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People threatened by accidental exposure to foods they’re allergic to may have a new weapon of defense: On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the use of the asthma drug Xolair to help prevent anaphylactic reactions. Xolair (omalizumab) is an injected drug and is not meant as a substitute for EpiPens or other anaphylaxis rescue remedies, the agency stressed. Instead, “Xolair is intended for repeated use to reduce the risk of allergic reactions” if and when they occur, the FDA explained in a news release. Made by Genentech, Xolair is the first medication approved to help reduce allergic reactions to multiple types of foods, the agency noted. Xolair was first approved in 2003 for the treatment of moderate to severe allergic asthma. It’s also been approved to treat a skin rash called urticaria, as well as chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps in certain patients. The medication is a monoclonal antibody that works by binding to and blocking the function of immunoglobulin E (IgE), the antibody that helps trigger an allergic reaction. “This newly approved use for Xolair will provide a treatment option to reduce the risk of harmful allergic reactions among certain patients with IgE-mediated food allergies,” Dr. Kelly Stone said in the news release. She’s associate director of the Division of Pulmonology, Allergy and Critical Care in the FDA’s Center for Drug… read on > read on >

Indigenous people in seven countries, including the United States and Canada, appear to be more likely to suffer a stroke than non-natives, a new, large review finds. “Disparities are especially evident in countries where high average quality of life and long life expectancies are often not mirrored in Indigneous populations,” said study author Anna Balabanski of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. “These disparities may reflect inequitable access to resources to prevent and manage stroke,” she added in a university news release. Besides the United States and Canada, the 24 studies reviewed were done in Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore and Sweden — countries with high standards of living, health and knowledge. The review found stroke risk was higher in six countries for indigenous people than for non-natives. In New Zealand, native Māoris were more likely to have a stroke than non-natives, the study found, but researchers noted the finding was from a single study done in 2002 and 2003. In the United States, American Indians were 20% more likely to have a stroke than non-natives; and in Canada, Métis people were 40% more likely to have a stroke. In Australia and Singapore, the risks for indigenous peoples were even more stark. Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders were up to 70% more likely to have a stroke than non-native people. And Malay people in Singapore… read on > read on >

TUESDAY, Feb. 13Two of the most common pregnancy complications for women, high blood pressure and gestational diabetes, could jeopardize the future heart health of their children, a new study suggests. Researchers found that the children of women who developed either or both of those conditions during pregnancy showed signs of less-than-ideal heart health before the age of 12. “Through our research, we’ve found an association between diabetes and high blood pressure during pregnancy and indicators of compromised heart health in children on the cusp of adolescence,” said study lead author Dr. Kartik Venkatesh, director of the Diabetes in Pregnancy Program at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center. “This underscores the potential for interventions aimed at averting or managing these health issues before they escalate in adulthood.” In the study, his team looked at 3,317 mothers and their children. Among the mothers, 8% developed high blood pressure during pregnancy, 12% developed diabetes and 3% developed both high blood pressure and diabetes. Researchers then looked at the heart health of their children between the ages of 10 and 14. They measured factors like body-mass index, blood pressure, total cholesterol and blood sugar levels. They found that before the age of 12, more than half of the children (55.5%) had at least one factor that put them at greater risk for heart disease and stroke. The findings were… read on > read on >

Replacing regular salt with a salt substitute can reduce high blood pressure in older adults, a new study has found. Older adults who use a salt substitute are 40% less likely to develop high blood pressure compared to those who use regular salt, according to findings published Feb. 12 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. “Adults frequently fall into the trap of consuming excess salt through easily accessible and budget-friendly processed foods,” said lead researcher Dr. Yangfeng Wu, executive director of the Peking University Clinical Research Institute in Beijing. “It’s crucial to recognize the impact of our dietary choices on heart health and increase the public’s awareness of lower-sodium options,” he added in a journal news release. High blood pressure is the leading risk factor for heart disease and heart-related death, according to the World Health Organization. It affects more than 1.4 billion adults worldwide and results in 10.8 million deaths each year. For this study, researchers evaluated how sodium reduction might help the blood pressure of seniors residing in care facilities in China. The study involved more than 600 participants, age 55 and older, from 48 care facilities. All patients had blood pressure under 104/90 mmHG, and were not on any blood pressure medications. Half of the care facilities replaced salt with a salt substitute in residents’ meals, while the other… read on > read on >

Novo Nordisk has settled lawsuits against two Florida businesses that claimed to sell copycat versions of its popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. The Danish drugmaker announced the settlements Friday, according to NBC News. The move capped a legal battle that began in late November when the company filed 12 lawsuits against clinics, medical spas and compounding pharmacies in the United States that claimed to offer semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy. Novo Nordisk, which holds the patent on semaglutide, does not supply the ingredient to outside groups, NBC News noted. Semaglutide is used to treat type 2 diabetes and is a popular, injectable weight-loss drug. With the settlements announced last week, Florida-based Cosmetic Laser Professionals Med Spa and Nuvida Rx Weight Loss are permanently barred from claiming that their compounded drugs have approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Novo Nordisk said. They are also forbidden from “misleading” advertising and using any Novo Nordisk trademarks or logos in their products. The settlement gives both companies a year to make the necessary changes. Compounded drugs are custom-made. Ingredients are combined, mixed or altered for an individual patient. While these drugs are not FDA-approved, they are often sought when approved medications are in short supply. As use of semaglutide for weight control has soared, many patients with diabetes who depend on it to… read on > read on >

