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A new brain bank is accepting future donations from living athletes, in an effort to perform long-term research into the effects of sports-related concussion. The National Sports Brain Bank (NSBB) at the University of Pittsburgh will track the health of living participants on an annual basis, and will autopsy their donated brains after their death. “We want to follow prospective donors longitudinally while they’re still alive and get information from them about their sports participation, trauma, history, other medical history, any symptoms they may experience,” said NSBB Director Dr. Julia Kofler. “We can then correlate their clinical information with what we see down the road under the microscope, at the time of autopsy,” she said. Two former NFL stars — Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis and former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Merril Hoge — pledged at a news conference announcing the NSBB to stand among the first group of pro athletes who will participate in the brain bank. Bettis said he’s taking part as a way of giving back to professional football, and also potentially help protect his children’s health. “I’m a father and my son plays high school football. My daughter played high school basketball. She had multiple concussions,” Bettis said. “For me, it’s important that I be that role model to show that we have that job, if you will, as… read on > read on >

Patients with Crohn’s disease have a new treatment option, following U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of a pill called Rinvoq (upadacitinib). Rinvoq is meant to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease who have not had success with TNF (tumor necrosis factor) blockers. The daily pill is the first oral treatment for this group of patients. Crohn’s is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease. It causes inflammation in any part of the digestive tract, typically affecting the small intestine and the beginning of the large intestine. Common symptoms include diarrhea, cramping, stomach pain and weight loss. The medication was previously approved for several other conditions, including eczema, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ulcerative colitis, according to the website of pharmaceutical company AbbVie. Researchers evaluated its safety and effectiveness in two randomized trials in 857 patients with the disease. Participants received either 45 mg of Rinvoq or a placebo daily for 12 weeks. More patients treated with the medication achieved remission than those treated with the placebo, the FDA said in a news release. Also, more people treated with the medication had improvement in intestinal inflammation, which was assessed with a colonoscopy. The FDA also assessed Rinvoq as a maintenance treatment, evaluating 343 patients who had responded to the 12 weeks of medication. This group received 15 mg or 30 mg once daily or… read on > read on >

People with the rare heart disorder hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) can safely engage in vigorous exercise, according to new research. This finding could lead to fewer activity restrictions for people with this condition, which involves the heart muscle becoming thickened and enlarged. HCM is an inherited disorder that affects about one in 500 people worldwide. It is associated with sudden cardiac death in young people. Yet the U.S. National Institutes of Health-funded study found that those who exercised vigorously are no more likely to die or experience severe cardiac events than those who exercised moderately or not at all. “Based on these data, we’re learning that we don’t need to universally restrict HCM patients from participating in vigorous exercise, something that’s so important to all of us,” said study co-author Dr. Rachel Lampert, a professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine, in New Haven, Conn. “Individuals with this condition should talk to a health care provider with expertise in HCM about getting back on the field, back in the pool and back on the court, if that’s what they want to do,” Lampert said in an institute news release. “Getting an expert evaluation is key to determining degree of risk for all HCM patients, and critical before going back to play.” To study this, the researchers recruited 1,660 people with HCM or who carried the… read on > read on >

Spotting ADHD early can ensure children with the condition get the help they need sooner rather than later. But how can parents know if the behavior they’re seeing in their child is a sign of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or merely the mercurial mood and behavior swings of a toddler? An expert at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore offers some guidance. “Research shows that children with ADHD have abnormal brain development, meaning that ADHD has a biological basis that often makes it a lifelong condition,” Mark Mahone, director of neuropsychology, said on the institute’s website. “We want to catch ADHD early because it has such a profound effect on learning and academic development. Children whose symptoms begin in early childhood are at the highest risk for academic failure and grade repetition.” The team at Kennedy Krieger was among the first to study preschoolers’ brains for signs of ADHD using neuroimaging. The researchers found that children with ADHD have a smaller caudate nucleus, a brain structure associated with thinking skills and motor control. Up to 40% of children have significant attention problems by age 4. ADHD is the most common mental health disorder among preschoolers. About 1 in 11 school-aged children have an ADHD diagnosis. Mahone encourages parents to pay close attention to their toddler’s behavior. Look for these specific signs: Your child dislikes or… read on > read on >

The first vaccine designed to protect infants against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) by vaccinating their mothers during pregnancy has been backed by a panel of advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. On Thursday the independent committee of experts voted unanimously that the Pfizer-made vaccine was effective, and 10-4 that there was adequate data on safety to move the vaccine to approval, the Associated Press reported. The shot would be given to pregnant women at 24 to 36 weeks gestation. This should stimulate the production of maternal antibodies to RSV that would then pass through the placenta to the fetus. “Before the pandemic, RSV was the No. 1 cause of infant hospitalization in the United States, so this is a big deal,” Dr. Ofer Levy, director of the precision vaccines program at Boston Children’s Hospital, told NBC News. Levy is a temporary voting member of the panel, but not one who voted on this vaccine. The FDA will still need to approve the vaccine, a process that could take months. The agency is not obligated to follow its advisers’ recommendations, but it usually does. The Pfizer-made vaccine would only be the second one ever approved in the United States for RSV. A vaccine made by pharmaceutical company GSK was approved for adults ages 60 and up earlier this month. However, 11 RSV vaccines for… read on > read on >

