Weekly Gravy « Weekly Gravy

All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

In a tight vote, U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisors on Tuesday recommended the approval of an RSV vaccine that could be used in Americans ages 60 and up. The vaccine, known as RENOIR, was developed by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. The same panel of advisors will weigh the potential approval of another respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, this one from GlaxoSmithKline, on Wednesday. “In older adults, RSV can result in serious illness, hospitalization, or even death, so there is a significant need to protect this at-risk population,” Annaliesa Anderson, senior vice president and chief scientific officer for vaccine research and development at Pfizer, said in a news release announcing the panel decision. “We are encouraged by the outcome of today’s… meeting, as it is a testament to the strength of our science and dedication to bringing this important vaccine candidate to the market.” If the FDA follows the recommendation of its advisors, which it typically does, Pfizer’s vaccine would be the first shot to guard against RSV infection, NBC News reported. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would also need to recommend the single shot before it could become available to Americans. Still, the FDA advisors were divided in their recommendation. The panel voted 7-4, with one abstention, to recommend approval of the vaccine based on its efficacy, NBC News reported. FDA… read on > read on >

A brisk 11-minute daily walk can help you live longer, a new University of Cambridge study reports. Researchers found that 75 minutes a week — 11 minutes daily — of moderate-intensity physical activity is enough to lower a person’s risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer. The investigators estimated that 1 in 10 early deaths could be prevented if everyone got that amount of exercise, which is half the level recommended by U.S. and British guidelines. “If you are someone who finds the idea of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week a bit daunting, then our findings should be good news,” co-researcher Dr. Soren Brage, of the Medical Research Council at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, said in a university news release. “Doing some physical activity is better than doing none,” he added. “This is also a good starting position — if you find that 75 minutes a week is manageable, then you could try stepping it up gradually to the full recommended amount.” Cardiovascular diseases (heart disease and stroke) were the leading causes of death worldwide, responsible for nearly 18 million deaths in 2019. Cancers were responsible for 9.6 million deaths in 2017. To examine how much exercise could make a dent in those numbers, the researchers pooled and analyzed data from 94 large studies involving more than 30… read on > read on >

Most food and water contains “nano-sized” microplastics, and new animal research suggests these tiny particles pass from pregnant rats to their unborn offspring and may impair fetal development. The same could be true in humans, the study suggests. “Much remains unknown, but this is certainly cause for concern and follow-up study,” said Philip Demokritou, a professor of nanoscience and environmental bioengineering at the Rutgers School of Public Health, in New Jersey. A typical person ingests about a credit card’s worth of microscopic plastic particles each week, Demokritou estimated. This plastic is consumed through food and the air after erosion breaks down items exposed to the environment. Previous studies in pregnant laboratory animals have found adding these plastics to food impairs their offspring, but those studies didn’t determine whether the plastics could pass from mother to baby. For this study, researchers fed these nanoscale plastics to five pregnant rats. Through imaging, they found that those plastic particles permeated the placentas, as well as the livers, kidneys, hearts, lungs and brains, of their offspring. This shows that these plastics can breach the intestinal barrier of pregnant mammals, the maternal-fetal barrier of the placenta and all fetal tissues, the study authors said. “The use of plastics has exploded since the 1940s due to their low cost and versatile properties. From 9 billion metric tons produced over the last… read on > read on >

When expectant or new moms experience depression, known as perinatal depression, loneliness may be a driving factor. “We found that loneliness was central to the experiences of expectant and new mothers with depression. We know that depression and loneliness are often interconnected — each one can lead to the other — and this may be particularly true for perinatal depression [which includes postpartum depression],” said Dr. Katherine Adlington, an academic clinical fellow at UCL Psychiatry and East London NHS Foundation Trust. “Having a baby is a period of huge transition and upheaval that can involve losing touch with people and existing networks, such as work colleagues,” Adlington added in a University College London (UCL) news release. “This research suggests that loneliness is a major risk for mental health problems during pregnancy and for new mothers.” To come to that conclusion, the researchers reviewed accounts from 537 women in 27 research papers in multiple countries. Depression affects about 1 in 6 pregnant women, and then 1 in 5 women during the first three months after a baby is born. While significantly affecting new parents’ quality of life, it can also have long-term adverse impacts on their child’s development. Researchers studying this say those working with new mothers, including health care providers, should be aware of the importance of loneliness and the value of encouraging new moms… read on > read on >