Don’t expect to sweat away the heart risks posed by sugary sodas and drinks, a new study warns. Canadian researchers found that even if the recommended 150 minutes of weekly physical activity protects against cardiovascular disease, it’s not enough to counter the adverse effects of sugar-sweetened beverages. “Physical activity reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease associated with sugar-sweetened beverages by half, but it does not fully eliminate it,” said researcher Jean-Philippe Drouin-Chartier, an assistant professor with Université Laval’s Faculty of Pharmacy in Quebec, said in a university news release. Researchers noted that sugar-sweetened drinks are the largest source of added sugars in the North American diet. For the study, they analyzed data on about 100,000 adults who were followed for an average of three decades. Those who consumed sugar-sweetened beverages more than twice a week had a higher risk of heart disease, regardless of their physical activity levels. With daily consumption, the risk of heart disease is even higher, researchers noted. Drouin-Chartier noted that the sugary drinks in the study included sodas, lemonade and fruit cocktails. The study didn’t specifically consider energy drinks, but those also tend to contain heavy doses of sugar. Artificially sweetened drinks were not associated with higher risk of heart disease, the researchers found. “Replacing sugar-sweetened beverages by diet drinks is good, because it reduces the amount of sugar. But the… read on > read on >

Ohio resident Erica Hutson was in her 20s when she found out she had high cholesterol through a health check required by insurance. Because she was young and fit, Hutson shrugged off the test result. But Hutson changed her mind about it a decade later, when her father died of coronary artery disease in his 60s and she discovered it ran in her family. “His death really made me think about things and put my life into a whole different perspective,” said Hutson, now 37. More Americans need to follow Hutson’s example and discover their heart risk factors earlier in life, according to a new national survey conducted by Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center. Fewer than half of Americans know their blood pressure or ideal weight, and less than one in five know their cholesterol or blood sugar levels, the survey found. “Recognizing heart disease risk factors early and adequately treating them can potentially prevent heart attacks, strokes and heart failure. As a society, we need to shift from sick care to preventative care so people can live their best and fullest lives possible,” said Dr. Laxmi Mehta, director of preventative cardiology and women’s cardiovascular health at Wexner. The survey asked more than 1,000 adults nationwide if they knew their blood pressure level, ideal weight, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. The highest number knew… read on > read on >

A company in Ecuador that processed the cinnamon used in flavored applesauce pouches destined for the American market is the likely source of lead contamination in those products, U.S. investigators said. In an update to its investigation into recalled WanaBana, Weis and Schnucks brand cinnamon-flavored applesauce pouches, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said a now-defunct Ecuadorian company called Carlos Aguilera is to blame for high amounts of lead in the product. Carlos Aguilera processed raw cinnamon sticks originating in Sri Lanka, the FDA explained. However, Ecuadorian officials analyzed the unprocessed cinnamon sticks, which were “found to have no lead contamination” before being processed. Lead contamination appears to have been introduced during processing at Carlos Aguilera, according to the FDA. Carlos Aguilera then sent the cinnamon to another company, Negasmart, which in turn sold it to Austrofoods, the manufacturer of the recalled applesauce pouches. The investigation reveals the complex international web of food suppliers, processors and manufacturers which makes FDA oversight of imported products sold in American supermarkets very tough, the agency said. Legally, the FDA’s hands are tied. “The FDA has limited authority over foreign ingredient suppliers who do not directly ship product to the U.S.,” the agency explained in its statement. “This is because their food undergoes further manufacturing/processing prior to export. Thus, the FDA cannot take direct action with Negasmart or Carlos Aguilera.”… read on > read on >

New research suggests healthy lifestyles can help stave off dementia, perhaps by building a resilient ‘cognitive reserve’ in the aging brain. The study was based on the brain autopsies on 586 people who lived to an average age of almost 91. Researchers compared each person’s lifestyle and end-of-life mental skills to their neurological signs of dementia, such as brain protein plaques or changes in brain blood flow. None of these brain factors seemed to greatly affect the positive connection between healthy living and a person’s end-of-live mental skills, said a team led by Dr. Klodian Dhana, of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. That means that good nutrition, regular exercise and other factors may instead “provide a cognitive reserve” that buffers against negative changes going on within the brain — allowing older folk to “maintain cognitive abilities” over time, the researchers said. “You can almost sort of cheat the biology a little bit and still not get the symptomatology as early” as someone who’s less healthy, said Dr. Liron Sinvani, who wasn’t involved in the study. She directs geriatric hospitalist services at Northwell Health in Uniondale, N.Y. The study was published Feb. 5 in the journal JAMA Neurology. As Dhana’s group notes, it’s long been known that certain lifestyle choices — eating well, exercising, avoiding smoking and heavy drinking — are linked to lower rates… read on > read on >

The weight-loss drug Zepbound provides more health benefits than dropping pounds and controlling diabetes, a new study shows. It also appears to help people with obesity manage their high blood pressure, results show. Patients taking Zepbound (tirzepatide) experienced a significant reduction in their systolic blood pressure, the top number in a blood pressure reading, according to a study published Feb. 5 in the journal Hypertension. Systolic blood pressure is a stronger predictor for heart-related death than the diastolic bottom number, researchers said in background notes. “Although tirzepatide has been studied as a weight-loss medication, the blood pressure reduction in our patients in this study was impressive,” said lead researcher Dr. James de Lemos, chair of cardiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Tirzepatide works by mimicking two hormones in the body that stimulate insulin secretion and sensitivity after a person eats. The drug helps slow down digestion, reduce appetite and regulate blood sugar levels. For the study, 600 adults with obesity were assigned to take either a placebo or varying doses of tirzepatide, which is administered through injection. After 36 weeks, results showed that: Participants taking 5 mg of tirzepatide had an average systolic blood pressure reduction of 7.4 mm Hg People taking 10 mg had an average systolic blood pressure reduction of 10.6 mm Hg Participants taking 15 mg had an average systolic… read on > read on >