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Elderly adults who start on a statin may see an even bigger drop in their “bad” cholesterol levels than their younger counterparts do, a new study suggests. The study, of nearly 84,000 Danish patients, found that those age 75 and up typically showed a stronger response after starting a low- to moderate-dose statin: Compared with the typical 50-year-old, their LDL cholesterol dipped by a few more percentage points. Researchers said the findings suggest that older patients could begin with a lower-dose statin, to minimize the chances of side effects. While statins are considered safe, they may cause problems like muscle pain or elevated blood sugar in some people. The odds of side effects generally go up with higher statin doses, and older adults are typically more vulnerable than their younger counterparts. So, starting at a lower statin dose could be “an appealing alternative” for older patients, said senior researcher Dr. Marie Lund, of the Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen. She added, however, that there are additional things to consider — including an older person’s existing health conditions and the need for lowering the risk of a future heart attack or stroke. Statins are among the most widely used medications globally, spurred by studies showing that along with cutting levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol, they help prevent heart attacks and strokes. But clinical trials generally include… read on > read on >

One dose of the hallucinogenic ingredient in “magic mushrooms” may help some people with anorexia move past their preoccupation with body image, an early study suggests. The study, of just 10 women with anorexia, tested the effects of a single dose of psilocybin plus psychological counseling sessions. Researchers found that the treatment appeared safe, with patients rating the experience as a positive one. And within three months, four of 10 women had a significant improvement in their eating disorder “pathology.” That meant certain eating-disorder behaviors — including preoccupation with weight and body shape — improved to the degree that they were close to what’s typical of people without an eating disorder. There are plenty of caveats in the findings, however, experts said. The phase 1 trial was small and designed primarily to make sure the treatment was feasible and safe. So, no conclusions can be drawn about the effectiveness. Still, the early findings indicate that psilocybin is worth further study, said Dr. Evelyn Attia, director of the Center for Eating Disorders at Columbia University and Weill Cornell Medicine, in New York City. “I’d very much like for this to be studied further,” she said. Attia, who was not involved in the study, is also with the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). At any given time, about 0.4% of young women and 0.1% of young men… read on > read on >

Kombucha is a fermented tea that many folks believe offers numerous health benefits — and new research suggests they may be right. Though the study was small — 12 participants — it found that kombucha may help lower blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Fermented with bacteria and yeasts, the drink has been consumed in China since 200 B.C. but it has been embraced in the United States only since the 1990s, researchers said. “Apple cider vinegar was really taking off and people were talking about it all the time and kombucha,” said study author Dr. Daniel Merenstein, director of family medicine research at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. “And they have a farmers market at Georgetown where they sell kombucha, so we just thought, this kombucha is more tasty, easier to drink than apple cider vinegar … so that’s really what got us to do this study.” Not only was it easy to take, participants who drank kombucha had significantly lower average fasting blood sugar levels after drinking it for four weeks — 116 versus 164 at the study’s start, researchers found. Participants who drank a similarly flavored placebo also saw their blood sugar drop — from 162 to 141 — but researchers said that change was not statistically significant. For the study, participants downed 8 ounces of kombucha or a… read on > read on >

Taking the stairs rather than an elevator. Raking leaves. Toting heavy grocery bags. Pushing a vacuum. Playing hard with your kids or pets. Short bursts of vigorous physical activity during everyday events like these — most lasting less than a minute — can help lower cancer risk even in people who don’t like to exercise, a new study finds. People who got around 3.5 minutes of vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (VILPA) each day reduced their overall cancer risk by about 18%, said researcher Emmanuel Stamatakis, a professor of physical activity, lifestyle and population health at the University of Sydney in Australia. More minutes produced even more cancer protection, particularly for cancers already known to respond well to physical activity. “For people who find it hard to initiate or adhere to an exercise program, our study suggests that doing a few short bursts of intense activity as the day goes by may be beneficial for long-term health,” Stamatakis said. The study, published online July 27 in JAMA Oncology, showed that non-exercisers can still benefit from getting off the couch throughout the day, said Erika Rees-Punia, a senior principal scientist of epidemiology and behavioral research with the American Cancer Society. “We often say that something is better than nothing in terms of physical activity, and this is really more evidence for that,” Rees-Punia said. “It turns… read on > read on >

As Americans continue to grapple with the effects of long COVID, the Biden administration on Monday announced the creation of a new office focused on research about the condition that will be part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Office of Long COVID Research and Practice will lead the U.S. response to long COVID, which incudes trials that have already been launched, the HHS said in an agency news release. “As our nation continues to make strides in combating COVID-19, it is crucial that we address the impact of long COVID and provide resources to those in need,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Last year, President Biden called on HHS to coordinate the response to long COVID. The official establishment of the Long COVID Coordinating office and the launch of the RECOVER clinical trials solidifies this issue as an ongoing priority.” The $1.15 billion RECOVER research program is meant to better understand, treat and prevent long COVID; as many as 23 million Americans have developed the condition, according to HHS estimates. Research has identified 12 possible symptoms of long COVID, including worsening of health after mental or physical activity, fatigue, brain fog and dizziness, changes in taste or smell, thirst and changes in sexual desire or capacity. It can also include gastrointestinal symptoms, heart palpitations, chronic cough, chest pain and abnormal… read on > read on >