TUESDAY, Feb. 28, 2023 (HealthDay Now) — A long-established Alzheimer’s drug can help people with a disorder that causes them to compulsively pull at their hair or pick at their skin, a new clinical trial has concluded. Memantine considerably improved symptoms in 3 out of 5 patients with either trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder) or excoriation (skin-picking) disorder, researchers reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry. “I think it was encouraging that it helped reduce the behavior of picking and pulling, compared to a placebo,” said lead researcher Dr. Jon Grant, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Chicago. “It gives me the idea that perhaps we’re onto the right underlying mechanism that might be happening here.” Hair-pulling and skin-picking disorders affect an estimated 3% to 4% of Americans, Grant said. Patients obsessively pull out strands of hair or pick at their skin, often doing themselves real physical harm. Memantine inhibits the activity of glutamate, one of the most abundant neurotransmitters in the brain. Overly high levels of glutamate in the brain can cause nerve cells to become overexcited, and this has been associated with conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease and multiple sclerosis, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Glutamate also has been linked to mental health problems like mood disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder, the Cleveland Clinic says. The U.S.… read on > read on >

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it has taken action to restrict imports of the veterinary tranquilizer xylazine to prevent illicit use of the drug. While veterinarians use products containing xylazine to sedate large animals such as horses and deer, the drug is not safe for people. It is sold on the street under the names tranq, Philly dope and zombie drug. Federal officials say illicit drugs, including fentanyl and meth and cocaine, are often laced with xylazine. The drug has been detected in a growing number of overdose deaths. People who use illicit drugs may not be aware they contain xylazine, the FDA warned. “The FDA remains concerned about the increasing prevalence of xylazine mixed with illicit drugs, and this action is one part of broader efforts the agency is undertaking to address this issue,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said in an agency news release. “We will continue to use all tools at our disposal and partner with the Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal, state, local agencies and stakeholders as appropriate to stem these illicit activities and protect public health.” The FDA wants to ensure that imports of drugs containing xylazine are intended for legitimate veterinary use. That includes ingredients for processing at a facility that makes FDA-approved xylazine, compounding at licensed pharmacies and veterinary practices, as well as… read on > read on >

Sen. John Fetterman will continue to be away from the U.S. Senate for several weeks but he is on the “path to recovery,” his spokesman said Monday. The senator is being treated for clinical depression at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after checking himself in on Feb. 15. “We understand the intense interest in John’s status and especially appreciate the flood of well-wishes,” Fetterman’s communications director, Joe Calvello, said in a statement posted on Twitter. “However, as we have said, this will be a weeks-long process and while we will be sure to keep folks updated as it progresses, this is all there is to give by way of an update.” The Pennsylvania Democrat has been struggling with the aftereffects of a stroke since last May. He has experienced depression “off and on throughout his life,” but it worsened recently. Capitol Physician Brian Monahan recommended Fetterman’s hospitalization. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania’s Sen. Bob Casey returned to the Senate on Monday after having surgery for prostate cancer, the Associated Press reported. Fetterman, a Democrat, suffered his stroke during a campaign against Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz but went on to win the November election. Fetterman was sworn into his seat, part of a 51-49 majority for the Democrats, in January, the AP reported. It is common to experience depression after a stroke. The mental health condition can be… read on > read on >

