If you need more than two hands to count the number of lovers you’ve had in your life, new research suggests you might want to worry about your cancer risk. People who have had 10 or more sexual partners had higher odds of being diagnosed with cancer than those who were less sexually active, researchers report. Women with that many sex partners had nearly double the risk of developing cancer as women who remained virgins or only had one sexual partner, the study found. Meanwhile, men’s odds of a cancer diagnosis were increased by nearly 70% compared with those reporting one or no sex partners, and by 57% for those who had two to four sex partners during their life. “We expected there to be an association between number of sexual partners and cancer risk as previous research has shown that specific sexually transmitted diseases may lead to several cancers,” said study co-author Lee Smith, director of research at the Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences at Anglia Ruskin University in England. “Indeed, a higher number of sexual partners means greater potential exposure to STIs [sexually transmitted infections]. “It is interesting that the risk is higher in women when compared to men,” Smith continued. “This may be because the link between certain STIs and cancer is stronger in women, such as HPV and cervical…  read on >

MONDAY, Feb. 10, 2020A single dose of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine works as well as multiple doses to protect older teen girls against preinvasive cervical disease, which can develop into cervical cancer, researchers say. For the study, the researchers analyzed data on more than 133,000 females aged 9 to 26. Half weren’t vaccinated and half received one or more HPV vaccine doses between January 2006 and June 2015. Among 15- to 19-year-olds, those who were vaccinated had lower rates of preinvasive cervical disease than those who weren’t, the findings showed. Within five years, about 2.6% of those who weren’t vaccinated developed preinvasive cervical disease, compared with less than 2% who had received one shot or more, according to the report. The risk of preinvasive cervical disease was 36% lower for those who had one shot, 28% lower after two shots and 34% lower for those who had three doses, compared with those who weren’t vaccinated. For the youngest (9 to 14 years) and oldest (20 to 26 years) age groups, there were no significant differences in risk for preinvasive cervical disease, according to the study published online Feb. 10 in the journal Cancer. “This study shows the impact of vaccinating at younger ages and its lasting long-term protection against cervical cancer,” said study author Dr. Ana Rodriguez. She’s an associate professor of obstetrics and…  read on >

Migraine drugs that might work for adults won’t prevent the debilitating headaches in kids and teens, a new study shows. A number of drugs are used to prevent migraines, but treatment of youngsters has largely been based on the results of adult studies, the international team of researchers pointed out. What really works in kids? To find out, the researchers reviewed 23 studies conducted between 1967 and 2018. In total, these studies included more than 2,200 young patients. About one-quarter of these patients received an inactive placebo, while the remainder were treated with a range of drugs (antiepileptics, antidepressants, calcium channel blockers, blood pressure drugs) or food supplements. None of the medications were more effective than placebo in the long term (five to six months or longer), and only two — propranolol and topiramate — provided benefits in the short term (less than 5 months), according to the study published online Feb. 10 in JAMA Pediatrics. The bottom line, according to researcher Cosima Locher: “The preventive pharmacological treatment of pediatric migraine with all these drugs is barely more effective than placebo.” Locher is with the faculty of psychology at the University of Basel, in Switzerland. The findings highlight the need for more research into migraine prevention in children and teens, and into the power of the “placebo effect” specifically in these patients, the researchers said.…  read on >

Almost everyone gets stuck shoveling snow at some point during the winter. To prevent back pain and strain, one spinal expert has some advice. Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Srinivasu Kusuma, from the University of Chicago Medicine Medical Group, noted it’s all in the precautions you take before you tackle your snow-covered driveway. Decide if it’s safe to shovel. If you already have back issues and don’t exercise often, or if you are prone to lightheadedness or shortness of breath, maybe you shouldn’t be shoveling. Instead, consider using a snowblower. For those with heart problems or chest pains during exercise, Kusuma urges they check with their doctor about shoveling. Warm up your muscles. “Make sure to warm up before you shovel, just as you would before a workout,” Kusuma said in a university news release. Stretching and strolling can warm up your muscles. If you’re going to shovel bright and early, make sure your muscles are loose before shoveling. Don’t have time to stretch out in the a.m.? You might want to shovel in the evening then. Appropriate winter gear is important. A coat, pants, hat and gloves will keep you warm in frigid weather. Wearing waterproof boots can also give you traction and prevent slips and falls, Kusuma said. Use a lightweight shovel with an adjustable handle. Use proper technique. Push the snow to the side…  read on >

