Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

Few heartbreaks are as devastating as when a beloved family dog falls ill with cancer. But a new research paper could spur development of more and better treatments for a canine companion who has a brain tumor — because it’s possible that those same therapies will help human kids, too. Dogs’ brain cancers are genetically akin to those found in children, a new study in the journal Cancer Cell reports. “These dog tumors were much more similar to the tumors we find in kids than the tumors we find in adults,” said senior researcher Roel Verhaak, associate director of computational biology at The Jackson Laboratory in Farmington, Conn. “This is important because it means whatever results we find in preclinical experimental therapy studies involving canines is going to be most applicable — and maybe even only applicable — to children’s brain tumors,” he added. Striving to cure pet dogs with brain tumors and learning which therapies work best — and why — could inform cancer treatments for children with these tumors, the researchers concluded. It’s been thought for some time that family dogs might be better for testing experimental cancer drugs than lab animals like mice or monkeys, said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society. That’s because dogs live tightly alongside humans, sharing the same exposures from home and… read on >

Your morning cup of coffee may help your focus and problem-solving skills, but it won’t kick-start your creativity, a new study says. “In Western cultures, caffeine is stereotypically associated with creative occupations and lifestyles, from writers and their coffee to programmers and their energy drinks, and there’s more than a kernel of truth to these stereotypes,” said study first author Darya Zabelina, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Arkansas. Increased alertness, heightened vigilance, greater focus and improved motor performance are known to be associated with caffeine, but its impact on creativity is less known, Zabelina noted. She and her colleagues assessed the effects of caffeine on 80 volunteers’ convergent and divergent thinking, working memory and mood. Convergent thinking is used in problem-solving while divergent thinking is used in creativity. Volunteers were given either a 200 milligram (mg) caffeine pill — equivalent to one cup of strong coffee — or a placebo. Caffeine improved convergent thinking but had no real impact on divergent thinking. Researchers also found that caffeine didn’t significantly affect working memory, but it appeared to affect mood — those who took it reported feeling less sad, according to the study in the March issue of the journal Consciousness and Cognition. “The 200 mg [of caffeine] enhanced problem-solving significantly, but had no effect on creative thinking,” Zabelina said in a university… read on >

Hitting the slopes or the skating rink as the winter of 2020 winds down? Don’t let an accident or injury spoil your fun. “Winter sports and recreational activities have great health and cardiovascular benefits,” said Dr. Joseph Bosco, vice president of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). “However, it’s important not to underestimate the risks that cold weather can bring.” He noted that hospitals and health care clinics see a surge of bone and joint injuries during the winter months and many could be prevented with the right preparation. Sprains, strains, dislocations, fractures and more traumatic injuries can happen to anyone. Here, Bosco and the AAOS offer suggestions on how to protect yourself: Be prepared: Before you tackle a winter sport, make sure your muscles are warmed up and in good condition. Cold muscles, tendons and ligaments are more prone to injury. Make sure to have water and other supplies on standby. Wear appropriate gear: Well-fitting protective equipment like goggles, helmets, gloves and padding is crucial. Your clothes should be layered, light, loose and wind-resistant. Footwear should be warm, provide ankle support and keep your feet dry. Follow the rules: If you’re unsure of the rules of your sport, it’s time to take a lesson with a qualified instructor, especially with sports like skiing and snowboarding. Knowing how to fall correctly and safely can… read on >

People sometimes refer to menopause as “the change of life,” but many women are surprised that one of the things that changes is their skin, an expert says. “Although fluctuating hormones during menopause can result in a number of skin changes, these don’t need to be disruptive to daily life,” said New York City dermatologist Dr. Diane Berson. “With the right care, women can continue to have healthy, blemish-free skin during midlife and beyond.” During menopause, declining estrogen levels result in dryness and itching. Wash with a mild cleanser, as regular soap may be too drying, Berson suggested in an American Academy of Dermatology news release. After bathing or showering and throughout the day, apply a moisturizer with hyaluronic acid or glycerin. To help soothe itchy skin, apply a cool, wet compress, then a moisturizer. Another way to relieve itchy skin is to take a colloidal oatmeal bath. Colloidal oatmeal is available in most drug and beauty stores. Use warm, not hot, water and pat your skin dry — instead of rubbing — to avoid further irritation, Berson advised. If fluctuating hormones leave you with acne, wash with a cleanser containing benzoyl peroxide. However, if the cleanser dries out your skin, switch to a milder cleanser or a product containing adapalene. Age spots and larger areas of darker skin can appear on your face, hands,… read on >

