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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 >

Defiance, tantrums, aggression: All signs of a condition called conduct disorder, which Mental Health America says affects up to 16% of boys and 9% of girls. Now, research is revealing real differences in the brain structure of children and youths with conduct disorder, compared to those without the condition. Specifically, the study of the brains of people ages 7 through 21 found that the brain’s outer layer, the cerebral cortex, was smaller than is typical for people with conduct disorder. “Conduct disorder has among the highest burden of any mental disorder in youth,” noted study co-author Dr. Daniel Pine. “However, it remains understudied and under-treated.” “Understanding brain differences associated with the disorder takes us one step closer to developing more effective approaches to diagnosis and treatment, with the ultimate aim of improving long-term outcomes for children and their families,” said Pine. He’s chief of the Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The new study was published July 16 in the journal Lancet Psychiatry. In their research, Pine and his colleagues used MRI scans to examine the brains of about 2,400 children and youth who’d enrolled in 15 different studies from around the world. About half of the participants had been diagnosed with conduct disorder while the other half had not. The scans looked specifically at the thickness… read on > read on >

Dropping weight prior to competition is a common practice among athletes. But starving oneself prior to an intense athletic event is likely a wrongheaded, self-defeating practice, a new study warns. Triathletes who ate less prior to competition lost more muscle mass and performed poorly, compared to their function after they followed a sensible diet, researchers found. “There is no doubt that this practice greatly impairs one’s performance as an athlete, even over shorter periods of time,” said lead researcher Jan Sommer Jeppesen, a doctoral student with the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. Attempts to lose weight prior to competition might be driven by a belief that fewer pounds will enhance performance, or by a desire to look “lean and mean” when hitting the field, researchers said. Regardless, it’s a widespread phenomenon among athletes, particularly those in endurance sports like running, swimming, cycling and rowing, researchers said. “It is particularly problematic among female endurance athletes. Many athletes focus heavily on weight in their respective sports. Consequently, they tend to go into short-term, but intense periods of weight loss with the expectation of performing better,” said senior researcher Ylva Hellsten, a professor with the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports. But not eating enough is associated with missed periods, compromised bone health, changes in metabolism, and other health effects that could actually hamper an… read on > read on >

Early exposure to antibiotics might increase a kid’s risk of asthma by altering their gut bacteria, a new mouse study finds. Antibiotics could specifically lower gut production of indole propionic acid (IPA), a biochemical that’s crucial to long-term protection against asthma, researchers reported July 15 in the journal Immunity. “We have discovered that a consequence of antibiotic treatment is the depletion of bacteria that produce IPA, thus reducing a key molecule that has the potential to prevent asthma,” said lead researcher Ben Marsland, a professor of immunology with Monash University in Australia. When given antibiotics in early life, lab mice became more susceptible to allergic reactions to dust mites, researchers found. Human asthma is commonly triggered by exposure to dust mites. This susceptibility to dust mite allergens continued in the mice long-term, even after their gut microbiome and IPA levels returned to normal, researchers said. That suggests that IPA’s function in establishing a healthy immune response is particularly important in early life, the researchers noted. What’s more, when the mice had their diet supplemented with IPA early in life, they were effectively cured of dust mite allergies and asthma. “The use of antibiotics in the first year of life can have the unintentional effect of reducing bacteria which promote health,” Marsland said in a university news release. “We now know from this research that antibiotics… read on > read on >

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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?

Brain Changes Seen in Kids With Conduct Disorder

Starving Pre-Performance Won’t Bring Medals: Study

How Early Antibiotic Use Could Raise Kids’ Asthma Risk