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Alix Popham played in two rugby World Cups and won a Six Nations Grand Slam before retiring in 2011 as a professional in the rough-and-tumble game. By 2020, he had already been diagnosed with early onset dementia and probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disabling brain disease long linked to repeated head trauma. Emboldened to activism by his experience, Popham helped found Head for Change, which advocates for better ways of preventing brain damage among rugby players. “This is more evidence that big changes need to happen to protect current rugby players. World Rugby need to get their heads out of the sand and in turn protect the game,” Popham said in a news release from Durham University. Similar to what’s been observed in other contact sports such as football and boxing, rugby can leave players with neurological damage long after they’ve retired. Now, a new study out of Durham suggests that certain blood biomarkers could predict those players at highest risk for CTE and other neurological issues. That might allow for earlier interventions that could minimize the damage, researchers said. Prior research has already demonstrated that retired professional rugby players have a much higher odds for depression, anxiety and irritability compared to amateur rugby players or athletes involved in non-contact sports. In the new study, Durham researchers add to what’s known about specific components… read on > read on >

“Magic” mushrooms achieve their psychedelic effects by temporarily scrambling a brain network involved in introspective thinking like daydreaming and remembering, a new study reports. Brain scans of people who took psilocybin — the psychedelic drug in ‘shrooms — revealed that the substance causes profound and widespread temporary changes to the brain’s default mode network. These findings provide an explanation for psilocybin’s mind-bending effects, and could lay the groundwork for better understanding how the drug might be used to treat mental health conditions like depression, researchers said. “There’s a massive effect initially, and when it’s gone, a pinpoint effect remains,” said co-senior study author Dr. Nico Dosenbach, a professor of neurology with the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “That’s exactly what you’d want to see for a potential medicine.” “You wouldn’t want people’s brain networks to be obliterated for days, but you also wouldn’t want everything to snap back to the way it was immediately,” Dosenbach added in a university news release. “You want an effect that lasts long enough to make a difference.” Psilocybin showed promise as a treatment for depression in the 1950s and 1960s, but research into its potential flagged after the federal government deemed the substance an illegal drug in the late ‘60s, researchers explained in background notes. However, research efforts have revived in recent years as psilocybin has… read on > read on >

Children born with type 1 diabetes are much more likely to develop certain mental health issues than those without the condition, a new study warns. Kids with type 1 diabetes are more than twice as likely to develop a mood disorder and 50% more likely to suffer from anxiety than other children, researchers reported June 17 in the journal Nature Mental Health. They also are more than four times as likely to develop behavioral issues like eating or sleep disorders, researchers said. However, the findings suggest this isn’t due to any specific health problem caused by type 1 diabetes. Rather, children appear to be vulnerable to “diabetes distress” resulting from the ongoing management of their chronic condition, researchers said. “This emphasizes the importance of prevention and sustained attention to the mental health needs of children and young people with type 1 diabetes,” said lead researcher Tomas Formanek, a doctoral student with the University of Cambridge in the U.K. and the National Institute of Mental Health, in Klecany, Czech Republic. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the immune system turns on the pancreas, the organ that produces insulin. Damage to the pancreas destroys its ability to make insulin, or decreases production so much that people need to take insulin to live. For the new study, researchers analyzed data for more than 4,500 children with type 1 diabetes… read on > read on >

4In a joint effort to curb the illegal sales of food products containing delta-8 THC, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday they have warned five companies to stop marketing such products. Because the packaging for these THC edibles mimics that of popular snack foods, the FDA said it is concerned they can be easily mistaken for traditional foods, prompting accidental ingestion or overconsumption, especially by kids. “Inadequate or confusing labeling can result in children or unsuspecting adults consuming products with strong resemblance to popular snacks and candies that contain delta-8 THC without realizing it,” FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Dr. Namandjé Bumpus said in a news release on the warnings. Delta-8 THC is the psychoactive ingredient in the cannabis sativa plant, of which marijuana and hemp plants are two varieties. The FDA said it has given the companies 15 working days to address the violations and prevent future ones. Last summer, the agencies issued similar warnings to six other companies selling products containing delta-8 THC, and those companies no longer have such products in stock, the agencies noted. A spokesperson for Earthly Hemps, one of the companies issued a warning Tuesday, told CNN that it has not sold any of the products this year. The other companies did not respond to a request for comment. The threat these “copycat” products pose is real: From… read on > read on >

