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Physical activity after a stroke may be crucial to a more successful recovery, according to a study by Swedish researchers. They found that patients who increased and sustained their exercise in the six months after their stroke were functioning better than those who didn’t. “People who have experienced a stroke can gain functional benefits by increasing physical activity, regardless of stroke severity,” said lead researcher Dr. Dongni Buvarp of the Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology at the University of Gothenburg. Men and patients with normal mental abilities were more likely to maintain a steady exercise regimen, regardless of the severity of their stroke, the study found. These findings may spur ways to target people whose physical activity drops in the wake of a stroke, Buvarp said. “This would allow an improvement of functional outcome after stroke,” she said. At least four hours a week of light exercise is the ideal to shoot for after a stroke, Buvarp said. Activities can include riding a bike or walking, gardening, fishing, table tennis or bowling, she suggested. “Engaging in physical activity can enhance both brain and body capacity to aid in stroke recovery,” Buvarp said. “Physical activity promotes brain plasticity and also improves recovery at the cellular level.” She noted that an active lifestyle can boost stroke patients’ mobility and reduce their risk of falls, depression and heart… read on > read on >

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has declared war on what he calls a “loneliness epidemic” in the United States. Murthy announced a “National Strategy to Advance Social Connection” to address this “epidemic of loneliness and isolation.” “In recent years, about one-in-two adults in America reported experiencing loneliness,” Murthy said in an advisory released Monday about the strategy. “And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic cut off so many of us from friends, loved ones and support systems.” Social connection can make communities more resilient, he noted. “Loneliness I think of as a great masquerader. It can look like different things,” Murthy told CNN on Monday. “Some people, they become withdrawn. Others become irritable and angry. … I think the time you get concerned is when you start experiencing a feeling of loneliness for prolonged periods of time. If you feel lonely, you pick up the phone and call a friend, and then it goes away, or you get in the car and go see a family member, that’s OK. That’s loneliness acting like hunger or thirst, a signal our body sends us when we need something for survival. It’s when it persists that it becomes harmful.” The national strategy is part of the Biden administration’s mental health efforts, said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, according to CNN. The Surgeon General’s framework for social… read on > read on >

Of all the skin cancers, melanoma is the one that scares doctors and patients the most. Luckily, there are now several options for treatment should you be diagnosed with this aggressive, sometimes deadly, cancer. Melanoma affects over 1 million Americans, and its rates have risen significantly in the past 30 years, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). Here, experts explore what melanoma is, along with its causes, risk factors and key symptoms. Plus, you’ll learn about melanoma’s stages, types and treatments. What is melanoma? The American Cancer Society (ACS) explains that cancer occurs when cells begin to grow out of control. Melanoma is a type of cancer that starts in the pigment-making cells, known as “melanocytes.” While not as common as other forms of skin cancer, it is more serious. “Melanoma is more aggressive and more likely to spread to the lymph nodes,” said Dr. Hugh Greenway, a dermatologic surgeon with Scripps MD Anderson Cancer Center and Scripps Clinic in California. “It’ll spread to the liver, to the brain and throughout the body if not checked.” According to the AAD, ultraviolet light from the sun or tanning beds is the cause of melanoma. Risk factors include: Blistering sunburns Tanning bed use Light skin, light-colored eyes, or red or blond hair Moles that are asymmetrical or large Time in the sun without protection Numerous… read on > read on >

Many common household products emit airborne toxins that can harm your health in ways up to and including cancer, a new study reports. Dozens of different types of consumer products contain toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs), chemicals that escape as gases and accumulate in indoor air, researchers from the Silent Spring Institute and the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), reported. More than 100 types of products contain VOCs that can cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm, according to their report published May 2 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. More than 5,000 tons of VOCs were released from consumer products in California in 2020, the researchers estimated. The investigators identified 30 categories of products that deserve special scrutiny because they frequently contain harmful chemicals and may pose the greatest health risk. Formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, was the most common harmful VOC. It was found in nail polish, shampoo, makeup and many other types of personal care products. Other products that emit VOCs included cleaners, art supplies, laundry detergents, mothballs and adhesives. “This study is the first to reveal the extent to which toxic VOCs are used in everyday products of all types that could lead to serious health problems,” lead author Kristin Knox, a scientist at Silent Spring Institute, said in an institute news release. “Making this information public could incentivize… read on > read on >

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is once again warning consumers to avoid muscle-building “supplements” that are anything but a safe alternative to steroids. In an advisory sent out last week, the agency said it continues to receive reports of serious side effects linked to selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs). The compounds mimic some of the effects of testosterone, and have long been under study for treating muscle-wasting and bone loss caused by certain medical conditions. None have been approved by the FDA, however, and the agency stresses that SARMs are drugs, not dietary supplements. Still, online companies are marketing SARM-containing products, with the help of social media. “Online vendors and social media influencers are using social media to make SARMs seem safe and effective,” the FDA said in its warning. Based on the reports the agency is receiving, that is far from the case: SARM-containing products are linked to sometimes life-threatening effects such as heart attacks, strokes and liver failure. Other side effects include testicular shrinkage, sexual dysfunction, fertility problems and even psychosis. The FDA has been warning consumers about the risks for years, and taken action against some companies that illegally market the products. But, experts said, because people are getting SARMs online from overseas companies, the problem is hard to tackle from the supply side. And from the consumer side, it may… read on > read on >

