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An injectable gene therapy caused measurable improvements in vision among a small group of people with inherited blindness, an early-stage clinical trial says. Researchers recruited 14 people with Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), a rare genetic condition that causes babies to lose some or all of their sight from birth. Eleven of the 14 had measurable improvements in the vision of one eye that received a single injection of a gene-editing medication, researchers report in the New England Journal of Medicine. “Our patients are the first congenitally blind children to be treated with gene editing, which significantly improved their daytime vision,” researcher Dr. Tomas Aleman, a pediatric ophthalmologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said in a news release. “While more research is needed to determine who may benefit most, we consider the early results promising,” added lead researcher Dr. Eric Pierce, director of Mass Eye and Ear Ocular Genomics Institute and Berman-Gund Laboratory for the Study of Retinal Degenerations in Boston. “To hear from several participants how thrilled they were that they could finally see the food on their plates – that is a big deal,” Pierce said. “These were individuals who could not read any lines on an eye chart and who had no treatment options, which is the unfortunate reality for most people with inherited retinal disorders.” LCA affects 2 to 3 out… read on > read on >

Nearly 100,000 U.S. children lost a parent in 2020 to gun violence or drug overdose, a three-fold rise since 1999, according to a new study. Overall, these two causes made up nearly a quarter (23%) of parental losses in 2020, almost double the level cited in 1999, according to a team who reported its findings May 4 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “US youth are at high and increasing risk of experiencing parental death by drugs or firearms,” a team led by Mathew Kiang of the Stanford University School of Medicine concluded. In the study, Kiang’s team noted that, “the U.S. is experiencing dual overlapping public health crises of drug poisoning … and firearm deaths. Since 1999, more than 1 million residents of the U.S. have died by fatal drug poisonings and more than 750,000 by firearms.” Just how much is all this affecting the nation’s children? To find out, the researchers combed through federal death statistics, fertility data and population demographics to estimate how many parents lost their lives to drugs or gun violence in recent years. Many of these parents died young: The study found the average age of fatal drug overdose or gun injury to a parent was just 42. Fathers were three times more likely to die from these causes than mothers. Drug overdose deaths are rising especially… read on > read on >

Worries over health-related costs are plaguing the minds of older Americans of all backgrounds, a new poll suggests. Five of the six health-related issues that most people found very concerning had to do with health care costs, according to results from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging. And the sixth issue – financial scams and fraud – also had to do with money, results show. “In this election year, these findings offer a striking reminder of how much health care costs matter to older adults,” Dr. John Ayanian, director of the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, where the poll is based, said in a news release. The poll is supported by AARP and Michigan Medicine, U-M’s academic medical center. Overall, 56% of people over 50 said they’re concerned about the cost of medical care for older adults, poll results show. Other top concerns included assisted living costs (56%), prescription medicine costs (54%), scams and fraud (53%), cost of health insurance or Medicare (52%), and the cost of dental care (45%), the poll found. The same six topics rose to the top regardless of age, gender, race, ethnic group, region of the country, political ideology or income level, researchers said. Other topics rounding out the top 10 health issues included access to quality assisted living (38%), overall quality of… read on > read on >

A potentially dangerous spike in blood pressure known as preeclampsia can occur in 1 in every 25 pregnancies, but an accurate test to spot those women at highest risk has remained elusive. Now, Canadian researchers at Université Laval in Québec City say they’ve developed an algorithm that seems to do just that. In their study of more than 7,000 pregnant women, the test outperformed standard measures to pinpoint high-risk pregnancies. That could be a great tool for doctors, who can advise such women to take daily low-dose aspirin to lower their odds for preeclampsia. “Using this new screening model, treatment decisions were based on each individual’s personal risk,” said study senior author Dr. Emmanuel Bujold, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the university. “With their personal risk calculated, it’s much easier for a woman to make the right decision,” he explained. “For example, if she chooses to take daily low-dose aspirin, she is much more likely to follow through because it’s based on personalized screening test.” The findings were published May 6 in the journal Hypertension. Preeclampsia is defined as a dangerous rise in blood pressure during pregnancy — anything over 140/90 mm Hg. Unchecked preclampsia is one of the leading causes of maternal death worldwide. For the mother, preeclampsia can cause headaches, vision changes and swelling of the hands, feet, face or eyes.… read on > read on >

