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It might take a combination of treatments to rein in problem acne in teens and adults, updated guidelines from the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) suggest. The guidelines on the all-too-common condition (acne affects 85% of teens and many adults) haven’t undergone a revision since 2016. The 2024 updates include “discussion of new topical medications, which are directly applied to the skin, and systemic treatments, which are taken by mouth,” explained Dr. John Barbieri, co-chair of the AAD’s Acne Guideline Workgroup. The new updates are all evidence-based, with 18 recommendations in all. Four items fell under the guidelines’ “strong recommendation” header: The use of benzoyl peroxide creams to curb the amount of acne-linked bacteria on the skin The use of retinoid creams such as adapalene, tretinoin, tazarotene and trifarotene, to help clear pores and lower inflammation Oral antibiotics such as doxycycline, as well as antbiotic creams, to also help lower bacteria levels and inflammation Combination use, as needed, of all of the above The AAD also had five “good practice” recommendations for dermatologists when treating acne: The guidelines advise “combining multiple different treatment types, as this can lead to better results.” Use antibiotics sparingly, because overuse can trigger resistant strains of bacteria Using benzoyl peroxide alongside an antibiotic can lessen the risk for resistance Patients plagued by larger acne bumps may need injected corticosteroid therapy… read on > read on >

Exercise is crucial to recovering from a stroke, helping victims regain lost physical and mental function. And stroke survivors are more likely to remain physically active — or even exercise more than before — if they have access to a neighborhood rec center or gym, a new study finds. The odds of a patient being more active in recovery than before their stroke was 57% higher among participants who lived in areas with more recreational and fitness resources, according to findings to be presented next week at the American Stroke Association’s annual meeting in Phoenix. Similarly, the odds of maintaining the same level of physical activity one year after a stroke were 47% higher in people living near rec centers and gyms. “Our findings suggest that it’s important to have a conversation with stroke patients about physical activity resources available in their area so they are able to continue their recovery after hospital discharge,” said lead researcher Jeffrey Wing, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Ohio State University. This access to fitness resources is so important that doctors should consider it a factor in a patient’s release, Wing added. “If their neighborhood does not offer fitness resources, neurologists should consider discharging the patient to a rehabilitation facility where they can participate in physical activities,” Wing said in a meeting news release. For the study, researchers… read on > read on >

Advanced brain recording techniques have revealed how neurons in the human brain work together to produce speech. The recordings provide a detailed map of how people think about what words they want to say and then speak them aloud, researchers report in the Jan. 31 issue of the journal Nature. Specifically, the map shows how speech sounds like consonants and vowels are represented in the brain well before they are spoken, and how the brain strings them together during language production. “Although speaking usually seems easy, our brains perform many complex cognitive steps in the production of natural speech — including coming up with the words we want to say, planning the articulatory movements and producing our intended vocalizations,” said senior study author Dr. Ziv Williams, an associate professor in neurosurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “Our brains perform these feats surprisingly fast — about three words per second in natural speech — with remarkably few errors,” Williams added in a hospital news release. “Yet, how we precisely achieve this feat has remained a mystery.” The findings could form the basis of sophisticated brain-machine interfaces capable of producing synthetic speech, the researchers said. They also could provide insight into a wide array of disorders that hamper or prevent speech. “Disruptions in the speech and language networks are observed in a wide variety of neurological… read on > read on >

