Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

Four out of five pregnant women will become deficient in an essential nutrient, iron, by their third trimester, a new study finds. The researchers and other experts are now advocating that iron levels be routinely checked during a pregnancy for the safety of a mother and her baby. Right now, guidelines from the United States Preventive Services Taskforce (USPSTF), an influential independent panel of medical experts, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) do not advocate for regular iron checks. However, the new findings suggest that both groups should “change their approach to diagnosis to screen all pregnant women for iron deficiency, irrespective of the presence or absence of anemia, and recommend supplementation when present for the most frequent nutrient deficiency disorder that we encounter,” wrote the authors of an editorial accompanying the new study. The findings were published Sept. 26 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The new research was led by Dr. Elaine McCarthy, a lecturer in nutrition at the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences at University College Cork, in Ireland. Her team noted that pregnancy brings on a 10-fold surge in uptake of dietary iron to supply the needs of both the fetus and the mom-to-be. A woman’s bodily “iron stores” at the beginning of her pregnancy can help supply much of this needed iron, but McCarthy’s team… read on > read on >

Brain damage that veterans suffered from flying shrapnel has provided a major clue that could lead to better treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a new study says. Veterans who suffered shrapnel damage connected to their amygdala, the fear center of the brain, were less likely to develop PTSD, researchers reported Sept. 24 in the journal Nature Neuroscience. The results suggest that PTSD could be treated by using electrical pulses to disrupt brain networks linked to the amygdala, they added. “This is a very real brain disease, and we can localize it to certain brain circuits,” said corresponding author Dr. Shan Siddiqi, a psychiatrist in the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics. “Unfortunately, people sometimes assume PTSD has to do with how mentally strong or weak a person is, but it has nothing to do with moral character.” Researchers previously have uncovered brain networks to successfully treat depression and addiction using neurostimulation, and have been trying to locate the network associated with PTSD. For this study, the research team examined 193 patients from the Vietnam Head Injury Study who’d suffered brain injuries from shrapnel penetrating their skulls. “Some of these veterans who got shrapnel in their head went on to develop PTSD, but many of them did not,” said study co-author Dr. Michael Fox, director of the Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics.… read on > read on >

In a finding that suggests Ozempic and Wegovy have powers that extend beyond weight loss, a new study finds the medications might also lower people’s risk of opioid overdose. People with type 2 diabetes prescribed semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) had a significantly lower risk of an opioid OD than patients taking any of eight other diabetic medications, researchers found. The results show “semaglutide as a possible new treatment for combating this terrible [opioid] epidemic,” said lead researcher Rong Xu, a biomedical informatics professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. For the study, researchers analyzed six years of medical data for nearly 33,000 patients with opioid use disorder who also had type 2 diabetes. The data found that those prescribed semaglutide were less likely to suffer from an opioid overdose. The new study was published Sept. 25 in the journal JAMA Network Open. If this effect is confirmed in clinical trials, semaglutide could provide a new means of protecting people suffering from opioid addiction, Xu said in a university news release. About 107,500 people died from drug ODs in 2023 in the United States, mainly from opioids, researchers said in background notes. About 72% of drug ODs involve opioids. Only about a quarter of people with opioid addiction are taking effective medicines to prevent overdoses, and half discontinue treatment within six months, researchers said. “Not everyone… read on > read on >

During a tense hearing before a Senate committee on Tuesday, Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen faced tough questions over the company’s high prices for its blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. While testifying before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Jørgensen shifted the blame for those prices to pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs), explaining that Ozempic and Wegovy would likely no longer be offered by PBMs if they had a lower list price, NBC News reported. A “high list price,” he explained, “is more likely to lead to more access to patients,” because PBMs can get larger rebates with higher-priced drugs. Still, Committee Chair Sen. Bernie Sanders did get Jørgensen to agree to meet with PBMs to discuss lowering the cost of Ozempic and Wegovy, NBC News reported. Sanders noted that he had received commitments in writing from “all the major PBMs” — UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Rx, CVS Health’s Caremark and Cigna’s Express Scripts — that if Novo Nordisk substantially reduced the list price, they wouldn’t take Ozempic and Wegovy off their formulary lists. PBMs work with insurance companies to negotiate discounts or rebates on drugs in return for coverage. PBMs have been criticized for pushing patients to higher-priced drugs, NBC News reported. For months, Sanders has railed against how much Novo Nordisk charges Americans for both Ozempic (used to treat type 2 diabetes) and… read on > read on >

A non-drug nasal spray could theoretically help stop the spread of respiratory viruses like the flu and COVID-19 better than wearing a mask, a new study suggests. The spray uses ingredients that are medically inactive to trap germs in the nose before they can infect a person, researchers said. “We developed a drug-free formulation using these compounds to block germs in three ways,” said co-senior study author Nitin Joshi, an assistant professor of anesthesiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. The nasal spray “forms a gel-like matrix that traps respiratory droplets, immobilizes the germs, and effectively neutralizes them, preventing infection,” Joshi explained in a hospital news release. Researchers call their discovery Pathogen Capture and Neutralizing Spray (PCANS). Most viruses enter the human body through the nose. Vaccines can help the immune system fend off an immune attack, but they can’t stop the attack at its source, researchers noted. “The COVID pandemic showed us what respiratory pathogens can do to humanity in a very short time. That threat hasn’t gone away,” said co-senior study author Jeffrey Karp, distinguished chair in anesthesiology at Brigham and Women’s. “Not only do we have the flu to deal with seasonally, but we now have COVID, too.” Using a 3D-printed replica of the human nose, researchers showed that the spray captured twice as many droplets as would be trapped by… read on > read on >

