Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

Yes, rare cases of vision issues have arisen in people taking popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs, but the jury’s out on whether the medications caused the eye trouble, according to a new small study. The study reviewed the cases of nine people who developed sight-robbing issues, such as dysfunction in blood vessels around the eye’s optic nerve, after taking a GLP-1. “We’re trying to elucidate if being on these drugs can increase your risk,” said study co-author Dr. Norah Lincoff. She’s a neuro-ophthalmologist and professor of neurology at the University at Buffalo. The study, published recently in JAMA Opthalmology, focused on nine patients, all in their 50s or 60s, who were taking GLP-1s such as semaglutide (Wegovy/Ozempic) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro/Zepbound). Seven of the nine patients developed a condition known as nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). This occurs when blood vessels fail to supply enough blood to the optic nerve, which is crucial for sight. In NAION, damage to the nerve can lead to a sudden and permanent partial loss of vision. Lead study author Dr. Bradley Katz, of the John A. Moran Eye Center at University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City, first noted the issue in a patient who experienced a sudden and painless loss of vision in one eye after starting seamglutide. The patient briefly halted use of the drug, but when… read on > read on >

Many women may opt for a breast reduction if they encounter issues such as recurrent neck, back and shoulder pain. However, a new study suggests a link between these procedures in teens and young adult women and later weight gain. “These patients should be targeted for healthy lifestyle changes to prevent weight gain,” said study lead author William Doyle Jr., a medical student at the University of South Florida in Tampa. He and his colleagues published their findings in the February issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Excess weight can raise risks for complications after breast-reduction surgeries (mammaplasty), especially among teens, according to background information from the researchers. For that reason, overweight patients are advised to lose weight prior to these procedures. But what about weight gain after these surgeries? To learn more, Doyle’s team tracked outcomes for 56 patients under the age of 22 (average age: 18.6 years) who had breast reduction surgeries between 2015 and 2019. Prior to their surgeries, about 29% were determined to be at a healthy weight, while the rest had BMIs in the overweight or obese range. BMI, shorthand for body mass index, is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. The researchers tracked fluctuations in patients’ weight for an average of almost two years post-surgery. They found that 39.3% of patients had any decrease… read on > read on >

Symbravo can rapidly eliminate migraine pain within two hours, with efficacy sustained through 24 and 48 hours, across migraine pain severity read on >

Approval marks the first and only continuous delivery treatment as an alternate to regular eye injections read on >

“Yo-yo” dieting — repeatedly losing and gaining weight — can significantly increase risk of kidney disease among people with type 1 diabetes, a new study warns. Diabetics with greater weight fluctuations experienced a 40% decline in their kidneys’ ability to filter toxins from the blood, researchers reported Feb. 4 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. “We showed that high body-weight variability is associated with increased risk of different outcomes of diabetic kidney disease progressions (DKD) in people with type 1 diabetes, independently of traditional DKD risk factors,” lead researcher Dr. Marion Camoin with the University Hospital Center Bordeaux in France said in a news release. “To our knowledge, this is the first study showing this association,” Camoin added. As many as 35% of men and 55% of women yo-yo diet, and this pattern of weight loss and regain has been shown to increase risk of heart disease in both healthy people and people with diabetes, researchers said in background notes. Type 1 diabetes has long been considered a disease of lean people, but obesity is becoming more common in that group as well as the general public, researchers said. For the study, researchers examined six years of body weight data for more than 1,400 people participating in a long-term diabetes health study. The team compared weight fluctuation with six criteria that show how… read on > read on >

Tiny microplastics are making their way into the human brain, and new research suggests the problem is getting worse. The new study, published Feb. 3 in the journal Nature, found that brain samples collected in 2024 contained significantly more microplastics than those taken eight years earlier. Researchers say the amount of plastic in the brain has increased by about 50% — the equivalent of an entire plastic spoon in weight. “Compared to autopsy brain samples from 2016, that’s about 50% higher,” he said. “That would mean that our brains today are 99.5% brain and the rest is plastic,” co-lead author Matthew Campen, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, told CNN. Researchers also found that people with dementia had even higher levels of microplasticsplastic fragments in their brains — three to five times more than those without dementia. “It’s a little bit alarming, but remember that dementia is a disease where the blood brain barrier and clearance mechanisms are impaired,” Campen said. Microplastics — tiny fragments of plastic that come from products like water bottles, food packaging and synthetic fabrics — have been found in major organs, including the lungs, heart, liver and even the placenta. But scientists are still trying to understand how they affect the body. “The biggest question is, ‘OK, what are these particles doing to… read on > read on >

