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New research uncovers a possible reason why teenaged girls struggled so mightily with their mental health during the pandemic: Scans showed their brains aged far faster than expected during that stressful time, even faster than the brains of their male peers. In the study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists measured cortical thinning, a process where redundant brain synapses are pruned and the outer layer of the cortex is thinned. While some experts believe this process is simply the brain rewiring itself for efficiency as it matures, it is known to accelerate in stressful conditions. That speeded thinning is also linked to depression and anxiety. How did the researchers discover that unusual thinning? After pandemic shutdowns started to lift, scans taken in 2021 showed that both boys and girls had experienced rapid cortical thinning during that period. But the thinning was far more pronounced in girls, whose thinning had accelerated, on average, by 4.2 years ahead of what was expected. Meanwhile, the thinning in boys’ brains had accelerated only 1.4 years ahead of what was expected. The greater impact on female brains could have been be due to differences in the importance of social interaction for girls versus boys, said senior study author Patricia Kuhl, director of the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences at the University of Washington. Teenaged girls rely… read on > read on >

Annoyed that you still have a bit of tummy even though you work out all the time? Exercise actually is helping you develop healthier belly fat tissue, a new study says. That means that even if you don’t obtain six-pack abs, exercise is good for your long-term health, researchers said. “Our findings indicate that in addition to being a means to expend calories, exercising regularly for several months to years seems to modify your fat tissue in ways that allows you to store your body fat more healthfully if or when you do experience some weight gain — as nearly everyone does as we get older,” said researcher Jeffrey Horowitz, a professor of movement science at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology. For the study, researchers compared two groups of people with obesity. One group of 16 people said they’d exercised at least four times a week for at least two years, while another group of 16 said they’d never regularly exercised. Samples were taken from belly fat tissue just under the skin, which is considered the healthiest place for the body to store fat. Fat stored under the skin is less likely to cause health problems compared to fat accumulating around or inside organs, researchers said. People who regularly exercised had distinct differences in their fat tissue that increased their capacity to store… read on > read on >

Taking steroids more than doubles a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a new study warns. Patients taking steroid pills, injections or infusions are 2.6 times more likely to develop diabetes than those not on steroids, researchers reported Sunday in a presentation at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Madrid. The results of this large-scale study confirm suspicions that the effects of steroids on blood sugar levels can boost diabetes risk, researchers said. “Existing information on how much more common new diabetes is in patients treated with glucocorticoids is based on small studies including patients with one or a few conditions,” said lead researcher Dr. Rajna Golubic, a lecturer in diabetes and endocrinology with the University of Oxford. “We wanted to expand the data to get a more accurate idea of how likely it is that people could develop diabetes while being treated with these drugs.” Steroids are used to treat a wide range of medical problems by helping quell inflammation. These include asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and cancer. Unfortunately, the drugs also increase blood sugar levels by reducing insulin sensitivity and interfering with cells’ ability to absorb glucose, according to Diabetes UK. To see whether this effect on blood sugar could cause diabetes, the research team analyzed data on more than 450,000 people treated… read on > read on >

People with type 2 diabetes are nearly twice as likely to develop asthma, a new review has concluded. Type 2 diabetics are 83% more likely to develop asthma, compared to those without diabetes, researchers found. The relationship also works the other way around — people with asthma are 28% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, researchers report. “This relationship emphasizes the need for greater awareness among patients with type 2 diabetes or asthma and their healthcare providers,” said lead researcher Dr. Nam Nguyen with Taipei Medical University in Taiwan. For the study, researchers pooled data on 17 million people from 14 prior studies examining the link between asthma and type 2 diabetes. The results also showed that the more severe a person’s asthma is, the higher their risk of type 2 diabetes, researchers report. These findings suggest that asthma and diabetes might have some of the same underlying causes, or have other factors in common, researchers said. Nguyen said future studies should look into the potential links between asthma and type 2 diabetes. Researchers presented the study Monday at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting in Madrid. Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. “Preventive strategies should be considered to lower the risk of type 2 diabetes in individuals with asthma,” Nguyen… read on > read on >

Brain changes that signal Alzheimer’s disease even before symptoms appear are linked to an increased vulnerability to financial scams, new research shows. “Assessing financial vulnerability in older adults could help identify those who are in the early stages of mild cognitive impairment or dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease,” said study lead author Duke Han. He’s a professor of psychology and family medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Unscrupulous con artists can reach out to seniors via phone or email with various scams that, in some instances, can wipe out retirement savings. In many cases, early-onset dementia has rendered these seniors more vulnerable, Han’s group said. The USC team conducted two types of tests in a group of 97 people over the age of 50. None had obvious signs of cognitive troubles when they joined the study. In one test, all participants underwent high powered MRIs to look at the thickness of a brain area called the entorhinal cortex. This region helps foster communication between the hippocampus (a center for learning and memory) and the the medial prefrontal cortex, which regulates emotion, motivation and other cognitive functions. Prior research has shown that pre-symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease often manifests as a “thinning out” of the entorhinal cortex, which progresses as the disease becomes more apparent. All of the 97 participants also took a test gauging… read on > read on >

