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Heather Anderson, a star Australian rules football player who died last November, is the first female professional athlete to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. “She is the first female athlete diagnosed with CTE, but she will not be the last,” researchers wrote in a paper published Friday. Anderson was 28 when she died from what was believed to be suicide. CTE is a progressive degenerative brain disease caused by repeated head impacts, like those suffered when heading a ball in soccer (football). The finding was made possible after Anderson’s family donated her brain to the Australian Sports Brain Bank, hoping to discover “whether a lifetime of exposure to repetitive head trauma contributed to her death,” according to a report co-written by one of the researchers. It was published on a nonprofit academic news site, The Conversation. Dr. Michael Buckland, director of the Australian Sports Brain Bank, identified low-stage CTE when conducting the postmortem analysis. “There were multiple CTE lesions as well as abnormalities nearly everywhere I looked in her cortex. It was indistinguishable from the dozens of male cases I’ve seen,” said Buckland in a news release from the Concussion Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in the United States. Although women athletes previously had not been diagnosed with CTE, evidence suggests women are more susceptible to concussions in sports than men,… read on > read on >

Dr. Richard Stumacher’s coworker at Northwell Health in New York City used to smoke to curb her severe anxiety, and tried multiple times to stop. “She went through the program and she would quit, and then she would fall off, and we would always support her,” said Stumacher, who specializes in pulmonary disease and critical care medicine. “And I saw her in the hallway just a few months ago and she hugged me out of nowhere. I’m like, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’” She told Stumacher it was her five-year anniversary of not smoking. “It took her a long time, but she got there,” he said. Just 11.5% of Americans currently smoke cigarettes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But within that population, the CDC found that those with feelings of severe psychological distress or those who were diagnosed with depression were far more likely to smoke. Thankfully, a new study found that people with serious mental illness who were offered medication and counseling to quit smoking had a 26% success rate after 18 months, compared to 6% in a control group. This included successful weight management, which is often a reason smokers are hesitant to quit. Dr. Gail Daumit, vice dean of clinical investigation at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, is first author of the study, published recently in the journal… read on > read on >

A new blood test approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can predict imminent preeclampsia, helping pregnant women who are at risk of this severe and sometimes deadly form of high blood pressure. The test can identify with 96% accuracy which women with sometimes-vague symptoms will develop preeclampsia within the following two weeks, The New York Times reported this week. “It’s groundbreaking. It’s revolutionary,” Dr. Douglas Woelkers, a professor of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of California, San Diego, said of the test. “It’s the first step forward in preeclampsia diagnostics since 1900, when the condition was first defined,” Woelkers added in the news report. The blood test was created by Thermo Fisher Scientific. It is meant for women in the 23rd to 35th weeks of pregnancy. Those who don’t test positive can be safely discharged from the hospital, while two-thirds of those with a positive result will advance to severe preeclampsia. Women who are positive may need to deliver their babies early. “We don’t have a therapy that reverses or cures preeclampsia other than delivery of the baby, which is more like a last resort,” Woelkers said in the news report. Black women are particularly at risk of preeclampsia, with much higher rates than white women. They are also more likely to experience kidney damage, death and to lose their babies, the Times… read on > read on >

Youth who are both LGBTQ+ and either Black or Hispanic and live in U.S. states that have discriminatory policies are more likely to have depression than their counterparts in states that are more affirming to gender and sexual identity, new research finds. “This study provides scientific evidence to what many queer and trans people of color in the U.S. are experiencing day to day,” said study co-author Tyler Harvey, program administrator of the Yale School of Medicine’s SEICHE Center for Health and Justice. “Queer and trans youth living in states such as Florida that are passing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation know this to be true: Their surroundings are influencing their mental health,” Harvey said in a school news release. When controlling for individual experiences of bullying based on race and ethnicity or sexual orientation, Black and Hispanic LGBTQ+ youth were 32% more likely to have symptoms of depression in states without protections such as anti-bullying legislation and conversion therapy bans, the study found. “The laws, policies and overall social conditions within which individuals live take a toll on their health and well-being,” said lead study author Skyler Jackson, an assistant professor in Yale’s department of social and behavioral sciences. “This study helps to complete the puzzle of the various ways that stigma might show up within the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals.” Jackson is part of a team… read on > read on >

Older American adults who live in warmer regions are more likely to have serious vision impairment than those who live in cooler places, new research finds. Living with average temperatures of 60 degrees Fahrenheit or above — think South Florida, for example — created much higher odds of blindness or trouble seeing even with glasses, according to a new study of 1.7 million people. “This link between vision impairment and average county temperature is very worrying if future research determines that the association is causal,” said co-author Esme Fuller-Thomson, director of the University of Toronto’s Institute of Life Course and Aging. “With climate change, we are expecting a rise in global temperatures. It will be important to monitor if the prevalence of vision impairment among older adults increases in the future,” she added in a school news release. Compared with those who lived in counties with average temperatures of less than 50 degrees F, the odds of severe vision impairment were 14% higher for those who lived in counties with average temperatures from 50-54.99 degrees, according to the study. The risk was 24% higher for those in places where temps averaged 55-59.99 degrees. For those basking in even warmer territory, the odds of vision loss were 44% higher. Even with differences in age, sex and income, the relationship held. “It was powerful to see that… read on > read on >

