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You need to work on your relationship with your significant other all year round, not just on Valentine’s Day, a relationship expert advises. There are five key things you can do to keep your relationship healthy, according to Frank Provenzano, an instructor in psychology and a clinical psychologist at Furman University, in Greenville, S.C. Share one new thing with your partner every day. It can be something big or small, Provenzano said in a university news release. But you should “let that person know you. And show a desire to know them.” For every negative thing you say to your partner, say five positive things. “And they should be genuine” positive comments — not you’re loyal, thrifty and kind, he said. “They need to be reflective of the individual. If you can do 10-to-one, even better… When that five-to-one ratio begins to disappear, you’re bordering on contempt and moving into rough seas.” Make rules, but update them when necessary. Whether the rules are about things such as who does which household chores, or how to work together to accommodate each other’s needs, the rules should change to adapt to new circumstances as the relationship changes. Set expectations. “The reason for the rules is to set appropriate expectations. So as the relationship unfolds, nobody is surprised,” Provenzano said. “People have to understand it’s never going to… read on >

Could hot chocolate deliver relief to those suffering from the painful condition known as peripheral artery disease (PAD)? A small, new study says it’s entirely possible. Though you may be picturing a steaming cup of hot milk chocolate with tiny marshmallows bobbing on the top, the concoction the study volunteers drank was made from dark chocolate, and had a less sweet taste. “A food-derived, nutritional therapy that is accessible, inexpensive and safe may meaningfully improve walking ability in people with peripheral artery disease,” said study author Dr. Mary McDermott. She’s a professor in the departments of medicine and preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago. “Peripheral artery disease is common and underdiagnosed,” she said, adding that it’s a major cause of disability in people over 55. PAD causes narrowing in the blood vessels that supply blood to the legs from the heart. Common symptoms include pain, particularly when walking, cramping and weakness in the leg muscles. McDermott noted that “these findings are particularly important because currently few therapies have been identified to help patients with PAD.” However, the study was a preliminary effort and only 44 people were enrolled, so further research is needed to confirm these findings, she said. The study was published Feb. 14 in the journal Circulation Research. Funding for the research was provided by the U.S. National… read on >

If you need more than two hands to count the number of lovers you’ve had in your life, new research suggests you might want to worry about your cancer risk. People who have had 10 or more sexual partners had higher odds of being diagnosed with cancer than those who were less sexually active, researchers report. Women with that many sex partners had nearly double the risk of developing cancer as women who remained virgins or only had one sexual partner, the study found. Meanwhile, men’s odds of a cancer diagnosis were increased by nearly 70% compared with those reporting one or no sex partners, and by 57% for those who had two to four sex partners during their life. “We expected there to be an association between number of sexual partners and cancer risk as previous research has shown that specific sexually transmitted diseases may lead to several cancers,” said study co-author Lee Smith, director of research at the Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences at Anglia Ruskin University in England. “Indeed, a higher number of sexual partners means greater potential exposure to STIs [sexually transmitted infections]. “It is interesting that the risk is higher in women when compared to men,” Smith continued. “This may be because the link between certain STIs and cancer is stronger in women, such as HPV and cervical… read on >

Bedtime without your partner on Valentine’s Day could make sleep elusive. But a new study suggests one remedy: Cuddling up with a piece of his or her clothing. Researchers say having a loved one’s natural scent nearby could be as effective a sleep aid as melatonin. “One of the most surprising findings is how a romantic partner’s scent can improve sleep quality even outside of our conscious awareness,” said study senior author Frances Chen. She’s an associate professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver. For the study, 155 people were given two T-shirts to use as pillowcases. One had been worn by their lover; the other was clean or had been worn by a stranger. While the participants’ partners were wearing the shirts, they were told not to use deodorant or scents or do anything that might affect their body odor, such as smoking, exercising and eating certain foods. The T-shirts were frozen to preserve their scent. Participants spent two nights in a row sleeping with each shirt. They weren’t told which shirt was which, but they reported feeling more well-rested after using the T-shirt with their lover’s scent. Data from sleep monitors confirmed it. “Our findings provide new evidence that merely sleeping with a partner’s scent improves sleep efficiency. Our participants had an average sleep efficiency improvement of more… read on >

