Erectile dysfunction (ED) has been tied to an increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Now, research suggests that erectile woes during late middle age may also be linked to a man’s chances of developing memory issues later on. “Because subtle changes in erectile function were related to memory decline, our results suggest that neglecting this aspect of sexual health may contribute to cases of cognitive impairment and dementia in men,” said study author Tyler Reed Bell. He’s a post-doctoral scholar at the University of California, San Diego. “An ounce of erectile function treatment may be worth pounds in the number of years lived without cognitive impairment or dementia,” Bell reasoned. Researchers don’t know precisely how the two conditions are linked, but they have a theory. “It is likely related to microvascular changes [in the walls of the small blood vessels] that are important to both penile and cognitive health,” Bell suggested. For the study, the researchers tracked associations between erectile function, sexual satisfaction, and memory and thinking skills (“cognition”) in more than 800 men, about age 56 on average at the study’s start. The men underwent tests of their memory and processing speed and completed questionnaires about erectile function and sexual satisfaction when they were 56, 61 and 68. Those men who had reduced erectile function at age 56 were more…  read on >  read on >

A potentially deadly germ has made its way to the U.S. Gulf Coast, health officials warned this week. So far, three cases of infection from the bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei have been reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bacteria causes melioidosis, which can be fatal if left untreated. “It is an environmental organism that lives naturally in the soil, and typically freshwater in certain areas around the world. Mostly in subtropical and tropical climates,” said Julia Petras, an epidemic intelligence service officer with CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases. The most recent case was reported in Mississippi in January, following two previous cases in the same county in Mississippi in July 2020 and May 2022. Melioidosis is now considered endemic to the U.S. Gulf Coast and infections may be seen from Texas to Florida, Petras said. But because most people exposed to B. mallei don’t have symptoms of the infection and develop antibodies against it, many more people have most likely been infected, she said. All three patients who were infected responded to treatment and recovered, Petras said. The most common ways the bacterium infects people is through open wounds or by being inhaled during a severe storm with high winds. It can also be ingested by drinking contaminated water, she noted. Those most at risk for a…  read on >  read on >

(HealthDay News) – Smokers in Canada will soon see health warnings on each and every cigarette they light up.. The country will be the first in the world to print these warnings directly on individual cigarettes. “This bold step will make health warning messages virtually unavoidable, and together with updated graphic images displayed on the package, will provide a real and startling reminder of the health consequences of smoking,” Carolyn Bennett, Canada’s Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, said in a Health Canada news release announcing the new labeling. “We will continue to do whatever it takes to help more people in Canada stop smoking and help young people to live healthy, tobacco-free lives.” Tobacco use kills about 48,000 Canadians each year, Bennett noted. The changes are intended to help adults quit smoking and to protect youth and non-tobacco users from nicotine addiction. Retailers and smokers will start to see these new messages on cigarette packaging by the end of April 2024. They will appear on individual king-size cigarettes by late July 2024 and on regular cigarettes, little cigars with tipping paper and tubes by the end of April 2025. Messages will include such phrases as “tobacco smoke harms children” and “poison in every puff,” the Associated Press reported. The regulations will support Canada’s Tobacco Strategy, which has set a target of reaching less than…  read on >  read on >

Kids who devote some of their free time to volunteer work may not only help others, but also themselves. That’s according to a new study that found U.S. kids who spend time in community service are often thriving, physically and mentally. Overall, kids who’d volunteered in the past year were in better physical health, had a more positive outlook on life, and were less likely to have anxiety, depression or behavioral problems than their peers who did not do volunteer work. The findings, published May 30 in the journal JAMA Network Open, do not answer the chicken-and-egg question, researchers noted: Kids who were already high on the well-being scale may have been more apt to volunteer. “We can’t say this is cause-and-effect,” said lead researcher Kevin Lanza, an assistant professor at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. That said, Lanza thinks the findings set the stage for a study that follows kids over time, to see whether volunteerism promotes better physical and mental well-being down the road. There are, of course, already plenty of reasons to encourage volunteerism, Lanza pointed out. But if it also benefits young volunteers’ well-being, then it would be a “win-win,” he said. “There could be a great opportunity to promote volunteering as a public health measure,” Lanza said. Many studies over the years have linked volunteerism to better physical and…  read on >  read on >

Large, uncontrolled wildfires in Nova Scotia are creating unhealthy air in the Northeast region of the United States, including parts of Connecticut. This significant smoke plume is likely to cause elevated levels of fine particulate matter, the American Lung Association warned in its alert. Particulate matter contains microscopic solids or liquid droplets that are so small that they can be inhaled and cause serious health problems, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The lung association also offered tips for everyone — but especially children, older adults and people with lung diseases like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) — to stay well despite the poor air quality. Start by staying indoors. If you live close to these areas where there is fire and a lot of smoke, stay inside to avoid breathing smoke, ashes and other pollution in the area. Keep doors, windows and fireplace dampers shut, preferably with clean air circulating through air conditioners on the recirculation setting. Watch your symptoms. With higher smoke levels, breathing can be more difficult. Call your doctor if you experience these symptoms. Protect your children and teens, who are more susceptible to smoke. They breathe in more air — and more pollution — into their developing lungs for their size than adults do. Ask for help. The American Lung Association’s Lung HelpLine at 1-800-LUNGUSA is staffed…  read on >  read on >