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FRIDAY. Feb. 28, 2025Moving your body helps your brain, a new study suggests. Folks who regularly exercise have better mental and brain health, researchers will report in early April at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in San Diego and online. Moderate to vigorous physical activity reduces risk of dementia, stroke, anxiety, depression and sleep disorders, researchers found. “This research highlights the role of physical activity and sedentary behavior as modifiable factors that may enhance brain health and reduce the incidence of these diseases,” lead researcher Dr. Jia-Yi Wu of Fudan University in Shanghai, said in a news release. “It is promising to think that encouraging people to make these lifestyle changes could potentially lessen the burden of these diseases in the future.” For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 73,000 U.K. residents with an average age of 56 who wore motion-tracking devices for seven days. The devices monitored their physical activity, the energy they spent on those activities and the time they spent sitting each day. The team used that data to quantify each person’s physical activity as metabolic equivalents, or METs. Moderate physical activity like walking or cleaning amounts to around three METs, researchers said, while more intense exercise like cycling can burn around six METs depending on speed. People who engaged in moderate to vigorous activity were… read on > read on >

GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic/Wegovy don’t increase a person’s risk of suicidal actions or thoughts, a new study has concluded. Earlier research had potentially linked these drugs — which are used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity — with suicidal thoughts and self-harm, researchers added. But the new study found no such association after following more than 68,000 diabetics prescribed GLP-1 drugs for a year or more, according to a report in The BMJ. “GLP-1 receptor agonist use was not associated with an increased risk of suicidal ideation, self-harm, or suicide” compared against two other classes of diabetes medications, wrote the research team led by senior researcher Laurent Azoulay, an associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at McGill University in Montreal. “These findings should provide some reassurance with respect to the psychiatric safety of these drugs,” researchers concluded. GLP-1 drugs have become wildly popular as weight-loss medications, but with their increased use has come concern over the long-term safety of this class of drugs. For the study, researchers analyzed U.K. data on people with type 2 diabetes who had been prescribed medications for their condition. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs mimic the GLP-1 hormone, which helps control insulin and blood sugar levels, decreases appetite and slows digestion of food. The most prominent of these drugs is semaglutide, which is sold under the name Ozempic for diabetes… read on > read on >

Utah may become the first state in the U.S. to ban fluoride in public water statewide, a move that would override local decisions on whether to add the cavity-fighting mineral to drinking water. The bill now awaits the signature of Gov. Spencer Cox, who has not said whether he will approve the measure, The Associated Press reported. If signed, Utah would be the first state to ban fluoride in public water systems, a move that has raised praise from some lawmakers but concerns from public health experts and dental professionals. Supporters of the bill, including state Rep. Stephanie Gricius and state Sen. Kirk Cullimore, both Republicans, argue that adding fluoride is too expensive. “I don’t dispute that there can be positive benefits from fluoride, which is why the bill also includes a deregulation of the prescription,” Gricius said in a text message to The Associated Press, referencing a fluoride pill. “This isn’t anti-fluoride legislation, it is pro-informed consent and individual choice.” But dental and other public health experts warn that banning fluoride could increase cavities, especially in low-income communities. Utah’s bill comes as newly appointed federal health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has expressed skepticism about water fluoridation, which is widely considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century. “Fluoridation is the most cost effective way to prevent tooth decay on… read on > read on >

Feeling scared? Your fear is a survival tool, but sometimes, it overreacts — making us afraid of things that aren’t true threats. A new study shows how the brain learns to let go of unnecessary fears, offering potential new ways for treating conditions such as anxiety, PTSD and phobias. Published in the journal Science, it tracked how mice responded to repeated harmless threats, such as a shadow that mimicked a predatory bird’s swoop. Over time, the mice learned the shadow wasn’t dangerous and stopped reacting. Scientists found that this “unlearning” of fear was stored in a previously overlooked part of the brain called the ventrolateral geniculate nucleus (vLGN). “We’ve uncovered the mechanism by which the brain — through experience — can understand which potential instinctive dangers are actually not a danger,” study leader Sara Mederos, a neuroscientist at University College London’s Sainsbury Wellcome Center, told The Washington Post. In the study, about 100 mice were exposed to 30 to 50 simulated “swoops,” using an expanding overhead shadow to mimic a bird of prey. By inserting silicon probes in the mice’s brains, scientists discovered that while the visual cortex helped the mice recognize the harmless threat, the vLGN actually helped store the memory to disregard it. By focusing on specific molecules and neurotransmitters released in this area of the brain, researchers think it may be possible… read on > read on >

