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In trying to untangle the mysteries of long COVID, researchers have found anxiety and depression may play a role for some of those with the lingering condition. In the study from researchers at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), patients who perceived that they had thinking difficulties during COVID infection were also more likely to have lingering physical symptoms than those who did not report thinking issues. About one-third of people with long COVID symptoms perceived they had thinking deficits, which have been found to be related to anxiety and depression. These findings suggest that psychological issues such as anxiety or depressive disorders play a part in some people experiencing long COVID. “This perception of cognitive [thinking] deficits suggests that affective issues — in this case anxiety and depression — appear to carry over into the long COVID period,” said senior study author Dr. Neil Wenger. He is a professor of medicine in the division of general internal medicine and health services research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. “This is not to say that long COVID is all in one’s head, but that it is likely not a single condition and that for some proportion of patients there is likely a component of anxiety or depression that is exacerbated by the disease,” Wenger explained in a university news release. To study… read on > read on >

Chronic tendon issues are a frequent source of pain and can limit activity. They become more common with age, weight and certain activities, and early and appropriate diagnosis by a doctor is critical to get the best outcomes. The Achilles tendon is the biggest tendon in the human body. It connects the calf to the foot, and it is responsible for push-off power. The tendon is critical for stability during standing, walking, running and other activities. During muscle contraction, the tendon functions as a rope. It has elasticity to generate the tension required to handle the force of six times a person’s body weight. What is Achilles tendinitis? Over time, the tendon can become strained, injured or inflamed. On a day-to-day basis, people put stress on their Achilles tendon. A healthy tendon will handle this stress, repair any “microtears,” and a patient will have no symptoms. But over time, for various reasons, the Achilles tendon will develop inflammation and microtearing that will outpace the body’s ability to repair and heal the damage, and the patient will develop symptoms including pain, discomfort, soreness and swelling. This is Achilles tendinitis, and I often treat such cases here at Yale Medicine Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation. In reality, Achilles tendinitis is not just inflammation of the tendon, as the name implies. Achilles tendinitis is the accumulation of degenerative changes in… read on > read on >

While a lot of research has focused on autism in children, much less effort goes toward studying adults with autism. Now, two new reports find this group is at substantial risk for age-related physical conditions and injuries, as well as being particularly susceptible to certain mental health issues including loneliness, social isolation and lower quality of life. “There is accumulating evidence suggesting that when autistic individuals get older, they face considerable challenges from co-existing physical conditions,” said researcher Shengxin Liu, a PhD student at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. “For instance, there was evidence on obesity and epilepsy, but the research among older autistic adults remains scarce, accounting for less than 1% of published studies in autism research.” In the study on physical health, Liu and other researchers from two Swedish universities reviewed data on people born between 1932 and 1967 in Sweden, excluding those who died or emigrated before age 45. The team followed them from age 45 through the end of 2013, looking at 39 physical conditions associated with age. The investigators found that older adults with autism had higher risks of a range of conditions, including heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), osteoarthritis, anemia, glucose dysregulation (a blood sugar level that fluctuates abnormally) and self-harm. Other conditions commonly seen were type 2 diabetes, falls, spinal issues and problems in the… read on > read on >

(HealthDay News) – Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk said Thursday it will limit distribution of its low-dose versions of the wildly popular weight-loss drug Wegovy, to ensure that people already taking the drug will have enough supply. The medication is one of three drugs from a class known as GLP-1 agonists. These medications have been shown in studies to be effective for weight loss but have faced shortages amid a boom in sales triggered by celebrity endorsements, the company said in a statement. The two other drugs in this class, Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic, are also used to treat type 2 diabetes. Wegovy is the same medication as Ozempic but it is available in higher doses. “Today, we are serving hundreds of thousands of U.S. patients with Wegovy,” the company said. “However, trends indicate that demand for Wegovy in the U.S. will exceed our current supply capacity.” While working to expand supply, the drugmaker is sending “limited quantities” of 0.25 milligrams (mg), 0.5 mg and 1 mg dose strengths to wholesalers. Those drugs will eventually be distributed to retail pharmacies. “We anticipate that many patients will have difficulty filling Wegovy prescriptions at these doses through September,” the company noted. However, “we do not currently anticipate supply interruptions of the 1.7 mg and 2.4 mg dose strengths of Wegovy.” Obesity and severe obesity have… read on > read on >