A form of psychotherapy can help women whose libidos have suffered as they go through menopause, a new study finds. Cognitive behavioral therapy significantly improved sexual desire and satisfaction in a small group of middle-aged and older women, researchers said. “To our knowledge, this is the first study that has examined the efficacy of a cognitive behavioral therapy protocol specifically aimed to improve sexual concerns experienced during peri- and postmenopause,” said lead researcher Sheryl Green. She’s associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences with McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. Declining estrogen levels cause sexual concerns in 68% to 87% of women in the midst of menopause or postmenopause, researchers explained in background notes. Treatment options for sexual problems like a loss of desire or pain during sex are limited, researchers said. For this study, researchers asked women to participate in four sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy aimed at managing sexual issues that accompany menopause. Cognitive behavioral therapy works by helping people recognize ways of thinking or patterns of behavior that are causing them problems with their mental and physical health. The therapist helps people come up with new thoughts or behaviors to replace the ones that are causing harm, as well as methods of meditation and problem-solving. Following the therapy, study participants experienced significant improvement in multiple areas of sexual function, body image and sexual… read on > read on >

Beginning Jan. 1, Americans with private health insurance coverage should gain better access to mental health care, as well as care to help ease substance abuse, federal officials announced Monday. “Like medical care, mental health care is vital to the well-being of America’s workers,” U.S. Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su said in a statement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “The final rules issued today make it easier for people living with mental health conditions and substance use disorders to get the lifesaving care they often need,” Su said. The bottom line is that, beginning in 2025, private insurers must offer coverage for mental health ills just as they would for issues of physical health, “without imposing greater restrictions on mental health or substance use disorder benefits as compared to medical and surgical benefits,” the HHS said in its statement. The new rules are aimed at easing restrictions on care that insurers often subject policyholders to, including high out-of-pocket costs. Other restrictions include requirements that limit the scope or duration of mental health care benefits (such as prior authorization requirements), the use of “step” therapy, as well as standards that might keep providers from being admitted to a particular network. The changes have been a long time coming: Congress passed the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act back in 2008.… read on > read on >

Key Takeaways A man who received the world’s first combined whole-eye and partial face transplant is doing well His body has not rejected either his new face of his new left eye However, vision has not returned in the donated eye The recipient of the world’s first combined whole-eye and partial face transplant is doing well more than a year out from his groundbreaking surgery, NYU Langone doctors report. Aaron James, a 46-year-old military veteran from Arkansas, says over the past year his new face has allowed him to enjoy things others take for granted. No more stares from strangers. The ability to taste and enjoy solid foods again. The simple pleasure of smelling. Trading in his old driver’s license, which displayed his injured face, for a new one. James is now back to daily life in Arkansas and focused on sending his daughter, Allie, off to college. “I’m pretty much back to being a normal guy, doing normal things,” James said in an NYU Langone news release. “All in all, though, this has been the most transformative year of my life. I’ve been given the gift of a second chance, and I don’t take a single moment for granted. James was maimed in June 2021 when his face touched a live wire on the job as a high-voltage lineman in Arkansas. The deadly 7,200-volt… read on > read on >

Folks who like to stay up late are nearly 50% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who go to bed earlier, a new study finds. However, it’s not just because they have an unhealthy lifestyle, according to findings presented Sunday at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Madrid. An increased risk of type 2 diabetes among night owls remained even after researchers accounted for other unhealthy lifestyle factors like poor diet, lack of exercise, drinking, smoking and poor sleep, researchers said. “A likely explanation is that the circadian rhythm or body clock in late chronotypes is out of sync with the work and social schedules followed by society,” said lead investigator Jeroen van der Velde, a postdoctoral researcher with Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands. “This can lead to circadian misalignment, which we know can lead to metabolic disturbances and ultimately type 2 diabetes.” For the study, researchers analyzed health data on more than 5,000 people participating in an ongoing study on the influence of body fat on disease. The data included typical bed and waking times for each person, as well as lifestyle factors that could increase a person’s risk of diabetes, researchers said. “Previous studies have indicated that a late chronotype — preferring to go to bed late and wake up later… read on > read on >

Losing weight can help a person with obesity — especially those with diabetes — fend off serious infections, new data shows. It’s an important finding, since “up to one in three hospitalizations in people with diabetes are for infections and people with diabetes are twice as likely to be hospitalized with infections than the general population. They are also at high risk of readmission,” said study co-lead author Rhian Hopkins. She’s at the University of Exeter Medical School in the U.K. Hopkins presented the research Saturday in Madrid at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). The new study used data from the ongoing UK Biobank, a database that includes health info on almost 500,000 Britons. According to the data, about 64,000 had been hospitalized for a bacterial infection (such as a urinary tract infection or pneumonia); almost 15,000 had been hospitalized with a viral infection (such as the flu), and about 408,000 had never been hospitalized for infection. Obesity seemed linked to a higher risk for severe infection, the team found. Every 5-point increase in BMI — for example, from a BMI of 30 (the threshold for obesity) to 35 — incurred a 30% rise in the risk of a serious bacterial infection and a 32% rise for severe viral infection. These associations were for all people, regardless… read on > read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

Pandemic Isolation May Have Caused Rapid Brain Aging in Teen Girls

Exercising Can Help You Have Healthier Belly Fat

Chronic Steroid Use Could Raise Diabetes Risk

Asthma Risk Doubles in People With Diabetes

Falling for Financial Scams Could Be Early Alzheimer’s Sign

Libido Can Drop After Menopause, But This Therapy Can Help

Biden Administration Issues Rules Making Mental Health Care More Accessible

He’s Doing Great a Year After World’s First Eye and Partial Face Transplant

‘Night Owls’ More Prone to Type 2 Diabetes

Obesity Raises Risk of Severe Infection, Especially in People With Diabetes