Just two years after the launch of the nation’s three-digit crisis hotline, more than 10 million calls, texts and chat messages have been fielded by counselors, U.S. health officials announced Tuesday. Introduced in July 2022 to simplify emergency calls and help counter a burgeoning mental health crisis in the United States, 988 was touted as a simpler way for folks struggling with their mental health to get help. “We’re connecting more people to help than ever before,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a news release announcing the milestone. “We’re connecting them faster and with more personalized services, which are critical for helping people in crisis. We know that 988 is saving lives and helping millions of people. I hope anyone who feels alone, or that they are without options, knows that 988 is there to help.” Of the 10 million messages answered in the past two years, 1.7 million were texts — with 988 answering 51% more texts in the past 12 months than the year before, the HHS said. Nearly 1.2 million of 988 calls were answered by the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL), through 988’s Press 1 option. “Our Veterans Crisis Line connects veterans to caring, qualified responders 24/7 — and two years ago, we made it even easier for veterans in crisis and their loved ones to reach out for help by… read on > read on >

Many couples may be painfully familiar with the scenario: One partner snores loudly all night long, so the other partner seeks better sleep in another bed. Now, a new survey from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) shows just how common the practice of “sleep divorce” is: 29% of Americans have opted to sleep in another bed in the same bedroom or in another space in the home to accommodate their partner. That is up from 2023, when only 20% of respondents admitted to sleeping in another room on occasion. Only 15% said they did so consistently in that earlier survey. “The concept of ‘sleep divorce’ simply means sleeping in separate beds or bedrooms and is an option for couples seeking better sleep quality,” said AASM spokesperson Dr. Seema Khosla. “The term might sound alarming, but it’s not about ending a relationship — it’s about prioritizing sleep health and addressing the sleep issues that may be eroding a relationship, such as snoring, tossing and turning, or differing sleep schedules,” she said in an AASM news release on the survey. “A sleep divorce is not a sign of a relationship in trouble — it allows for honest conversation about disruptive habits and allows each person to enjoy uninterrupted, restorative sleep.” Sleeping in different beds aren’t the only tactic couples are trying: One-third of U.S. adults… read on > read on >

Bicycling to work can vastly improve your health and reduce your risk of death, a new study shows. People who bike commute have a 47% lower overall risk of an early death, researchers found. They also are less likely to develop heart disease, cancer and mental health problems, results show. Walking to work also conferred some health benefits, but bicycle commuting provided the strongest boost to a person’s well-being, researchers reported July 16 in the journal BMJ Public Health. “This study provides timely evidence of the health benefits of active commuting for both local, national and international policymakers,” concluded the research team led by Catherine Friel, a doctoral researcher with the University of Glasgow in Scotland. For this report, researchers analyzed data from a national health study in Scotland involving 5% of the Scottish population. As part of the national study, participants were asked how they commuted to work. Their responses were linked to records of national hospital admissions, drug prescriptions and deaths between 2001 and 2018. Researchers found that commuting by bicycle was associated with: A 51% lower risk of dying from cancer A 24% lower risk of being hospitalized for cancer A 24% lower risk of hospital admission for heart disease A 30% lower risk of being prescribed a heart medication A 20% lower risk of receiving a prescription for mental health problems… read on > read on >