A diet rich in fish might slow the progression of multiple sclerosis in some patients, a new study says. The nutrients found in fish can quell inflammation and protect brain cells, and this might be of particular benefit for MS patients, researchers reported in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. MS patients who ate larger amounts of lean or oily fish had a 34% lower risk of their symptoms growing worse, researchers found. They also had about a 45% lower risk of scoring worse on a scale that measures MS disability, the results show. “The results underscore the potential role of diet, particularly fish consumption, as a modifiable factor that could complement existing therapeutic strategies for MS,” concluded a team led by Anna Karin Hedström, a senior research specialist with the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. MS occurs when a person’s immune system attacks myelin, the protective sheath that coats nerve fibers. The damage to nerve cells causes the brain to shrink as well as symptoms like muscle weakness, stiffness, spasms, vision problems, thinking declines and pain. For the study, researchers analyzed data for more than 2,700 Swedish MS patients who participated in a nationwide study between April 2005 and June 2015. Upon entering the study, participants reported on many of their lifestyle habits, including their consumption of fish. Results showed that people who… read on > read on >

TUESDAY, Feb. 25, 2025 (HealthDay news) — Antidepressants are frequently prescribed to people with dementia for symptoms like anxiety, depression, aggressiveness and sleeplessness. But a specific class of antidepressant medications — selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) — actually might speed up brain decline among some dementia patients, a new Swedish study suggests. Heavier doses of certain SSRIs are tied to a higher risk for severe dementia, researchers reported in a new study published Feb. 24 in the journal BMC Medicine. Taking more than the average amount typically prescribed for these drugs was linked to an additional decline of 0.42 points per year in a dementia scale that runs from 0 to 30, researchers found. The SSRI drug escitalopram was associated with the fastest cognitive decline, followed by citalopram and sertraline. Mirtazapine, which works in a different way, had less negative impact on brain function, researchers found. “Depressive symptoms can both worsen cognitive decline and impair quality of life, so it is important to treat them,” said senior investigator Sara Garcia Ptacek, an assistant professor of neurology at the Karolinska Institute in Solna, Sweden. “Our results can help doctors and other healthcare professionals choose antidepressants that are better adapted for patients with dementia,” she added in a news release. For the study, researchers tracked the brain health of more than 18,700 patients enlisted in the Swedish… read on > read on >

Each hour a person spends squinting into a smartphone or staring at a screen increases their risk of nearsightedness, a new evidence review suggests. Every daily one-hour increment in digital screen time is associated with 21% higher odds of myopia, researchers reported recently in JAMA Network Open. What’s more, the risk continues to increase as more time each day is spent with screens, researchers found. “Myopia risk increased significantly from 1 to 4 hours of screen time and then rose more gradually thereafter,” the research team led by Young Kook Kim, an associate professor of ophthalmology with the Seoul National University College of Medicine in South Korea, wrote. The risk of nearsightedness is doubled for people who spend four or more hours with a screen every day, results show. The review suggests a “potential safety threshold of less than 1 hour per day of exposure, with an increase in odds up to 4 hours,” the researchers concluded. By 2050, nearly one-half of the world’s population is expected to be nearsighted, researchers said in background notes. Nearsightedness is when close-up objects look clear but distant objects appear blurry, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. For example, a nearsighted person can read a map but has trouble seeing well enough to drive a car without glasses or contacts. “The projected surge in myopia cases is likely… read on > read on >

