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Abortion pills are safe and effective, but some pain will be part of the process for most women. However, many women are surprised by exactly how much pain is involved in a medication abortion, a new study says. They’re frequently told that the pain is akin to period cramps, but for many that simply isn’t so. “Benchmarking against period pain has long been used as a way to describe the pain associated with medical abortion, despite the wide variability of period pain experienced,” Hannah McCulloch, a sexual and reproductive health researcher with the British Pregnancy Advisory Service in London, England said in a news release. But “for many respondents, using period pain as a reference point for what to expect was not helpful for managing expectations, or in line with their experiences,” McCulloch added. In fact, the pain is so intense for some women that they told researchers they might have chosen a surgical abortion if they’d known, according to results published in the journal BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health. “Pain was so much stronger than period pain, it was like having contractions in labor,” one study participant said. “I’ve given birth three times and the pain really wasn’t too much different from that pain, the cramping contraction pain.” Another participant described her pain “like someone squeezing my stomach muscles, like my insides were being… read on > read on >

THURSDAY, Dec. 19, 2024 (HeathDay News) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants to redefine the meaning of healthy food, issuing a new rule Thursday that changes the way food companies can claim their products are indeed nutritious. What foods will qualify for the new designation? Under the final rule, pretty much everything in the produce section — whole fruits and vegetables — would be considered healthy, as would other nutrient-rich foods like whole grains, dairy, eggs, beans, lentils, seafood, lean meat, nuts and seeds. “It’s critical for the future of our country that food be a vehicle for wellness. Improving access to nutrition information is an important public health effort the FDA can undertake to help people build healthy eating patterns,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf, said in an agency news release announcing the new rule. “It is vital that we focus on the key drivers to combat chronic disease, like healthy eating.” “Now, people will be able to look for the ‘healthy’ claim to help them find foundational, nutritious foods for themselves and their families,” he added. The idea is to simplify things for shoppers who are confused by nutrition fact labels that don’t give any real-world guidance on whether one product is better than another, the agency added. Nutrition experts welcomed the change. “It’s a terrific advance,” Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, director of… read on > read on >

Millions of American adults are struggling with Long COVID, and a fifth have symptoms so debilitating they interfere with daily activities, a new report finds. “Frequently reported symptoms include fatigue that interferes with daily life, difficulty thinking or concentrating, cough and heart palpitations,” explained a team of researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the CDC, Long COVID can include “a wide range of ongoing symptoms,” such as fatigue, brain fog, feeling exhausted after exercise, coughing, shortness of breath, sleep troubles, depression/anxiety, joint pain, gastro issues and more. “Most people with Long COVID symptoms see significant improvement after 3 months, while others may see improvement up to 6 months after symptoms first appear,” the CDC noted. Just how widespread is Long COVID? In the new study, researchers led by Nicole Ford of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases looked at 2023 federal data surveying American adults. They found that about 1 in every 16 adults (6.4%) surveyed said that they were currently suffering from Long COVID, which was defined as having persistent symptoms last 3 months or more after a bout of COVID-19. Of those with Long COVID, 19.8% “reported significant activity limitations due to their symptoms,” Ford’s group reported. That meant that everyday home and work activities like walking, exercise, shopping, housework and the like were… read on > read on >

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration re-issued a decision first made by the agency in October that a shortage of the diabetes/weight-loss medication tirzepatide is over. Tirzepatide includes blockbuster injected GLP-1 medications Mounjaro (for diabetes) and Zepbound (for weight loss). The FDA first announced two months ago that any shortage of the medications observed during the summer was over. However, it was forced to “re-evaluate” that decision after demands by the Outsourcing Facilities Association (OFA), a trade group for compounding pharmacists, which sued the agency claiming that tirzepatide was still in short supply. As long as the drug shortage was declared, compounding pharmacies were still eligible to produce their own versions of Zepbound/Mounjaro. However, Thursday’s FDA announcement effectively puts an end to that, and compounding pharmacies must now cease producing the lucrative drugs within a set time period. For many compounding pharmacies that date is 60 days from today (Feb.18) and for “bulk” compounding pharmacies the date is 90 days away (March 19), the FDA said in a statement. “FDA may still take action regarding violations of any other statutory or regulatory requirements, such as to address findings that a product may be of substandard quality or otherwise unsafe,” the agency noted. Eli Lilly, the maker of Zepbound and Mounjaro, had pushed back against the OFA’s assertion that shortages of tirzepatide were still in place, and… read on > read on >