Drugs that many men with prostate cancer might already be taking — cholesterol-lowering statins — may help extend their survival if they have a “high-risk” form of the disease, new research suggests. High-risk patients include men with high blood levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) and a “Gleason score” of 8 or more. Gleason scores are a calculation used to gauge prognosis in prostate cancer. Men with a high Gleason score may develop difficult-to-treat cancers. Prior research had suggested that statins and the diabetes drug metformin (often prescribed together) have anticancer properties. However, it hasn’t been clear which of the two drugs is the bigger cancer-fighter, or whether either might help against high-risk prostate cancer. To help answer those questions, a team led by Grace Lu-Yao of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center–Jefferson Health, in Philadelphia, tracked data on nearly 13,000 high-risk prostate cancer patients. All were diagnosed between 2007 and 2011. The study couldn’t prove cause and effect, but it found that statins, taken alone or with metformin, did seem associated with an increase in survival. Men who took both statins and metformin had higher median survival (3.9 years) than those who took statins alone (3.6 years), metformin alone (3.1 years), or those who did not take either drug (3.1 years). The study was published Feb. 8 in the journal Cancer Medicine. “Both metformin and… read on >

A clinical trial of the weight-loss drug Belviq (lorcaserin) shows an association with an increased risk of cancer, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is requesting that its maker withdraw the drug from the U.S. market. Eisai Inc. has already “submitted a request to voluntarily withdraw the drug,” Dr. Janet Woodcock, who directs the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, noted in a statement issued Thursday. Now, “we’re taking steps to notify the public,” she said, adding that “our review of the full clinical trial results shows that the potential risk of cancer associated with the drug outweighs the benefit of treatment.” Woodcock said the FDA is advising that “patients should stop using the medication Belviq and Belviq XR [lorcaserin] and talk to their health care professionals about other treatment options for weight loss. Health care professionals should stop prescribing and dispensing Belviq and Belviq XR.” The agency first announced that Belviq might have links to cancer in a communication issued Jan 15. At the time, the FDA said “we cannot conclude that lorcaserin contributes to the cancer risk,” but “wanted to make the public aware of this potential risk. We are continuing to evaluate the clinical trial results and will communicate our final conclusions and recommendations when we have completed our review.” That review appears to have led to calls for the… read on >

Coronavirus is most infectious when patients are at the peak of their illness, U.S. health officials said Friday. “Based on what we know now, we believe this virus spreads mainly from person to person among close contacts, which is defined as about six feet, through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said during a media briefing on Friday. “People are thought to be the most contagious when they are most symptomatic, that is when they are the sickest,” she added. “Some spread may happen by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching the eyes, nose and mouth,” she added. “But remember, we believe this virus does not last long on surfaces. Some spread may happen before people show symptoms. There have been a few reports of this with the new coronavirus, and it is compatible with what we know about other respiratory viruses, including seasonal flu. But right now, we don’t believe these last two forms of transmission are the main driver of spread.” Messonnier also noted that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a new strategy aimed at stemming any potential spread of coronavirus within the United States. The “CDC has begun working with five public health labs across the U.S. to tap into… read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Shower Your Valentine With Love All Year Long

Hot Chocolate Could Help Ease Painful Clogged Leg Vessels

More Sex Partners, Higher Cancer Risk?

Restful Romance: Smelling Your Lover’s Shirt Can Help You Sleep

Cholesterol Drugs Might Help Curb ‘High-Risk’ Prostate Cancers

FDA Requests Market Withdrawal of Diet Drug Belviq Due to Cancer Risk

Coronavirus Spreads Most Easily When Patients Are Sickest: CDC

Restful Romance: Smelling Your Lover’s Shirt Can Help You Sleep

Cholesterol Drugs Might Help Curb ‘High-Risk’ Prostate Cancers

FDA Requests Market Withdrawal of Diet Drug Belviq Due to Cancer Risk