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Untreated high blood pressure in your 60s could raise your risk for Alzheimer’s disease later, new research shows. The good news: Simple steps can ease hypertension, researchers said. The global study found that “taking blood pressure medications was associated with decreased risk of Alzheimer’s disease throughout later life,” said study lead author Dr. Matthew Lennon, of the University of New South Wales in Australia. “These results suggest that treating high blood pressure as a person ages continues to be a crucial factor in reducing their risk of Alzheimer’s disease.” The findings were published Aug. 14 in the journal Neurology. As Lennon explained in a journal news release, “taking blood pressure medications has also been found in previous research to reduce a person’s risk of dementias overall, but less is known about how blood pressure affects a person’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease.” Trying to answer that question, his team conducted a “meta-analysis” of data on more than 31,000 people who had been in 14 studies that measured cognitive change and dementia diagnosis over time. Participants came from the United States, but also from a large number of diverse nationalities around the world. A total of 1,415 cases of Alzheimer’s disease were diagnosed among the group over an average follow-up of four years. Overall, 9% of participants were found to have untreated high blood pressure, the… read on > read on >

A study of more than 400,000 people tracked for up to 24 years finds that those who got their dietary fat from plants versus animals had significantly lower odds of dying during the study period. Plant-based fats’ benefit included a reduced odds for deaths due to heart disease, the research showed. Conversely, the study “provides evidence that diets high in animal-based fats, including dairy and eggs, are associated with elevated risks of overall and cardiovascular disease mortality,” concluded a team led by Dr. Demetrius Albanes, of the U.S. National Cancer Institute. As the researchers noted, the composition of fats found in plant sources — grains, vegetables, beans or nuts — differs greatly from that sourced from animals. “Plant-based fats are recognized for their greater composition of monounsaturated fatty acids [MUFAs] and polyunsaturated fatty acids [PUFAs], whereas animal-based fats are characterized by a higher proportion of saturated fatty acids [SFAs],” the team explained. Bodies need fat to live, but U.S. dietary guidelines say that cutting down on saturated fats and replacing them with unsaturated fats is a healthy move. How much would that help folks over the long term? To find out, Albanes’ team looked at dietary and health data collected from 1995 through 2019 as part of the National Institutes of Health AARP Diet and Health Study. The analysis included data on 407,531 adults who… read on > read on >

Advocates for the use of the psychedelic drug MDMA (midomafetamine) to treat mental health conditions were delivered a setback on Friday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve it as treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There is insufficient evidence that MDMA — currently illegal and also known as Ecstasy or molly — can ease PTSD, the agency told Lykos Therapeutics, a company that’s been seeking to gain approval for the drug’s legitimate use. The FDA asked that Lykos conduct another clinical trial to determine whether MDMA is safe and effective against PTSD — a demand that could mean many years and millions of dollars before another chance at approval would arise. “The FDA request for another study is deeply disappointing, not just for all those who dedicated their lives to this pioneering effort, but principally for the millions of Americans with PTSD, along with their loved ones, who have not seen any new treatment options in over two decades,” Lykos Therapeutics CEO Amy Emerson said in a statement. “While conducting another Phase 3 study would take several years, we still maintain that many of the requests that had been previously discussed with the FDA and raised at the [agency’s] advisory committee meeting can be addressed with existing data, post-approval requirements or through reference to the scientific literature,” Emerson added. Many had… read on > read on >

Eating more fruits and veggies can lower blood pressure and improve heart health by reducing acid levels in the body, a new clinical trial finds. People who added two to four cups of fruits and vegetables to their daily diet wound up with lower blood pressure and reduced heart disease risk, as well as improved kidney health, trial results published Aug. 6 in the American Journal of Medicine showed. “This supports our recommendation that fruits and vegetables should be ‘foundational’ treatment for patients with hypertension, because we accomplish all three goals [kidney health, lower blood pressure and reduced cardiovascular disease risk] with fruits and vegetables, and we can do so with lower medication doses,” said researcher Maninder Kahlon, an associate professor of population health with the University of Texas at Austin Medical School. In other words, doctors should first have people eat more fruits and veggies before starting them on blood pressure medications, the researchers said. “Dietary interventions for chronic disease management are often not recommended and even less often executed because of the many challenges to get patients to implement them,” explained lead researcher Dr. Donald Wesson, a professor of internal medicine with the University of Texas at Austin. “Nevertheless, they are effective, and in this instance, kidney- and cardiovascular-protective.” “We must increase our efforts to incorporate them into patient management and more broadly,… read on > read on >

Millions of Americans use the opioid-like herbal supplement known as kratom, but evidence of its dangers continue to mount. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued another alert for consumers to stay away from one brand of kratom in particular, OPMS Black Liquid Kratom. “The FDA recently received an adverse event report of a person who died after using OPMS Black Liquid Kratom,” the agency noted. “This is one of many reports of serious adverse events individuals have reported” after using the supplement, the FDA added. Kratom is an herbal supplement derived from the dried leaves of a tropical evergreen tree in the coffee family. A chemical called mitragynine, found in kratom, tweaks some of the same brain receptors that respond to opioids. However, overdoses of mitragynine are toxic to the liver and can prove fatal. Kratom has been used for centuries in its native Southeast Asia to produce increased energy and relaxation, according to the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse. The drug is largely unregulated: Anyone can buy kratom online, and it can be found in convenience stores, gas stations and vape shops. Some bars serving botanical drinks offer kratom tea. About 1.7 million people 12 and older used kratom in the United States in 2021, according to the National Survey on Drug Use. The new alert from the FDA noted that… read on > read on >

