Matcha green tea has the potential to keep gum disease at bay, a new study finds. Lab experiments show that matcha can inhibit the growth of Porphyromonas gingivalis, one of the main bacterial culprits behind gum disease. Among a small group of 45 people with gum disease, those who used matcha mouthwash wound up with significantly lower levels of P. gingivalis, results show. “Matcha may have clinical applicability for prevention and treatment of periodontitis [gum disease],” researchers from the Nihon University School of Dentistry at Matsudo in Japan noted in their paper published May 21 in the journal Microbiology Spectrum. Matcha is a highly concentrated and vibrantly green tea that is also available in a powdered form. It’s used in traditional tea ceremonies, and for flavoring in beverages and sweets, researchers said. The green tea plant has long been studied for its potential to fight bacteria, fungi and viruses, researchers noted. To test matcha’s potential, researchers applied a matcha solution to 16 mouth bacteria species in the lab, including three strains of P. gingivalis. Within two hours, nearly all the P. gingivalis cells had been killed by the matcha extract, and after four hours all the cells were dead, researchers found.  Researchers then proceeded to a small human trial, randomly assigning patients with gum disease into one of three groups. One group received matcha mouthwash,…  read on >  read on >

Fetal exposure to fluoride from a mom-to-be’s drinking water might raise the odds for physical and mental health issues in toddlers, new research suggests. The study, which was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, wasn’t designed to prove cause-and-effect. However, researchers believe the findings are worth investigating further. “This is the first U.S.-based study to examine this association. Our findings are noteworthy, given that the women in this study were exposed to pretty low levels of fluoride — levels that are typical of those living in fluoridated regions within North America,” said study lead author Ashley Malin, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Florida. She conducted the research in part as a postdoctoral scholar at the Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles. No one is saying fluoridation needs to stop, however. “I don’t think we’re at the point where we are saying that water should not be fluoridated. It’s generally considered one of the biggest public health wins, certainly for the dental community,” study co-author Tracy Bastain told NBC News. “But our results do give me pause. Pregnant individuals should probably be drinking filtered water,” added Bastain, an associate professor of clinical population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine. U.S. municipalities started adding fluoride to water supplies back in the 1940s, due to its proven…  read on >  read on >

Powerful COVID vaccines could be setting people’s immune systems up to successfully fight off not just future COVID variants, but other types of coronaviruses as well, a new study shows. People repeatedly vaccinated for COVID — the initial shots, followed by boosters and updated vaccines — generate antibodies capable of neutralizing not just COVID variants, but even some distantly related coronaviruses, researchers reported May 17 in the journal Nature. It appears that periodic re-vaccination for COVID might cause people to gradually build up a stock of antibodies that protect them from a variety of coronaviruses, researchers concluded. That runs counter to concerns that annual vaccinations against COVID might interfere with immune response in subsequent years, as happens with influenza jabs, researchers said. “The first vaccine an individual receives induces a strong primary immune response that shapes responses to subsequent infection and vaccination, an effect known as imprinting,” explained senior researcher Dr. Michael Diamond, a professor of medicine with the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “In principle, imprinting can be positive, negative or neutral,” Diamond added in a university news release. “In this case, we see strong imprinting that is positive, because it’s coupled to the development of cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies with remarkable breadth of activity.” A first vaccination triggers the development of memory immune cells. A second similar vaccination reactivates those memory…  read on >  read on >

New, real-world research confirms that the blockbuster weight-loss drugs that millions of Americans have been taking to shed pounds can trigger stomach paralysis in some patients. “Although these drugs do work and should be used for the right reason, we just want to caution everyone that if you do decide to start this, be prepared that you have a 30 percent chance that you may have GI side effects, and then the drug may have to be discontinued,” Dr. Prateek Sharma, a professor of medicine at the University of Kansas School of Medicine who conducted one of the studies, told CNN. His research was one of two reports presented Saturday at the Digestive Disease Week 2024 (DDW) in Washington, D.C. Neither has been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, so the data is considered preliminary. A third study on the complication is to be presented Monday. Known as GLP-1 agonists, drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound have helped people lose at least 10% of their starting weight. How do these medications work, and why might that sometimes prompt stomach paralysis? GLP-1 agonists curb hunger by slowing the movement of food through the stomach. They also help the body release more insulin and send signals to the brain that curb cravings. But in some people, they may also prompt bouts of vomiting that can require medical attention…  read on >  read on >

Higher rates of blood vessel-damaging conditions like hypertension or diabetes may be driving up rates of cognitive decline and dementia among older American Indians, new research shows. The study found that 54% of American Indians ages 72 to 95 had some form of impairment in their thinking and/or memory skills, while 10% had dementia. The underlying causes: Vascular (blood vessel) damage and Alzheimer’s disease, in equal measure and sometimes overlapping. “These results underscore that cognitive impairment among elder American Indians is highly prevalent, more than previously thought,” said Dr. Amy Kelley, deputy director of the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA), which funded the study. “Considering how these new prevalence figures for American Indians are much higher than other groups… it is imperative that we address health disparities to help us find solutions,” she said in an NIA news release. The findings were based on data from nearly 400 participants in the ongoing Strong Heart Study, which has tracked the health of American Indian tribes in three U.S. geographic regions — the Northern Plains, Southern Plains and South — for over 30 years. The data showed that, among 216 participants now aged 72 to 95, about 35% had what’s known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), often a precursor to dementia. That’s significantly higher than the level of MCI observed in similarly aged whites (12% to…  read on >  read on >

Climate change is likely to make brain conditions like stroke, migraine, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis even worse, a new review warns. The potential effects of a changing climate is likely to be substantial on a range of neurological conditions, researchers report May 15 in The Lancet Neurology journal. “There is clear evidence for an impact of the climate on some brain conditions, especially stroke and infections of the nervous system,” said lead researcher Sanjay Sisodiya, a professor with the University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology. For the review, researchers analyzed data from 332 studies published between 1968 and 2023. “The climatic variation that was shown to have an effect on brain diseases included extremes of temperature [both low and high], and greater temperature variation throughout the course of day — especially when these measures were seasonally unusual,” Sisodiya said in a university news release. Strokes increased during high temperature days or heat waves, researchers found. Meanwhile, people with dementia were more susceptible to temperature-related conditions like heat stroke or hypothermia, as well as more vulnerable during weather events like flooding or wildfires. “Reduced awareness of risk is combined with a diminished capacity to seek help or to mitigate potential harm, such as by drinking more in hot weather or by adjusting clothing,” the research team wrote. “Accordingly, greater temperature variation, hotter…  read on >  read on >