Sleep apnea is known to wreak havoc with the body, contributing to heart problems, diabetes and liver disease. The sleep disorder also appears to have direct effects on brain health, a new study shows. People with sleep apnea appear to experience accelerated aging of the brain’s white matter, which serves to connect the various regions of the brain, researchers reported Dec. 18 in the journal Neurology. Sleep apnea also is associated with an increase in the size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory and thinking, researchers said. “Both brain shrinkage and brain growth can harm memory and thinking by disrupting normal brain functions, increasing the risk of cognitive decline and dementia,” lead researcher Dr. Alberto Ramos, a neurologist and sleep medicine specialist with the University of Miami, said in a news release from the school. People with sleep apnea stop breathing while asleep. This causes their brain to jolt them to wakefulness, at least enough for them to resume breathing. Over time, untreated sleep apnea can increase a person’s risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and mood disorders, according to the Sleep Foundation. But researchers suspected that sleep apnea might do damage to the brain as well, Ramos said. “Some studies have found sleep problems and lower oxygen levels during sleep have been linked to… read on > read on >

Knee arthritis could become easier to detect and diagnose thanks to a new test involving the lubricating fluid inside the joint. A new study shows that arthritis of the knee often is diagnosed in its late stages, after cartilage has degraded and bones are rubbing against each other in the joint. At that point, it’s tough to tell whether knee arthritis has been caused by natural wear and tear, or if an inflammatory disease is behind a person’s joint problems, the researchers noted in a new study published Dec. 18 in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research. But a new test involving two markers found in the synovial fluid of patients’ joints might be able to help docs suss all this out more promptly. The test “addresses an unmet need for objective diagnosis of osteoarthritis to improve clinical decision-making and patient outcomes,” researcher Daniel Keter with CD Diagnostics, a division of Zimmer Biomet, said in a journal news release. The fluid test looks for a protein called cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), as well as an inflammatory biochemical called interleukin-8 (IL-8), researchers said. COMP levels tend to be high in the synovial fluid of people with “wear-and-tear” osteoarthritis, because it’s released as cartilage breaks down. On the other hand, IL-8 is low in osteoarthritis but elevated in people with inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. Using these… read on > read on >

Adding cereal to a baby’s bottle is a habit that’s been around for a long time to help introduce solid foods while also supplementing a mom’s breast milk. But this practice can cause babies to pack on some pounds early in life, however, a new study says. Infants were about 50% more likely to experience rapid weight gain if they were fed milk cereal drinks during their first year, according to results published Dec. 18 in the journal Acta Paediatrica. “Milk cereal drinks were associated with early rapid weight gain,” concluded the research team led by Annelie Lindholm, a lecturer with the Halmstad University School of Health and Welfare in Sweden. However, milk cereal drinks didn’t necessarily translate into childhood obesity. Milk cereal drinks on their own were not associated with higher BMI or waist-to-height ratio by the time a child was 6, results show. But overall early rapid weight gain was associated with childhood obesity, doubling a child’s risk of high BMI by age 6, results showed. More research is needed to tease out the risks of both milk cereal drinks and rapid infant weight gain, researchers said. “Despite the cross-sectional associations between early rapid weight gain and milk cereal drink consumption, this study could not demonstrate a long-term detrimental association between milk cereal drinks and adiposity later in childhood,” researchers concluded. ”Early rapid… read on > read on >

