All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

The kids, no matter how they are conceived, are all right. That is the main takeaway from a new study by British researchers that found no real differences in the psychological well-being of kids who were born via sperm/egg donation or surrogacy and those born naturally by the time they reached the age of 20. “Children born through third-party reproductive donation — egg donation, sperm donation or surrogacy — are well-adjusted and have positive relationships with their parents right up to adulthood,” said study author Susan Golombok, former director of the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge. For the study, the researchers followed 65 families with children born via assisted reproduction from infancy until the child turned 20. Moms and kids were interviewed and filled out questionnaires about their relationships. Their answers were compared to those of 52 families of children conceived naturally during the same period. The bottom line? “The absence of a biological [genetic or gestational] connection between children and their parents does not interfere with the development of positive relationships between them or the psychological well-being of the child,” Golombok said. The new findings are consistent with previous assessments the researchers made at ages 1, 2, 3, 7, 10 and 14, she added. Kids aren’t all that fussed about how they were born, but it may be better to…  read on >  read on >

A teenager’s brain power appears to have little bearing on whether they will become overweight or obese as adults. British researchers found that, on average, sharper teens weighed only slightly less in adulthood than siblings who scored lower on tests of thinking skills, according to a new study published April 13 in the journal PLOS Medicine. The difference amounted to just under a half-pound for a 6-foot-tall adult, said lead author Liam Wright, a senior research fellow in population health at University College London. “We found a very small association that in practice means that, on average, siblings with higher cognitive ability are unlikely to weigh much less than siblings with lower cognitive ability,” he said. The research refutes prior studies that have linked low cognitive scores in teens to higher risk of obesity in later life. That’s because those earlier studies looked at general populations, and didn’t take into account other powerful factors besides smarts that could influence a person’s weight, Wright said. “The problem with comparing people from the general population according to their cognitive ability and BMI is that unobserved factors may explain the association,” he said. (BMI, or body mass index, is an estimate of body fat based on height and weight.) To account for those unknown factors, Wright and his colleagues analyzed data on 12,250 siblings from more than 5,600…  read on >  read on >

In a disappointing finding, a new report shows that suicide rates in America are on the upswing again after a momentary, and minute, decline. According to researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the suicide rate increased from 10.7 people per 100,000 people in 2001 to 14.2 per 100,000 in 2018. The rate then dropped to 13.5 per 100,000 through 2020, but rose again to 14.1 per 100,000 in 2021. Why suicide rates rose, then dropped, then rose again isn’t entirely clear, said senior study author Sally Curtin, a statistician at CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. “We’re not exactly sure what happened, because we know that many of the suicide risk factors increased, depression increased and money problems increased, we know all that,” she said. And early numbers from the first half of 2022 show that the suicide rate continues to climb, Curtin added, so the short-lived decline might just have been a blip. “Unfortunately, the suicide rate bounced back after a couple of years of decline,” she said. “If you look at the long, long picture, 20 years, it’s been almost steadily increasing.” For the study, Curtin’s team used data from the U.S. National Vital Statistics System. The researchers found that suicide rates among women increased between 2020 and 2021, but that increase was significant only for women aged 75…  read on >  read on >

A federal appeals court on Wednesday said the abortion pill mifepristone could remain available for now. But the court’s judges added some provisions to their ruling: A block on mailing the pill to patients as well as stays on other measures the federal government has taken recently to boost access to the medication. The three-member panel partially overruled Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling in Texas last week, which said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone back in 2000 was invalid. Mifepristone is typically given as the first of two drugs used during a medication abortion. The U.S. Justice Department had filed its appeal of the Texas ruling on Monday. “If allowed to take effect, the court’s order would thwart FDA’s scientific judgment and severely harm women, particularly those for whom mifepristone is a medical or practical necessity,” the appeal stated. In its preliminary ruling filed on Wednesday, the federal appeals court suggested a statute of limitations bars any legal challenge to the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. The court also seemed to consider the government’s view that removing a long-approved drug from the market would have “significant public consequences.” But it left in place parts of Kacsmaryk’s ruling that rolled back a loosening of restrictions on mifepristone by the FDA in recent years. That includes a 2016 move to allow the drug to be…  read on >  read on >

(HealthDay News) – Juul Labs on Wednesday reached a $462 million settlement with several states over the aggressive marketing of its electronic cigarettes to minors. This latest settlement includes New York, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts and New Mexico. Juul settled with West Virginia earlier this week. The company has already agreed already to pay out more than $1 billion to 47 states and territories, Juul Labs said in a statement. “The terms of the agreement, like prior settlements, provide financial resources to further combat underage use and develop cessation programs and reflect our current business practices,” Juul spokesman Austin Finan told the New York Times. The latest settlement represents a near “total resolution of the company’s historical legal challenges and securing certainty for our future,” he added. Finan noted that federal data shows that underage use of Juul products has declined 95% since 2019. State attorneys general in New York and California alleged that their investigations found that Juul executives knew their marketing was attracting teens, the Times reported. “Too many young New Yorkers are struggling to quit vaping and there is no doubt that Juul played a central role in the nationwide vaping epidemic,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement on the settlement. While the company hasn’t admitted wrongdoing, its payments to plaintiffs in earlier lawsuits…  read on >  read on >