Green Bay Packers legend and NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre announced Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Favre, 54, made the announcement while testifying to Congress on his potential misuse of taxpayer funds. The former quarterback has been presenting testimony in Washington to the House Ways and Means Committee, following accusations that he used political connections to funnel public money to himself and his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi. As reported by NBC News, Favre told assembled lawmakers that, “Sadly, I also lost an investment in a company that I believed was developing a breakthrough concussion drug I thought would help others, and I’m sure you’ll understand why it’s too late for me because I’ve recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s.” Frequent head injuries could be a risk factor for Parkinson’s. One study published last year found that people with a history of playing football were 61% more likely to be diagnosed with the brain illness. According to the Parkinson’s Foundation, Parkinson’s is an incurable, degenerative brain disease with symptoms developing over a period of years. Not everyone will experience the same symptoms, but they can include tremor, slowness and other difficulties in walking and limb stiffness. Cognitive impairments, sleep issues, depression, apathy, anxiety, constipation, falling upon standing and other issues can also arise. Medicines such as dopamine-replacing drugs can… read on > read on >

The Federal Assault Weapons Ban (FAWB) would have prevented as many as 38 mass shootings that have taken place since the law lapsed in 2005, a new study estimates. Enacted by Congress in 1994, the ban prohibited the sale and manufacture of certain military-style semiautomatic weapons in the United States – including notoriously deadly weapons like AK-47s, AR-15s, TEC-9s and “Street Sweeper” shotguns with high-capacity revolving cylinders. There have been multiple attempts to renew the ban, but none have succeeded. While the ban was in place, would-be mass shooters denied access to an assault weapon did not turn to other types of firearms to carry out a massacre, researchers found. “These results suggest that the FAWB discouraged potential perpetrators from committing a mass shooting with an assault weapon, and, furthermore, that these potential perpetrators did not simply carry out attacks with other types of weapons,” said lead researcher Alexander Lundberg, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Northwestern University School of Medicine, in Chicago. For the study, researchers looked for events in which at least four people were killed by a firearm. A total of 184 such mass shootings have occurred between 1966 and 2022. The researchers then looked at trends before, during and after the assault weapon ban, to estimate the number of mass shootings that relied on such firearms. While it was active,… read on > read on >

One in three former NFL players believe they have football-related brain damage that’s doing untold harm to their lives, a new study finds. Unfortunately, their fears might be harming their mental health on top of whatever risks they face from head injuries sustained during their careers, researchers report. About one-third of nearly 2,000 retired NFL players believe they have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain condition linked to repeated head trauma, researchers reported Sept. 23 in the journal JAMA Neurology. Players who suspect they have CTE reported significantly more problems with brain function, low testosterone, depression and chronic pain than those who don’t think they have the condition, researchers found. In addition, about 25% of players who believe they have CTE also reported suicidal thoughts or behaviors, compared with about 5% of those who don’t think they have CTE, results showed. NFL retirees who believe they have CTE are twice as likely to report frequent thoughts of suicide, even after accounting for symptoms of depression, researchers said. These symptoms are potentially related to the dread faced by NFL retirees who are certain they have CTE and expect a long and excruciating decline in their mental function, researchers said. Incurable brain diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease also have been associated with elevated suicide rates. “As complex human beings, our beliefs can exert a… read on > read on >

Research in rats and hibernating squirrels has pinpointed a naturally occurring protein that appears to reverse cataracts, scientists report. Animal studies don’t always pan out in people, of course. But the discovery of the RNF114 protein raises the possibility of surgery-free cataract removal, according to a team from the U.S. National Eye Institute (NEI). “Understanding the molecular drivers of this reversible cataract phenomenon might point us in a direction toward a potential treatment strategy,” said the study’s co-lead investigator, Wei Li. He’s a senior investigator in the NEI’s Retinal Neurophysiology Section. His team published its findings Sept. 17 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. As the NEI explained, “a cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of your eye [the clear part of the eye that helps to focus light]. This can make your vision cloudy.” Right now, surgery is a patient’s only treatment option, and almost 4 million such procedures are conducted in the United States each year. A non-surgical approach has long been a holy grail of ophthalmological research. Meanwhile, anyone living in the American heartland has probably seen a 13-lined ground squirrel. These hardy creatures are perfect for cataract research, Li’s team explained, because their retinas contain light-sensitive photoreceptor cells that are mostly cones, not the “rods and cones” found in the human eye. Cones are especially tied to color vision. These prairie squirrels can also withstand… read on > read on >

Antidepressants have the potential to improve memory and thinking skills, a new study suggests. Some patients experienced a boost on brain tests after taking the SSRI antidepressant escitalopram (Lexapro), researchers report. The drug appeared to affect a serotonin receptor in the brain called the 5HT4 receptor, according to results published recently in the journal Biological Psychiatry. Serotonin is described as a “feel good” hormone, researchers said in background notes. Higher levels of serotonin in the brain contribute to a sense of well-being and have been shown to ease clinical depression. “It seems that the SSRI medication contributes to an improvement on cognitive function, at the same time as helping improve mood,” said lead investigator Vibeke Dam, a senior researcher in neurology and neurobiology with Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark. “Our work ties the improvement in cognitive function to the specific 5HT4 receptor and suggest that direct serotonin 4 receptor stimulation may be an important pro-cognitive target to consider in optimizing outcomes of antidepressant treatment,” Dam added in a journal news release. “It also reinforces the idea that serotonin is crucial to mood improvement.” For the study, researchers scanned the brains of 90 depressed patients to measure 5HT4 receptor function in their brains. The patients also were tested for mood problems and cognitive abilities. Then the patients were given daily escitalopram (Lexapro) for eight weeks. At… read on > read on >