Certain copycat eyedrops may be contaminated and could give users an antibiotic-resistant eye infection, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Wednesday. The packaging for South Moon, Rebright and FivFivGo eyedrops mirrors the packaging for Bausch & Lomb’s Lumify eyedrops, an over-the-counter product approved for red eye relief. However, samples of the knockoff South Moon eyedrops were contaminated with Burkholderia cepacia complex, a strain of bacteria that could result in an antibiotic-resistant infection, the FDA said in a news release. B. cepacia is a known cause of infections in hospitalized patients, and poses a particular risk to people with weakened immune systems or chronic lung diseases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People with symptoms of an eye infection should talk with their doctor or seek medical care immediately, the FDA advised. Rebright tested negative for contamination, but both Rebright and South Moon lacked the active ingredient in Lumify, brimonidine tartrate. No samples of FivFivGo drops could be obtained for testing and analysis. The FDA recommends consumers not use any of the products, since they are unapproved and should not be for sale in the United States. Consumers who’ve bought these products should throw them out. The origin of the products is currently unclear, the FDA added. South Moon’s label says it is made by Shantou Cross-border Premium Products E-Commerce Co.… read on > read on >

Americans are terribly lonely, a new poll reveals. Among U.S. adults, about one in three said they feel lonely at least once a week. Worse, one in 10 Americans say they feel lonely every day, results show. Younger people are more likely to experience loneliness, which is defined as a lack of meaningful or close relationships or sense of belonging, according to the American Psychiatric Association’s latest Healthy Minds Monthly Poll. About 30% of respondents ages 18 to 34 said they feel lonely every day or several times a week. The poll “confirms loneliness is widespread, especially in young people,” said APA President Dr. Petros Levounis. “Doctors and other clinicians can make a major difference in their patients’ well-being and physical health when they ask about loneliness and how to mitigate its effects,” Levounis added in an APA news release. “Helping people feel less lonely is straightforward and deeply gratifying.” The poll, which was conducted online from Jan. 10 to Jan. 12 among 2,200 adults, also found that: Single adults are nearly twice as likely as married adults to feel lonely on a weekly basis, 39% versus 22% About 50% of respondents ease their loneliness with distractions like TV, podcasts or social media Another 41% said they go for a walk to feel less lonely, while 38% said they reach out to family or friends… read on > read on >

A much anticipated government study finds that military personnel stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina between 1975 and 1985 face at least a 20% higher risk for certain cancers than those stationed elsewhere. Why the increased risk? For decades, the drinking water at the Marine Corps base was contaminated with industrial solvents, federal documents show. When the contamination was first detected in the early 1980s, wells on the base were shut down, but not before soldiers and their families had drunk it, cooked with it and bathed in it for years. The contamination has prompted a spate of lawsuits and several studies looking at the health effects of the exposure. In the latest research, folks stationed at Camp Lejeune were more likely to develop certain blood cancers and cancers of the lung, breast, throat, esophagus and thyroid than those stationed at Camp Pendleton in California, where the water had not been contaminated. Civilians who only worked at Camp Lejeune were at higher risk for a shorter list of cancers. The study was conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). The ATSDR has already done numerous studies focused on health problems at Camp Lejeune. Among other things, those studies looked at male breast cancer rates and birth defects in children born to… read on > read on >

Losing the use of an arm after a stroke can be devastating, but new research could offer survivors fresh hope. The study found that a combination of targeted brain stimulation therapy, along with intense physical rehabilitation, can restore control of an affected arm or hand. “This is the first time that brain stimulation combined with rehabilitation therapy for stroke is available outside of a clinical trial,” noted study lead author Teresa Kimberley. “It could set the stage for even more advancements in recovery from other impairments beyond the arm. This is a watershed moment for rehabilitation science.” Kimberley is a professor of rehabilitation science and physical therapy at the MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston. Her team’s findings will be presented at next week’s International Stroke Conference in Phoenix. As a stroke attacks the brain, vital neural pathways connecting the brain to the limbs can be damaged, triggering a loss of function. Re-establishing those connections can be tough, Kimberley’s team reports. “The recovery of arm and hand function after a stroke often stalls or even declines, leaving many patients with chronic motor deficits that limit their independence and quality of life,” she said in an American Stroke Association news release. “New treatments that can boost the benefits of physical rehabilitation are desperately needed.” The new study involved an implanted device that produces stimulation to… read on > read on >

