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More and more, primary care doctors routinely ask patients a question that may come as a surprise: Do you ever have suicidal thoughts? Now, new research shows it’s a simple intervention that can save lives. When suicide care was made a routine part of primary care visits at Kaiser Permanente clinics in Washington state, suicide attempts dropped 25% in the next 90 days, the study found. Published Oct. 1 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the research is the first to show that suicide risk screening in primary care, followed by safety planning, improved prevention efforts in a health care setting. “Our findings are important because we know many people seek primary care prior to fatal and nonfatal suicide attempts,” said lead study author Julie Angerhofer Richards, a collaborative scientist at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle. The study relied on data from January 2015 to July 2018. “Many healthcare systems in the U.S. and abroad now routinely ask patients about suicidal thoughts, and this study provides evidence to support this practice, in combination with collaborative safety planning among people identified at risk of suicide attempt,” Richards said in a Kaiser Permanente news release. Kaiser Permanente clinics began using the integrated care model in January 2016 with all adult patients, who completed a screening questionnaire. Those who said they often thought about self-harm… read on > read on >

Patients who lose the use of their hands and arms after a stroke or traumatic brain injury could regain some function through deep brain stimulation (DBS), new research demonstrates. DBS involves surgical placement of electrodes to deliver electrical impulses to areas of the brain regulating specific activity. It is often used to treat control movement problems associated with Parkinson’s disease. “Arm and hand paralysis significantly impacts the quality of life of millions of people worldwide,” said corresponding author Elvira Pirondini, an assistant professor of physical medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. “Currently, we don’t have effective solutions for patients who suffered a stroke or traumatic brain injury, but there is growing interest in the use of neuro-technologies that stimulate the brain to improve upper-limb motor functions.” The team proposed using DBS to stimulate a structure deep within the brain called the motor thalmus, a key hub of movement control. Because this had never been done before, they first tested it in monkeys, which have the same links as people between the motor cortex and muscles. As soon as the stimulation was turned on, the monkeys had significantly better muscle activation and grip. No involuntary movement was seen. Then, they repeated the procedure using the same stimulation settings in a human volunteer who was already set to undergo DBS implantation to help with arm tremors caused… read on > read on >

Food left in the stomach or stool left in the bowel can impede a doctor’s ability to successfully perform an endoscopy or colonoscopy. Now, research finds this scenario is more likely if the patient is taking popular new weight-loss meds such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro or Zepbound. For these patients, “inadequate bowel preparation was more common” before endoscopy or colonoscopy, according to researchers led by Dr. Ruchi Mathur. She’s an endocrinologist and gastrointestinal researcher at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. Mathur’s team published its findings Oct. 1 in the journal JAMA Network Open. As the researchers noted, prior studies have suggested that people taking GLP-1`medications might face a higher odds of “aspirating” food when undergoing procedures requiring anesthesia. Because the drugs can also cause constipation and a delayed emptying of the stomach, Mathur’s group wondered if the meds might leave residues in the digestive tract that could interfere with the clarity of endoscopic procedures. To find out, they looked at endoscopies and colonoscopies performed on 209 patients who were all overweight or obese (mean BMI of about 34) and averaging about 63 years of age. Seventy of the participants were taking a GLP-1 medicine, with almost half of that group taking Ozempic or Wegovy. The other 139 participants were not taking a GLP-1 med. For 23 folks undergoing an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), where a camera is snaked through… read on > read on >

A new law just passed in California makes it the first state to tell public schools they may no longer serve foods that contain six artificial dyes linked to health and behavior problems among children. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the California School Food Safety Act into law on Saturday. It bans Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2 and Green 3 in meals, drinks and snacks served in school cafeterias across the state, although the law won’t take effect until Dec. 31, 2027. “Our health is inextricably tied to the food we eat — but fresh, healthy foods aren’t always available or affordable for families,” Newsom said in a news release after signing the bill into law. “Today, we are refusing to accept the status quo, and making it possible for everyone, including school kids, to access nutritious, delicious food without harmful, and often addictive, additives. By giving every child a healthy start, we can set them on the path to a future with less risk of obesity and chronic illness.” The bill was first proposed in March by Democratic Assembly member Jesse Gabriel, three years after a state report linked consuming synthetic food dyes to hyperactivity and neurobehavioral problems in some children. “Overall, our review of human studies suggests that synthetic food dyes are associated with adverse neurobehavioral effects, such as inattentiveness,… read on > read on >