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued its most serious warning — a black-box warning — for Veozah, a medication used to relieve hot flashes in menopausal women, due to rare but potentially severe liver risks. In new communication issued Dec. 17, the FDA advised that women taking Veozah should undergo regular blood testing to monitor liver health. Warning signs of liver injury can include fatigue, nausea, vomiting, dark urine, light-colored stool, or yellowing of the skin or eyes, a news release says. Patients experiencing these symptoms should immediately stop taking the medication and consult with their doctor. “It’s important to note that the overall benefit-risk of Veozah has not changed and remains positive, but we want to further ensure that patients and healthcare providers are aware of the potential side effects,” as well as recommended lab testing, Astellas Pharma, the manufacturer of the drug, said in a statement. Veozah was approved in 2023. At the time, it was the first non-hormonal prescription option for treating hot flashes. The medication works by blocking neurokinin B, a receptor involved in the brain’s regulation of body temperature. Since its approval, the drug’s popularity has grown steadily, with nearly 29,000 prescriptions filled in May 2024 alone, according to FDA data. The FDA’s heightened warning comes after reviewing a recent case where a patient developed elevated liver… read on > read on >

Microscopic plastic particles in the air could be contributing to a wide variety of health problems, including lung and colon cancers. Tires and degrading garbage shed tiny pieces of plastic which become airborne, creating a form of air pollution that’s not very well understood, a new review says. “These microplastics are basically particulate matter air pollution, and we know this type of air pollution is harmful,” said researcher Tracey Woodruff, a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. Microplastics are less than 5 millimeters in size, smaller than a grain of rice, researchers said in background notes. Companies around the world produce nearly 460 million tons of plastic each year, and that’s projected to increase to 1.1 billion tons by 2050, researchers said. A major source of airborne plastic is driving, researchers noted. Tires wear down as they rub against the road surface, sending microplastics into the air. For the review, published Dec. 18 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, researchers analyzed data gathered on about 3,000 prior studies. The results showed that airborne microplastics can contribute to cancer, lung problems and infertility. Most of the studies in the review used animals, but researchers said the conclusions likely also apply to humans. “We urge regulatory agencies and policy leaders to consider the growing evidence of health harms… read on > read on >

TUESDAY, Dec. 17, 2024 (HealthDay News) — A woman’s sex drive often diminishes with age, particularly during perimenopause when issues like pain and vaginal discomfort arise. A new study, however, reveals that sexual identity may play a key role in sexual well-being during midlife. The study, published Dec. 18 in the journal Menopause, found that non-heterosexual women were significantly more likely to remain sexually active and less likely to report pain during sexual activity compared to heterosexual women. Up to 85% of postmenopausal women report challenges with sexual function, including pain, reduced libido and distress. These symptoms, often emerging during perimenopause, can have lasting effects on quality of life and relationships. Researchers led by Laura Muratore, a clinical research coordinator in psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, analyzed survey data from more than 230 female veterans enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration. The participants had an average age of 56, and 25% identified as non-heterosexual. Female veterans are a critical population for research, as their numbers have more than doubled in the past two decades and over half are now in midlife (40s to 60s). What was found? Non-heterosexual women were 2.2 times more likely to report being sexually active in the past month compared to heterosexual women. Only 12% of non-heterosexual women reported pain during sexual activity, compared to 48% of heterosexual women.… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Some Abortion Pill Users Surprised By Pain, Study Says

FDA Updates Meaning of ‘Healthy’ on Food Labels

1 in 5 Adults With Long Covid Struggle With Daily Activities

FDA Says Shortage of GLP-1 Tirzepatide Is Over

Sleep Apnea May Change Parts of Brain, Speed Aging

A New Way to Diagnose Painful ‘Wear-and-Tear’ Arthritis?

Milk Cereal Drinks for Infants May Trigger Weight Gain

FDA: Veozah, First Hormone-Free Hot Flash Drug, Issued Black Box Warning

Are Microplastics In the Air Putting Your Fertility At Risk?

Non-heterosexual Women Report Better Sexual Functioning During Midlife