New research has added two conditions to the list of 12 risk factors that boost the chances of a dementia diagnosis. The good news? You can guard against the development of both and researchers offer advice on exactly how to do that. In a study published Wednesday in The Lancet, scientists reported that new evidence now supports adding vision loss and high cholesterol to the list of modifiable risk factors for the memory-robbing illness. “Our new report reveals that there is much more that can and should be done to reduce the risk of dementia. It’s never too early or too late to take action, with opportunities to make an impact at any stage of life,” lead study author Gill Livingston, from University College London, said in a journal news release. “We now have stronger evidence that longer exposure to risk has a greater effect and that risks act more strongly in people who are vulnerable,” Livingston added. “That’s why it is vital that we redouble preventive efforts towards those who need them most.” The new risk factors for dementia join a list that includes: Less education Head injury Physical inactivity Smoking Excessive alcohol consumption High blood pressure Obesity Diabetes Hearing loss Depression Infrequent social contact Air pollution Luckily, years of research have suggested that eating healthy, exercising and avoiding both smoking and excessive alcohol use should improve… read on > read on >

Don’t use a chemical peel to help rejuvenate your skin unless it’s done under the supervision of a trained professional, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has advised. “FDA is warning consumers not to purchase or use certain chemical peel skin products without appropriate professional supervision due to risk of serious skin injuries,” the agency said in a news release issued this week. A dermatologist or licensed and trained practitioner should always be on hand when a peel — which is designed to remove layers of skin — is being applied. The FDA reminded consumers that it has never approved a chemical peel, and some contains levels of acid so high that they can cause chemical burns. Nevertheless, many of these products “are sold in beauty product stores and online and marketed for purposes such as acne, discoloration, wrinkles and collagen production,” the agency noted. “They contain ingredients such as trichloroacetic acid (TCA), glycolic acid, salicylic acid and lactic acid in varying concentrations that are too high to be used safely at home without supervision.” Just how dangerous an unsupervised chemical peel might be depends on how concentrated an acid is used and the number of applications and length of time each is applied. “These products remove layers of skin to varying depths and may cause severe chemical burns, pain, swelling, infection, skin color changes… read on > read on >

High blood pressure might increase a woman’s odds of suffering migraines, a new study finds. Specifically, high diastolic blood pressure is linked to a slightly higher risk of women ever having a migraine, researchers reported July 31 in the journal Neurology. Diastolic pressure is the second number in a blood pressure reading, and occurs when the heart is resting between beats. The study found that no other heart health risk factors appear to increase risk of a migraine, even though migraines have been linked to higher odds of having a stroke, heart attack or heart disease. “Our study looked at well-known risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as diabetes, smoking, obesity and high cholesterol and found an increased odds of having migraine only in female participants with higher diastolic blood pressure,” said researcher Antoinette Maassen van den Brink, a professor with Erasmus MC University Medical Center in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. For the study, researchers analyzed health data for more than 7,200 people with an average age of 67. About 15% had suffered a migraine at some point in their lives. Women with higher diastolic pressure had 16% higher odds of having a migraine, and those odds further increased as their diastolic pressure ticked up, results show. The finding adds weight to the theory that migraines are linked to problems with small blood vessels rather than… read on > read on >

Prior studies have found that statin meds can help lower liver cancer risks, and new research suggests that at least one non-statin cholesterol drug can do the same. A team led by Katherine McGlynn of the U.S. National Cancer Institute looked at the health histories of almost 19,000 people tracked by the U.K.’s Clinical Practice Research Datalink. About 3,700 of them developed liver cancer, and their medication use was compared to almost 15,000 others who did not get the disease. McGlynn’s team linked use of a non-statin form of cholesterol-lowering meds, called cholesterol absorption inhibitors, to 31% lower odds of developing liver cancer. Their findings were reported July 29 in the journal Cancer. The link held when the researchers accounted for other risk factors such as diabetes and liver disease status. The study also re-confirmed that statins lower liver cancer risk by 35%. But the use of three other medicines used to lower cholesterol — fibrates, omega-3 fatty acids and niacin — did not seem to affect liver cancer risk, the research showed. Risks attributed to another drug type, bile acid sequestrants, were inconclusive. “As few studies have examined the effects of non-statin cholesterol-lowering drugs on liver cancer risk, the results of our study require replication in other populations,” McGlynn said in a journal news release. “If our findings are confirmed in other studies, however,… read on > read on >

People taking compounded versions of Ozempic have been overdosing on the drug, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns. These ODs typically are due to miscommunications or miscalculations regarding dosage, the FDA added. “Dosing errors have resulted from patients measuring and self-administering incorrect doses of the drug and health care providers miscalculating doses of the drug,” the FDA alert said. Health problems caused by overdoses of compounded semaglutide — the main ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy — include severe nausea, vomiting and hypoglycemia, the FDA said. Other side effects include fainting, headache, migraine, dehydration, pancreatitis and gallstones. People who have a severe overdose might need to be kept for observation for an extended period, since the half-life of semaglutide is about a week, the FDA said. Drug compounding involves combining, mixing or altering drugs to create a medication tailored to the needs of an individual patient. “FDA is aware of compounded semaglutide products that are being marketed for weight loss,” the agency said. “Compounded drugs pose a higher risk to patients than FDA-approved drugs because compounded drugs do not undergo FDA premarket review for safety, quality or effectiveness.” “Compounded drugs should only be used for patients whose medical needs cannot be met by an available FDA-approved drug,” the agency added. Compounded semaglutide products can come in varying concentrations, and often are provided in multiple-use vials… read on > read on >