Sleep-deprived night shift nurses are at greater risk for the common cold and other infectious diseases, a new study says. Shift work and its impact on quality sleep can wreak havoc on nurses’ immune systems, making them more vulnerable to infection, researchers report in the journal Chronobiology International. “Sleep debt and irregular shift patterns, including night work, not only compromise nurses’ immune health but could also impact their ability to provide high-quality patient care,” senior researcher Siri Waage said in a news release. She’s coordinator of the Norwegian Competence Center for Sleep Disorders at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen. Nurses who got up to two hours’ less sleep than they needed had a 33% higher risk of the common cold, and the risk was double among nurses with more than two hours of sleep debt, researchers said. Their risk of pneumonia and bronchitis also increased dramatically with a lack of sleep, running nearly 2.3 times higher with moderate sleep debt and 3.9 times higher with severe sleep debt, results show. Sinusitis and GI infections also were more common among nurses who weren’t getting enough sleep, researchers added. For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 1,300 Norwegian nurses. Results showed that shift work, particularly on the night shift, was associated with higher risk of infection. However, night shift work was solely linked to an…  read on >  read on >

LED light therapy is touted by social media influencers as a trendy way to treat acne. And it actually appears to work, a new evidence review suggests. Both red and blue LED light therapy are safe and effective in clearing up mild to moderate acne, researchers reported in JAMA Dermatology. “We found individuals who use red and/or blue LED devices experienced a significant reduction in both inflammatory and non-inflammatory acne lesions compared to the control groups,” senior researcher Dr. John Barbieri, director of the Advanced Acne Therapeutics Clinic at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said in a news release. LED light therapy is thought to work by targeting the bacteria that causes acne and reducing skin inflammation, researchers said in background notes. Blue LED light therapy also might reduce activity in the sebaceous glands of hair follicles, causing them to produce less pore-clogging oil, Harvard Medical School says. It affects the uppermost layer of skin. On the other hand, red light is believed to act on skin cells that play a role in producing collagen, a protein that helps skin recover when damaged, Harvard says. Red light penetrates deeper into skin. For their review, researchers pooled data from six studies of LED therapy for acne involving 216 participants. The LED devices resulted in about a 45% improvement in acne lesions and symptoms compared to…  read on >  read on >

The makers of two popular weight-loss drugs — Wegovy and Zepbound — are cutting prices to make the medications more affordable for people without insurance. Novo Nordisk, the Danish company behind Wegovy, announced Wednesday that it has lowered its monthly cost by 23%. The new price — $499 per month — takes effect immediately. The price had been $650 a month. The discount applies to all dose levels of the medication, NBC News reported. The lower price is available to both uninsured patients and people whose insurance does not cover weight-loss drugs, the company also said. Last week, Eli Lilly, the maker of Zepbound, also cut prices for its starter dose to $349 per month. Larger doses will now cost $499 per month through the company’s self-pay program. People using these GLP-1 meds start with smaller doses and gradually increase to higher amounts over time. The price cuts come as supply issues ease. Both medications have recently been removed from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s shortage list, allowing the companies to meet growing demand. As a result, compounding pharmacies, which were allowed to make off-brand versions during the shortage, will need to wind down production. Both Wegovy and Zepbound belong to a class of drugs that have been shown to help people lose weight by reducing appetite and increasing the feelings of fullness. More…  read on >  read on >

Sight-robbing injuries to the cornea can be repaired using a groundbreaking experimental stem cell treatment, a new study shows. The cornea — the clear outermost layer of the eye — can become irreversibly damaged if injury or disease destroys its ability to regenerate new cells. In this new process, stem cells taken from a person’s healthy eye can be used to rebuild the cornea in their damaged eye, researchers reported March 4 in the journal Nature Communications. The process has proven feasible and safe in 14 patients who were treated and followed for 18 months, early clinical trial results show. The treatment is called cultivated autologous limbal epithelial cells, or CALEC. “Our first trial in four patients showed that CALEC was safe and the treatment was possible,” lead investigator Dr. Ula Jurkunas, associate director of the Cornea Service at Mass Eye and Ear in Boston, said in a news release. “Now we have this new data supporting that CALEC is more than 90% effective at restoring the cornea’s surface, which makes a meaningful difference in individuals with cornea damage that was considered untreatable,” she said. The outer border of the cornea, the limbus, contains many healthy stem cells called limbal epithelial cells, researchers explained in background notes. These cells constantly rebuild the cornea, keeping it clear and smooth. When a person’s cornea is damaged, the…  read on >  read on >