Following the historic destruction of Hurricane Helene, many Americans must now return to their mangled homes and begin the heartbreaking task of clean-up. After making landfall in Florida near Tallahassee as a ferocious Cat 4 storm on Thursday, Helene caused record-breaking storm surges in Tampa, flash flooding in Atlanta and power outages, massive flooding and mud slides in the mountains of North Carolina. Even as rescuers continued to search on Monday for survivors, more than 120 people across six states have already been confirmed dead. For survivors, federal health experts warn they must be prepared for the many dangers that likely await them when they return to their homes. Perhaps the most pressing is the risk of electricity or gas leaks, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Be sure to go back during daylight, so you don’t need to try to turn on any lights, and use battery-powered flashlights or lanterns rather than candles, gas lanterns or torches. First and foremost, if there’s standing water and you can turn off the house’s main power from a dry location, do that first — before you start cleaning up, the CDC says. It’s a different story if accessing the main power switch means entering standing water. In that setting, you need to call an electrician to turn it off. “Never turn power on or… read on > read on >

Besides being useless in altering a person’s sexuality or gender identity, so-called “conversion therapy” or “conversion practice” can greatly raise the odds that an LGBT person experiences mental health issues, new research finds. Questionnaires completed by over 4,400 LGBTQ+ Americans found that having undergone these bogus interventions was linked to higher rates of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicidal thoughts or attempts. “Our findings add to a body of evidence that shows conversion practice is unethical and linked with poor mental health,” said study lead author Dr. Nguyen Tran, of Stanford University School of Medicine. “Protecting LGBTQ+ people from the impacts of these harmful practices will require multi-pronged legislation, including state and federal bans,” Tran added. “Additional measures such as support networks and targeted mental health support for survivors are also vital.” The findings were published Sept. 30 in The Lancet Psychiatry journal. Conversion therapy is any kind of formal, structured effort to alter a person’s sexuality or gender identification, often employing psychological, behavioral, physical and faith-based practices. Most respected professional medical and mental health organizations are opposed to the practice, although it’s still offered at sites throughout the United States. Anywhere from 4% to 34% of LGBTQ+ American children and adults may have been subjected to conversion practices, according to a Lancet news release. The data used in the new study came from the… read on > read on >

More than 14 million seniors a year take a tumble, and those falls can be life-changing. “The relationship between falls and dementia appears to be a two-way street,” said Molly Jarman, senior author of a new study showing that cognitive decline may increase an older person’s risk for a fall and the trauma that follows a fall may also speed up progress of dementia. The study by Jarman, deputy director of the Center for Surgery and Public Health at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and her colleagues notes that falls are among the most common reason for trauma center admissions and the No. 1 cause of injury in older adults. “Thus, falls may be able to act as precursor events that can help us identify people who need further cognitive screening,” Jarman said in a hospital news release. Her team looked at Medicare claims data for more than 2.4 million seniors who suffered a traumatic injury and how they were doing a year later. Half of the patients were injured in a fall. Of those, 10.6% were later diagnosed with dementia, the study found. Falls increased the risk of a future dementia diagnosis by 21%. As such, the researchers recommend that older adults who go to the hospital for care after a fall undergo cognitive screening either in the ER or in the hospital.… read on > read on >