Burns on the face, arms and hands that require skin grafts. Acne boils and ugly rashes. Black hairy tongue and other oral lesions. These are some of the ways that vaping can do serious damage to someone’s skin, a new evidence review shows. For example, an estimated 2,035 people with electronic cigarette burn injuries were treated in U.S. emergency rooms between 2015 and 2017, more than 40 times the number of vaping burns reported between 2009 and 2015, researchers found. Faulty or malfunctioning e-cigarettes can overheat and either explode or burn to the touch, said senior study author Dr. Kurt Ashack, a dermatology resident with the University of Illinois at Chicago. “It could cause a pretty significant burn, where you lose at least the top layer of skin, if not more,” he said. Device explosions also have caused people to lose teeth, the findings showed. The chemicals contained in vaping devices have also been shown to cause skin problems in some users, Ashack added. Some people are allergic to the propylene glycol that is used as the base for most e-liquids, Ashack said. Those folks could develop a rash from exposure. The nickel contained in the device’s heating element also can cause a rash, the researchers said. Cases include a woman with nickel allergy who developed a rash on her dominant hand and swelling of…  read on >

A new discovery could lead to better treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases, such as psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis, researchers report. MS occurs when immune cells get into the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), causing nerve damage that results in neurological problems. However, the cause is unclear. Studies in a mouse model of MS — called experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) — have shown that immune T-cells, which secrete an immune molecule called IL-17, damage the myelin sheath surrounding nerves in the central nervous system (CNS). Drugs that block IL-17 have shown promise in early clinical trials for treatment of relapsing-remitting MS. The drugs have already been licensed for treating psoriasis. In this new study, researchers at Trinity College Dublin, in Ireland, identified another role that IL-17 plays in EAE, and possibly in MS. However, research in animals doesn’t always pan out in humans. “A key role of IL-17 is to mobilize and activate an army of disease-causing immune cells in the lymph nodes that then migrate to the CNS to cause the nerve damage,” study co-leader Kingston Mills said in a college news release. He’s a professor of experimental immunology. Study co-leader Aoife McGinley said the findings suggest that drugs that block IL-17 may not need to cross the blood-brain barrier to effectively treat MS. She’s a postdoctoral fellow…  read on >

People afflicted with cluster headaches miss work twice as often as colleagues without the debilitating headaches, a new study finds. Cluster headaches are extremely painful headaches that last from 15 minutes to three hours, for many days, or even weeks, in a row. They’re more common in men. For the study, Swedish researchers compared more than 3,200 working-age people who get cluster headaches with 16,200 people who don’t have them. In 2010, headache sufferers averaged 16 sick days, compared to just under seven days for the headache-free group, the findings showed. When disability days were added in, people with cluster headaches averaged 63 missed workdays a year. Those without headaches averaged 34. And those with less education missed more work than those with more schooling: 86 days for those who completed only elementary school; 65 for those who finished high school; and 41 days for those who went to college, according to the report. The researchers also found that women with cluster headaches took twice as many sick days (24) as men (12), and had an average of 84 sick and disability days, compared with 53 for men. The study was published online Feb. 5 in the journal Neurology. Author Dr. Christina Sjostrand said the findings show that “cluster headaches dramatically interfere” with people’s capacity to work. She’s a researcher in the department of clinical…  read on >

A breakthrough study has identified a class of natural gene variants that may protect against Alzheimer’s disease. For the study, researchers at University College London analyzed DNA from more than 10,000 people — half with Alzheimer’s and half without. The investigators found that these gene variants reduce the functioning of proteins called tyrosine phosphatases. These proteins impair the activity of a cell signaling pathway important for cell survival, explained the authors of the study published online Feb. 5 in the Annals of Human Genetics. The pathway could be a key target for drugs to treat Alzheimer’s, and the study authors said that the findings provide more evidence that other genes may be linked to one’s risk for the memory disorder. “These results are quite encouraging. It looks as though when naturally occurring genetic variants reduce the activity of tyrosine phosphatases, then this makes Alzheimer’s disease less likely to develop, suggesting that drugs which have the same effect might also be protective,” lead author David Curtis said in a college news release. He’s a professor of genetics, evolution and environment. Previous research in mice and rats suggested that inhibiting the function of these proteins might help protect against Alzheimer’s, but this study is the first to find such an effect in people. There are already drugs that target tyrosine phosphatases, but they haven’t been tested in…  read on >