Narcissists may seem self-assured, but new research shows they often feel excluded — and their behavior may be making things worse. Hallmarks of narcissm include an inflated sense of one’s importance, a hunger for admiration and negative response to criticism. The new research — published Feb. 20 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology — found that folks with those personality traits are more likely to be left out socially than their peers. And this rejection only reinforces their narcisstic behaviors, creating what the authors described as a self-perpetuating cycle. “Ostracism — being excluded and ignored — has severe, negative consequences,” they wrote. “Many people think of narcissism in terms of entitlement and arrogance, but our research highlights that narcissists also frequently experience social pain,” lead researcher Christiane Büttner of the University of Basel in Switzerland told The Washington Post. To explore the link between narcissism and exclusion, researchers analyzed data from multiple surveys and experiments conducted in Germany, the U.S., Britain, Switzerland and New Zealand. The study focused on “grandiose narcissists.” These are folks who display dominance, rivalry and are extra sensitive to social cues. This form of narcissism differs from “vulnerable narcissism,” which is more closely linked to insecurity, researchers noted. “One of the biggest questions going into this research was whether narcissists might actually report less ostracism because their grandiose self-image… read on > read on >

Frequent exercise can help colon cancer survivors live longer, perhaps even outlasting average folks, a new study suggests. Colon cancer patients who were very physically active had three-year survival rates that were slightly higher than the general population, researchers report in the journal Cancer. “This new information can help patients with colon cancer understand how factors that they can control — their physical activity levels — can have a meaningful impact on their long-term prognosis,” lead researcher Justin Brown, director of the Cancer Metabolism Program with the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University, said in a news release. For the study, his team pooled results from two National Cancer Institute-sponsored trials studying people treated for stage 3 colon cancer. In the trials, nearly 2,900 participants reported their levels of physical activity, which researchers translated into metabolic equivalents, or MET-hours per week. Results showed that participants who got 18 or more MET-hours of exercise per week had an overall three-year survival rate 3% higher than the general population. To put that in perspective, health guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week, which is equal to about 8 MET-hours per week. “Cancer survivors who were tumor-free by year three and regularly exercised achieved even better subsequent survival rates than those seen in the matched general population,” researchers noted in a news release. Examples… read on > read on >

MONDAY, Feb. 24, 2025 (HealthDay news) — Even slight weight loss spurred on by cutting-edge GLP-1 drugs can help prevent replacement knees and hips from wearing out, a new study suggests. People with new knees and hips are significantly less likely to need follow-up surgery to fix wear and tear on their artificial joint if they lose weight using Wegovy, Zepbound or other GLP-1 drugs, researchers reported in a new study published Feb. 21 in JAMA Network Open. Patients who lost 2% to 10% of their initial weight had an overall 25% lower risk of follow-up surgery, and those who lost 10% or more had a 43% lower risk. “A higher proportion of weight loss after initiating antiobesity medications within 1 year was associated with a lower risk of 5-year and 10-year revision among patients with obesity undergoing joint replacement,” concluded the research team led by Dr. Chao Zeng, an orthopedics specialist with Ziangya Hospital at Central South University in Changsha, China. “These results suggest that antiobesity medication use, with relatively safe and sustainable weight loss, may be an effective strategy for improving implant survivorship of hip and knee replacement in the obese population,” researchers added. In the U.S., about 900,000 knee replacement surgeries and 400,000 hip replacements occur each year, researchers said in background notes. Knee replacements can be expected to function well for… read on > read on >

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Physical Activity Linked to Better Mental, Brain Health

No Suicide Risk Associated With GLP-1 Drugs

Utah Moves to Ban Fluoride in Public Water

Study Reveals How the Brain Lets Go of Fear

MS Patients May Benefit From Eating More Fish

Antidepressants Might Accelerate Dementia Decline

Just One Hour of Screen Time Increases Risk of Nearsightedness

Narcissists Feel Left Out and Fuel More Rejection, Study Finds

Exercise Helps Colon Cancer Survivors Live Longer

Weight-Loss Drugs Could Help Extend Life of Replacement Joints