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Cutting-edge weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic can help treat alcoholism, a new study says. People taking semaglutide had 50% to 56% decreased odds for either becoming alcoholic or relapsing into alcoholism, researchers reported recently in the journal Nature Communications. Few drugs are now available to treat alcohol use disorder (AUD), so adding semaglutide to their number would provide a much-needed extra option, researchers said. “This is very promising news in that we may have a new therapeutic method to treat alcohol use disorder (AUD),” lead researcher Rong Xu, a professor of biomedical informatics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, said in a news release. Semaglutide helps regulate blood sugar levels, and was first approved as a diabetes treatment. The drug also reduces appetite and slows digestion, which eventually led to its approval as a weight-loss drug as well. For the study, researchers analyzed medical records of nearly 84,000 patients with obesity, as well as about 600,000 patients with type 2 diabetes. In both sets of data, researchers found consistent reductions in alcoholism among people treated with semaglutide. “While the findings are promising and provide preliminary evidence of the potential benefit of semaglutide in real-world populations, further randomized clinical trials are needed to support its use clinically for AUD,” study co-author Dr. Pamela Davis, a research professor at Case Western, said in a… read on > read on >

Benzodiazepines do not appear to increase dementia risk, but could have subtle long-term effects on brain structure, a new study reports. Researchers found no link between use of the sedative drug and a higher risk of dementia in a group of more than 5,400 adults in the Netherlands, according to findings published July 2 in the journal BMC Medicine. That runs counter to two previous meta-analyses reporting increased dementia risk with benzodiazepine use, researchers noted. However, brain MRI scans taken of more than 4,800 participants revealed that benzodiazepine use is associated with accelerated shrinking of some brain regions, results show. The findings “support current guidelines cautioning against long-term benzodiazepine prescription,” concluded the research team led by Dr. Frank Wolters, a senior scientist of epidemiology and radiology and nuclear medicine at Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands. “Further research is needed to investigate the potential effects of benzodiazepine use on brain health,” the team adds. Benzodiazepines promote the release of a neurotransmitter that makes the nervous system less active, the Cleveland Clinic says. Different types are used as sedatives or to treat anxiety, insomnia and seizures. Analysis of medical records between 2005 and 2020 and pharmacy records between 1991 and 2008 revealed no association between benzodiazepines and increased risk of dementia, regardless of the total quantity of sedatives people took over time. The team also found… read on > read on >

As bird flu continues to spread among U.S. dairy cows, reassuring new government research finds the pasteurization process widely used in the industry effectively kills all bird flu virus in milk. In a health update posted Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the results are the latest to show that pasteurized grocery store milk remains safe from the highly pathogenic avian virus H5N1. “These results complement the FDA’s retail sampling study, in which all 297 samples of dairy products collected at retail locations were found to be negative for viable H5N1 HPAI virus,” the agency said in its update. “Collectively, these studies provide strong assurances that the commercial milk supply is safe.” The most recent research came about because scientists at the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) were trying to replicate the exact conditions under which milk is pasteurized in this country. “We had a lot of anecdotal evidence. But we wanted to have direct evidence about HPAI [H5N1] and bovine milk,” Dr. Don Prater, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, told CBS News. “So, we began to build this custom instrument that replicates, on a pilot scale, commercial processing [of milk].” Earlier research had not been quite as convincing: Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that some bits of infectious bird flu virus were… read on > read on >

All Diamond Shruumz edibles have been recalled after the company found high levels of a mushroom toxin in them that may have sickened 39 people in 20 states. The recall includes Diamond Shruumz cones, chocolate bars and gummies “because such products contain muscimol, a chemical found in mushrooms of the genus amanita,” California-based Prophet Premium Blends stated in its announcement. “Muscimol could be a potential cause of symptoms consistent with those observed in persons who became ill after eating Diamond Shruumz products,” the company added. Reported symptoms include seizures, agitation, involuntary muscle contractions, loss of consciousness, confusion, sleepiness, nausea and vomiting, abnormal heart rates and high/low blood pressure. Of the 39 illnesses reported so far, 23 patients had to be hospitalized, with the latest illness reported June 23, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. States with cases include Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Tennessee. The FDA first advised consumers not to eat Diamond Shruumz microdosing chocolate bars two weeks ago, warning that people in four states had fallen ill. Some had to be intubated. The recalled products were distributed nationwide through retail stores and mail order. Back in late May, Prophet Premium received the first two complaints of people becoming ill after eating an entire chocolate… read on > read on >

