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If you’ve ever thought you must absorb more calories from food than other people do, you might be onto something: A new study hints that some people’s gut bacteria extract more energy, as in calories, from food — possibly contributing to weight gain. The study, of 85 overweight adults, found that those with a particular gut bacteria profile — dubbed the “B-type” — had less energy density in their stool samples, versus people with other bacterial profiles. “Energy” is what most of us know as calories, and the finding suggests that people with a B-type gut might pull more calories from their food before it’s eliminated as waste. And it’s possible, though not proven, that could influence body weight, the researchers added. On average, study participants with a B-type gut weighed about 20 pounds more than participants with another gut bacteria profile dubbed the R-type, according to senior researcher Henrik Roager. The big caveat is it’s not clear what caused that weight difference, said Roager, an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen, in Denmark. “Future studies should investigate whether individuals receiving the same amount of calories would differ in weight gain, depending on their gut microbes’ ability to extract energy,” he suggested. The study, published online recently in the journal Microbiome, is one of the latest looks at the gut microbiome — the vast… read on > read on >

Singing may help stroke patients regain communication skills, according to new research. About 40% of stroke survivors have aphasia, a difficulty to deliver or comprehend spoken or written language. That impairment is ongoing for about half of those patients a year after their stroke, potentially affecting quality of life or leading to social isolation. Researchers in Finland studied a singing-based group rehabilitation program. “Our study utilized a wide variety of singing elements, such as choral singing, melodic intonation therapy and tablet-assisted singing training,” said study co-author Anni Pitkäniemi, a doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki. She spoke in a university news release. Melodic intonation therapy involves using melody and rhythm to progress gradually from singing toward speech. It has been used to some extent in aphasia rehabilitation. Though previous research had determined that it was possible to retain singing ability even in severe aphasia, the use of singing — especially choral singing — had not been widely studied in aphasia rehabilitation. Rehab sessions were led by a trained music therapist and a trained choir conductor. While singing therapy has typically been done individually, these researchers suggested that singing-based group training should be used as part of aphasia rehabilitation. “In addition to training in speech production, group-based rehabilitation provides an excellent opportunity for peer support both for the patients and their families,” said co-author Sini-Tuuli… read on > read on >

As millions of Americans born in the baby boomer generation are already finding out, bone loss is a common sign of aging. And now experts at the American College of Physicians (ACP) — one of the leading groups representing primary care doctors — is issuing updated guidelines on how best to prevent and treat weakening bones. “Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease characterized by decreasing bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue that leads to an increased risk for bone fragility and fracture, especially in the hip, spine, and wrist,” the ACP explained in a news release. The ACP estimates that over 10 million Americans older than 49 currently have osteoporosis, while another 43.3 million have low bone mass that could progress to full-blown osteoporosis. The new guidelines, published Jan. 2 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, were based in part on new data on the safety and effectiveness of a variety of newer classes of drugs. Those medicines include human parathyroid hormone-related peptides and sclerostin inhibitors, the group said. However, the guidelines maintain that the “first-line” treatment for postmenopausal women with diagnosed osteoporosis, as well as any men diagnosed with the condition, should involve a long-used class of drugs known as bisphosphonates. Bisphosphonates include well-known medicines such as alendronate (Fosamax), risedronate (Actonel) and ibandronate (Boniva). Using bisphosphonates first “had the most favorable balance between… read on > read on >

