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Extreme fatigue often tops the list of the most distressing symptoms for millions of people who live with multiple sclerosis (MS). And now, a new study suggests that light therapy may help these folks get their lives back. MS is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body attacks the insulation around its nerves, causing fatigue, numbness, bladder problems, mood issues and mobility problems that can hamper everyday life. When patients with MS sat in front of a light box for 30 minutes a day for two weeks, they were less tired and reported more energy to get through their day than their counterparts who sat in front of a dim red light. Exactly how light helps with fatigue isn’t fully understood, but researchers have their theories. “Light therapy promotes alertness, concentration and wakefulness during the daytime and increases the availability of serotonin and noradrenaline in the brain; both neurotransmitters are responsible for the regulation of mood and motivation,” said study author Dr. Stefan Seidel. He’s a neurologist at Vienna General Hospital and associate professor at the Medical University of Vienna in Austria. The study included 26 people with MS. Half sat in front of a daylight lamp with a brightness of 10,000 lux, the level recommended for effective light therapy. The other half sat in front of an identical lamp that emitted a dim… read on > read on >

This season of celebrating also comes with lots of stress for many people. But despite the long to-do list and mandatory get-togethers, it is possible to maintain a healthy mind, according to experts at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. “Stress is an inevitable part of life and so the first thing people can do is focus on their wellness, which is really about accepting that stress can be something we can get through with the right supports,” said Kelly Moore, director of the Center for Psychological Services at Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology. “Finding routine and predictability in your life is a great way to alleviate stress,” Moore added in a university news release. “Watching reruns of shows you enjoyed, having a cup of tea every day or creating a playlist of songs that bring you peace are just some ways to alleviate stress.” For many people, financial stressors dampen their holiday cheer. Others may fear possible exposure to COVID-19 if they join in holiday festivities. “As social obligations and activities increase, so do stress levels. Some people find interacting with family members or colleagues stressful, while others may be grieving the loss of a loved one,” said Keith Stowell, chief medical officer at Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care. “Watch out for difficulty sleeping and changes in appetite, as well as… read on > read on >

Kids who are the youngest in their grade may be overmedicated for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a Norwegian researcher who studied prescribing data. Those who were also born preterm were at particular risk of being overmedicated, said Dr. Christine Strand Bachmann, a pediatrician at St. Olav’s University Hospital in Trondheim and PhD candidate at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Torgarden. The study included Norwegian children born between 1989 and 1998, about 488,000 in all. “We found major differences in the prescription of ADHD medication,” Bachmann said in an NTNU news release. “Children born in November-December had an 80% higher risk of being prescribed ADHD medication, compared to those born in January-February. This finding applies to children who were born at term.” She and her colleagues reviewed all prescriptions kids received from age 10 to 23, comparing those born in January or February with those born in November or December. Bachmann said the increased ADHD medication for the youngest kids owes to the way school systems are organized. “Put simply, it looks like we’re medicating the most immature children because we’re comparing them to their oldest classmates, who are a whole year older,” she said. “This shouldn’t be the basis for receiving an ADHD diagnosis,” Bachmann added. Adults have to expect that a child born in November is going… read on > read on >

Air pollution is plaguing the world’s oldest subway system, a new study warns, with high levels of tiny metal particles found in dust samples throughout the London Underground. Whether these particles actually pose a risk to human health remains an open question, British researchers acknowledge. But experts say it’s happening in subway systems elsewhere, including the United States. The London Underground, especially, is poorly ventilated, the authors of the new report noted. And the bits of a form of iron oxide in question are often incredibly small, far smaller than a single red blood cell. So the threat, the study team cautioned, is that easily inhaled metallic particles can readily enter into the bloodstream of the network’s 5 million daily passengers. Prior research has linked that kind of exposure to a higher risk for serious issues such as Alzheimer’s disease and bacterial infections. “Our study looks at nanoparticles of iron oxide — particles between 5 nm [nanometers] and 500 nm in size — which are generated by the braking system,” explained study lead author Hassan Sheikh, a risk researcher with the Centre for Risk Studies at the University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom. The particulates are byproducts of the routine workings of train brake blocks, collector shoes and motor brushes. They may also be released by the friction caused by the interaction between the… read on > read on >

Nearly one-quarter of all American adults who care for an elderly parent also care for a child at the same time, a new study reveals. And when compared with those who only have a parent under their watch, members of the so-called “sandwich generation” — namely caregivers of both the old and the young — are much more likely to struggle with money problems, emotional trouble and exhaustion, the researchers found. “There is actually little research evidence characterizing this group,” said lead study author Lianlian Lei, a health services researcher in the department of psychiatry at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. “So, our team aimed to fill that gap and provide a national estimate describing this group of caregivers, and how they are similar or different from other types of caregivers.” In the end, Lei’s team pegged the number of dual caregivers in the United States at about 2.5 million, “which is nearly one-quarter of all those who are caregivers for their aging parents.” “We weren’t that surprised by the size,” she stressed. “It seems more like we described something that many colleagues actually are living through.” Nor were investigators surprised by the struggles they identified as particular to this group, “given the intense type of burden they are experiencing.” To get a handle on the scope and burdens of dual caregiving, the… read on > read on >