A study based on online Google searches suggests surging U.S. interest in microdosing psychedelics, such as psilocybin, as rules around the use of such drugs begin to relax. But the safety of these drugs isn’t entirely clear, said study lead author Dr. Kevin Yang. “As public interest in using psychedelics and cannabis for health grows, it’s crucial that the medical community conducts studies to establish a strong evidence base for their safety and efficacy,” said Yang, a psychiatry resident physician at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. ‘Magic mushrooms’ have long been used recreationally to get high, but in recent years numerous studies have suggested that the fungus’ active ingredient, the hallucinogen psilocybin, might have some therapeutic effects if used in smaller doses (“microdosing”) under controlled conditions. According to a UCSD news release, people who microdose take “‘sub-perceptual’ doses of psychedelics, often over prolonged periods, with users claiming it improves cognition, mood and overall health without causing the intense hallucinogenic effects of higher doses.” Already, eight U.S. states have had cities or counties decriminalize this type of psychedelic use, and two states, Colorado and Oregon, have legalized psychedelic-assisted therapy and decriminalized psychedelics statewide. Those moves come at the same time that another recreational drug, cannabis, has gained mainstream acceptance and has been legalized in 24 states. So what is the current… read on > read on >

People largely date and marry people in their own “league,” as far as beauty is concerned, a new review finds. Men and women are fairly accurate at rating their own physical attractiveness, and they tend to choose mates who have similar views of their own beauty, researchers report. For example, fellows who rated themselves as attractive tended to date ladies with similar self-ratings, researchers reported recently in the journal Personality and Individual Differences. These results come from more than two dozen studies involving nearly 1,300 opposite-sex couples dating as far back as 1972. In the studies, members of couples were asked to rate their own physical attractiveness. Their pictures were then shown to strangers, who provided an outside rating on their beauty. People’s own assessment of their attractiveness largely tended to align with the rating provided by a stranger, results show. “The fundamentals of what humans consider to be attractive across cultures and across time are pretty consistent,” said lead researcher Gregory Webster, a professor of psychology at the University of Florida. The review also allowed researchers to track how these self-ratings change at different points in long relationships. Some studies focused on young dating couples, while others involved long-married spouses. Among people who had been together longer, men were more accurate at judging their own attractiveness, researchers found. That might be due to the… read on > read on >

Parks and lakes aren’t just good for your soul — new research suggests they also appear to protect your arteries. Living near green space and “blue” water space lowers a person’s odds of hardened arteries in middle-aged urban dwellers, researchers found. For every 10% increase in access to green space, the odds of having coronary artery calcification decline by 15%, on average, according to findings published June 27 in the journal Circulation. “Our findings provide quantitative evidence supporting environmental policies to enhance the accessibility and quality of residential blue and green spaces,” said researcher Dr. Lifang Hou, a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Artery calcification occurs when calcium forms plaques on the walls of arteries. These plaques can combine with blood clots to clog the arteries, causing heart attacks and strokes. For the study, researchers tracked nearly 3,000 men and women from four cities for 25 years, from 1985 to 2010. The participants hailed from Birmingham, Ala.; Chicago; Minneapolis; and Oakland, Calif. The research team compared CT scans taken at age 50 of calcium deposits in people’s arteries with their access to parks, water bodies and other natural spaces. That access was measured using the people’s long-term residential addresses. Black people living in poor neighborhoods especially benefitted from exposure to green space and open water, researchers found.… read on > read on >