It’s well known that it’s unhealthy to have belly fat accumulating around your abdominal organs, but there’s a more insidious form of fat that could be even more hazardous to your health, a new study says. Fat that infiltrates your muscles appears to dramatically increase your risk of death, according to findings published May 16 in the journal Radiology. Fatty muscle — a condition called myosteatosis — was associated with a 15.5% increase in absolute risk of death in a group of healthy adults, researchers found. By comparison, obesity appeared to increase participants’ absolute mortality risk by only 7.6%, results show. Fatty liver disease raised risk by 8.5% and muscle wasting by 9.7%. “The signal [for muscle fat risk] was so much stronger for this otherwise healthy cohort,” said senior researcher Dr. Perry Pickhardt, chief of gastrointestinal imaging at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. “It really stood out as a strong biomarker beyond the things I think we all accept as important measures. “I think there’s going to be profiling of patients where if you line up myosteatosis with a very fatty liver or maybe abundant visceral fat, you might be a lot worse off than if you just had one of those or two of those,” Pickhardt added. Muscle fat has been a subject of increasing interest in the… read on > read on >

Ever heard of the winter blues? This common phrase is used to describe that blah feeling that strikes during winter months when the weather is cold and the sky is gray in many parts of the country. The reality is, the winter blues is a form of depression. “When there is a shift in the season and our access to daylight, our bodies struggle to adjust to the new light and time frame,” Susan Albers, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic, explains in an online video. This phenomenon is referred to as seasonal depression. What is seasonal depression? This type of depression is also known as seasonal affective disorder or SAD. The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) describes SAD as “changes in your mood and behavior whenever the seasons change.” Feeling hopeless, helpless or irritable are all signs of depression. When those emotions occur seasonally and last for several months, it could be SAD. Contrary to what you may think about seasonal affective disorder, it can strike at any time of the year, not just in the winter. In fact, there are two types of SAD. Fall-onset SAD or winter depression usually begins in the fall or early winter and symptoms ease in the summer. Symptoms of spring-onset SAD or summer depression begin in the late spring or early summer. Summer depression is… read on > read on >

Regular exercise has a long list of health benefits, and a new study suggests another one could be added: a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease. The study, of nearly 99,000 French women, found that those who were most physically active day to day were 25% less likely to develop Parkinson’s over three decades, versus women who were more sedentary. That does not prove that exercise, per se, is responsible, the researchers said. At the same time, they say it’s unlikely that the link reflects “reverse-causation” — women in the earliest stages of Parkinson’s being less likely to exercise. That’s because the study assessed the women’s exercise habits for up to 20 years before their Parkinson’s diagnosis. And since regular exercise clearly has benefits anyway, the findings could be seen as another motivator to get moving, said senior researcher Dr. Alexis Elbaz. “Physical activity has beneficial effects on many body systems, including the bones, heart and lungs,” said Elbaz, a research professor at the French national research institute INSERM in Paris. “And our findings show that physical activity might also contribute to preventing or delaying Parkinson’s disease.” Parkinson’s disease affects nearly 1 million people in the United States, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation. It is a brain disease that gradually destroys or disables cells that produce dopamine, a chemical that helps regulate movement and emotional responses.… read on > read on >

Pregnancy is a difficult and potentially dangerous time in a woman’s life, and U.S. women say they aren’t getting the support they need while they’re expecting, a new HealthDay/Harris Poll has found. Nearly 2 in 5 women who are pregnant or have ever been pregnant (37%) say they have experienced barriers to getting needed care. Worse, women in their prime childbearing years (18 to 34) are more than twice as likely as those who are 35 and older to say they encountered barriers to needed health care during pregnancy and birth — 74% versus 28%. The most common barrier they cite is an inability to make doctor’s appointments because of they are unable to take time off work or find child care. One in 5 women overall (19%) — and 2 in 5 between 18 and 34 (39%) — cite that as a reason they didn’t get the care they needed, poll results showed. As a result, women are nearly unanimous in their support for paid maternity leave and better health care in pregnancy: Nine in 10 women (92%) think maternity leave is crucial for improving mothers’ health outcomes, including 64% who strongly agree. Nine in 10 women (91%) also think maternity leave is key to improving babies’ health outcomes, including 61% who strongly agree. More than 4 in 5 women (86%) say more must… read on > read on >

The first RSV vaccine designed to protect infants is under consideration by a panel of advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. An independent committee of experts will vote Thursday on whether to recommend the shot for pregnant mothers at 24 to 36 weeks gestation. “Before the pandemic, RSV was the No. 1 cause of infant hospitalization in the United States, so this is a big deal,” Dr. Ofer Levy, director of the precision vaccines program at Boston Children’s Hospital, told NBC News. Levy is a temporary voting member of the panel, but not one who will vote on this vaccine. If the panel recommends the vaccine, the FDA would still need to approve it, a process that could take months. The agency is not obligated to follow its advisers’ recommendations, but it usually does. The Pfizer-made vaccine would only be the second one ever approved in the United States for RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). A vaccine made by pharmaceutical company GSK was approved for adults ages 60 and up earlier this month. However, 11 RSV vaccines for various age groups are being tested in ongoing clinical trials. When a mother-to-be receives the vaccine, protective antibodies transfer to infants through the placenta. Safety data for the infant vaccine is “generally favorable,” according to the FDA. Trial participants had a slightly elevated rate of preterm… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

New ‘National Sports Brain Bank’ Will Boost Head Injury Research

FDA Approves First Pill to Treat Moderate-to-Severe Crohn’s Disease

Exercise No Threat to People With an Inherited Form of Enlarged Heart

Signs Your Toddler Might Have ADHD

FDA Panel Backs First RSV Vaccine Given in Pregnancy to Protect Infants

Fat Growing Around Muscles Could Be a Silent Killer

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): What It Is, Symptoms & Treatments

Another Possible Exercise Bonus: Preventing Parkinson’s

American Women Need More Maternity Leave, Access to Pregnancy Care: Poll

FDA Panel to Vote on First RSV Vaccine Given in Pregnancy to Protect Infants