There’s a strong link between self-esteem and good times between the sheets, a new study suggests. Folks ranking high in self-esteem also tended to rate their sex lives as satisfying, reported a team from the Universities of Zurich and Utrecht, in Switzerland and The Netherlands. The effect could work in both directions, researchers believe. “People with higher self-esteem tend not only to be sexually active more often, but also to be more satisfied with their sexual experiences,” said lead authors Elisa Weber and Wiebke Bleidorn, from the department of psychology at the University of Zurich. The data was based on interviews conducted over 12 years with more than 11,000 German adults, averaging about 26 years of age. They were asked questions such as, “How satisfied are you with your sex life?” and “How often have you had sexual intercourse, on average, during the past three months?,” or asked to agree or disagree with statements such as “Sometimes I believe that I’m worthless” or “I like myself just the way I am.” There was a strong correlation between higher levels of self-esteem and an active, satisfying sex life, the researchers found. The relationship seemed “reciprocal” over time: For example, as levels of self-esteem climbed higher, sex got more satisfying, too. And as folks enjoyed happier sex lives, self-esteem levels rose. They researchers noted that sexual satisfaction… read on > read on >

In a world where families may be more apt to interact with technology than with one another, some things never change. Many still struggle to get along. But just what do 21st century families fight about? A new survey of 593 parents with at least one child between the ages of 4 and 17 offers some clues — and the flashpoints are very familiar. For couples, communication is No. 1. They’re also clashing about issues like mood, parenting, money and whose turn it is to take out the trash or do other chores. “Think about how much relationships in our world have changed in the last 50 years, with massive cultural and technological shifts,” said study co-author Allen Barton, an assistant professor of human development and family studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. “Interestingly, despite all these changes, couples still seem to argue about the same things,” he added in a university news release. “This suggests there are some fundamental aspects for what it takes to make a romantic relationship last.” Parents and teens, meanwhile, have added technology and cellphone use to the traditional clashes over chores and messy rooms. But perennial issues such as bedtime delays, obeying instructions and picky eating remain the biggest battles between parents and younger kids. “These struggles appear to be common across different types of families,” Barton said. … read on > read on >

A synthetic form of the active ingredient in cannabis helps reduce agitation in people with Alzheimer’s, new research shows. Synthetic THC (dronabinol) also gave patients’ caregivers a boost, according to findings presented Thursday at a meeting of the International Psychogeriatrics Association in Buenos Aires. The findings may provide encouragement for the families of the 7 million Americans who have Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. Nine out of 10 develop behavior problems, and agitation is the most common, affecting 4 in 10. Agitated patients with Alzheimer’s often pace, wander, yell, scream and get verbally abusive. Their behavior may also leave their caregivers burned out and depressed. “It is the agitation, not the memory loss, that often drives individuals with dementia to the emergency department and long-term care facilities,” said study co-author Dr. Brent Forester, director of behavioral health for Tufts Medicine in Boston. “Dronabinol has the potential to both reduce health care costs and make an important, positive impact on caregivers’ mental and physical health.” The new study included 75 outpatients with Alzheimer’s dementia. For three weeks, they took either 5 milligrams (mg) of dronabinol twice a day or a dummy pill. Symptoms of agitation were significantly improved in the patients who took dronabinol, and researchers said the drug was well-tolerated. “Dronabinol appears to perform just as well, if not better, than the only other… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Adding Routine ‘Suicide Care’ to Primary Care Could Save Lives

Brain Zap Treatment Could Get Arms, Hands Moving After Head Injury

GLP-1 Weight-Loss Meds Could Interfere With Endoscopy, Colonoscopy

California Bans 6 Artificial Dyes in Foods Served at Public Schools

Helene’s Aftermath: How to Safely Enter, Clean Flood-Damaged Homes

Bogus ‘Conversion Therapy’ Leads to Higher Risk of Mental Illness for LGBT People

Falling Linked to Raised Risk of Dementia in Older People

Good Sex and Self Esteem Often Go Together, Study Finds

What Do Families Fight About Most? New Study Finds Out

Synthetic THC May Calm Agitation in Alzheimer’s Patients