ADHD stimulant medications like Ritalin or Adderall appear linked to a heightened risk for cardiomyopathy (a weakening of the heart muscle), and the risk grows with time, new research shows. However, researchers were quick to note that cardiomyopathies are rare in the young, and even with ADHD medication use the absolute risk to any one patient remains very small. Overall, folks ages 20 to 40 who were on a medication for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were 17% more likely to have cardiomyopathy at one year and 57% more likely to have cardiomyopathy at eight years, compared to their peers who weren’t taking the drugs. The study wasn’t designed to prove cause-and-effect. “The longer you leave patients on these medications, the more likely they are to develop cardiomyopathy, but the risk of that is very low,” said study lead author Pauline Gerard. She’s a second-year medical student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “I don’t think this is a reason to stop prescribing these medications,” she said. “There’s very little increased risk of these medications over the long term; it’s a real risk, but it’s small.” The findings are slated to be presented April 7 at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting in Atlanta. The new study was based on data from 80 hospitals from across the United States, looking at people ages 20…  read on >  read on >

Youngsters might have good cause to think they’re brainier than their parents or grandparents, a new study finds. It turns out that human brains are getting larger with each generation, potentially adding more brain reserve and reducing the overall risk of dementia, researchers report March 25 in the journal JAMA Neurology. People born in the 1970s have nearly 7% larger brain volume and almost 15% larger brain surface area than folks born in the 1930s, according to the results of the 75-year study. “The decade someone is born appears to impact brain size and potentially long-term brain health,” said lead researcher Dr. Charles DeCarli, director of the University of California, Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.  For the study, researchers analyzed brain scans of participants in the Framingham Heart Study, a multi-generational project launched in 1948 to analyze disease patterns among people in the town of Framingham, Mass. The study has continued for 75 years and now includes second- and third-generation participants, researchers said. MRIs of the participants’ brains were conducted between 1999 and 2019. Researchers found gradual but consistent increases in several brain structures when they compared participants born in the 1930s to those born in the 1970s. White matter, gray matter and the hippocampus — a region involved in language and memory — were all larger in people born in the 1970s, results show.…  read on >  read on >

Migraines in young adults appear to increase their risk of stroke more than traditional risk factors like high blood pressure, a new study reports. Results show that migraine is the most important non-traditional risk factor for stroke among adults ages 18 to 34, accounting for 20% of strokes in men and nearly 35% in women. Overall, non-traditional risk factors were associated with more strokes in young adults than the factors traditionally associated with stroke risk, like high blood pressure or smoking, researchers found. “Most of our attention has been focused on traditional risk factors,” noted lead researcher Dr. Michelle Leppert. She’s an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora. “We should not ignore nontraditional stroke risk factors and only focus on traditional risk factors; both are important to the development of strokes among young people,” she added. Factors traditionally associated with increased risk of stroke include high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, smoking, obesity, lack of physical activity, alcoholism and clogged arteries, researchers said. However, recent data has shown strokes increasing among young adults who don’t have those risk factors, researchers said. To figure out what is driving stroke risk among young adults, researchers used health insurance claims data to compare more than 2,600 stroke victims with more than 7,800 people who hadn’t suffered a stroke.…  read on >  read on >

Chemicals found in common household products might damage the brain’s wiring, a new study warns. These chemicals — found in disinfectants, cleaners, hair products, furniture and textiles — could be linked to degenerative brain diseases like multiple sclerosis and autism, researchers report. The chemicals specifically affect the brain’s oligodendrocytes, a specialized type of cell that generates the protective insulation found around nerve cells, researchers said. “Loss of oligodendrocytes underlies multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases,” said principal investigator Paul Tesar, director of Case Western Reserve University’s Institute for Glial Science, in Cleveland. For example, MS occurs due to a breakdown in myelin, the protective sheath around nerve cells. “We now show that specific chemicals in consumer products can directly harm oligodendrocytes, representing a previously unrecognized risk factor for neurological disease,” Tesar added in a university news release. For the study, Tesar and his colleagues analyzed the effect of more than 1,800 chemicals on these brain cells. They identified two classes of chemicals that damage oligodendrocytes — organophosphate flame retardants and quaternary ammonium compounds. Quaternary ammonium compounds are present in many personal care products and disinfectants, while organophosphate flame retardants are found in many electronics and furniture, researchers said. Lab tests showed that quaternary ammonium products cause oligodendrocytes to die, while the flame retardants prevent the maturation of these brain cells. These classes of chemicals also…  read on >  read on >