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Here’s one reason why past or current smoking may handicap you if you are battling breast cancer: New research suggests that nicotine promotes the spread of the disease to your lungs. Smoking is known to increase the risk that breast cancer will spread, which lowers the survival rate by one-third at diagnosis. But the role of nicotine in the spread of breast cancer to the lungs has been less clear. To learn more, researchers studied almost 1,100 breast cancer patients. They found that current smokers and former smokers had higher rates of breast cancer spread to the lungs than those who never smoked. In studies of mice, researchers found that nicotine fosters that spread. And this was true even after no exposure to nicotine for 30 days. That suggests there’s an ongoing risk for breast cancer patients who are former smokers, according to the team from Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C. Their findings were published online Jan. 20 in the journal Nature Communications. “Our data shows that nicotine exposure creates an environment in the lungs that is ripe for metastatic growth,” said lead study author Kounosuke Watabe, a professor of cancer biology at Wake Forest. Long-term exposure to nicotine creates an “inflammatory microenvironment” in the lungs. That attracts immune cells called neutrophils, which release a protein that encourages the spread of cancer,… read on > read on >

People with anxiety and depression are more likely to step up their drinking during the COVID-19 pandemic than those without these mental health issues, an online survey revealed. Alcohol use grew the most among young people, but older adults with anxiety and depression were about twice as likely to report increased drinking as older adults without those struggles, New York University researchers said. “We expected that younger people and those with mental health issues would report drinking as a coping mechanism, but this is the first time we’re learning that mental health is associated with differences in alcohol use by age,” study author Yesim Tozan said in a university news release. She is an assistant professor of global health at NYU’s School of Global Public Health. Lead author Ariadna Capasso, a doctoral student, said the increase in drinking, especially among people with mental health issues, is consistent with concerns that the pandemic may be triggering an epidemic of alcohol use. Drinking to cope with stress and traumatic events is not unusual. After the 2001 World Trade Center attack, 25% of New Yorkers increased their alcohol use. Likewise, COVID-19 has caused lots of stress, including isolation, disruption of routines, economic hardship, illness, fear of contagion. For the study, the researchers conducted an online survey of people across the United States in March and April. Of the… read on > read on >

Researchers have found a way to track what your mind is doing when thoughts begin to wander. Using electroencephalograms (EEG) to measure brain activity while more than two dozen study participants did mundane attention tasks, the researchers identified brain signals associated with a daydreaming mind. They found that the participants had increased alpha brain waves in the prefrontal cortex when their thoughts skipped from one topic to another. Alpha waves are slow brain rhythms with frequency ranging from 9 to 14 cycles per second. The findings provide an electrophysiological signature for free, spontaneous thought, according to the researchers. They also found that the participants had weaker brain signals known as P3 in the parietal cortex when they weren’t paying attention to the task at hand. The study was published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “For the first time, we have neurophysiological evidence that distinguishes different patterns of internal thought, allowing us to understand the varieties of thought central to human cognition and to compare between healthy and disordered thinking,” study senior author Robert Knight, professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley, said in a university news release. The findings suggest that tuning out the outside world and letting your thoughts flow freely and creatively are necessary to promote mind relaxation and exploration, according to the… read on > read on >

Puffy coats have their place, but it’s not inside a car seat. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) offers a variety of tips for keeping your little ones safe and warm while traveling by car. The first is to avoid dressing children in puffy coats or snowsuits before buckling them in, because car seat straps won’t tighten enough. That creates a danger that the fluffy padding will flatten in the force of a crash and the youngster will slip from the seat and be thrown from the car. Puffy coats are not safe in a car seat or under a seat belt for someone of any age, the AAP said. “Parents may not recognize the potential danger of buckling up a child who is wearing a puffy coat,” said Dr. Sarah Denny, a pediatrician with expertise in injury prevention. “A car seat harness or belt needs to fit snugly enough so that you cannot pinch the straps of the car seat harness. A safer alternative is to drape a blanket or coat over the car straps.” The AAP offers additional tips, including staying warmer by storing the carrier portion of an infant seat indoors and packing extra socks, mittens and hats. If your child likes to suck his or her thumb, choose half-gloves with open fingers. Dress your child in thin layers. This would include… read on > read on >

