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Climate change and worsening diets are sending global rates of stroke and stroke deaths skyward, a new study warns. Almost 12 million people worldwide had a stroke in 2021, up 70% since 1990, according to a team led by Valery Feigin, of the Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand. It’s now the third leading cause of death in the world, killing more than 7.3 million people each year. It doesn’t have to be this way, since stroke is largely preventable, experts say. “With 84% of the stroke burden linked to 23 modifiable risk factors, there are tremendous opportunities to alter the trajectory of stroke risk for the next generation,” said study co-author Dr. Catherine Johnson. She’s lead research scientist at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, in Seattle. Some risk factors for stroke include air pollution (exacerbated by climate change), excess body weight, high blood pressure, smoking and physical inactivity. All of these hazards can be reduced or controlled, the researchers said. The study was published Sept. 18 in The Lancet Neurology journal. Besides the millions of deaths linked to stroke, these attacks often leave survivors seriously disabled. The number of years of healthy life lost globally to stroke rose by almost a third (32%) between 1990 and 2021, the report found. Why the uptick in stroke?… read on > read on >

Exercise, whether moderate- or high-intensity, can help ease Parkinson’s symptoms, including fatigue, new research shows. As study lead author Dr. Philip Millar explained, Parkinson’s patients are too often overwhelmed by shame or depression, so they stop going to the gym or exercising. That’s too bad, Millar said, because “if you stop physical activity, your body adapts and you lose physical function.” Just how beneficial can exercise be for patients? To find out, Millar’s team at the University of Guelph, in Ontario, Canada, had three groups of 10 people in various stages of Parkinson’s disease. Each group exercised three times per week at the gym, for a period of 10 weeks. The male and female participants ranged in age from 45 to 79, and they engaged in one of two modes of exercise training, moderate intensity or high intensity. Millar’s team tracked various physiological metrics — the person’s “maximal oxygen consumption,” their level of fatigue or vulnerability to fatigue, gait, balance and motor symptoms. “Prior work found that high-intensity interval training may improve how far someone with Parkinson’s can walk, but this could be due to becoming more stable or confident in their gait,” said Millar, who is an associate professor of human health and nutritional science at Guelph. “It might have had nothing to do with cardiorespiratory fitness and the impact on motor symptoms was… read on > read on >

Consumers should be aware that some chocolate labeled as “dairy-free” actually contains milk, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns. This inaccurate labeling could put people with milk allergies in danger, the FDA noted. About 13 of 210 chocolate samples sold in Pennsylvania and Michigan in 2022 and 2023 tested positive for milk, the FDA said in an agency news release. The 13 samples came from three different food manufacturing firms, the FDA said. In response to the findings, two manufacturers removed the “dairy-free” claim from their chocolate products, the FDA said. The third manufacturer agreed to remove the “dairy-free” claim from its products if the cause of the presence of milk could not be determined and eliminated, the agency said. A preliminary investigation has implicated the supplier of dark chocolate as the likely source of milk in these products, rather than unsafe practices by the manufacturer, the FDA said. The FDA noted that it doesn’t define the terms “dairy-free” or “milk-free,” but that when these claims are made by manufacturers they must be truthful. All 13 of the chocolate products found to contain milk did have labeling with milk allergen advisory statements, like “…made in a facility that also processes milk.” People with milk allergies can contact chocolate manufacturers and inquire how specific products are made, the FDA said. They can also ask whether… read on > read on >

