Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

COVID-19 is unlike other respiratory viruses known to humans, but in time it could evolve into a seasonal scourge like the flu. That’s according to a new report in which researchers lay out the case for a possible seasonal COVID. The scenario depends on many unknowns, and assumes the new coronavirus will bend to weather factors. And that would not happen until enough people have been exposed to the virus — or vaccinated — to provide a level of herd immunity, the researchers said in their report in the journal Frontiers in Public Health. But they believe that endemic respiratory viruses — including the flu and common coronaviruses that cause cold symptoms — give hints as to what could happen with COVID. All of those viruses have a seasonal variation, being susceptible to changes in weather patterns like temperature and humidity. SARS-CoV-2 has yet to show any signs of seasonality. Cases in the United States soared during the hot summer months, in contrast to typical respiratory viruses that dissipate at that time. But as more people are exposed to SARS-CoV-2, that pattern could change, according to report author Dr. Hassan Zaraket, of American University of Beirut in Lebanon. “We think it’s highly likely, given what we know so far, COVID-19 will eventually become seasonal, like other coronaviruses,” he said in a journal news release. However,… read on >

A drug long used to treat Parkinson’s disease may benefit patients with a severe form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a small clinical trial suggests. One of the leading causes of vision loss in older people is a condition called dry macular degeneration. More than 15% of Americans over age 70 have AMD, and 10% to 15% of those cases go on to develop the more severe wet macular degeneration, which can cause swift and complete vision loss. Typically, wet AMD is treated with injections of medication into the eye. Most people need several per year to keep the disease from progressing. But this small, early-stage clinical trial suggests an alternative may be on the horizon: the leading drug used to treat Parkinson’s disease, called levodopa. The trial was an outgrowth of a 2016 study that found Parkinson’s patients who took levodopa were less likely to develop macular degeneration. “The study found a relationship between taking levodopa and macular regeneration,” said Dr. Robert Snyder, a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Arizona, in Tucson. “It delayed the onset of both dry and wet macular degeneration, and reduced the odds of getting wet macular degeneration.” Macular degeneration affects the macula, part of the eye that allows you to see fine detail. Wet AMD happens when abnormal blood vessels grow under the macula; often, these blood… read on >

Want to fend off high blood pressure? New research adds to the pile of evidence showing that living healthy can help you avoid hypertension. The study included nearly 3,000 Black and white U.S. adults, aged 45 and older, who didn’t have high blood pressure at the start of the study. The participants’ heart health was assessed with the American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7 tool, which measures seven risk factors: body mass index, diet, smoking, physical activity, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. A score of 10 to 14 is ideal; 5 to 9 is average, and 0 to 4 is poor. The median score among the participants was 9. Over about nine years of follow-up, 42% of participants developed high blood pressure. The rates among Black adults were 52% in women and 50% in men. Among white adults the rates were 37% in women and 42% in men. Each 1-point higher score was associated with a 6% lower risk of high blood pressure, without significant difference by race or sex, according to the study published Sept. 15 in the Journal of the American Heart Association. “High blood pressure is among the most common conditions in the U.S., and it contributes to the greatest burden of disability and largest reduction in healthy life expectancy among any disease,” said lead author Dr. Timothy Plante, an… read on >

Smokers have a significantly raised risk of dying from a bleeding stroke, a new study warns. For the study, researchers analyzed data from over 16,000 same-sex twin pairs in Finland. The twins were born before 1958 and followed for about 42 years (between 1976 and 2018). During the follow-up, there were 120 deaths from subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). This is a type of bleeding stroke that occurs under the membrane that covers the brain. The median age at death was about 61. Compared to nonsmokers, the risk of fatal bleeding in the brain was three times higher among heavy and moderate smokers, and 2.8 times higher among light smokers. The findings were published Sept. 17 in the journal Stroke. “Our study provides further evidence about the link between smoking and bleeding in the brain,” co-author Ilari Rautalin said in a journal news release. Rautalin is a sixth-year medical and Ph.D. student at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Unlike previous research, this study found that high blood pressure, lower levels of physical activity and being female weren’t significant factors in the risk of a fatal brain bleed. The paper didn’t have data on nonfatal cases. And the researchers couldn’t assess the impact of previous smoking on these brain bleeds, because former smokers and never smokers were combined in the nonsmoking category. Still, “this long-term study in… read on >

Dealing with acne can be especially difficult for people of color, a skin expert says. Acne affects up to 50 million people in the United States each year. For people of color, acne is often accompanied by dark spots or patches called hyperpigmentation. “Acne is the most common skin condition in the U.S., and it can be particularly frustrating for people with skin of color because of the discoloration and scarring that can occur after blemishes heal,” said Dr. Crystal Aguh, a dermatologist in Columbia, Md. “For these reasons, it’s critical to treat acne in skin of color carefully and avoid skin care products that can exacerbate discoloration,” she explained in an American Academy of Dermatology news release. For mild acne, try using products that contain a retinoid and benzoyl peroxide or a product containing salicylic acid or retinol. Use only skin care labeled “non-comedogenic” or “won’t clog pores,” since clogged pores can lead to breakouts. Don’t use skin care products that contain cocoa butter, as these can cause acne. Always check with your dermatologist before using at-home or herbal remedies, Aguh advised. Don’t pick, squeeze or pop your acne, as this can lead to scarring, she said. This is especially important for people with darker skin tones, as they’re more prone to developing post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation — which appears as dark spots on the skin… read on >

