Acupuncture can help breast cancer patients deal with the hot flashes that often accompany hormone therapy, a new clinical trial says. Nearly 2 in 3 women who got acupuncture during hormone therapy reported fewer and less intense hot flashes, results show. Hormone therapy blocks the effect of estrogen and other hormones that powers some breast cancers. Unfortunately, 4 in 5 patients (80%) experience hot flashes and other side effects associated with hormone deficiencies, researchers said. This causes some patients to drop hormone therapy, increasing their risk of cancer progression and death. “By managing side effects, our approach makes it easier for patients to continue their prescribed medication, which has the potential to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence and improve long-term outcomes for breast cancer survivors,” researcher Weidong Lu, lead oncology acupuncturist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, said in a news release. For the study, researchers recruited 158 women with early to advanced breast cancers who were receiving hormone therapy. Half were randomly assigned to receive acupuncture twice a week for 10 weeks. About 64% of women who got acupuncture reported improvement in the number and severity of their hot flashes, compared to 18% of women not receiving acupuncture, results show. They also reported greater improvements in quality of life. After 10 weeks, the women not initially chosen also were given acupuncture, and…  read on >  read on >

Many sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise in the United States, and a nationwide poll indicates that ignorance about how they’re transmitted could be fueling their spread. About a third of Americans (34%) falsely believe sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can only be transmitted through sexual intercourse, poll results show. In fact, they can also be transmitted by kissing, sharing needles and during childbirth. It also found that 1 in 5 Americans (20%) think they only need to be tested for STIs if they are experiencing symptoms. “We’re likely still experiencing some of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic when STI prevention services were completely shut down,” researcher Dr. Jose Bazan, a professor of clinical internal medicine with Ohio State University’s Division of Infectious Diseases, said in a news release. Syphilis cases have jumped 80% over a five-year period, researchers said in background notes. Worse, cases of congenital syphilis – in which women pass the bacteria to their babies during pregnancy – increased 180% between 2018 and 2022, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During the pandemic, “a lot of STIs were undiagnosed and under-reported then, allowing these infections to spread within the population,” Bazan said. “It’s important that pregnant individuals get screened for syphilis as this is a very preventable infection that can easily be treated with antibiotics. Unfortunately,…  read on >  read on >

A full third of American adults take multivitamins, despite prior studies suggesting they do little to boost health. Now, a study involving almost 400,000 people finds zero benefit from multivitamin use in helping folks live longer. Among people “without a history of major chronic diseases, we did not find evidence to support improved longevity among healthy adults who regularly take multivitamins,” concluded a team led by Erikka Loftfield. She’s with the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics at the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI). Her team published its findings June 26 in the journal JAMA Network Open. In the study, Loftfield’s group analyzed data from three prospective studies (meaning people were followed over time) with an average 27 years of follow-up. Over 390,000 healthy adults were enrolled in the studies, and they averaged about 61 years of age upon study entry. Researchers gathered data on the participants’ multivitamin use. Over the nearly three decades of follow-up, almost 165,000 of the participants died. About 50,000 deaths were attributed to cancer, about 35,000 deaths were caused by heart disease and 9,275 deaths were linked to strokes. However, Loftfield’s group detected no association between multivitamin use and a person’s odds of dying within the study period. In fact, “we found that daily multivitamin use vs nonuse was associated with 4% higher mortality [death] risk,” the researchers noted. People’s…  read on >  read on >

Gun violence in the United States has become a national public health crisis, the U.S. Surgeon General declared Tuesday. “Today, for the first time in the history of our office, I am issuing a Surgeon General’s Advisory on firearm violence. It outlines the urgent threat firearm violence poses to the health and well-being of our country,” Dr. Vivek Murthy said in a news release announcing the new health advisory. “As a doctor, I’ve seen the consequences of firearm violence up close,” he added. “These are moms and dads, sons and daughters, all of whom were robbed of their physical and mental health by senseless acts of violence.” “Unfortunately, the problem has continued to grow. Fifty-four percent of adults in America report that they or family member have experienced a firearm-related incident, whether they’ve been personally threatened with or injured by a firearm, lost a family member, witnessed a shooting or shot a firearm in self-defense.” Some Americans are harmed more than others, Murthy noted. “Black individuals endure the highest rates of firearm homicides, while suicide rates are highest among veterans, older white individuals and younger American Indian or Alaska Native people,” he said. “What is especially devastating is how this has affected our children. Firearm violence has become the number one cause of death among children and adolescents, more than car accidents or drug overdoses.”…  read on >  read on >