Cancer patients have a lot to think about, but adding one more thing — lacing up their sneakers — may pay off. Two new studies suggest engaging in light or moderate exercise increases the number of cancer-destroying immune cells. At the same time, exercise reduces the side effects of cancer treatments, improves quality of life, improves prognosis and decreases cancer risk, said the Scandinavian researchers. “It was previously thought that cancer patients should just rest after a cancer diagnosis. Today, we have more and more researched information that exercise can even improve the prognosis of cancer. However, it is not yet fully known how exercise controls cancer,” explained co-author Tiia Koivula, from the University of Turku in Finland. Past preclinical studies found exercise affected the functioning of the immune system, leading to more immune cells going to the tumor site and becoming more active in destroying cancer cells. This new research looked at the impact of a short bout of exercise. Researchers found that only 10 minutes of exercise was enough to have an impact. Exercising harder was even better, with more immune cells transferred to the bloodstream. “Although our results indicate that the higher the exercise intensity is, the more immune cells are transferred from their storage organs into the bloodstream, it is notable that also light or moderate intensity exercise lasting for only… read on > read on >

Hundreds of thousands of people are jumping on the Ozempic bandwagon and taking prescription medications to slim down, while others swear by intermittent fasting and other diet fads, but new research shows that they’re all likely barking up the wrong trees. There isn’t any shortcut or magic bullet to losing weight, keeping it off, and improving your health, a new study of more than 20,000 people affirms. “Most adults slowly gain weight over decades of their life but turn to drastic, often dangerous, means to decrease body weight,” said study author Colleen Spees, an associate professor of medical dietetics at Ohio State University in Columbus. “Indeed, non-evidence-based diet practices are on the rise in large part due to social media influencers and popular actors.” Take the craze surrounding the injectable type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic, she said. “Although it is not U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved for weight loss, individuals without diabetes are now taking Ozempic in hopes of rapid weight loss,” Spees said. Does it work? Yes, at least in the short term, she said. “Once individuals discontinue the use of this medication, their appetite returns along with the weight they lost while using it,” Spees added. For the study, researchers compared behaviors of more than 20,300 U.S. adults who were part of a national health and nutrition survey from 2007 to 2016. They… read on > read on >

Quitting smoking may leave you with more money for food. Having a tobacco smoker quit is not just a boon to lung health. In poorer families, it can also help prevent hunger, according to new research from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. “We aimed to explore if tobacco cessation could improve food security,” said lead author Kaitlyn Berry, a PhD candidate. “Tobacco is expensive and addictive; in the U.S., on average, a pack of cigarettes currently costs about $8 — $240 per month for a pack-a-day smoker. “This means that when someone quits smoking, they can save a lot of money that could instead be used for other expenses,” Berry added in a school news release. Tobacco use and hunger are major threats to U.S. public health, according to the study. They inequitably affect low-income households and people of color. About 10% of all U.S. households don’t have enough food. Roughly one-third of households below the poverty line had hunger issues in 2021, the researchers reported. At the same time, people who are socially disadvantaged are more likely to smoke cigarettes, partly because of aggressive marketing by the tobacco industry to low-income groups. Uneven access to smoking-cessation programs is another contributor. The research team noted that 20% of adults with a household income under $35,000 smoke cigarettes. Yet only 6% of adults… read on > read on >

