Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

A walk in the woods appears to sharpen the mind better than an urban asphalt amble, a new brain scan study finds. People strolling through an arboretum at the University of Utah performed better on brain function tests than those who walked around an asphalt-laden medical campus, according to findings published recently in the journal Scientific Reports. EEG data showed that a nature walk lit up brain regions related to executive control, which influences a person’s working memory, decision-making, problem-solving and planning, researchers said. “The kinds of things that we do on an everyday basis tend to heavily use those executive attentional networks,” said researcher David Strayer, a professor of psychology at the University of Utah. “It’s an essential component of higher-order thinking.” Humans have a primal need for nature, the researchers noted. “There’s an idea called biophilia that basically says that our evolution over hundreds of thousands of years has got us to have more of a connection or a love of natural living things,” Strayer said in a university news release. “And our modern urban environment has become this dense urban jungle with cellphones and cars and computers and traffic, just the opposite of that kind of restorative environment,” he added. To see how a nature walk might affect the brain, researchers recruited 92 participants and recorded EEG readings on each immediately before and… read on > read on >

Elon Musk, co-founder of Neuralink, said this week that the company placed the first brain implant in a human over the weekend. In a statement posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter that is now owned by Musk, the billionaire said the patient was “recovering well.” He added that “initial results show promising neuron spike detection.” Musk offered no additional details about the patient. But when Neuralink announced in September that it would begin recruiting people for brain implant trials, the company said it was searching for people with quadriplegia due to spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Laura Cabrera, who researches brain science at Pennsylvania State University, told the Associated Press that even though Neuralink uses cutting-edge robotic surgery to place the device precisely in the brain, there are potential dangers to the procedure. Brain surgery is “not a trivial thing,” she said, bringing with it risks such as brain hemorrhage or seizures. “And so I think we have to be mindful that even though they’re using a novel way to implant the device, we just don’t know if it’s truly going to be a … safer approach for human patients.” Neuralink isn’t the only company developing brain-computer interface technology to treat brain disorders and overcome brain injuries. According to clinicaltrials.gov, there are more than 40 such trials in progress. Neuralink’s device… read on > read on >

It’s been a staple at Korean dinner tables for centuries, and the fermented veggie concoction known as kimchi is increasingly familiar to Americans. Now, Korean researchers say a few servings of the spicy food each day might help stave off weight gain. “Consumption of 1–3 servings/day of total kimchi was associated with a lower risk of obesity in men,” and smaller amounts were linked to similar trends among women, concluded a team led by Sangah Shin. She’s with the department of food and nutrition at Chung Ang University, in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. However, there were a couple of downsides to eating too much kimchi, her team added. First, the popular side dish contains a lot of salt, which is never great for health. Secondly, beyond the one-to-three servings per day that did show a benefit, eating more kimchi was linked with obesity overall, the study found. The research was based on data from almost 116,000 Koreans over 40 who were participating in an ongoing health study. About 79,000 were women and about 39,000 were men, and they averaged 51 years of age. Among other factors, the study used questionnaires to track what folks ate each day, and BMI and waist measurements were also obtained. As for “serving sizes,” that varied based on what type of kimchi (usually made from cabbage and/or radish) was eaten. For… read on > read on >

A disturbing number of people sick with an infectious disease conceal their illness to avoid missing work, travel or social events, new research reveals. About three in four people (75%) had either hidden an infectious illness from others at least once or might do so in the future. These folks reported boarding planes, going on dates and engaging in other social activities while sick, heedless of the infection risk they posed to others, according to a report published Jan. 24 in the journal Psychological Science. This even included health care workers, who presumably should know better. More than three in five people in health care (61%) said they had concealed an infectious illness, results show. The researchers also found a difference between how people actually behave when they’re sick versus how they believe they would act. “Healthy people forecasted that they would be unlikely to hide harmful illnesses — those that spread easily and have severe symptoms — but actively sick people reported high levels of concealment, regardless of how harmful their illness was to others,” said lead researcher Wilson Merrell, a doctoral candidate from the University of Michigan. In one part of the study, Merrell and his colleagues recruited more than 900 participants on the University of Michigan campus, including about 400 university health care employees. Study participants were asked how many days they’d… read on > read on >

U.S. cases of syphilis have soared past numbers seen just a decade ago, new government statistics show. The grim numbers are for 2022, the latest year for which an accurate tally is available. More than 202,000 cases were recorded among Americans that year — a 17% rise over 2021 numbers and an 80% rise over numbers recorded in 2018, the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. Congenital syphilis — when the disease is passed from a mother to her newborn — can be very harmful to infants, and those cases have also risen at an alarming rate. Over 3,700 such cases were reported in 2022, the CDC reported in November, including 231 stillbirths and 51 infant deaths. Left untreated, syphilis in adults can damage the heart and brain and cause blindness, deafness and paralysis. Why the steady, sharp rise in cases? Experts believe that reductions in condom use have occurred as more Americans are turning to drug regimens that effectively prevent HIV infections without condoms. According to the New York Times, condom use by high school students has fallen by 8 percentage points between 2011 and 2021. The number of clinics focused on sexual health has also declined nationwide, experts say. “Sexual health services remain inadequate relative to the need pretty much everywhere,” Dr. Jay Varma, chief medical officer at… read on > read on >