An experimental gene therapy that’s applied as a skin gel appears to heal wounds caused by a rare and severe genetic skin disease. Experts called the findings “remarkable,” and said they bring hope of a better quality of life to children and young adults living with the condition, called dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB). The disease affects about 3 out of every 1 million people. It’s caused by a flawed gene that renders the body unable to produce a particular collagen — a “glue” between the skin layers that is essential to its strength and integrity. Kids born with DEB are sometimes called “butterfly children” because their skin is so fragile, even an ordinary bump or friction can cause blistering that progresses to painful open wounds. In the most severe cases, infants have blisters or missing skin at birth, or soon after. Those children typically develop widespread scarring over their bodies and can have eye inflammation that impairs their vision. Blisters and scarring also arise along the lining of the mouth, throat and digestive tract — which can interfere with eating and cause malnutrition. As young adults, people with DEB face a high risk of squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer that is normally highly curable, but in a person with DEB often proves deadly. There has never been any specific treatment for DEB.… read on > read on >

Black children and teens drown in swimming pools at rates seven times higher than white children, but a new survey suggests that special swimming programs could make a difference and help save lives. The survey, from the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, found that only 25% of Hispanic parents and 28% of Black parents were comfortable with their own swimming skills. That’s compared to 56% of white parents. About 33% of Black parents and fewer than 40% of Hispanic parents felt their children were competent swimmers, compared to nearly 60% of white parents. The problem may span generations: More than 26% of Black parents said they had never learned to swim and the same was true for more than 32% of Hispanic parents. On the other hand, fewer than 4% of white parents said they’d never learned to swim. Meanwhile, about 46% of Black children and 47% of Latino children had swimming lessons, compared to 72% of white children. “Our results underscore that racial and ethnic gaps in swimming competence run in families, and that children are less likely to swim when their parents can’t swim,” said senior study author Dr. Michelle Macy, an emergency medicine physician at Lurie Children’s. “To improve swimming abilities in Black and [Hispanic] communities, we need to address swim comfort and skills for both parents and… read on > read on >

Having short, painful headaches for many days or even weeks in a row may signal that you’re more likely to have other medical woes, researchers say. These “cluster headaches” are extremely painful and can last from 15 minutes to three hours at a time. And people who have them may be more than three times more likely to have other medical conditions, such as heart disease or mental disorders, the new study found. “Around the world, headaches have an incredibly negative impact on people’s quality of life, both economically and socially,” said study author Caroline Ran, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. “Our results show that people with cluster headaches not only have an increased risk of other illnesses, those with at least one additional illness missed four times as many days of work due to sickness and disability than those with just cluster headaches. They also have a higher chance of a long-term absence from work,” Ran explained. The study involved more than 3,200 Swedes, aged 16 to 64, who had cluster headaches. Most were men, because men are more likely to have cluster headaches. The researchers compared that group to 16,200 people without the headaches who were similar in age, gender and other factors. The investigators looked at work records and disability benefits to determine how many days a year people were… read on > read on >

So much for vaping as a smoking-cessation tool: New research finds most folks who use both traditional cigarettes and e-cigarettes are likely to continue smoking rather than quit, a new study finds. How much is most? Only 10% quit vaping and smoking. “As used by the general population, e-cigarettes have not contributed to substantial smoking cessation,” said lead researcher Nandita Krishnan, a doctoral student in the department of prevention and community health at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. “Considering that smoking cigarettes is harmful, and the long-term effects of e-cigarette use are unknown, and using both products concurrently carries increased risk, people should be encouraged to quit using both products,” she added. Vaping nicotine is addictive and has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and lung disease, Krishnan said. People use e-cigarettes for a variety of reasons, she said. “These include trying to quit or cut down on smoking, the appeal of flavors, the fact that they don’t smell, and some people vape to get a nicotine fix in places where they can’t smoke cigarettes.” For the study, Krishnan and her colleagues collected data on 545 cigarette smokers who also vaped. The researchers took into account various factors, including race and ethnicity, education and behavioral factors, such as frequency of nicotine, alcohol and marijuana use and perceptions about vaping as more… read on > read on >

Scientists have pinpointed four genes that seem to play a part in how vulnerable you are to suicidal thoughts or behaviors. “It’s important to note that these genes do not predestine anyone to problems, but it’s also important to understand that there could be heightened risks, particularly when combined with life events,” said study co-author Nathan Kimbrel. He’s an associate professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University in Durham, N.C. To find the culprit genes, Kimbrel and his colleagues conducted a large, genome-wide analysis using data from more than 630,000 U.S. military veterans. Participants were diverse, with 71.4% of European ancestry, 19.1% of African ancestry, 8.1% Hispanic and 1.3% Asian. Although most of the participants were men, 9% were women. Medical records revealed more than 121,000 cases of suicidal thoughts or actions within that group. Those who had no documented lifetime history of self-harm behaviors were considered a control group. The study included analysis of blood samples, finding links between suicidal behavior and ESR1, an estrogen receptor. It has previously been identified as a driver gene of both PTSD and depression, which are risk factors for suicidal behaviors among veterans. A link was also found with DRD2, a dopamine receptor. It has been associated with suicide attempts, schizophrenia, mood disorders, ADHD, risky behaviors and alcohol use disorder. The third gene… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Light Therapy Might Ease MS-Related Fatigue

Holidays Got You Stressed? Try These Calming Tips

Youngest Kids in Class More Likely to Get Prescribed ADHD Meds

Train Wheels Send Unhealthy, ‘Ultrafine’ Metals Into Subway Air

Caring for Kids and Aging Parents: The ‘Sandwich’ Generation Is Under Strain

Gene Therapy Gel Offers New Hope Against Rare Blistering Disease

Race Plays Big Role in Whether Kids Learn to Swim

Cluster Headaches Often Joined by Other Illnesses

Vaping Won’t Help Smokers Quit, Another Study Finds

4 Genes May Raise Risk for Suicide

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