Wearing proper gear, watching out for snow and ice hazards, and “walking like a penguin” are just some of the tips that can help prevent winter accidents, one medical expert says. “A variety of injuries can occur during the winter,” cautioned Dr. Mahmood Gharib, a physiatrist at the University of Minnesota Medical School, in Minneapolis. “If someone slips or falls on icy surfaces, an injury can range from spine and musculoskeletal injuries — such as sprains and broken bones — to head and brain injuries — such as a concussion.” Winter sports are also a common cause of injury, Gharib added, while frostbite and hypothermia are additional concerns. People should be mindful of slippery or icy surfaces that may be hard to see. Use extra caution near water runoff areas such as downspouts, landscaping, parking ramps and outdoor stairwells because of the possibility of black ice. Stay on designated sidewalks and avoid taking shortcuts through grass and landscaping, Gharib advised. “Walk like a penguin,” Gharib said in a university news release. This looks like moving slowly and walking flat-footed. Use a wide stance, taking small, shuffle-like steps. Keep your center of gravity over your feet, using your arms for balance. Dress appropriately, wearing multiple layers for warmth. Wear appropriate footwear to limit slipping. Gharib suggests that a few gentle stretching techniques can get your body… read on > read on >

Children and adults with a rare type of soft tissue cancer will now have a new treatment option that could have a big impact. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the immunotherapy drug atezolizumab (Tecentriq) for use in patients with advanced alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) that has spread to other parts of the body or cannot be removed by surgery. “This approval will make a huge impact in terms of a rare disease that has been particularly challenging to treat,” said Dr. Alice Chen, of the Developmental Therapeutics Clinic in the U.S. National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD). This cancer begins in the soft tissue that connects and surrounds the organs and other tissues. It spreads slowly, but is typically deadly once it spreads. Chemotherapy doesn’t work against it and new targeted treatments, including drugs called tyrosine kinase inhibitors, do not have lasting effectiveness. About 80 people in the United States receive an ASPS diagnosis each year. About 50% of patients with metastatic disease are still alive after five years. The cancer mostly affects adolescents and young adults. The approval was granted following the results of a non-randomized phase 2 trial led by the NCI, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). The drug is approved for people aged 2 and up. About 40% of… read on > read on >

Keeping allergies and asthma in check in the new year is a resolution worth keeping. With 2023 dawning, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology offers some suggestions for keeping symptoms under control all year long. “More than 50 million people in the U.S. suffer from allergic conditions,” said allergist Dr. Kathleen May, president of the ACAAI. “That’s a lot of Americans who need to be mindful of staying healthy to keep symptoms under control,” May added in a college news release. “Taking a few moments before the new year begins to consider how you’ll keep yourself on top of sneezing and wheezing in 2023 is well worth your investment of time. It’s a valuable way to get your year off to a great start.” At the top of the ACAAI tip list: Eat right to avoid food allergens. If you have a food allergy, you already know to steer clear of problem foods. You should also always carry two epinephrine auto injectors with you and make sure they are up to date. Also, encourage teens and college kids to educate their friends about food allergies, making them allies in safety from anaphylaxis. Make an appointment to see your allergist if the pandemic has caused you to stay away. Keep medications current and pay attention to whether your prescriptions are working for your symptoms.… read on > read on >

New Year’s resolutions can be a fickle thing. They are a time-honored way to promise improvements to yourself and your behavior, a “fresh start” to the new year. But if chosen poorly, a resolution also can be a source of anxiety, disappointment and hopelessness. “They tap into the abiding American spirit of relentless self-improvement, and that can be so relentless that it translates into additional stress,” said John Norcross, chair of psychology with the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania and author of “Changeology: 5 Steps to Realizing Your Goals and Resolutions.” About one in four Americans cite their resolutions as a source of anxiety heading into the new year, according to a new poll by the American Psychiatric Association. Choosing an appropriate resolution — and realistic ways to follow through on it — can help relieve some of that stress, experts say. Resolutions tend to focus on a few specific areas — health, money and relationships, Norcross said. “The number one difficulty we encounter is that people make truly unrealistic, grandiose expectations,” Norcross said. Still, it makes sense that people would set lofty goals for themselves as the year turns, said Dr. Rebecca Brendel, president of the American Psychiatric Association. “There’s this temptation when the year switches from 2022 to 2023, then it’s a fresh start and everything in the past is all history,” Brendel… read on > read on >

