Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

Using marijuana when you have HIV could lead to problems with brain function if you also abuse alcohol or drugs, a new study finds. “People with HIV infection have many reasons to have cognitive dysfunction, from the virus itself to medications for HIV infection and related conditions, particularly as they age,” said lead researcher Richard Saitz. He’s a professor and chair of community health sciences at Boston University School of Public Health. “They also have symptoms like chronic pain and mental health symptoms, and use of marijuana, medically or recreationally, may seem like an option to consider,” Saitz said in a university news release. “But at least among people with substance use disorders, it appears to have detrimental effects on cognitive function.” Little research has been done on the combined effects that alcohol and marijuana have on the brain function of people living with HIV, according to the researchers. “Such an understanding could contribute to efforts to reduce harmful substance use and prevent clinical consequences, particularly in an era in which ‘moderate’ drinking is at times discussed in terms of possible beneficial effects, and in which marijuana is discussed as a relatively safe and even therapeutic substance,” they wrote in the study. To investigate this issue, Saitz and his colleagues analyzed data on 215 adults with HIV who also had a substance abuse problem. The… read on >

(HealthDay News) — Snoring is not only an annoyance, but also a potential health concern. Chronic snoring may be associated with sleep apnea, which can lead to sleep deprivation and potential heart issues. The National Sleep Foundation says certain exercises may strengthen muscles surrounding the airways and help prevent snoring: Push the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth and slide the tongue backward. Repeat 20 times. Suck your tongue upward so that the entire tongue lies against the roof of your mouth. Repeat 20 times. Force the back of your tongue downward against the floor of your mouth while keeping the tip of your tongue in contact with your bottom front teeth.

Weight loss from dieting can slow the progression of knee arthritis in overweight people, according to a new study. But losing pounds from exercise alone will not help preserve those aging knees, the researchers found. Obesity is a major risk factor for painful knee osteoarthritis — degeneration of cartilage caused by wear and tear. Weight loss can slow the disease, but it wasn’t clear until now if the method of weight loss made a difference. Apparently, it does. “These results add to the hypothesis that solely exercise as a regimen in order to lose weight in overweight and obese adults may not be as beneficial to the knee joint as weight loss regimens involving diet,” said lead author Dr. Alexandra Gersing. Gersing made her comments in a news release from the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). She’s with the University of California, San Francisco’s department of radiology and biomedical imaging. The study included 760 overweight or obese adults who had mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis or were at risk for it. The participants were divided into a “control group” of patients who lost no weight, and a group who lost weight through either a combination of diet and exercise, diet alone, or exercise alone. After eight years, cartilage degeneration was much lower in the weight-loss group than in the control group. However, that was… read on >

Motorcycle crashes are far costlier than car accidents, both in lives lost and in medical expenses, a new study shows. Canadian researchers found that the death rate from motorcycle crashes was five times greater than from car crashes, and the rate of severe injury was 10 times greater. That came with a six times greater cost to the health care system. Though the findings stem from an analysis of traffic accidents in the Canadian province of Ontario, the researchers said that similar patterns would likely be seen elsewhere. One reason: Motorcycles are inherently more risky because motorcycles lack the protections that cars provide. “It’s clear that it’s much more dangerous to ride a motorcycle than to ride in a car,” said lead researcher Dr. Daniel Pincus. But the study isn’t saying that motorcycles should be taken off the road. “A lot of people enjoy riding motorcycles, so we’re not saying the answer is to ban them from doing it,” said Pincus, who’s with the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, in Toronto. Riding simply should be made safer, he said. Kara Macek, a spokesperson for the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), agreed. Universal helmet laws are one way, she said. In the United States, only about half of states require helmets for all motorcyclists, according to the GHSA. “Just telling people to wear helmets is not… read on >

There’s no evidence to support the notion that people who get the flu vaccine every year somehow “weaken” their immune system over time, researchers say. In fact, annual vaccination seemed tied to stronger immune cell activity, according to the Norwegian research team. That’s even true for years where the flu shot is a poor match for flu viruses actually circulating, as happened in the 2016-2017 season, the findings suggest. The study was led by Rebecca Cox of the University of Bergen’s department of clinical science. Her group tracked the immune system health of 250 health care workers. Some of the participants got the flu shot beginning in 2009 and then every year thereafter, while others only got the shot in 2009, but then no shot between 2010 and 2013. Immune system antibodies that showed activity against the flu “persisted above the protective levels in [the] repeatedly vaccinated adults,” the team reported. Specifically, immune system CD4 and CD8 T-cells — which target viruses — had more disease-fighting capability “after multiple annual vaccinations” than those in people who didn’t get the yearly flu shot, the investigators found. The research team noted that even though the flu shot has been in use for more than half a century, there have been very few studies that have tracked the immune system health of recipients in such a rigorous way.… read on >