As this year’s severe flu season rages across the country, federal health officials are investigating a rise in rare but life-threatening brain complications in children. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says at least 19,000 people have died from the flu so far this winter, including 86 children.  New data show that nine of those child deaths involved serious brain complications tied to the flu, the CDC reported Feb. 27 in it’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). The condition, known as influenza-associated encephalopathy or encephalitis (IAE), is a rare type of brain inflammation triggered by the flu. In severe cases, children can develop acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE), a dangerous form of brain damage linked to viral infections like flu. While IAE is rare, the CDC’s preliminary data for the 2024-25 flu season link 13% of child flu deaths to these brain complications. Among 1,840 pediatric flu deaths reported to the CDC since 2010, 166 children (9%) had these brain complications.  In some past seasons, the percentage was lower (4% in 2013-14 and 0% in 2020-21 when flu dropped to historic a low during the COVID pandemic). In other seasons, it was as high as 14% (2011-12 season). One challenge for public health experts, The Associated Press reported, is that there’s no official system to track IAE or ANE cases in the…  read on >  read on >

GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic/Wegovy don’t increase a person’s risk of suicidal actions or thoughts, a new study has concluded. Earlier research had potentially linked these drugs — which are used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity — with suicidal thoughts and self-harm, researchers added. But the new study found no such association after following more than 68,000 diabetics prescribed GLP-1 drugs for a year or more, according to a report in The BMJ. “GLP-1 receptor agonist use was not associated with an increased risk of suicidal ideation, self-harm, or suicide” compared against two other classes of diabetes medications, wrote the research team led by senior researcher Laurent Azoulay, an associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at McGill University in Montreal. “These findings should provide some reassurance with respect to the psychiatric safety of these drugs,” researchers concluded. GLP-1 drugs have become wildly popular as weight-loss medications, but with their increased use has come concern over the long-term safety of this class of drugs. For the study, researchers analyzed U.K. data on people with type 2 diabetes who had been prescribed medications for their condition. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs mimic the GLP-1 hormone, which helps control insulin and blood sugar levels, decreases appetite and slows digestion of food.  The most prominent of these drugs is semaglutide, which is sold under the name Ozempic for diabetes…  read on >  read on >

Utah may become the first state in the U.S. to ban fluoride in public water statewide, a move that would override local decisions on whether to add the cavity-fighting mineral to drinking water. The bill now awaits the signature of Gov. Spencer Cox, who has not said whether he will approve the measure, The Associated Press reported. If signed, Utah would be the first state to ban fluoride in public water systems, a move that has raised praise from some lawmakers but concerns from public health experts and dental professionals. Supporters of the bill, including state Rep. Stephanie Gricius and state Sen. Kirk Cullimore, both Republicans, argue that adding fluoride is too expensive. “I don’t dispute that there can be positive benefits from fluoride, which is why the bill also includes a deregulation of the prescription,” Gricius said in a text message to The Associated Press, referencing a fluoride pill. “This isn’t anti-fluoride legislation, it is pro-informed consent and individual choice.” But dental and other public health experts warn that banning fluoride could increase cavities, especially in low-income communities. Utah’s bill comes as newly appointed federal health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has expressed skepticism about water fluoridation, which is widely considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century. “Fluoridation is the most cost effective way to prevent tooth decay on…  read on >  read on >

Feeling scared? Your fear is a survival tool, but sometimes, it overreacts — making us afraid of things that aren’t true threats.  A new study shows how the brain learns to let go of unnecessary fears, offering potential new ways for treating conditions such as anxiety, PTSD and phobias. Published in the journal Science, it tracked how mice responded to repeated harmless threats, such as a shadow that mimicked a predatory bird’s swoop. Over time, the mice learned the shadow wasn’t dangerous and stopped reacting. Scientists found that this “unlearning” of fear was stored in a previously overlooked part of the brain called the ventrolateral geniculate nucleus (vLGN). “We’ve uncovered the mechanism by which the brain — through experience — can understand which potential instinctive dangers are actually not a danger,” study leader Sara Mederos, a neuroscientist at University College London’s Sainsbury Wellcome Center, told The Washington Post. In the study, about 100 mice were exposed to 30 to 50 simulated “swoops,” using an expanding overhead shadow to mimic a bird of prey. By inserting silicon probes in the mice’s brains, scientists discovered that while the visual cortex helped the mice recognize the harmless threat, the vLGN actually helped store the memory to disregard it. By focusing on specific molecules and neurotransmitters released in this area of the brain, researchers think it may be possible…  read on >  read on >