FRIDAY, Dec. 30, 2022 (HealthDay News) – The United States could see a huge rise in diabetes among young people over the next several decades, a new modeling study finds. As many as 220,000 young people under the age of 20 could have type 2 diabetes in 2060, which would represent a nearly eight-fold increase, a research team that included scientists from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. Type 1 diabetes cases could increase, too, by as much as 65% in the next 40 years. Even if the rate of new diabetes diagnoses among young people stayed unchanged, type 2 cases could increase nearly 70% and type 1 cases by 3% by 2060. “This new research should serve as a wake-up call for all of us. It’s vital that we focus our efforts to ensure all Americans, especially our young people, are the healthiest they can be,” CDC Acting Principal Deputy Director Dr. Debra Houry said in an agency news release. “The COVID-19 pandemic underscored how critically important it is to address chronic diseases, like diabetes. This study further highlights the importance of continuing efforts to prevent and manage chronic diseases, not only for our current population but also for generations to come.” The study authors used findings from the Search for Diabetes in Youth survey, which was funded by the CDC… read on > read on >

A new study confirms what many believe: Women tend to be better than men at imagining or understanding what another person is feeling or thinking. Using a test that measures empathy, researchers evaluated more than 300,000 people in 57 countries around the world to come to that conclusion. “Our results provide some of the first evidence that the well-known phenomenon — that females are, on average, more empathic than males — is present in a wide range of countries across the globe. It’s only by using very large data sets that we can say this with confidence,” said study author David Greenberg, from Bar-Ilan University in Israel. The study was led by Cambridge University in England and included collaborators from Bar-Ilan and Haifa universities in Israel, as well as Harvard and Washington universities in the United States, and IMT School for Advanced Studies in Lucca, Italy. The test used in the study is one of the most widely used for measuring empathy. It asks participants to choose a word best describing what a person in a photo is thinking or feeling just by viewing photos of the eye region of the face. This new study found that females scored significantly higher than males, on average, in 36 countries. Females scored similarly to males in 21 countries. In no country did males score significantly higher than… read on > read on >

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval process for the controversial Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm was “rife with irregularities,” despite lingering doubts about the power of the pricey medication to slow the disease down, a Congressional report released Thursday claims. Actions the agency took with Biogen, maker of Aduhelm, “raise serious concerns about FDA’s lapses in protocol,” the report concluded. But the 18-month investigation launched by two congressional committees also took Biogen to task for setting too high a price on the medication. Company documents showed Biogen officials settled on an annual cost of $56,000 for Aduhelm because it wanted to “establish Aduhelm as one of the top pharmaceutical launches of all time,” even though it knew the high price would burden Medicare and patients, the report found. Not only that, Biogen planned to spend up to several billion dollars on an aggressive marketing campaign to target doctors, patients, advocacy groups, insurers, policymakers and communities of color, who were drastically underrepresented in the company’s clinical trials of the drug. The controversy over Aduhelm (aducanumab) stretches back to its June 2021 approval. The Cleveland Clinic and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, among others, decided not to offer Aduhelm infusions following the approval because of the drug’s questionable efficacy and risks of brain swelling and bleeding. Once Medicare sharply limited its coverage of Aduhelm, still expensive after… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Some People’s Guts Are Better at Gaining Energy From Food

Singing Might Aid Recovery After a Stroke

Doctors’ Group Updates Guidelines on Treating Osteoporosis

Slips, Slides: Winter Injuries Can Be Serious

Drug Approved to Help Young Patients Battle a Rare Cancer

Make Curbing Allergies, Asthma Your New Year’s Resolution

New Year’s Resolutions: What’s the Best Way to Make — and Keep — Them?

U.S. Could Face Surging Numbers of Teens With Diabetes

One Gender May Excel at Reading What Others Are Feeling

Congressional Report Slams FDA, Drugmaker Over Approval of Alzheimer’s Drug Aduhelm