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Treating men with low-risk prostate cancer with just one high dose of radiation may be safe and effective, British researchers report. Therapy for prostate cancer typically involves low-dose radiation given over several days or weeks. Conversely, high-dose radiation is given once through a set of tiny tubes inserted directly into the tumor. “For low-risk patients, a single dose of high-dose radiation is sufficient, but for medium- and high-risk patients, a single dose of 19 Gy isn’t enough. They will likely need a bigger dose or going back to multiple doses,” said lead researcher Hannah Tharmalingam. She’s a clinical research fellow at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Northwood, England. According to Tharmalingam, high-dose radiation could be more convenient for low-risk patients, and less time-consuming and costly for the medical system. But one radiation oncologist fears that the side effects make it potentially dangerous. For the study, Tharmalingam and her colleagues treated 441 prostate cancer patients between 2013 and 2018. The cancers were classified as low-, medium- or high-risk. All of the men were treated with one high dose of 19 Gy of radiation, which is equivalent to the total amount of radiation given over several days with current treatments, Tharmalingam said. In addition, 166 men were also given hormone therapy. None of the men, however, had surgery or chemotherapy. For comparison, men with prostate cancer… read on >

Another reason breast is best: Breast milk boosts levels of chemicals crucial for brain growth and development in premature babies with a very low birth weight, a new study reveals. “Our previous research established that vulnerable preterm infants who are fed breast milk early in life have improved brain growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes,” said Catherine Limperopoulos, director of MRI research of the developing brain at Children’s National Health System in Washington, D.C. However, she added, “It was unclear what makes breastfeeding so beneficial for newborns’ developing brains.” For the new study, her team used “proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy” to solve the mystery. The non-invasive imaging reveals the chemical makeup of specific brain structures, enabling researchers to measure metabolites essential for growth. With this technology, the researchers examined the brains of very low birth weight babies (under 3.3 pounds). The infants were born after no more than 32 weeks of pregnancy. The team focused on the right frontal white matter and the cerebellum, a brain region that’s involved in balance, muscle coordination and supports high-order mental functions. Compared to formula-fed babies, those fed breast milk had significantly higher levels of inositol in the cerebral white matter, and significantly higher creatine levels. Study lead author Katherine Ottolini explained that “key metabolite levels ramp up during the times babies’ brains experience exponential growth.” The percentage of days infants… read on >

Parents and doctors often overlook how overweight kids are, which could leave youngsters at increased risk for health problems linked to excess weight, British researchers say. They reviewed 87 studies that included nearly 25,000 children, age 19 and younger, and their parents. The researchers found that 55% of parents underestimated how much excess weight their children were carrying, and 34% of kids underestimated their own weight. Even health care providers sometimes missed the mark. Parents of younger kids were less likely to recognize a weight problem, and were less accurate at gauging boys’ weight than girls’. Overweight parents and those with less education were more likely to underestimate their child’s weight problem. In some of the studies reviewed, parents often described their children as big-boned, thick or solid, and they demonstrated a strong desire to avoid labeling their child obese. The research review is to be presented Saturday at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Glasgow, Scotland. Studies presented at meetings are typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. This research dovetails with a 10-fold increase over four decades in the number of obese children and teens worldwide — from 5 million girls in 1975 to 50 million in 2016, and from 6 million to 74 million boys. “Despite attempts to raise public awareness of the obesity problem, our findings indicate that… read on >

You can often lose weight by making small yet strategic calorie cuts at every meal, rather than eliminating entire meals or cutting portions so severely that you never feel satisfied. You probably already know that a cup of blueberries with a dollop of creamy yogurt has a fraction of the calories of a slice of blueberry pie. But there are many other ways you can trim the calories in favorite meals without diminishing their satisfying taste. Here are five ideas that each shave off about 200 calories. If your idea of a big breakfast is a fatty sausage, egg and cheese sandwich, have a veggie-filled omelet instead. Make it with one whole egg and two extra whites for more protein, and “overload” it with tomatoes, peppers and onions. Ditch the bread and high-calorie sandwich condiments at lunch by wrapping up lean protein, such as slices of roasted chicken, in large leaves of romaine lettuce with a touch of balsamic vinegar or hot sauce. To get the toothy appeal of steak, make your main course grilled portabello mushrooms and serve them with a side of mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes. With some no-salt seasoning, you won’t taste any difference. There’s no need to give up your favorite red sauce if you use it to top spaghetti squash rather than spaghetti, plus you can eat twice as… read on >

Exercise is a great way to stay youthful and even turn back the clock on aging. If you’re new to exercise or simply want a fitness reboot, here are ideas by the decade. In Your 20s: Experiment with different workouts to find what you enjoy. Make exercise a regular habit that you won’t want to give up, even when career and family make heavy demands on you. In Your 30s: Short on time? Try three 15-minute walks spread throughout the day. To stay fit and retain muscle, do cardio just about every day and strength training two or three times a week. If you’re new to exercise, take classes or have a personal trainer create a program for you. In Your 40s: Enhance your weekly routine by doing both low-intensity exercise, like yoga for stress relief and flexibility, and high-intensity workouts, like interval training or a spin or kettlebell class, to boost calorie burn and muscle elasticity. Expect longer recovery times after high-intensity workouts, so make sure to get enough sleep. In Your 50s: Regular exercise remains a must, but ask your doctor for modifications if you have any chronic conditions. Varying your workouts or taking up a new sport will engage your brain as well as different muscles. Get in at least one or two high-intensity workouts a week and try to take active… read on >