Hopping backward is a good test to see if someone’s ACL surgery has gone well, a new study says. That backward hop is an effective way of measuring the strength of a patient’s knee function, as well as the strength of their quadriceps, researchers reported recently in the Journal of Sport and Health Science. And all it takes is a tape measure. “The goal is to help practitioners have an easy way to measure where people are after an ACL injury and during recovery,” said lead researcher Yu Song, an assistant professor of health, sport & exercise sciences at the University of Kansas. About 120,000 anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries occur each year in the United States, researchers said in background notes. This ligament helps keep the knee stable, but it can be torn through heavy bending or twisting. About one-third of young, active people re-injure their ACL after returning to play following knee surgery, researchers noted. In fact, ACL re-injuries are 15 times more common than initial ACL tears. As a result, it’s crucial to make sure someone is fully recovered before clearing them for exercise and competition, researchers said. Hopping forward is currently a common means of measuring recovery from knee surgery, but “studies reported that the forward hopping distance masked the real knee recovery status,” Song said in a university news release.… read on > read on >

There have been 50 face transplants performed in 11 countries since the surgery was pioneered back in 2005, and long-term outcomes have been favorable, a new review finds. In total, 85% of people receiving these complex surgeries survived five years and 74% were still alive a decade after transplant completion, researchers report. When the numbers focused on deaths linked to the transplants per se, five- and ten-year survival rose to 96% and 83%, respectively. That’s significantly better than survival for other types of transplant, said the team of Finnish researchers. For example, at 10 years post-surgery, survival for liver transplants reaches 61% and for heart transplants the number is 65%, they noted. “The first 50 face transplants in the world during a period of 18 years demonstrate a promising survival rate of the grafts, exceeding several solid organ transplants,” concluded a team led by Dr. Pauliina Homsy, from the department of plastic surgery at the University of Helsinki. Her team published their report Sept. 18 in the journal JAMA Surgery. Homsy’s team collected data on all 50 face transplants conducted in 48 patients, carried out at 18 centers in 11 countries. Two of the patients required a second transplant, which in each case proved successful, the researchers noted. Nineteen patients were operated on in North America (18 in the United States), 29 in Europe, 1… read on > read on >

Cadmium, uranium, cobalt: These and other metals found in the environment can collect in the body and exacerbate heart disease, new research suggests. “Our findings highlight the importance of considering metal exposure as a significant risk factor for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease,” said study lead author Katlyn McGraw, a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University in New York City. “This could lead to new prevention and treatment strategies that target metal exposure,” she added in a Columbia news release. McGraw’s team found that as levels of various metals rose in people’s urine samples, so did evidence of stiffer, calcified arteries — a key component of heart disease. The research was published Sept. 18 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The Columbia team looked specifically at a process called atherosclerosis, the gradual hardening of blood vessels caused by a buildup of fatty plaques. Atherosclerosis can also lead to the buildup of unhealthy calcium deposits in arteries. Are exposures to environmental toxic metals a contributor to all of this? To find out, McGraw’s team combed through a major database of more than 6,400 American middle-aged and older adults who were all free of heart disease when they joined the study between 2000 and 2002. Urine samples tracked each participants’ levels of six environmental metal already known to have links with heart disease: Cadmium, cobalt,… read on > read on >

Therapy dogs can help boost the spirits of health care workers in the same way they brighten the moods of hospital patients, a new study shows. The furry, four-legged friends reduced emotional exhaustion and job stress among a small group of workers at two surgical and two intensive care units in the Midwest, researchers report. “We brought the dogs to the units and many times we had staff in tears sitting with the dogs, telling them about their day,” said lead investigator Beth Steinberg, a senior researcher with Ohio State University’s Center for Integrative Health. “For the most part, people have an affinity to a non-judgmental, warm, furry animal that can come and just sit with them and listen,” Steinberg said in a university news release. “Dogs don’t care what you look like, how you’re feeling that day; they just know that when you need them, they’re there.” Steinberg is co-founder of Buckeye Paws, a therapy dog program initially aimed at improving the mental and emotional health of staff at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Buckeye Paws launched in March 2020, shortly before the pandemic began taking its toll on overtaxed health professionals. To see whether the program is making a difference, researchers focused therapy dog sessions with a group of 64 health care workers. The group included doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, respiratory… read on > read on >