It sounds like the stuff of a vampire novel, but for people with a group of rare genetic disorders, exposure to sunlight can cause excruciating pain. Now, an experimental medication is showing promise for helping them better tolerate the light of day. In an early clinical trial, researchers tested the drug for patients with either of two related conditions: erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) and X-linked protoporphyria (XLP). Both belong to a group of eight rare genetic disorders called porphyrias. Studies estimate that EPP and XLP affect one in every 75,000 to 200,000 white people. Both conditions arise from certain genetic abnormalities that cause a chemical called protoporphyrin to build up in the blood and the lining of the blood vessels. The trouble comes when a person with EPP or XLP goes into the sun: That light activates protoporphyrin in the blood vessels, which triggers inflammation, cell damage and severe pain. Both disorders usually become apparent in childhood — which, clearly, takes a toll on kids’ quality of life, said Dr. Robert Desnick, one of the researchers on the new trial. “They call themselves shadow-jumpers, because they have to run from one shady spot to another to avoid the sun,” said Desnick, a professor of genetics and genomic sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City. Standard sunscreen offers no protection,…  read on >  read on >

As people with HIV live longer they’re at risk of premature heart disease. But a new study finds statin drugs can cut the risk of serious heart problems by more than one-third. The U.S. National Institutes of Health trial found the cholesterol-lowering drugs so effective, in fact, that the study was stopped early. Taking the daily statin pitavastatin calcium lowered the risk of major heart events by 35% in this patient group, according to an interim analysis of data from the Randomized Trial to Prevent Vascular Events in HIV (REPRIEVE) study. “The REPRIEVE study reflects the evolution of HIV science, and progress from focusing mostly on approaches to treat and control the virus to finding ways to improve the overall health of people living with HIV,” said Dr. Hugh Auchincloss, acting director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). “These new data suggest that a common cholesterol-lowering medicine could substantially improve cardiovascular outcomes in people with HIV,” he said in a news release from the NIH and the NIAID. As people with HIV live longer thanks to decades of medical research and advances, premature heart disease and other chronic conditions have emerged as leading causes of illness and death. Statins are known to prevent heart disease in those at risk in the general population. But researchers weren’t certain before the trial if…  read on >  read on >

It’s not new for young people to develop an interest in their favorite pop singer or actor, but it can be problematic if that adoration turns toxic. It’s easier than ever to get lost in a celebrity’s carefully curated image via social media posts, according to Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, which offers some tips for when fandom goes too far. “Artists may do things that encourage people to get to know them better, so when they start giving people a peek into their lives and creating a persona that their fans can emotionally invest in, they get more people interacting with their work and also gain prestige and make more money,” explained Dr. Laurel Williams, an associate professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor. Any fan can become unhealthily invested in celebrities or individuals, Williams said. Previously, fans had to spend money and time repeatedly to see a celebrity and then cultivate a connection that could turn obsessive — but in today’s internet age, celebrity channels are available online anytime. Superficial connections are now more easily and frequently made, Williams cautioned, and adolescents are more susceptible to having addictive emotions over this. “When someone starts ‘speaking their truth’ about a celebrity or topic in a way that dehumanizes others, either online or in person, that’s when you know…  read on >  read on >

Spring brings with it the joy of baseball, but too much of a good thing can lead to elbow injuries in young pitchers. An expert from UT Southwestern in Dallas offers some tips for youth baseball players, their parents and coaches about avoiding and being aware of injuries, including tears or ruptures of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). “Athletes 18 and younger should not pitch more than 100 innings in games during a calendar year,” said Dr. Nathan Boes, an assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and director of sports medicine for Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. “And they should take four months a year with no competitive pitching.” UCL injuries are the most common elbow injury among baseball players of all ages, from youth to major leagues. When the injury is severe, it can require reconstructive surgery, sometimes called Tommy John surgery, named after the pitcher who was the first to have the procedure in 1974 while with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The UCL runs along the inside of the elbow, with three bands that connect the upper arm bone to the largest of the forearm bones. What happens is that pitching’s repetitive motion causes microtraumas in the UCL. Symptoms include a popping sensation, swelling or irritation on the inside of the elbow, pain while throwing and numbness…  read on >  read on >

Financial stress and work lost to cancer treatment affects patients and their partners alike. Partners also experienced pain, fatigue and sleep issues owing to these fiscal worries, a new study found. “We know that financial toxicity or hardship is a significant effect of cancer and its treatment and is associated with poor health issues for patients and survivors,” said lead author Lauren Ghazal. She is a postdoctoral fellow at the Rogel Cancer Center and the University of Michigan School of Nursing. “Financial toxicity extends to caregivers or partners, too,” she said in a university news release. Her team wanted to understand how that toxicity affects the caregiver’s health, including anxiety, depression, fatigue and overall quality of life. “It is important to examine the full effect of financial toxicity on a household in order to develop multilevel interventions that center the patient,” she explained. For the study, the researchers surveyed patients who had been treated for stage 3 colon cancer one to five years earlier, as well as their spouses, domestic partners or significant others from the same household. In all, 307 patient-partner pairs responded. The survey asked about potential stressors including cutting spending, missing bill payments and debt from unpaid bills, bank loans or money borrowed. Patients and partners were also asked about physical function, anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep disturbance, social roles, social activities and…  read on >  read on >