Exercise near bedtime won’t necessarily wreck a person’s sleep, a new study says. Intense exercise is typically discouraged as bedtime approaches, since such activity can disturb sleep by increasing body temperature and heart rate, researchers said. But short resistance exercise “activity breaks” at regular intervals can actually improve a person’s sleep, compared to winding down on a couch, researchers reported in the journal BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine. Simple, three-minute “activity breaks” involving chair squats, calf raises and standing knee raises with straight leg hip extensions added nearly an extra half-hour to a person’s sleep, when performed at 30-minute intervals in the four hours before sleep, results show. “These results add to a growing body of evidence that indicates evening exercise does not disrupt sleep quality, despite current sleep recommendations to the contrary,” concluded the research team led by Jennifer Gale, a doctoral candidate and sedentary behavior researcher with the University of Otago in New Zealand. For the study, researchers recruited 30 people ages 18 to 40. All participants said they typically have more than five hours of sedentary time at work and two more hours in the evening. Each of the participants completed two different sessions in a controlled laboratory experiment, separated by a minimum of six days. In one session, they remained seated in the four hours prior to sleep. In the… read on > read on >

It’s a little known health condition that can become a nightmare: Regular and sudden episodes of intense nausea and vomiting. Now, new clinical guidance urges people to take notes and speak up if they think they have the condition, known as cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS). About 2% of people experience CVS, but it can take years before they receive a diagnosis, the new guidance from the American Gastroenterological Association says. “A diagnosis is a powerful tool. Not only does it help patients make sense of debilitating symptoms, but it allows healthcare providers to create an effective treatment plan,” said guidance author Dr. David Levinthal, director of the neurogastroenterology & motility center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Episodes of CVS involve nausea, vomiting and retching that can last for days, followed by long periods without an intense attack, experts said. People with mild cyclic vomiting syndrome can experience fewer than four episodes per year, lasting less than two days. Those with more severe CVS might suffer many drawn-out episodes in any given year, some requiring hospitalization or an ER visit, researchers said. Currently about half of patients with CVS need an ER visit at least once a year, and one-third become disabled by the condition. Between episodes, patients don’t have any repetitive vomiting, but they might experience symptoms like nausea and indigestion, researchers said.… read on > read on >

Autopsies of deceased boxers and pro football players have long confirmed that repeat head injuries can lead to a devastating brain condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Now, research supports the notion that contact sports can also raise the odds for a Parkinson’s-like disease, called parkinsonism, in athletes already affected by CTE. In the new study, “subjects with parkinsonism were more likely to have more severe CTE-related brain cell death in a region of the brainstem important for controlling movement,” noted study lead author Dr. Thor Stein. He’s an associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Boston University. The study involved postmortem examination of the brains of 481 deceased athletes. It was published July 15 in the journal JAMA Neurology. As the researchers described it, parkinsonism carries some of the hallmarks of classic Parkinson’s disease — tremor, slowed movements, abnormal stiffness in the limbs. The two conditions differ, however, in how they manifest in brain tissue. People with Parkinson’s disease typically show a buildup of proteins called Lewy bodies in their brain cells, but the new research found no such buildup in the brains of about three-quarters of people with CTE and parkinsonism. “We were surprised to find that most individuals with CTE and parkinsonism did not have Lewy body pathology,” Stein noted in a university news release. So, what’s driving the parkinsonism? According… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Retired Rugby Players Face Risks for Dementia, CTE

Science Reveals ‘Magic Mushroom’ Chemical’s Mind-Altering Effects

Is Your Child With Type 1 Diabetes Facing ‘Diabetes Distress’?

Feds Issue Warnings on ‘Copycat’ Delta-8 Products That Mimic Popular Foods

Two Years Later, 988 Crisis Line Has Answered 10 Million Requests

Are You & Your Partner in a ‘Sleep Divorce?’ You’re Not Alone

Biking, Walking to Work a Game-Changer for Health

Does Exercise Near Bedtime Really Disrupt Sleep? Maybe Not

What Is ‘Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome’ and Can It Be Treated?

Could Contact Sports Raise Risks for a Parkinson’s-like Disorder?