Starting the day with a big breakfast and keeping dinner light may help you burn more calories and keep you trimmer, new research suggests. Eating this way may also keep your blood sugar levels from going too high, the small study found. “Extensive breakfasting should be preferred over large dinner meals,” said study lead author Juliane Richter, of the University of Lubeck’s Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism in Germany. “This recommendation can be applied to healthy people to prevent metabolic diseases [such as diabetes], as well as to patients with overweight and obesity to reduce body weight,” she added. How could eating breakfast improve your weight and blood sugar levels? Richter said the reason isn’t clear yet and more study is needed. But it appears that digestion and metabolism keep pace with the body’s internal clock, she said. Another reason may be that if you don’t eat enough earlier, you’ll be more hungry throughout the day, Richter said. That could lead to overeating, or to eating the wrong kinds of foods later in the day. She also noted more calories are burned in the morning, so it just makes sense to eat more when calorie-burning is at its peak. But not everyone is convinced that a big breakfast is a must. Samantha Heller, a dietitian with NYU Langone Health in New York City, reviewed… read on >

Going solo when trying to quit smoking isn’t enough, one lung health expert says. “Smokers develop a physiological dependence on nicotine, and they need more than willpower to quit,” said Dr. Danish Ahmad, a pulmonologist with Penn State Health’s Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. The American Cancer Society says that smokers typically try quitting eight to 10 times before succeeding. That may sound daunting, but there’s good news. According to Diane Schmeck, a certified tobacco treatment specialist at Penn State Health, “The more times people try to quit, the more successful they might be the next time.” Though about 70% of smokers know they want to quit, particularly to avoid lung cancer and cardiovascular disease, there are many lesser known health risks. Smoking can cause cancer of the esophagus, pancreas and stomach, as well as breathing issues that can lead to emphysema. “Smoking affects your small blood vessels, which can mean poor circulation in the arms or legs, or a greater risk of erectile dysfunction in males,” Schmeck said in a Penn State Health news release. But if you quit, benefits can be seen immediately, Ahmad said. “Within 20 minutes, a smoker’s heart rate and blood pressure improves, and within 12 hours, the carbon monoxide level drops,” he said. Smokers have the highest likelihood of quitting through programs integrating one-on-one counseling, group support and medication,… read on >

MONDAY, Feb. 17, 2020 (American Heart Association News) — Bleeding strokes are the deadliest type of stroke and the hardest to treat. What might make matters worse is having both diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease versus either condition alone, new research shows. The study looked at 2,071 adults in the Kentucky Appalachian Stroke Registry who had a hemorrhagic stroke. The researchers reviewed each patient’s health records to look for a previous diagnosis of diabetes or Alzheimer’s disease. They found 75% of those with both conditions had died or needed hospice or long-term care after their stroke compared to 39% with neither condition, 42% with diabetes alone, and 62% with Alzheimer’s disease alone. This stroke registry gave us “the opportunity to think about how having more than one (health condition), like diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease, could influence outcomes compared to having just one,” said the study’s lead researcher Amanda L. Trout, a scientist at the Center for Advanced Translational Stroke Science at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Trout will present the preliminary study Wednesday at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference in Los Angeles. Diabetes occurs when a person’s blood sugar is too high. The condition increases risk for stroke, heart disease and other health problems. Likewise, previous studies suggest stroke risk is higher for people with Alzheimer’s disease, a brain disorder that slowly erases… read on >

Little ones who stay up late may have a higher risk of becoming overweight by the time they are school-age, a new study suggests. Researchers found that young children who routinely got to sleep after 9 p.m. tended to gain more body fat between the ages of 2 and 6. Compared with kids who had earlier bedtimes, they had bigger increases in both waist size and body mass index (BMI) — an estimate of body fat based on height and weight. The findings do not prove that later bedtimes cause excess weight gain, said Dr. Nicole Glaser, who wrote a commentary accompanying the study, which was published online Feb. 18 in Pediatrics. But the report adds to evidence linking sleep habits to kids’ weight, according to Glaser, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, Davis. Specifically, studies have found higher rates of obesity among kids who either get too little sleep or have trouble falling or staying asleep. “At this point, I think it’s clear that there is a relationship between [sleep quality and obesity risk],” Glaser said. “The big question is whether the relationship is a causal one.” Dr. Claude Marcus, senior researcher on the study, agreed. “The causality is difficult to establish,” he said. Kids’ sleep habits do not exist in a vacuum, and it’s possible that other factors cause both late… read on >

Bedtime without your partner on Valentine’s Day could make sleep elusive. But a new study suggests one remedy: Cuddling up with a piece of his or her clothing. Researchers say having a loved one’s natural scent nearby could be as effective a sleep aid as melatonin. “One of the most surprising findings is how a romantic partner’s scent can improve sleep quality even outside of our conscious awareness,” said study senior author Frances Chen. She’s an associate professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver. For the study, 155 people were given two T-shirts to use as pillowcases. One had been worn by their lover; the other was clean or had been worn by a stranger. While the participants’ partners were wearing the shirts, they were told not to use deodorant or scents or do anything that might affect their body odor, such as smoking, exercising and eating certain foods. The T-shirts were frozen to preserve their scent. Participants spent two nights in a row sleeping with each shirt. They weren’t told which shirt was which, but they reported feeling more well-rested after using the T-shirt with their lover’s scent. Data from sleep monitors confirmed it. “Our findings provide new evidence that merely sleeping with a partner’s scent improves sleep efficiency. Our participants had an average sleep efficiency improvement of more… read on >