The maker of a drug used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy has recalled one lot of the medication after a pill mixup was discovered. The recall notice, issued by Azurity Pharmaceuticals Inc., states that one lot of Zenzedi 30-milligram tablets is being recalled after a pharmacist found antihistamine tablets in a bottle labeled as Zenzedi. The active compound in Zenzedi is dextroamphetamine sulfate, a stimulant used for the treatment of narcolepsy and ADHD. Meanwhile, the allergy drug found in the mislabeled bottles contains the sedative carbinoxamine, which has the opposite effect of a stimulant. The recall comes amid an ongoing national shortage of ADHD drugs, creating further frustration for people with ADHD who have struggled to find medications for their condition, CNN reported. The recall notice said that people who take carbinoxamine instead of Zenzedi have a higher risk of accidents or injuries and may have drowsiness, increased eye pressure, urinary obstruction and thyroid disorder. The recalled lot has the lot number F230169A and an expiration date of June 2025. Azurity added that it has not received any reports of serious injury related to the medication mixup. Consumers who have the recalled medication should return it to their pharmacy and call their doctor if they have any bad reactions to the drug. Problems may also be reported to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program. More information Drugs.com has… read on > read on >

A white winter landscape might look magical, but the cold and snow and ice can make even the simplest of tasks potentially dangerous. “It’s slip and fall season,” said Dr. Letitia Bradford, an orthopedic surgeon who practices in rural communities in New Mexico and California. “We see a lot of ankle and wrist fractures during this time as people are slipping on water when it’s raining and ice spots or snow in colder areas.” Orthopedic surgeons with the American College of Surgeons (ACS) have some important tips for getting through the winter safe and injury-free: Slow down People who are cautious and mindful of conditions around them are less likely to slip and fall, Bradford said. “The thing that I tell people the most is to really take their time when doing something. Most of the time, injuries like slips and falls happen when you’re in a hurry,” Bradford said. People should move slowly and deliberately and keep an eye out for hazards like puddles, black ice and snow-hidden curbs when walking about, especially when carrying things like grocery bags that obstruct your view of the ground. “You can’t always watch out for ice spots because they do sneak up on you sometimes, but try to be wary of them when walking,” Bradford said. “Taking your time really is the key to a lot of… read on > read on >

Five of eight British children who received human growth hormone from the pituitary glands of deceased donors went on to develop early-onset Alzheimer’s disease many decades later, researchers report. Researchers at University College London (UCL) suspect that the growth hormone received by these people in childhood may have contained amyloid-beta protein plaques, which build up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease over time. Their finding suggests that — in very rare contexts like these — the brain-robbing disease could be transmitted person-to-person. However, “there is no evidence that amyloid beta can be transmitted in other contexts — for example, during activities of daily life or provision of routine care,” wrote a team led by Dr. John Collinge. He’s a professor of neurology and head of the department of neurodegenerative disease at the UCL Institute of Neurology. The findings were published Jan. 29 in the journal Nature Medicine. As explained by the researchers, between 1959 and 1985 British children with growth issues were sometimes treated with human growth hormone that was extracted from the pituitary glands of cadavers. However, doctors worldwide put a halt to the practice when it came to light that these procedures could transmit a type of misfolded protein called a prion, which in turn could trigger a deadly degenerative brain disorder called Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD). When seen in animals, the… read on > read on >

It’s not easy to lose weight, especially when facing a world filled with the temptation of tasty treats and rich, delicious meals. But being kind to yourself can make the difference when it comes to sticking to a diet, a new study reports. Dieters who practice self-compassion — showing themselves the same care and kindness they’d show loved ones — are better able to get past an overeating setback and stick to their weight-loss goals, researchers reported recently in the journal Appetite. Study participants reported more self-control over their eating and exercise if they gave themselves a break regarding a recent diet lapse, researchers found. The findings suggest that self-compassion can prevent people from becoming demoralized by a setback, said Charlotte Hagerman, an assistant research professor with Drexel University’s Weight, Eating and Lifestyle Science (WELL) Center. “Many people worry that self-compassion will cause complacency and lead them to settle for inadequacy, but this study is a great example of how self-compassion can help people be more successful in meeting their goals,” Hagerman said in a Drexel news release. “The road to achieving difficult goals — especially weight loss — is paved with setbacks,” Hagerman added. “Practicing self-compassion helps people cope with self-defeating thoughts and feelings in response to setbacks, so that they are less debilitated by them. In turn, they can more quickly resume pursuing… read on > read on >

Stuart Douglas, 78, has played the accordion all his long life. “I learned to play the accordion as a boy living in a mining village in Fife and carried on throughout my career in the police force and beyond,” said Douglas, of Cornwall, England. “These days I still play regularly, and playing in the band also keeps my calendar full, as we often perform in public.” Douglas’ playing has done more than keep him busy. A new study suggests it also kept his mind sharp as he aged. Playing a musical instrument, particularly the piano, is linked to improved memory and the ability to solve complex tasks, according to a new report published Jan. 28 in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. Researchers also found that continuing to play into later life provides even greater benefit. “Overall, we think that being musical could be a way of harnessing the brain’s agility and resilience, known as cognitive reserve,” said study co-author Anne Corbett, a professor of dementia research at the University of Exeter in the UK. For the study, researchers analyzed data on more than a thousand adults over the age of 40 participating in an ongoing study of brain health. Singing was also linked to better brain health, although researchers said this might be due to the social factors of being part of a choir… read on > read on >