), iron (28%) and vitamin B12 (22%). People on the diabetes drug metformin were at higher risk for B12 deficiency, with 29% having low levels of that vitamin. Women with diabetes were more likely to have vitamin deficiencies than men, 49% versus 43%, results show. And diabetics in North and South America had the highest levels of vitamin deficiencies, with 54% suffering a lack of specific nutrients. “The treatment of type 2 diabetes often tends to focus… read on > read on >

Daily low-dose aspirin can help prevent cancers from returning in about a third of colon cancer patients, a new study says. Taking 160 milligrams of aspirin a day cuts the risk of cancer recurrence in half among colon cancer patients with a mutation in their PI3K genes, researchers reported at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in San Francisco. These PI3K mutations are found in about 30% of all colon cancers, researchers said in background notes. They can make cancers more aggressive and harder to treat. The results of this study could immediately change treatment for those colon cancer patients, researchers said. “Aspirin has been shown to effectively reduce recurrence rates and improve disease-free survival in more than one-third of these patients,” lead researcher Dr. Anna Martling, a professor of surgery at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, said in a news release. For the study, researchers recruited more than 600 patients in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway who had moderate to advanced colon cancer or rectal cancer. The patients were randomly assigned to take either daily aspirin or a placebo for three years. Patients taking daily aspirin had a 51% lower risk of cancer recurrence if they had a mutation in their PIK3CA mutation, compared to placebo, researchers found. Recurrence was 7.7% for people taking aspirin versus 14.1% for those on… read on > read on >

People with low back pain might want to look into the ancient Chinese mind-body movement exercise known as qigong, a new study published recently suggests. Qigong is similar to tai chi, in that it uses slow-flowing exercises and still, meditative postures to ease tension and increase flexibility. The practice brought pain relief and better sleep to a small group of military veterans after eight weeks, compared to another group that didn’t use qigong. “Stretching, loosening, strengthening and balancing techniques of qigong may release back tension, ease pain and improve flexibility and alignment,” senior researcher Cheryl Krause-Parello, associate vice president for research at Florida Atlantic University, said in a news release. For the study, a group of 10 veterans with back pain were randomly assigned to take an eight-week course of qigong, researchers said. Another 12 vets were placed on a wait list and served as a control group. Between 40% to 70% of veterans suffer from chronic pain, and back pain is most commonly reported, researchers said in background notes. Painkillers aren’t the solution, researchers argue – veterans are more likely to be prescribed opioids than civilians, and are therefore at increased risk of addiction and overdose. Researchers figured qigong might be a way to help veterans manage back pain without resorting to painkillers. “This holistic approach addresses the complex challenges faced by veterans with… read on > read on >

Helping kids with obesity drop pounds can have a huge impact on their future health. When these children and teens lose weight, they are less likely to have type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol as young adults, researchers reported in a new study published Jan. 21 in JAMA Pediatrics. They also had a lower risk of dying young, their results show. “The results are very good news,” senior researcher Emilia Hagman, a docent of clinical science, intervention and technology at Karolinska Institute in Sweden, said in a news release. “Whether or not the treatment of obesity in childhood has long-term health benefits have been debated, since weight-loss is hard to maintain,” she said. “This emphasizes the importance of providing early treatment, as we know that timely intervention increases the likelihood of success and helps mitigate the long-term health risks associated with obesity.” For the study, researchers analyzed data on more than 6,700 Swedish children who registered for obesity treatment between 1996 and 2019. All received at least one year of obesity treatment prior to age 18. On average, the kids started treatment at age 12 and received around three years of treatment, researchers report. The research team then checked in with the children as they reached adulthood — between 18 to 30 years of age — to see whether losing weight had… read on > read on >

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Beta Blocker Might Reduce Migraine Stroke Risk

FDA Approves First New Non-Opioid Pain Pill in Decades

Calorie Labels Harmful For People With Eating Disorders

Crisis Services Haven’t Adapted To New 988 Suicide Hotline

Weight-Loss Surgery Protects Liver Health

Cholesterol Changes in Seniors Linked to Brain Health

Vitamin Deficiencies Common in Type 2 Diabetes

Daily Aspirin Reduces Colon Cancer Risk: Study

Qigong Effective In Easing Low Back Pain

Weight Loss Boosts Long-Term Health of Kids With Obesity