Tai Chi appears to improve sleep, and as a result reduces inflammation and boosts the immune systems of breast cancer survivors, a new study says. The ancient Chinese martial arts practice relies on slow, precise movements performed as the person breathes deeply and focuses attention on the body. This mind-body practice appears as good as or better than cognitive behavioral therapy in helping breast cancer survivors deal with the aftermath of their disease, researchers reported recently in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity. About 30% of breast cancer survivors suffer from insomnia, twice the rate of the general population, researchers said in background notes. For this study, researchers analyzed blood samples from 90 Los Angeles breast cancer survivors who underwent weekly Tai Chi or cognitive behavioral therapy sessions lasting two hours for a three-month period. Both Tai Chi and cognitive behavioral therapy produced similar decreases in insomnia among the participants. But the blood samples, taken over 15 months, revealed that Tai Chi led to significant and sustained reductions in inflammation, compared with cognitive behavioral therapy. Tai Chi participants also experienced increases in antiviral activity within the immune system, although cognitive behavioral therapy produced even better improvements. These could help reduce the risk of breast cancer recurring in survivors, researchers said. “Effective treatment of insomnia has potent impacts on the immune system,” said lead researcher Dr.… read on > read on >

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has sent a warning letter to one of America’s biggest bakeries, asking the company to stop claiming there are allergens such as sesame or nuts in products when in fact they are not there. In a statement released Tuesday, the FDA said that Bimbo Bakeries, which includes brands such as Sara Lee, Oroweat, Thomas’, Entenmann’s and Ball Park buns and rolls, has included known allergens such as sesame, walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts in their ‘Contains’ ingredients list — even though “those ingredients were not included in the product formulations,” as determined by FDA inspections conducted in late 2023. For example, Bimbo products such as Brownberry brand Whole Grains 12 Grains and Seeds RTE bread loaf product listed the three types of nuts as ingredients, even though they were not actually there. And Sara Lee brand Artesano Brioche, Delightful Multigrain, Artesano Golden Wheat and Artesano Smooth Multigrain all listed sesame as an ingredient, even though no sesame was present. Why would companies like Bimbo run erroneous ingredients lists? The FDA does require that food manufacturers list any potential allergens on packaging ingredients lists. However, properly separating known allergens such as nuts or sesame in one part of a baking plant from other areas can be labor-intensive and expensive. So, some companies work around the regulation by claiming the allergens are in most or… read on > read on >

Specific types of gut bacteria appear to be linked to compulsive eating, a new study reports. Researchers found that one type of gut bacteria — the Proteobacteria family — is abundant in people and mice with an addiction to food. Other types of gut bacteria are decreased in food-addicted people and mice, including Blautia bacteria and bacteria belonging to the Actinobacteria family, researchers say. What’s more, food addiction decreased in mice when they were fed prebiotics that caused Blautia levels in the gut to rise, said researcher Elena Martin-Garcia, a professor of medicine and life sciences at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. These results suggest the “potential protective effects of increasing the abundance of Actinobacterial and Bacillota against the development of food addiction,” Martin-Garcia said. Blautia belongs to the Bacillota family. For the study, researchers used a food addiction scale to diagnose the condition in mice and humans. The scale measures persistent food-seeking, motivation to obtain food and compulsive behavior. They found that mice with food addiction had higher levels of Proteobacteria and lower levels of Actinobacteria and Blautia. Those same trends were seen in 88 humans, researchers said. “The findings in both mice and humans suggested that specific microbiota could be protective in preventing food addiction,” Martin-Garcia said. “In particular, the strong similarities in the amount of Blautia underlined the potential beneficial effects… read on > read on >

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Another Study Suggests GLP-1 Meds Could Ease Alcoholism

Use of ‘Benzo’ Sedatives Like Valium, Xanax Won’t Raise Dementia Risk: Study

FDA Study Shows Pasteurization Kills Bird Flu in Milk

All Diamond Shruumz Edibles Recalled Over High Levels of Mushroom Toxin in Products

Americans’ Interest in Microdosing Psychedelics Is Growing

Not ‘Out of Your League’: Folks Tend to Marry People as Attractive as They Are

More Green Spaces, Lakes Bring Fewer Hardened Arteries

Tai Chi Can Benefit Breast Cancer Survivors in Many Ways

FDA Warns Top National Bakery to Stop Listing Allergens in Products When They Aren’t There

Scientists Spot Which Gut Germs Trigger Compulsive Eating