Women with a common ovarian disorder might be more likely to have memory and thinking problems in middle age, a new study suggests. Females diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) scored lower on cognitive tests than women without the condition, according to a report published Jan. 31 in the journal Neurology. The condition specifically appeared to affect memory, attention and verbal abilities, researchers said. “Polycystic ovary syndrome is a common reproductive disorder that impacts up to 10% of women,” said researcher Dr. Heather Huddleston, director of the PCOS Clinic at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). “Our results suggest that people with this condition have lower memory and thinking skills and subtle brain changes at midlife,” Huddleston said in a UCSF news release. “This could impact a person on many levels, including quality of life, career success and financial security.” Polycystic ovary syndrome is a hormonal disorder in which the ovaries produce an abnormally high amount of androgens, which are male sex hormones. The condition causes irregular menstruation, as well as excess body hair, weight gain, acne, infertility and thinning hair. Some women with PCOS wind up with ovarian cysts, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. For the study, researchers tracked more than 900 women between the ages of 18 and 30 for three decades, at which time they completed a series of cognitive tests.… read on > read on >

Radon, an invisible, naturally occurring radioactive gas, appears to raise a person’s risk of stroke, a new study suggests. Already known as the second leading cause of lung cancer, these new findings suggest exposure to radon can increase risk of stroke by as much as 14%, according to a report published Jan. 31 in the journal Neurology. “Our research found an increased risk of stroke among participants exposed to radon above — and as many as two picocuries per liter (pCi/L) below — concentrations that usually trigger Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommendations to install a home radon mitigation system,” said researcher Dr. Eric Whitsel, a professor of epidemiology and medicine at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Radon is produced when metals like uranium or radium break down in rocks and soil, researchers said. The gas can make its way into homes through gaps around pipes and cracks in basement walls and floors. For the new study, researchers tracked nearly 159,000 women with an average age of 63, none of whom had suffered a stroke at the start of the study. The team followed participants for an average of 13 years, during which there were nearly 7,000 strokes. Researchers used participants’ home addresses to gather radon concentration data from the U.S. Geological Survey and the EPA. EPA standards recommend that average indoor radon… read on > read on >

Black American women have much higher rates of high blood pressure than white women, and it’s especially deadly if hypertension sets in before the age of 35, new research shows. Black women diagnosed with high blood pressure before the age of 35 had triple the odds of suffering a stroke, compared to Black women without hypertension, the study found. “This research was motivated by the glaring disparity I have seen in my own practice. Strokes are occurring at younger ages among my patients who identify as Black and among women,” study lead author Dr. Hugo Aparicio said in an American Heart Association (AHA) news release. “Early-onset stroke, particularly at midlife, is even more tragic because these patients often have families or are caretakers for sick family members,” noted Aparicio, a professor of neurology at Boston University’s School of Medicine. Aparicio’s team plans to present its findings at next week’s International Stroke Conference in Phoenix. Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. Already, high blood pressure is a much bigger threat to Black American women compared to other patients. According to the AHA, about 58% of Black women have high blood pressure, compared to 43% of white women, 38% of Asian women and 35% of Hispanic women. That makes the rate of hypertension among Black American women “among… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Dermatologists’ Group Offers Latest Guidance on Acne

Neighborhood Gyms Can Be a Lifeline for Stroke Survivors

Scientists Spot Brain Cells That Prepare You to Speak

FDA Warns of Dangerous Counterfeit Eyedrops

Loneliness Is Plaguing Americans in 2024: Poll

More Cancers Linked to Contaminated Water at Camp LeJeune

Nerve Zaps Plus Intense Rehab Can Help Stroke Survivors Use Hands, Arms Again

Common Gynecologic Condition Tied to Cognitive Issues

‘Hidden Killer’ Radon Could Raise Your Stroke Risk

High Blood Pressure in Young Black Women Sends Stroke Risks Soaring

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