Even light smokers are much more likely to die of lung disease or lung cancer than nonsmokers, a new study warns. “Everyone knows that smoking is bad for you, but it’s easy to assume that if you only smoke a little, the risks won’t be too high,” said study co-leader Pallavi Balte, of Columbia University Irving Medical Center, in New York City. The new study shows how wrong that thinking can be. It included nearly 19,000 people in the United States, average age 61, who were followed for an average of 17 years. During that time, nearly 650 died of lung disease (such as emphysema) and 560 died of lung cancer. Among nonsmokers, less than 2% died from lung disease and less than 1% died from lung cancer. But among social smokers (fewer than 10 cigarettes a day), those numbers were over 3% and close to 5%, respectively. Not surprisingly, heavy smokers (more than 20 cigarettes a day) fared worst, with more than 10% dying from lung disease and about 13% from lung cancer, the study found. After accounting for other potential factors — such as age, sex, race, level of education and body weight — the researchers concluded that social smokers were 2.5 times more likely to die of lung disease and 8.6 times more likely to die of lung cancer than nonsmokers. Social… read on >

A lot has been made of the so-called “quarantine 15.” Now, a new study suggests certain people are more likely to binge eat during the coronavirus pandemic than others. Most often they are young adults who faced social stigma about being overweight before COVID-19 swept the globe. The researchers found this group had higher levels of depressive symptoms, stress, eating as a coping strategy and binge-eating behaviors compared to those who hadn’t dealt with weight stigma previously. The risk of binge eating was nearly three times higher among those who’d been teased or mistreated because of their size compared to those who hadn’t, according to the study. The study included nearly 600 young adults who took part in a previous study on eating and activity, and completed a follow-up survey during the pandemic. “Understanding whether weight stigma elevates risk for health challenges during the pandemic represents a critical first step for the development of health messaging, responses, and support during outbreaks of COVID-19 and similar public health emergencies,” said study author Rebecca Puhl. She is deputy director of the University of Connecticut’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. “With additional outbreaks and more cases of COVID-19 expected in the coming months, it is important to support individuals who may be prone to worse health and health behaviors exacerbating their risk during these times of… read on >

On the final night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, the world heard from an improbable source — a 13-year-old named Brayden Harrington. Brayden was invited to speak because he has a frustrating and misunderstood condition that millions of Americans share, including Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden. “We stutter,” he explained in a video recorded for the virtual convention. Biden has been open about his struggle with stuttering, calling it “the single most defining thing in [his] life,” according to the Los Angeles Times. In February, Brayden met the former vice president at a New Hampshire campaign event where they bonded over their shared condition. “He told me about a book of poems by [William] Yeats he would read out loud to practice,” Brayden recalled. “He showed me how he marks his addresses to make them easier to say out loud. So I did the same thing today,” he added, turning his marked-up script to the camera to show the audience. Brayden’s speech was intended to show a vulnerable and compassionate side of the Democrats’ nominee. But it also shed light on a speech disorder that has, at times, been described as a “medical mystery,” according to Soo-Eun Chang, a professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “In the past, people thought that stuttering was due to that… read on >

Smokers with the most common type of heart rhythm disorder can reduce their risk of stroke and death by giving up cigarettes, a new study says. “Smoking precipitates blood clots that could lead to a stroke, which may be why giving up lowers risk,” said study author So-Ryoung Lee of Seoul National University Hospital in South Korea. But even former smokers had higher odds for stroke compared to never smokers, the study found. “The remaining stroke risk after quitting might be through the damage already caused to the arteries — called atherosclerosis,” Lee said in a European Society of Cardiology news release. Stroke is the most common cause of death in people with atrial fibrillation (a-fib). People with a-fib are five times more likely to have a stroke than those without the heart rhythm disorder. And a-fib increases the risk of death two-fold in women and 1.5-fold in men. Previous research has shown that smokers are at higher risk for a-fib and a subsequent stroke. This study included nearly 98,000 people, average age 61, in South Korea who were diagnosed with a-fib from 2010 to 2016. They were followed until the end of 2017, for a median follow-up of three years. Compared to current smokers, quitters were 30% less likely to have a stroke and 16% less likely to die from any cause. However, quitters… read on >

Despite the wave of criticism that has followed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s emergency approval of convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19 patients, infectious disease experts say the therapy remains promising. Some scientists have questioned both the timing of the approval and the veracity of a key survival statistic cited by FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn. And the clinical trials needed to make sure that convalescent plasma really works are not yet complete. Still, survivors’ plasma has been on the list of potential COVID-19 treatments since the pandemic began and an emergency approval for its widespread use was not unexpected, said Dr. Liise-anne Pirofski, chair of biomedical research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, in New York City. Data coming in from around the world shows that antibody-loaded plasma taken from COVID-19 survivors can help people fighting off an infection, Pirofski said. For example, reports from China have shown that desperately ill patients treated late in their disease with convalescent plasma experienced a very rapid decrease in their viral load, Pirofski noted. There’s also no evidence that convalescent plasma can hurt a person, she added. “I cannot think of one shred of data that I have seen that would suggest harm,” Pirofski said. But scientists still don’t know exactly how effective plasma can be, when it would be best administered… read on >