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Ambien, Lunesta, Sonata: Millions of bleary-eyed Americans turn to this class of so-called “Z-drugs” to get restful sleep. But how do these drugs work, and do they come with risks? Experts at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have issued an advisory to boost awareness about the meds. All of these medications — generically known as zolpidem (Ambien, Ambien CR, Edluar and Zolpimist), eszopiclone (Lunesta) and zaleplon (Sonata) — work by putting the brakes on brain activity, allowing you to drift off to sleep. But the FDA warns that Z drugs also come with risks, most notably upping your odds for “complex sleep behaviors” — things like sleepwalking, sleep driving, sleep cooking or even taking other medicines. “The FDA has received reports of people taking these insomnia medicines and accidentally overdosing, falling, being burned, shooting themselves and wandering outside in extremely cold weather, among other incidents,” the agency noted. You might not even recall any of these behaviors occurring once you reawaken, according to the FDA. The onset of complex sleep behaviors tied to Z drug use is also unpredictable. For some, the behavior can begin after the first dose, while for others it might begin much later into use. Many sleep medicines can also cause daytime drowsiness, so avoid driving and other hazardous tasks under those circumstances. Some other tips for safe use of… read on > read on >

The perpetrator of a mass shooting in Maine last fall had extensive brain damage from “thousands of low-level blasts” tied to his work at an Army Reserve hand grenade training range, a new report shows. On Oct. 25, Robert Card, 40, killed 18 and injured another 13 in a deadly rampage in the town of Lewiston after opening fire in a bowling alley and then a restaurant. After a two-day manhunt, Card was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Card was a U.S. Army Reservist who had long been an instructor at the hand grenade training range, where it is believed he was exposed to constant low-level blasts on a daily basis. In a statement released Wednesday, the nonprofit Concussion Legacy Foundation said Card’s family was releasing the findings of a tissue analysis conducted on Card’s brain “in an effort to help prevent future tragedies.” The analysis had been performed at the request of the Maine Chief Medical Examiner’s office and was led by Dr. Ann McKee, of the Boston University CTE Center. “Robert Card had evidence of traumatic brain injury,” McKee said in the statement. “In the white matter, the nerve fibers that allow for communication between different areas of the brain, there was significant degeneration, axonal and myelin loss, inflammation and small blood vessel injury. There was no evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy [CTE].” CTE… read on > read on >

Athletes whose coaches are open, authentic and positive are more likely to have better mental health, a new study says. Athletes feel happier and deal with problems more easily if their coaches adopt an “authentic leadership” style, researchers report in the journal Psychology of Sport and Exercise. Such a leadership style also produces better and more cohesive team spirit at higher competitive levels, results show. Players in national, international or college leagues are more likely to support and encourage each other if they’re receiving such coaching, said lead researcher Maria Kavussanu, a professor of sport and exercise psychology with the University of Birmingham in the UK. “Higher level athletes tend to train together for longer hours and have the opportunity for more frequent social interaction with each other,” Kavussanu said in a news release. “The relationships that develop within the team become important, as do experiencing positive behaviors such as support and encouragement from their teammates, which can be promoted by coaches adopting an authentic leadership style,” Kavussanu added. Researchers said that aspects of authentic leadership include: Openly sharing information Showing understanding of athletes’ strengths and weaknesses Acting in an ethical manner Listening to alternative perspectives Authentic leadership from coaches is associated with fewer feelings of depression, anxiety and stress among athletes, researchers found. Such leadership also influenced athletes to better support each other, by… read on > read on >