Weight-loss drugs like Wegovy can improve symptoms in heart failure patients, a new clinical trial shows. Both men and women showed improved heart function after a year on semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, researchers report. Women tended to lose more weight than men, on average about 9.6% of their body weight compared with 7.2% in men. However, both genders experienced similar improvements regarding their heart health, researchers found. This could mean the drug might have heart benefits above and beyond helping people lose weight. The results shed light on “the consistent benefits of semaglutide for women and men,” said senior researcher Dr. Mikhail Kosiborod, a cardiologist at Saint Luke’s Mid-America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo. For the clinical trial, researchers randomly assigned 1,145 people with heart failure to take either semaglutide or a placebo for a year. Heart failure occurs when the heart starts to pump less efficiently, slowing the delivery of oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. This results in fatigue and shortness of breath, making everyday activities like walking or carrying groceries very difficult for some, according to the American Heart Association. But people on semaglutide experienced improvement in both their heart failure symptoms and the physical limitations the condition placed upon them, trial results show. They also had lower blood pressure and a smaller waist circumference after a year…  read on >  read on >

Specific steps can be taken to reduce the risk of potentially fatal reactions to anti-seizure medications, researchers report in a new review. Performing blood tests, asking patients about risk factors and modifying dosages all can reduce reaction risk for drugs that millions of Americans take for epilepsy and other conditions, researchers said. However, rashes and skin reactions in newly medicated patients still require prompt medical attention, results show. Rashes are common with anti-seizure meds, occurring in 2% to 16% of patients, depending on the drug, researchers said in background notes. Roughly 5% of these rashes indicate a life-threatening condition, researchers added. The FDA recently issued a warning about serious reactions to two anti-seizure drugs, levetiracetam and clobazam, the researchers noted. “Dangerous reactions are rare, but patients and caregivers should understand the risk and how to respond if side effects occur,” said lead researcher Dr. Ram Mani, chief of the adult epilepsy division at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey. For the new report, published recently in the journal Current Treatment Options in Neurology, researchers analyzed and combined published data on individual anti-seizure drugs, distinguishing the different rashes and their triggers. Genetics can increase a person’s risk of a severe rash, as can interactions between the anti-seizure meds and other drugs, researchers found. Users also are at higher risk if they use aromatic…  read on >  read on >

A medication used to manage type 2 diabetes has been found effective in treating sleep apnea. The worldwide clinical trial demonstrates that tirzepatide significantly lowers breathing interruptions during sleep, a key indicator of the severity of a patient’s obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Tirzepatide is one of the class of blockbuster GLP-1 medicines, sold as Mounjaro to fight diabetes and as Zepbound to help with weight loss. “This study marks a significant milestone in the treatment of OSA, offering a promising new therapeutic option that addresses both respiratory and metabolic complications,” said study leader Dr. Atul Malhotra, director of sleep medicine at UC San Diego Health. OSA is characterized by repeated episodes of irregular breathing during sleep due to total or partial blockage of the upper airway. It can result in reduced oxygen levels in the blood and has been linked to an increased risk for high blood pressure, heart disease and other heart-related complications.  More than 900 million people worldwide are believed to have OSA, and the 469 participants in this study were recruited from the United States and eight other countries. All were clinically obese and had moderate-to-severe sleep apnea. Some used continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment, in which a machine maintains an open airway during sleep. All were given 10 or 15 milligrams (mg) of tirzepatide or a placebo.  Over the course…  read on >  read on >