People are using “browning lotions” to tan quickly, but experts are questioning the safety of this trend driven by social media influencers. Browning lotions work with the sun’s UV rays to darken skin faster. “It is important to know that a tan is never considered to be healthy and exposure to UVA and UVB radiation can cause skin cancer, that’s the first issue I have,” said dermatologist Dr. Alexis Young of Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. “A tan is a warning flag or a sign of sun damage, and the second problem I see is that products like this might make it seem as though people are somewhat protected from the sun’s UV rays when they are not,” she said in a center news release. The best and only way to protect exposed skin from sun is to use broad spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher, even on cloudy days, experts agree. “Apply a broad spectrum sunscreen containing either titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide, which provides protection from both UVA and UVB rays, liberally to all uncovered skin, especially your nose, ears, neck, hands, feet and even your lips,” Young advised. Reapply sunscreen every two hours and after going in the water, she urged. In addition, wear photoprotective clothing, wide-brimmed hats and sunglasses to further protect yourself from the sun.… read on > read on >

As you stare down your freshman year of college and contemplate living away from home, you’re probably facing a few “firsts”: First roommate who isn’t a sibling; first time fending for yourself to make sure you’re eating properly; and if you have nasal allergies, food allergies or asthma, this could be the first time you’re in charge of keeping your symptoms under control. Your health, particularly regarding allergic diseases, shouldn’t be among the last things you prepare for as you make plans to leave home for college. There are many details to handle before you depart, so start planning now for your allergy and asthma care. Some of the things you’ll need to consider as you plan for your first year away include: What will health care visits look like? — If you have an allergist you’ve been seeing for years, you’ll have to consider whom you’ll consult while away. Ask your allergist for a recommendation or contact the health care service at your school to find out if they have an allergist you can work with. The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology has an allergist locator that can help you in your search to find an allergist in your new town. What other health factors will change? — Will your prescriptions need to be transferred to a new pharmacy? Are your prescriptions… read on > read on >

Pickleball has burst onto the scene, inspiring people of all ages to pick up a paddle. But as with any sport, it’s possible to get hurt. Some best practices can help prevent injuries, according to a sports medicine expert. For pickleball players, the most common injury is to the rotator cuff tendon in the shoulder. This can cause shoulder pain, especially with movement and use. Problems range from tendonitis and bursitis to a tear of the tendon itself. Bigger tears can create weakness. Someone might not be able to use their arm. “The unfortunate reality of the rotator cuff is that everyday use can cause tearing and damage,” said Dr. Bruce Moseley, an orthopedic surgeon from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “You don’t necessarily have to do anything wrong or abnormal to get a rotator cuff tear — in many instances it just happens as a consequence of living.” Most adults who use their shoulders are at risk. For many people, rotator cuff damage appears over time. In pickleball, reaching overhead requires a lot of force from this tendon, which can worsen rotator cuff injuries. These tears are not preventable. But the shoulder does better when it’s flexible and strong. Moseley suggests stretching and doing light to moderate strengthening. “If you warm up and stretch before your activity and ice down afterwards, your shoulder… read on > read on >

The trendy weight-loss drug Ozempic could be dangerous for a patient undergoing anesthesia for an operation, according to a new warning from the American Society of Anesthesiologists. Semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and other drugs of their class known as GLP-1 receptor agonists cause digestion to slow down, which decreases hunger and reduces how much people eat. That food left in the stomach increases the risk you will vomit while under anesthesia, said ASA President Dr. Michael Champeau. “We’ve had reports of people vomiting immediately preoperatively when there shouldn’t be any food in their stomach,” Champeau said. “As soon as we started hearing anecdotal reports and case reports, the mind immediately goes to how the drug works and what it does.” The ASA is recommending that people on a GLP-1 agonist like Ozempic stop taking it prior to surgery. If you take such a drug once a day, you should not take your daily dose the morning of surgery, Champeau said. If you take the drug once a week, you should hold off on your dose until after surgery. “If you take it every Sunday and you’re having surgery on a Wednesday, you can’t take it the Sunday before the surgery,” Champeau said. “You’ve got to stop it at least a week in advance, if you’re taking the once-a-week dose.” There’s a reason patients are told to… read on > read on >

A man’s cardio fitness might influence whether he’ll develop — or survive — three of the most common cancers in males, a new Swedish study reports. Higher levels of cardio fitness are associated with a significantly lower risk of developing colon and lung cancers, researchers report. Cardio fitness also plays a role in a man’s likelihood of surviving prostate, colon and lung cancers, results show. “Better cardiorespiratory fitness [CRF] is not only important for reducing cardiovascular disease risk, which is often communicated, but also for reducing cancer risk in men,” said lead researcher Elin Ekblom-Bak, a senior lecturer with the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences in Stockholm. “Current cancer prevention guidelines focus on physical activity, but these findings show that CRF is also very important for both reducing cancer risk and risk of death from common cancers in men,” Ekblom-Bak said. For this study, Ekblom-Bak and her colleagues analyzed data on nearly 178,000 Swedish men, all of whom completed an occupational health assessment between October 1982 and December 2019. As part of this assessment, the men tested their cardio health on an exercise bike, with doctors registering their blood oxygen levels as they pedaled. Researchers then tracked the men’s health using Swedish health registries, to see which men wound up developing cancer. They specifically found a strong dose-response association between cardio fitness and… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Australian Footballer Is First Female Athlete to Receive Diagnosis of CTE

Program Helps Folks Battling Mental Illness Beat Another Foe: Smoking

FDA Approves First Blood Test to Predict Preeclampsia in Pregnant Women

Depression Rates Rise for Minority Youth in States With Anti-LGBT Legislation

Hotter Climate Could Mean Worsening Eyesight for Americans

‘Browning Lotions’ Are the Latest Summertime Trend, But Are They Safe?

Are Your Allergies Ready to Head Off to College?

As Pickleball’s Popularity Rises, So Do Related Injuries

Taking Ozempic, Wegovy? Stop Before Surgery, Anesthesiologists Say

Staying Fit Lowers a Man’s Cancer Risk, Study Confirms