Another experimental drug meant for Alzheimer’s disease looks so promising that drugmaker Eli Lilly plans to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for full approval by the end of June. Known as donanemab, the medication clears amyloid plaque from the brain. In a late trial, the drug slowed memory and thinking declines in early symptomatic Alzheimer’s patients by more than a third, Lilly said Wednesday. About 47% of those taking the medication had no decline on a key measure of thinking over a year, compared to 29% of patients on a placebo. “We are extremely pleased that donanemab yielded positive clinical results with compelling statistical significance for people with Alzheimer’s disease in this trial,” Dr. Daniel Skovronsky, Lilly’s chief scientific and medical officer and president of Lilly Research Laboratories, said in a company news release. “This is the first Phase 3 trial of any investigational medicine for Alzheimer’s disease to deliver 35% slowing of clinical and functional decline.” But there were some risks noted in the results. The Lilly trial involved 1,700 patients, three of whom died during the study. Two of those deaths were attributed to brain swelling or microbleeds called amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA). “We are encouraged by the potential clinical benefits that donanemab may provide, although like many effective treatments for debilitating and fatal diseases, there are associated risks that may… read on > read on >

Boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls are, but girls may be more likely to experience anxiety alongside the disorder than boys, new research reveals. Anxiety tends to travel with autism, which is characterized by problems with social interaction, communication and behavior. About 1 in 36 kids in the United States has autism, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now, this latest study suggests that the developmental disorder might play out a bit differently in girls. “Autistic females have higher rates of anxiety disorders than autistic males, especially in presentations of anxiety that are distinct to autism and may be more challenging to identify,” said study author Christine Wu Nordahl, director of the Autism Phenome Project. “This is especially important because we now know that there are effective treatments for anxiety in autistic youth that can greatly improve their quality of life, but the promise of effective treatments …can only be realized if we can accurately identify anxiety,” she added. For the study, 112 kids with autism (89 boys and 23 girls) underwent brain scans when they were toddlers and at three other time points. Their parents were interviewed about their anxiety symptoms when these kids were 9 to 11 years old, to help tease out whether anxiety was related to autism symptoms or a… read on > read on >

“Mindfulness” practices may help parents of young children with autism manage their daily stressors, and it could benefit their kids in the process, a preliminary study suggests. Parenting is stressful, and studies show that parents of kids with autism often have particularly high stress levels. Autism is a developmental brain disorder that, to varying degrees, impairs communication and social skills. Some kids have milder difficulties, but others are profoundly affected — speaking little, if at all, and getting wrapped up in repetitive, obsessive behaviors. Some children have intellectual disabilities, while others have average or above-average IQs. There are various therapies and services to help improve daily functioning and quality of life for kids with autism. But they typically do not address parents’ stress and coping skills, said Rachel Fenning, the lead researcher on the new study. Traditionally, she noted, there’s been something of an assumption that services that benefit children with autism will also help ease parents’ stress. But that is not necessarily true, since parents can be dealing with all kinds of challenges, said Fenning, who directs the Claremont Autism Center at Claremont McKenna College, in Claremont, Calif. The stressors can range from problems accessing autism services or learning how to implement a child’s therapy strategies at home, to the bigger-picture issues of balancing work and home life, paying the bills and more. So… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Mind May Hold Clues to Your Risk of Long COVID

Achilles Tendinitis: What Is It, and What Are the Treatments?

Autism in Older Adults: Studies Show Higher Rates of Mental, Physical Ills

Maker of Wegovy Limits Supply of Obesity Drug in U.S.

Exercise May Boost Tumor-Fighting Immune Cells in Cancer Patients

Pills, Exercise, Dieting: What Works Best to Lose Weight?

In Poorer Households, Quitting Smoking May Help Boost Food Supply

Experimental Alzheimer’s Drug Slows Decline in Thinking in Late-Stage Trial

Among Kids With Autism, Girls Are More Prone to Anxiety Disorders Than Boys

Mindfulness Approach Helps Ease the Stress of Parenting a Child With Autism