Even a little physical activity can cut a person’s stroke risk compared to being a complete couch potato, a new review shows. Folks whose physical activity levels fell short of recommended guidelines still had a lower risk of stroke than those who got no exercise, researchers report. Compared with no exercise, the highest “ideal” amount of physical activity cut stroke risk by 29%, researchers said. However, even “below target” activity still reduced risk by 18%, results show. “According to our results, all levels of leisure-time physical activity can be beneficial for stroke prevention, including levels currently regarded as low or insufficient,” said the team led by senior researcher Raffaele Ornello, a postdoctoral investigator of applied clinical sciences and Biotechnology at the University of L’Aquila in Italy. “People should be encouraged to be physically active even at the lowest levels,” the researchers concluded. For their paper, the team pooled the results of 15 previous studies on physical activity levels and stroke risk, involving more than 752,000 adults followed for more than a decade, on average. Overall, moderate levels of physical activity that fell below recommended levels still cut stroke risk between 27% and 29%, when compared to no exercise, researchers found. The effects were independent of sex or age, researchers said. Essentially, everyone can benefit from whatever physical activity they can manage in their spare time.… read on > read on >

Living close to trees and other greenery could be keeping your bones strong, a new 12-year study suggests. Folks whose residences were near spots deemed “green” by satellite imagery tended to have better bone density than those who lived elsewhere, Chinese researchers found. Reductions in air pollution seemed key to greenery’s benefit for bones, according to a team led by Zhengxiao Ouyang, of Central South University in Changsha. “These findings provide valuable insights into the potential of greenness in preventing the onset of osteoporosis and emphasize the significance of urban greening in developing effective prevention strategies,” Ouyang’s team said. The findings were published March 5 in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. The study drew on data from over 391,000 British people whose habits and health are being tracked by the UK Biobank database. Participants averaged 56 years of age, and 53% were women. Besides recording data on each person’s bone mineral density and their genetic risk for osteoporosis, the Biobank also contained data on their diet, smoking status, income, exercise levels and other factors. The Chinese team used satellite imagery to figure out how “green” the area around each person’s residence was. Separate data was used to track local levels of air pollution. Over the 12 years included in the study, 9,307 people went on to develop a new case of osteoporosis. The study… read on > read on >

Put down that donut and lay off the pasta: New research finds you’re less sexy after gorging on refined carbs. French researchers presented heterosexual adults with photos of an opposite-sex person who two hours earlier had eaten a breakfast rich in refined carbohydrates. Participants rated the folks in the photos as less attractive compared to people who’d eaten a healthier breakfast. “Facial attractiveness, an important factor of social interactions, seems to be impacted by immediate and chronic refined carbohydrate consumption in men and women,” concluded a team led by Amandine Visine of the University of Montpelier. Her team published its findings March 6 in the journal PLOS One. According to the researchers, “refined” carbohydrate foods are ubiquitous in the Western diet, and include highly processed fare stripped of much of its nutritional value. White flour plus refined sugar are often ingredients, and many snacks are high in refined carbohydrates. According to a news release from the journal’s publisher, “preliminary evidence has suggested that consuming high levels of refined carbohydrates might also affect non-medical traits, such as a person’s attractiveness.” To investigate further, the French team recruited 104 white male and female adults. Some were told to eat a high-glycemic breakfast loaded with refined carbs that are known to boost blood sugar levels. Others ate a low-glycemic breakfast that avoided refined carbs. All of the participants… read on > read on >

Nearly a quarter of Labrador retrievers are more likely to be obese due to a genetic “double-whammy,” a new study finds. This gene mutation causes Labradors to both feel hungry all the time and also burn fewer calories, British researchers report. The mutation involves a gene called POMC, which plays a critical role in hunger and energy use among Labs. About 25% of Labradors and 66% of flat-coated retriever dogs have this POMC mutation, which causes increased interest in food, researchers said. Specifically, it makes them hungrier in between meals, even though they don’t need to eat more to feel full at mealtime. “We found that a mutation in the POMC gene seems to make dogs hungrier. Affected dogs tend to overeat because they get hungry between meals more quickly than dogs without the mutation,” said study author Eleanor Raffan, a researcher in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience. Dogs with the POMC mutation also tend to burn about 25% less energy at rest than dogs without it, the researchers added. That means they should consume fewer calories to maintain a healthy body weight. “Dogs with this genetic mutation face a double whammy: They not only want to eat more, but also need fewer calories because they’re not burning them off as fast,” Raffan said in a university news release. The… read on > read on >