Wegovy, Zepbound and other cutting-edge weight-loss drugs can be tough to get these days. They’re in short supply, and often too expensive to afford without insurance coverage. Because of these barriers, many people are doing an end-run around their doctor’s office, reaching out to potentially unreliable sources that promise to set them up with the drugs, a new survey finds. About 1 in 4 people surveyed said they would consider using an injectable weight-loss drug without consulting their doctor, Ohio State University researchers report. Their reasons for skipping the doctor include: Lower cost (18%) Not covered by insurance (15%) Unable to get a prescription from their doctor (9%) Lack of availability through a pharmacy (6%) However, unlicensed online pharmacies or dodgy telehealth sites could be risky places to turn to for these drugs, experts said. “It’s really important for those who want to lose weight to first discuss options with their doctor,” said Dr. Shengyi Mao, an internal medicine specialist with Ohio State. “It is not one-size-fits-all, and every medication can have risks and side effects,” Mao added in a university news release. “A trusted doctor can go through a patient’s medical history and current medications to assess their particular risks and benefits.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued two warnings this year about compounded semaglutide, which has caused dosing errors that resulted… read on > read on >

Folks who are content with what they’ve got could be less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke, a new study suggests. “Our findings support a holistic approach to health care, where enhancing a person’s mental and emotional well-being is considered an integral part of preventing heart disease and stroke,” said senior study author Dr. Wen Sun, associate director of the Stroke Center at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, China. “Health care professionals might consider including strategies to improve life satisfaction and happiness as part of routine care, such as recommending regular physical activities, social activities or stress management techniques as effective ways to enhance personal well-being,” Sun added. For the study, researchers analyzed data gathered from more than 120,000 participants in the U.K. Biobank, a large-scale medical database. Participants filled out questionnaires that assessed their well-being in terms of satisfaction with family, friendships, health, finances and general happiness. Researchers compared people’s well-being with their risk of four major heart-related diseases. Results show that people with the highest well-being scores had: A 44% lower risk of clogged arteries. A 45% lower risk of stroke. A 51% lower risk of heart failure. A 56% lower risk of heart attack. Further analysis suggested that people who feel more content tend to adopt healthier lifestyles and suffer less inflammation, researchers said. “These… read on > read on >

Deprivation, neglect and abuse during childhood can increase a person’s long-term risk of health problems, a new study warns. “Stress is implicated in nine of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States today,” said senior researcher Dr. George Slavich, director of the UCLA Laboratory for Stress Assessment and Research. “It’s about time we take that statistic seriously and begin screening for stress in all pediatric and adult clinics nationwide.” For the study, published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity, researchers analyzed data on more than 2,100 participants in a long-range study funded by the National Institute on Aging. The team looked at different childhood traumas reported by the participants — financial distress, abuse, neglect, frequent moves, living apart from parents and receiving welfare. The participants also provided samples that allowed researchers to calculate 25 different disease biomarkers, and said whether they’d been diagnosed with 20 different major health conditions. Results showed that the risk of health problems in men and women increased with the amount of childhood stress they endured. Researchers also found that the effects of stress differed between men and women. Childhood stress tended to have greater effects on the metabolism of women than men, results show. On the other hand, emotional abuse and neglect appear to have greater health effects on men than women when it comes to… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Stroke Kills 7 Million Worldwide Each Year, and Deaths Are Rising

‘Exercise Is Medicine’ for People With Parkinson’s

Some Chocolate Products Labeled ‘Dairy-Free’ Contain Milk, FDA Finds

Did Your ACL Surgery Work? Try Hopping Backwards

Long-Term Outcomes Good for Face Transplant Recipients, Study Finds

Buildup of Metals in Body Can Worsen Heart Disease

Therapy Dogs Can Ease Nurses’, Doctors’ Stress, Too

Cost Has Many Going Around Doctors to Get Weight-Loss Meds

Feeling Content Helps Shield You From Heart Attack, Stroke

Childhood Trauma Can Raise Health Risks for a Lifetime

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