Pedestrian deaths have surged on U.S. roads in recent years, and they are climbing again. Pedestrian deaths hit a 40-year high in 2021, and numbers for the first half of 2022 were up about 5% over the same period in 2021, according to a new Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) analysis. It cites a variety of contributors, including heavier vehicles that are more likely to injure or kill people on foot. Roads, meanwhile, are designed to prioritize fast-moving traffic over the slower speeds that are safer for pedestrians, according to the GHSA. Many parts of the United States lack adequate sidewalks, crosswalks and lighting, the group noted. In addition, dangerous driving surged at the start of the pandemic and has not abated. “There is a pedestrian safety crisis on our roads, and it’s only gotten worse since the start of the pandemic,” Jonathan Adkins, chief executive officer of GHSA, said in an association news release. “A single roadway death is tragic. But it’s absolutely mind-boggling and heartbreaking that drivers are killing an average of 19 pedestrians every single day.” GHSA’s annual Spotlight on Highway Safety report is based on preliminary data from state highway safety offices. GHSA said the increase is even more alarming compared to 2019, before the pandemic. Between the first half of 2019 and 2022, pedestrian deaths surged 18%, the GHSA found.… read on > read on >

If you’re struggling to find ways to get a good night’s sleep, you may not want to use YouTube videos as a resource. Researchers found what they described as an alarming amount of medical misinformation in YouTube videos about sleep disorders. “What’s tricky is that so much of health information is very nuanced, and a lot of popular YouTube videos have clickbait and appeal to shorter attention spans,” said lead study author Rebecca Robbins. She is an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and investigator in the division of sleep and circadian disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston. “People today often want very bite-sized pieces of information. However, science is fundamentally more nuanced than a one-liner or the 280 characters in a Twitter post,” Robbins explained in a hospital news release. More than 60% of U.S. adults say they used the internet to find health information, the study authors noted. To learn what they might find there, the investigators searched YouTube using terms such as “insomnia” and “sleep tips.” They sorted videos by views, labeling those with the most views as “popular.” The researchers then compared these popular videos to ones from credible sources. These were identified by a YouTube feature that places content from health care systems at the top of search results for health-related terms. Sleep experts then assessed the… read on > read on >

Work isn’t always easy, but sometimes it becomes almost unbearable. You might experience a constellation of symptoms, including emotional exhaustion, a reduced sense of personal accomplishment and cynicism, which affects how you interact with others in the workplace. This is a condition known as burnout and though it’s not listed in the diagnostic manual used by psychiatrists, it is a workplace-associated condition, according to the World Health Organization, said Dr. Jessi Gold, a member of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Communications. “There are lots of reasons why it happens. It depends on the person and how work is impacting them,” said Gold, who is also an assistant professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. What is burnout? Burnout can come from a mismatch between what was expected in a job and what it really is, such as more paperwork than helping people, Gold said. “That mismatch can create burnout pretty easily,” Gold said. “And not doing the things that bring you meaning and purpose can as well.” Lack of control can also be an issue. So can a dysfunctional environment with a micromanaging boss or a workplace bully, according to the Mayo Clinic, while unclear job expectations and a work-life imbalance can also be factors. The pandemic may have made matters worse. A recent survey found 52% of workers… read on > read on >

Weekly Gravy

Look Good – Feel Good – Feed Good

A little about: Weekly Gravy

All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

FDA Panel Backs Pfizer’s RSV Vaccine for Older Americans

Short Brisk Walk Each Day Could Cut Your Odds of Early Death

Could Tiny Plastic Particles Reach the Fetus From Mom’s Food? Rat Study Raises Concerns

Loneliness a Key Factor in Postpartum Depression

An Alzheimer’s Drug Might Ease Hair-Pulling Disorder

FDA Takes Action Against Animal Tranquilizer Tied to Fatal ODs

Sen. John Fetterman Recovering After Depression Diagnosis

U.S. Pedestrian Deaths Keep Rising

You Can’t Trust Sleep Advice Found on YouTube: Study

How to Recover From Burnout