Everyone knows that specific type of sports parent – the over-the-top dad or mom who curses, shouts and even becomes physically aggressive during their kid’s match. While they might think they’re cheering their kid to victory, such poor sports behavior actually can turn a child or teen off to athletics, psychiatrists warn. “Some of those behaviors would be setting unrealistic expectations for the young athlete, such as perfection in a game and displaying disappointment or embarrassment if their kid isn’t meeting those expectations,” Dr. Lauren Havel, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said in a news release. If children feel they can’t meet their parents’ expectations, they might start to doubt their own abilities, she warns. They also might worry whether their parent is proud of them, despite their struggles on the field or court. On the other hand, if a child does meet unrealistic expectations, they might equate their self-worth with perfection – a sure set-up for future self-esteem issues, Havel said. “When parents set unrealistic expectations or push too hard, kids can develop performance anxiety,” she said. Kids learn how to interact with others by watching the important adults in their lives, Havel said. As a result, children might wind up emulating the disrespect their parents show towards a coach, officials, the opposing team… read on > read on >

The silent symptoms of stress can be easily overlooked, but they’re important to recognize to protect one’s mental health, experts say. Visible symptoms of stress are fairly obvious – irritability, anger, impatience, muscle tension. “You may not be able to hide those for a long time. Immediately, people will notice it – family, friends and co-workers,” Dr. Asim Shah, chief of community psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said in a news release. But the silent symptoms of stress might take months to be noticeable, Shah said. “If you are isolated and alone, no one may notice except for you,” Shah said. While some stress in life is normal, monitoring silent symptoms is important. If they grow worse over time or start interfering with daily life, it might be a sign you need the help of a mental health professional, Shah said. “The silent symptoms of stress can be when people lose interest with their life. They’ll stop doing the things they once enjoyed,” Shah said. “They will get anxious, nervous or afraid and avoid things they used to do because they are overwhelmed and overburdened by it.” Other silent stress symptoms include weight loss or weight gain, purposely pulling out one’s hair, or biting one’s nails. To manage stress, Shah recommends first starting with physical activity and relaxation techniques. “You can try… read on > read on >

People in homes with gas or propane stoves regularly breathe in unhealthy levels of nitrogen dioxide, a new study says. Typical use of these stoves increases exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) by an estimated 4 parts per billion, averaged over a year, researchers report. That’s three-quarters of the way to the NO2 exposure level deemed unsafe in outdoor air by the World Health Organization, researchers noted. “That’s excluding all outdoor sources combined, so it makes it much more likely you’re going to exceed the limit,” lead researcher Yannai Kashtan, a doctoral student in Earth system science at Stanford University, said in a news release. Breathing high levels of NO2 over time can intensify asthma attacks, and has been linked to decreased lung development in children, researchers noted. The mix of pollutants coming from gas and propane stoves could be responsible for as many as 200,000 current cases of childhood asthma, with one-quarter attributed to nitrogen dioxide alone, researchers estimated. Long-term exposure to NO2 from gas stoves also is high enough to cause as many as 19,000 deaths each year, researchers added. For the study, researchers used sensors to measure concentrations of NO2 throughout more than 100 homes of various sizes, layouts and ventilation methods. “I didn’t expect to see pollutant concentrations breach health benchmarks in bedrooms within an hour of gas stove use, and stay there… read on > read on >