Pediatricians have suspected it for years, and now a new study may be proving them right: Cold air really can help ease children’s croup symptoms. Croup is a common childhood illness that usually starts as an ordinary cold. It arises when the infection causes swelling around the voice box (larynx) and wind pipe (trachea), leading to some distinctive croup symptoms: a cough that sounds like a seal’s bark and a high-pitched “creaky” or whistling noise when a child inhales (what doctors call stridor). Fortunately, most cases of croup are mild. And pediatricians have long told parents they can try some old-fashioned tricks for milder croup symptoms: running a hot shower and standing with their child in the steamy bathroom; standing in front of an open refrigerator freezer, or wrapping their child in blankets and going outside in the chilly air for a bit. “The common denominator there is the moist air,” said Dr. Mike Patrick, an emergency medicine physician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. “Indoor air, especially in the winter, is dry.” He said pediatricians were giving that advice back when he was a resident almost 30 years ago. There is a basis for it, Patrick and other pediatricians said. There is a “classic” croup scenario where a child develops worsening symptoms at night and worried parents rush the child to the ER.… read on > read on >

TUESDAY, Aug. 1, 2023 (HealthDay News) – It’s well known that smoking in pregnancy can harm a developing baby’s growth. Now, a new study suggests that using e-cigarettes may be more effective that traditional nicotine replacement therapy, such as patches, in helping pregnant women kick the habit and reduce the risk of low birthweight. “E-cigarettes seem more effective than nicotine patches in helping pregnant women to quit smoking and because of this, they seem to also lead to better pregnancy outcomes,” said researcher Peter Hajek, director of the health and lifestyle research unit at Queen Mary University of London. “The evidence-based advice to smokers already includes, among other options, a recommendation to switch from smoking to e-cigarettes. Such a recommendation can now be extended to smokers who are pregnant as well,” Hajek said in a university news release. Researchers studied this in 1,140 pregnant women who were trying to stop smoking. Half of the women received e-cigarettes. The others were given nicotine patches. Both approaches were equally safe, according to the study. The study found that fewer women in the e-cigarette group had children with low birthweight, which can lead to poorer health later in life. Researchers said was most likely because e-cigarettes were more effective in reducing the use of conventional cigarettes. Women later reported whether they had quit smoking. Some women had quit… read on > read on >

Children who have a chronic immune system disease that can prevent them from eating may eventually have a new treatment, decades after the condition was first identified. “Parents and doctors may not be aware of this, but this is a very prominent and serious disease in the pediatric population, and it is increasing in number because it is directly related to food allergens, which are also on the rise,” said lead study author Dr. Anil Mishra, director of the Eosinophilic Disorder Center at the Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans. “In this study, we show that after treating the disease in animals, the disease is gone and completely in remission,” he said in a university news release. Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) can be triggered by food or airborne allergies. This causes eosinophils, which are white blood cells, to build up in the lining of the esophagus. This reaction causes the esophagus to shorten and the esophageal wall to thicken, which can make it difficult to swallow and cause food to get stuck in the throat. The study, conducted in mice, found that the disease is caused by interleukin-18 (IL-18), a protein involved in the innate immune response. It can cause inflammation if produced in excess. An allergen entering the body activates a pathway that leads to the release of pro-inflammatory proteins like IL-18 and… read on > read on >

A micronutrient in human breast milk may provide significant benefit to developing newborn brains, according to new research that sheds light on the link between nutrition and brain health. Scientists looked at this sugar molecule in rodents and in human neurons. They said the micronutrient, called myo-inositol, may lead to improved infant formulas. “The current research does indicate that for circumstances where breastfeeding is not possible, it may be beneficial to increase the levels of myo-inositol in infant formula,” said study co-author Thomas Biederer. Myo-inositol may also play a part in the aging brain, according to the research conducted at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University in Boston. “Forming and refining brain connectivity from birth is guided by genetic and environmental forces as well as by human experiences,” Biederer, a senior scientist on the neuroscience and aging team at the HNRCA, said in a Tufts news release. He is also a faculty member at the Yale School of Medicine. “As a neuroscientist, it’s intriguing to me how profound the effects of micronutrients are on the brain,” Biederer said. “It’s also amazing how complex and rich human breast milk is, and I now think it is conceivable that its composition is dynamically changing to support different stages of infant brain development.” The researchers compared human milk samples collected… read on > read on >

(HealthDay News) – Millions of people live with acne, and it can take a dramatic toll on their quality of life, but is any one treatment better than the rest? Yes, suggests a new review of more than 200 studies. When researchers compared acne treatments, a clear winner emerged: oral isotretinoin, best known as Accutane. Isotretinoin is a high-dose vitamin A that targets the main causes of acne by shrinking oil-producing sebaceous glands, killing bacteria that can cause breakouts, preventing clogged pores and cooling inflammation. The study results are in line with what acne experts see every day in their practices. “Isotretinoin is the most predictably effective drug we have for the treatment of acne,” said Birmingham, Ala.-based dermatologist Dr. Julie Harper. She is the founding director and past president of the American Acne and Rosacea Society. “Not only does it clear acne, it also yields a long-lasting clearance in the majority of people who take it,” said Harper, who wasn’t involved in the study. Not everyone can or will take isotretinoin due to its potential side effects, she noted. While highly effective, isotretinoin does confer its fair share of side effects, namely a risk for severe birth defects and concern about liver problems and depression. “When treating acne without isotretinoin, we have to rely on combinations of agents with different modes of action,” she… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Statins’ Effectiveness May Rise With Patient Age: Study

Psilocybin May Help Some Who Battle Anorexia

Kombucha May Help Control Blood Sugar in Folks With Type 2 Diabetes

Getting Really Active Just 5 Minutes a Day Lowers Your Cancer Risk

Biden Administration Launches Office for Long COVID Research

Could Cold Air Help Settle a Case of Croup? New Study Says Yes

Vaping Might Beat Nicotine Patches in Helping Pregnant Women Quit Smoking

New Clues to Treating a Disease That Prevents Children From Swallowing, Eating

Key Ingredient in Breast Milk Could Do Wonders for Baby’s Brain

One Drug Clear Winner in Treating Acne: Review