Teens who are abused by a romantic partner may suffer long-lasting repercussions, and this is especially true for girls, a new analysis finds. Investigators who reviewed 38 studies concluded that teenage dating violence was linked to a higher risk for additional relationship violence in the teen years and even into adulthood. These unhealthy relationships were also associated with higher long-term risk for substance abuse (drugs and alcohol) and mental health struggles. “Teen dating violence has been defined as a variety of harmful partner-directed behaviors — including physical, sexual, psychological, cyber violence — that occur within adolescent romantic relationships,” said study lead author Antonio Piolanti. Research has shown that dating violence is “very common” in the teen years, said Piolanti, a post-doctoral assistant at the Universität Klagenfurt’s Institute of Psychology, in Austria. Among U.S. high school students who reported dating in the previous year, a 2019 survey found about 1 in 12 experienced physical dating violence. About 1 in 12 experienced sexual dating violence. But “psychological teen dating violence has been estimated to be the most common form of dating violence among adolescents,” Piolanti noted, affecting somewhere between 17% to 88% of adolescents. This can take the form of very controlling behavior or emotional abuse. Sexual violence can include forcing a partner to engage in unwanted sexual activities, while cyber violence might include aggressive online behaviors.… read on > read on >

U.S. regulators are urging Americans to avoid Apetamin, an illegal drug used for weight gain and figure enhancement. The substance, typically sold as a syrup, is manufactured overseas, illegally imported and isn’t approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It contains a potent antihistamine called cyproheptadine, which requires a physician’s prescription in the United States. American consumers may find Apetamin online, on social media or in some retail stores, but they should not use it, the FDA warned in an agency news release. Among its dangerous side effects are potential overdose, sedation, cognitive impairment, dizziness, low blood pressure, disorientation and confusion, hallucinations, convulsions, and decreased breath and heart rates. It may lead to coma or death, the FDA said. The substance also decreases mental alertness, which may affect a person’s ability to drive a car or operate machinery. This strong antihistamine may be dangerously strengthened when taken with alcohol and other central nervous system depressants, such as hypnotics, sedatives, tranquilizers and anti-anxiety medications, the FDA said. Reports to the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System found young adults had taken Apetamin and experienced nervous system disorders, cardiac disorders and liver injury, the agency said. In one published report, someone who took Apetamin daily for six weeks developed autoimmune hepatitis. A chronic disease, this condition is treated with corticosteroids and immune system suppressors. It may cause… read on > read on >

A mind-reading device seems like science fiction, but researchers say they’re firmly on the path to building one. Using functional MRI (fMRI), a newly developed brain-computer interface can read a person’s thoughts and translate them into full sentences, according to a report published May 1 in Nature Neuroscience. The decoder was developed to read a person’s brain activity and translate what they want to say into continuous, natural language, the researchers said. “Eventually, we hope that this technology can help people who have lost the ability to speak due to injuries like strokes or diseases like ALS,” said lead study author Jerry Tang, a graduate research assistant at the University of Texas at Austin. But the interface goes even further than that, translating into language whatever thoughts are foremost in a person’s mind. “We also ran our decoder on brain responses while the user imagined telling stories and ran responses while the user watched silent movies,” Tang said. “And we found that the decoder is also able to recover the gist of what the user was imagining or seeing.” Because of this, the decoder is capable of capturing the essence of what a person is thinking, if not always the exact words, the researchers said. For example, at one point a participant heard the words, “I don’t have my driver’s license yet.” The decoder translated… read on > read on >

Growing numbers of American kids and teens are cutting or burning themselves, banging their heads against walls, pulling out their hair and even trying to die by suicide. But figuring out who is at highest risk for harming themselves has been a daunting challenge. Until now. Researchers report they have developed risk profiles that can help doctors pinpoint which kids or teens are in the most danger. “The U.S. is in the midst of a mental health crisis, with mental health diagnoses and hospitalizations surging over the past few years, and many of these hospitalizations are for self-harm events or concern for future self-harm,” said study author Dr. James Antoon, an assistant professor of pediatrics and hospital medicine at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. “Self-harm is a big bucket of events from mild things like cutting on the arms or thighs to taking so much Tylenol that you die on purpose or jumping out of a window, and we wanted to find out which kids require hospitalization and more intensive treatment and monitoring,” he said. There’s a pronounced shortage of in-patient hospital beds for kids with mental health issue in the United States, which makes the situation even more dire. Knowing which kids are at the highest risk can help make better use of these limited resources, Antoon noted.… read on > read on >

Scientists report that brain scans of long COVID patients show abnormal activity in areas related to memory. The scan results validate the concerns of these patients, who feel like they’re experiencing fatigue, trouble concentrating and memory issues, even though their scores on thinking tests don’t show it. “We were able to show that even though they were able to do the task — they did everything correctly — the brain was functioning in a way that shows that it’s compensating,” said lead researcher Dr. Linda Chang, a neurologist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “The brain actually is using different parts of the brain to do the work. That means the normal brain network is not functioning as well.” Chang and her research team studied this in 29 people who had been infected with COVID about seven months earlier, nine of them hospitalized for their illness. Each patient had at least one ongoing neuropsychiatric symptom. The study group was matched with a control group of 21 people with no known history of COVID infection. In addition to the functional MRI scans, each participant performed tests to evaluate thinking and memory skills, emotional health, movement, pain, fatigue, depression and anxiety. “It takes them so much more effort to do it. We are showing that the brain has to work harder in order to perform… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Key to Post-Stroke Recovery: Exercise

U.S. Surgeon General Announces National Plan to Fight ‘Loneliness Epidemic’

Melanoma: What It Is, Causes, Types, Symptoms & Treatments

Thousands of Tons of Toxic Chemicals Are Released Into American Homes Each Year

Young Men Are Using Banned ‘SARM’ Supplements to Bulk Up, With Harmful Results

Teen Dating Violence Sets Stage for Future Abusive Relationships

Apetamin: Using This Illegal Weight-Gain Product Can Bring Tragic Results

Mind-Reading Technology Can Turn Brain Scans Into Language

Which Kids Face the Highest Risk of Self-Harm?

Could Long COVID Change Brain Activity?

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