Despite a long and illustrious pro baseball career, Tommy John is more famous as the source of the name for a surgical procedure than for the nearly 300 games the left-handed pitcher won. But Dr. Tommy John — who shares his dad’s name and played pro ball himself — is determined to change that. He’s a performance and healing specialist and a chiropractor in San Diego. Dr. John would prefer that his father — a four-time Major League All-Star — is remembered for his baseball achievements than for the elbow surgery that got him back on the mound for many years. And both son and father would really be happy if fewer young athletes had to undergo the procedure to keep playing the sport they love. The elder John’s career spanned from 1963 to 1989. After playing big league ball for more than 10 years and enduring about 40 cortisone shots to dampen the pain he felt from pitching, the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his elbow “exploded,” his son said. At the time, Dr. Frank Jobe had successfully performed surgery using a tendon on polio patients’ ankles, the younger John explained. But no one had ever reconstructed the elbow ligament of a major league baseball pitcher. “My dad wasn’t one to be told that he would have to stop,” Dr. John said, adding that… read on >

States that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act saw a greater increase in low-income adults who quit smoking than did states that did not expand Medicaid, a new study found. Under the health care act, states that expanded Medicaid had to offer services to help people quit smoking. About 30 percent of low-income adults in the United States smoke cigarettes, which is double the national average. For the study, University of Pittsburgh researchers analyzed the responses of more than 36,000 low-income adults, ages 18 to 64, who took part in a federal government survey on health behaviors. In the 31 states that expanded Medicaid, 8.1 percent of newly covered low-income adults said they’d quit smoking in the past year, compared with 6 percent of low-income adults in states that did not expand Medicaid. The findings show that government policies meant to reduce high smoking rates among low-income adults must include services to help people quit, according to the researchers. “Smoking cessation is notoriously difficult to achieve,” said study senior author Marian Jarlenski. She’s an assistant professor in the department of health policy and management in the university’s School of Public Health. “The sizable increase we found in smoking cessation might lead to significant reductions in death and diseases caused by smoking, and the taxpayer-funded health care expenditures that come with treating them,” Jarlenski said… read on >

Even if researchers were to find a groundbreaking new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, millions of people might not benefit from it, new research reveals. That’s because the U.S. health care system doesn’t have the ability to quickly implement a newly approved treatment on a widespread scale, according to a report from the RAND Corporation. For instance, there aren’t enough doctors to diagnose all the people with early signs of dementia who would be good candidates for such a treatment, the researchers explained. In addition, scanners used to detect the disease are in short supply, and there aren’t enough treatment centers that could administer the therapy to patients. An estimated 5.5 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease. By 2040, that number is expected to jump to 11.6 million, according to the study authors. “While significant effort is being put into developing treatments to slow or block the progression of Alzheimer’s dementia, little work has been done to get the medical system ready for such an advancement,” said study lead author Jodi Liu. She is a policy researcher at RAND, a nonprofit research group. “While there is no certainty an Alzheimer’s therapy will be approved soon, our work suggests that health care leaders should begin thinking about how to respond to such a breakthrough,” Liu explained in a RAND news release. At least 10 therapies… read on >

Holiday parties are fun social gatherings, but they can also be diet disasters. Here’s how to enjoy yourself while sparing yourself hundreds of extra calories. First, eat healthy in the hours leading up to the party. Focus on lean protein, whole grains and simply prepared fruits and vegetables to pack your day with nutrients, suggests the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Don’t attempt to starve yourself or create a calorie deficiency thinking this will give yourself leeway to splurge — that strategy often boomerangs. At the event, set a firm drink limit. Calories can quickly add up when the alcohol is flowing. Two 5-ounce glasses of white wine top 200 calories, so keep a running tally in your head or, even better, a calorie-counting app. Have a glass of plain or sparkling water between alcoholic drinks. This will help you stay hydrated (alcohol acts like a diuretic) and allow you to better pace the booze. Watch out for the hors d’oeuvres, especially if you’re at a cocktail party. It’s easy to mindlessly munch every time a tray passes by. Even bite-sized pastry treats like cheese puffs and mini hot dogs contain loads of calories. Choose high-protein shrimp cocktail instead — you can even enjoy a dollop of tomato-based sauce guilt-free. While nuts are healthy snacks, each handful is about 150 calories, so if you can’t… read on >

Need another reason to keep your weight under control? Excess weight can cause dislocation of your knee and may even lead to a complication that results in amputation of your leg. A new study attributes a surge in dislocated knees to the U.S. obesity epidemic. “Obesity greatly increases the complications and costs of care,” said study lead author Dr. Joey Johnson, an orthopedic trauma fellow at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School. “As the rate of obesity increases, the rate of knee dislocations increases. The total number of patients who are obese is increasing, so we are seeing more of these problems,” Johnson explained. Knee dislocations result from multiple torn ligaments. Vehicle crashes or contact sports, such as football, are common causes. For the study, the researchers analyzed more than 19,000 knee dislocations nationwide between 2000 and 2012. Over that time, people who were obese or severely obese represented a growing share of knee dislocation patients — 19 percent in 2012, up from 8 percent in 2000. Obesity is also linked to more severe knee dislocations, longer hospital stays and higher treatment costs, according to the study published recently in the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma. And the chances that a knee dislocation would also injure the main artery behind the joint and down the leg were twice as high for obese patients than for those… read on >