New research shows that snoring is not the sole domain of men. “We found that although no difference in snoring intensity was found between genders, women tend to underreport the fact that they snore and to underestimate the loudness of their snoring,” said lead investigator Dr. Nimrod Maimon. He is head of internal medicine at Soroka University Medical Center in Be’er Sheva, Israel. “Women reported snoring less often and described it as milder,” Maimon said in a news release from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. The study included more than 1,900 people, average age 49, who were referred to a sleep disorders center. Snoring was found in 88% of the women, but only 72% reported that they snore. Both rates were about 93% in men in the study group. Among people who snored, the average maximum loudness was 50 decibels among women and 51.7 decibels among men. While 49% of the women had severe/very severe snoring, only 40% rated their snoring at this level, the researchers found. The study authors noted that there is a social stigma associated with snoring among women, so women may not be truthful when asked about snoring. More troubling, this may contribute to the underdiagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea in women. Snoring is a common warning sign for obstructive sleep apnea, in which the upper airway repeatedly collapses during… read on >

As measles outbreaks spread across the United States, there are a number of things parents need to know, a leading pediatricians’ group says. The most important is to make sure your children are fully protected against the disease, which can be deadly, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advised. Only the measles vaccine can do that. The United States is in the middle of a record year for measles cases. Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the number of measles cases has reached 695 — the highest level since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000. Outbreaks are occurring across the country, with one of the largest ones playing out in New York City, where 61 new cases were reported last week. Los Angeles County has also declared a measles outbreak, with quarantine orders issued to more than 200 students and employees at the University of California, Los Angeles, and California State-Los Angeles because they may have been exposed to the highly contagious disease. The ongoing outbreaks have occurred as some parents refuse or delay immunizing their children out of unfounded concern about safety of the measles vaccine. The result is more unvaccinated children, teens and adults. Not only are unvaccinated children more susceptible to getting measles, they can spread it to others. Most of the recent flare-ups in the… read on >

The Kids II company is recalling nearly 700,000 of its Rocking Sleepers for infants, after reports of babies dying have been linked to the products’ use. In an announcement posted Friday on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) website, the agency says the recall follows deaths occurring “after the infants rolled from their back to their stomach while unrestrained, or under other circumstances.” The recall comes just two weeks after the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) urged a recall of another brand of sleeper, Fisher Price’s popular Rock n’ Play sleeper. That inclined sleeper has been associated with 32 sleep-related infant deaths, according to a new Consumer Reports analysis. The CPSC and Fisher-Price issued a warning about the Rock ‘n Play Sleeper on April 5, but that’s not enough to protect infants, according to the AAP. “This product is deadly and should be recalled immediately,” AAP President Dr. Kyle Yasuda said in a news release from the group. The new recall involves 694,000 Kids II sleepers, which the CPSC says have been linked to five infant deaths since the products began being sold in 2012. The Kids II sleepers were sold at “major retailers nationwide, including Walmart, Target and Toys “R” Us and online from March 2012 through April 26, 2019 for approximately $40-$80,” the CPSC said. “Consumers should immediately stop using the product… read on >

Parents of kids with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may change their child’s diet in the hope it might ease the disorder’s symptoms. But a new study suggests it might not be worth the effort. The researchers found that while kids with ADHD are more likely to have unhealthy diets, their poor diets weren’t at the root of their ADHD symptoms. “In contrast to what may be expected, we observed that a poor diet does not predict the level of ADHD symptoms in children, either diagnosed or not. So, based on our study, dietary changes may not prevent or reduce ADHD symptoms,” said study author Trudy Voortman. She’s an assistant professor of nutritional epidemiology at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Diet has long been suspected to play a role in ADHD. People have tried avoiding certain nutrients or adding supplements to improve symptoms, according to background information in the study. But the researchers wanted to know if the quality of a child’s overall diet might make a difference in their symptoms. They studied nearly 3,700 children with ADHD from Rotterdam at ages 6, 8 and 10. The researchers figured out each child’s dietary quality score based on the foods they reported eating when they were 8. Voortman said that children with ADHD had higher than recommended amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages and processed meats.… read on >

Job stress, high blood pressure and poor sleep may be a recipe for an early death, German researchers report. In a study of nearly 2,000 workers with high blood pressure who were followed for almost 18 years, those who reported having both a stressful job and poor sleep were three times more likely to die from heart disease than those who slept well and didn’t have a trying job, the investigators found. “As many as 50% of adults have high blood pressure,” said Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles. It’s a major risk factor for heart attack, stroke, heart failure, kidney disease and premature cardiovascular death, said Fonarow, who had no role in the new study. “A number of studies have found associations between greater work stress and subsequent risk of cardiovascular events. Impairment in sleep has also been associated with increased risk,” he said. However, these associations did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship. In the new study, the researchers reported that among people with high blood pressure (“hypertension”), those who had work stress alone had a twofold higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, as did those who reported having poor sleep alone. According to lead researcher Dr. Karl-Heinz Ladwig, “Sleep should be a time for recreation, unwinding and restoring energy levels. If you have stress… read on >

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All Sauce from Weekly Gravy:

One High Dose of Radiation May Be Enough for Early Prostate Cancer

Breast Milk Has Biggest Benefit for Preemies’ Brains: Study

How Much Does Your Kid Weigh? Chances Are, You’re Underestimating

Meal Swaps That Save 200 Calories

Tailoring Exercise to Your Age

Snoring Not Just a Male Problem

Parents, Protect Your Kids as Measles Outbreaks Spread

Nearly 700,000 Infant Rocking Sleepers Recalled Due to Infant Deaths

Does Diet Affect a Child’s ADHD?

Work Stress, Poor Sleep, High Blood Pressure a Deadly Trio

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