Food allergies are difficult to manage at any age, but college students face complex challenges when it comes to navigating the dangers posed by the possibility of life-threatening anaphylaxis. A recent review published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, examines recent evidence and addresses hurdles facing college students with food allergies, along with possible strategies to overcome those challenges. Senior study author Dr. Edward Iglesia, an instructor of medicine in the Division of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., said the first priority is to confirm that your college student still suffers from a food allergy. “Sometimes we miss the opportunity to reassess if someone’s food allergies have resolved,” he explained. “The transition to adulthood is a great time to do this, and the high school years can be a ‘signpost’ to take the time to re-confirm a food allergy.” If your prospective college student hasn’t been evaluated for his or her food allergy in the past few years, it’s worth talking to your allergist about getting re-evaluated. Meeting with your child’s allergy team provides an opportunity to review practical strategies to safely navigate their condition, as well as helping cultivate the confidence and resilience to do so. Advance planning can help with unsettled… read on > read on >

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a health advisory Wednesday warning consumers that six brands of ground cinnamon are tainted with lead. The FDA urged folks to throw away and not buy the following brands of ground cinnamon: La Fiesta, sold at La Superior SuperMercados Marcum, sold at Save A Lot MK, sold at SF Supermarket Swad, sold at Patel Brothers Supreme Tradition, sold at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar El Chilar, sold at La Joya Morelense in Baltimore The new list of tainted ground cinnamon products resulted from an October 2023 recall of cinnamon applesauce and apple puree products due to elevated lead levels, the FDA said. That recall prompted FDA to test ground cinnamon sold in discount retail stores for the presence of lead or chromium. The FDA has recommended that the companies behind these ground cinnamon brands recall their products, the agency said. Lead is toxic to humans, particularly children, and there is no safe level of exposure, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Initial symptoms of lead poisoning may include headaches, stomach and muscle aches, vomiting, anemia, irritability, fatigue and weight loss. Children are especially vulnerable to lead exposure because of their smaller body sizes and rapid metabolism and growth, the FDA noted. Exposure can cause developmental delays in children such as learning disabilities, behavioral problems and… read on > read on >

Barry Cadden, co-founder of a specialty compounding pharmacy behind a deadly meningitis outbreak in 2012, has been handed a prison sentence of 10 to 15 years in Michigan for involuntary manslaughter. On Tuesday, Cadden pleaded no contest to the charges against him, the Associated Press reported. His sentence will be served concurrently with the 14 1/2-year sentence he is already serving under a federal conviction for fraud and other crimes. Cadden co-founded the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts. Twelve years ago, about 100 people died and 800 in total were made ill across 20 states after receiving injections of mold-contaminated steroids sourced from the company. Most had needed the injections for back pain. Speaking in a federal court in Boston in 2017, Cadden said: “I am sorry for the whole range of suffering that resulted from my company’s drugs,” the AP reported. At the time, prosecutors said Cadden’s company failed consumers in multiple ways — cutting back on lab disinfecting, shipping products before testing they were safe and ignoring repeated warnings about the safety of methods used in the lab. All of this was done to save the company costs, prosecutors said. Cadden appeared Monday in Livingston County court, northwest of Detroit. He pleaded no contest to each of the 11 counts of involuntary manslaughter leveled against him — one for each Michigan resident… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Ambien, Lunesta, Sonata: What Are the ‘Z Meds’ for Sleep?

Analysis Showed Maine Mass Shooter Had Blast-Related Brain Damage

Sport Coach’s Style Can Boost a Player’s Mental Health

Even a Little Daily Exercise Cuts Your Stroke Risk

Living Near Green Spaces Could Strengthen Your Bones

Could a Meal With Refined Carbs Make You Less Attractive?

Many Labradors Become Obese and Research Shows Why

Food Allergies in College 101: Tips to Cope

FDA Warns of Toxic Lead in Cinnamon Products

Co-founder of Company Behind Deadly 2012 Meningitis Outbreak Gets Up to 15 Years in Prison