Primates are capable of tending to wounds using medicinal plants, a new case report says. A male Sumatran orangutan treated a facial wound with a climbing plant known to have anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties, researchers say in the journal Scientific Reports. The orangutan, named Rakus by observers, plucked leaves from a vine called Akar Kuning (Fibraurea tinctoria) and chewed on them, researchers said. Rakus then repeatedly applied the resulting juice onto his facial wound for several minutes, before fully covering the wound with a poultice formed by the chewed leaves, researchers said. This is the first documented case of a primate applying a known naturally occurring medicinal substance to a wound, researchers said. It indicates that the medical wound treatment people receive at home and in urgent care clinics might have arisen in a common ancestor shared by humans and orangutans, the research team says. “The treatment of human wounds was most likely first mentioned in a medical manuscript that dates back to 2200 BC, which included cleaning, plastering, and bandaging of wounds with certain wound care substances,” researcher Caroline Schuppli, an evolutionary biologist with the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany, said in a news release. Rakus’ behavior shows “it is possible that there exists a common underlying mechanism for the recognition and application of substances with medical or functional properties to… read on > read on >

Folks struggling to quit smoking might need a bump up on the dose of medication they’re using to help them stop, according to new clinical trial results. Patients are more likely to successfully quit if the dose of their smoking cessation treatment is increased in response to an initial failure, researchers report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. They also found that the drug varenicline (Chantix) is more effective than nicotine replacement therapy in helping smokers quit. “These data indicate that sticking to the same medication isn’t effective for smokers who are unable to quit in the first six weeks of treatment,” lead researcher Paul Cinciripini said in a news release. He’s chair of behavioral science at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. “Our study should encourage doctors to check in on patients early in their cessation journey and, if patients are struggling, to try a new approach, such as increasing medication dosage,” he added. Smokers taking varenicline who failed to quit in the clinical trial’s first phase were seven times more likely to quit by the end of the second phase if their dosage was increased, researchers found. There also was a nearly twofold increase in success if smokers switched from nicotine replacement therapy to varenicline, results show. Varenicline works similarly to the anti-opioid medication buprenorphine, by partially… read on > read on >

Advanced liver cirrhosis can push levels of ammonia in the blood to hazardous levels, but skipping meat at mealtime can help reverse that, new research shows. “It was exciting to see that even small changes in your diet, like having one meal without meat once in a while, could benefit your liver by lowering harmful ammonia levels in patients with cirrhosis,” said study lead author Dr. Jasmohan Bajaj, a gastroenterologist at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. As the research team explained, bacteria in your gut automatically generate ammonia as they help the body digest food. In folks with healthy livers, the organ takes that ammonia and sends it to the kidneys, where its excreted harmlessly via urine. However, cirrhosis impairs the organ’s ability to process ammonia so that it builds up in a toxic way. Ammonia can even travel to the brain and trigger confusion or delirium, the researchers noted. That’s called hepatic encephalopathy, and without treatment it can lead to coma and death. Diet can play a big role in these processes, because Western diets low in fiber and high in meat and carbohydrates boost levels of ammonia produced by the gut. So, what if a culprit like meat was cut out of the mix? The new study involved 30 meat-eating adults treated for cirrhosis at the Richmond VA Medical Center. Patients were asked… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Gene Therapy Improves Vision in People With Inherited Blindness

Parental Deaths to Guns, Drugs Harmed Nearly 100,000 U.S. Kids in 2020

Money Worries Top Seniors’ List of Health-Related Concerns: Poll

New Test Might Alert Pregnant Women to Preeclampsia Danger

How ‘Unruly’ Sports Parents Harm Their Kids’ Mental Health

Could You Spot the Silent Symptoms of Stress?

Gas Stoves Could Leave Your Lungs Vulnerable to Nitrogen Dioxide

An Orangutan Healed Himself With Medicinal Plant

Quit-Smoking Meds Not Working for You? Try Upping the Dose

Even Skipping Meat for One Meal Helps Liver Disease Patients

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