The new year is the ideal time to focus on your health and one expert has some tips, especially for men, for doing that. According to Dr. Kevin McVary, director of Loyola Medicine Men’s Health Center, in Maywood, Ill., “Men don’t always focus on their health and, in fact, men are less likely to see a doctor or utilize health resources, and wait longer than women to seek care. Often, it’s a man’s spouse or partner who convinces him to see a doctor.” As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, “a focus on health is especially important this year,” McVary said in a Loyola news release. “We know that obesity, heart disease, diabetes and a lack of exercise can lead to poorer COVID-19 outcomes. In addition, some men may have stopped eating healthy during the past year, and/or may be consuming more alcohol due to stress. Others may have a condition or concern that they are not seeking treatment for due to the pandemic,” McVary explained. “And yet, lifestyle choices — exercising, eating healthy, not smoking, limiting alcohol consumption and managing stress — combined with preventive care can keep you healthy this year and throughout your lifetime,” McVary added. “And it’s never too late to start.” McVary offers the following tips: Boost your physical activity. Men should exercise 150 minutes each week. “That sounds like a lot… read on > read on >

Not many people have had the opportunity to get the COVID-19 vaccine yet. But while you wait your turn, there are some steps you can take to give the vaccine — whichever brand you get — a boost when it’s available to you. An Ohio State University review of 49 vaccine studies dating back 30 years examined how stress, depression and healthy behaviors, such as exercise, can affect immune response to a vaccine. Although it’s not realistic to entirely transform your health and habits in a few weeks or months, there are some steps everyone can take — even last-minute ones — to make a difference. Those include getting good sleep as well as exercise in the days before and after you get your shot, said the review’s senior author, Janice Kiecolt-Glaser. She is director of Ohio State’s Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, in Columbus. “There are several things that are really reasonable and relatively easy,” she said. Pandemic-related stress may have set people back when it comes to maintaining the behaviors that keep them healthier, the study authors noted. Recent data from around the world have revealed higher rates of depression and anxiety, more insomnia, increased alcohol sales and more overeating, according to the review. The studies in this review looked at the effects of psychological factors and behaviors on immune response to a… read on > read on >

The first monthly shots to treat adults with HIV were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday. “Currently, the standard of care for patients with HIV includes patients taking daily pills to adequately manage their condition. This approval will allow some patients the option of receiving once-monthly injections in lieu of a daily oral treatment regimen,” said Dr. John Farley, director of the Office of Infectious Diseases in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Having this treatment available for some patients provides an alternative for managing this chronic condition,” he added in an agency news release. One expert said the shots will likely be welcomed by HIV patients. The shots “will enhance quality of life” to need treatment just once a month, Dr. Steven Deeks, an HIV specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, told CBS News. “People don’t want those daily reminders that they’re HIV-infected.” Another expert agreed. “Even people who are taking one pill once a day … reported improvement in their quality of life to switch to an injection,” Dr. Judith Currier, an HIV specialist at the University of California, Los Angeles, told CBS News. She consults for ViiV Healthcare, the company behind the long-acting treatment, and wrote a commentary accompanying one study of the drug published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. Not… read on > read on >

As worldwide obesity rates continue to soar, new research shows that growing numbers of people are developing a potentially blinding type of weight-linked headache that was once considered rare. Though the study was conducted in Wales, one U.S. expert said the same surge in these headaches is likely happening in this country and elsewhere, but he cautioned that just because someone is obese and has headaches doesn’t mean he or she have this rare headache, known as idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). “Obese individuals are at greater risk for more frequent migraine, too,” noted Dr. Brian Grosberg, director of the Hartford HealthCare Headache Center in Connecticut. In the study, IIH rates increased sixfold in Wales between 2003 and 2017 — from 12 per 100,000 people to 76 per 100,000 people. During the same 15-year span, obesity rates in Wales rose from 29% of the population to 40%. “The considerable increase in IIH incidence” has several causes, but is likely “predominately due to rising obesity rates,” said study author William Owen Pickrell, a consultant neurologist at Swansea University. “The worldwide prevalence of obesity nearly tripled between 1975 and 2016, and therefore, these results also have global relevance.” His findings were published in the Jan. 20 issue of Neurology. IIH is a type of headache that occurs when the fluid around your brain and spinal cord builds up… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

How Smoking Could Help Spur Breast Cancer’s Spread

Anxiety, Depression and Drinking: An Unhealthy Combo During the Pandemic

Daydreaming? Study Shows Where Your Brain Goes When You Do

Child Car Seat Safety Tip: Skip Puffy Winter Coats

Men, Make Health Your Goal This Year

Child Car Seat Safety Tip: Skip Puffy Winter Coats

For Maximum Effectiveness, De-Stress and Get Healthy Before Your COVID Shot

FDA Approves First Once-a-Month HIV Therapy

For Rising Number of People, Obesity Is a Literal Headache

For Maximum Effectiveness, De-Stress and Get Healthy Before Your COVID Shot