Cold showers or ice baths have become a trendy way to recuperate after a heavy-duty workout, but do they actually help? A new evidence review suggests there’s some science to back up the hype. People report lower stress, improved sleep and better quality of life following cold-water immersion, researchers reported Jan. 29 in the journal PLOS One. However, these benefits often aren’t long-lasting, and in some cases, the body’s response might be bad for chronic health problems like heart disease, the review found. “In this study, we noted a range of time-dependent results,” lead investigator Tara Cain, a research assistant studying health and human performance with the University of South Australia, said in a news release. For example, “we found that cold-water immersion could reduce stress levels, but for only about 12 hours post-exposure,” Cain said. Researchers also noted that participants who took 20-, 60- or 90-second cold showers reported slightly higher quality of life scores. “But again,” Cain added, “After three months these effects had faded.” For the review, researchers pooled data from 11 studies on cold-water immersion involving nearly 3,200 people. Cold-water immersion involves dunking the body partially or fully in chilly water, with temperatures typically ranging from 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, researchers said in background notes. In this review, data was only included if exposure was at or above chest level… read on > read on >

A common drug used to prevent migraines might have an additional benefit — protecting women against stroke. Women taking the beta blocker propranolol to ward off migraines have a lower risk of strokes caused by blood clots, according to new research to be presented Thursday at a meeting of the American Stroke Association. The risk of stroke was as much as 52% lower in female migraine sufferers taking propranolol, which is available as a generic drug, researchers said. The drug did not have the same protective effect for men, however. “Migraine is an often-ignored risk factor for cardiovascular issues. Until recently, preventive treatments for people who have migraines were not available,” said lead researcher Mulubrhan Mogos, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, Tenn. About 20% of people suffer from migraines, researchers said in background notes. Migraine headaches occur three times more often in women than men, and they are associated with an increased risk of stroke. Beta blockers are commonly prescribed to help ward off migraine, and also are used to treat high blood pressure. For their study, researchers reviewed more than 3 million electronic health records from two large databases. They identified people with migraine who had a stroke, and then checked who was taking propranolol for migraine. “We initially looked at overall stroke and then ischemic (clot-caused) stroke… read on > read on >

Weight-loss surgery can protect the liver health of patients with obesity and fatty liver disease, a new study reports. Patients had a 72% lower risk of developing serious complications of liver disease after undergoing weight-loss surgery, researchers reported in Jan. 27 in the journal Nature Medicine. They also had an 80% lower risk of their liver disease reaching an advanced, life-threatening stage, researchers found. These results show that the sort of weight loss associated with bariatric surgery can make a major difference in people with fatty liver disease, also called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), researchers said. “Currently, lifestyle intervention (diet and exercise) is the only therapeutic recommendation for compensated MASH-related cirrhosis,” senior investigator Dr. Steven Nissen, chief academic officer of the Cleveland Clinic Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute, said in a news release. “However, lifestyle changes alone rarely provide the weight loss and metabolic changes needed to reduce the risk of liver complications in this patient population,” he added. Obesity and diabetes are the leading cause of MASH, which is the most common form of chronic liver disease in the U.S., researchers said in background notes. The livers of people who are obese start accumulating fat, triggering a cascade of events ultimately leading to liver scarring, researchers said. An estimated 3 million people in the U.S. have liver scarring related to fatty liver disease. For… read on > read on >

“Hidden hunger” — low levels of essential vitamins or minerals — is common among people with type 2 diabetes, a new evidence review says Overall, as many as 45% of type 2 diabetics are suffering multiple deficiencies in vitamins, minerals and electrolytes, researchers reported Jan. 28 in the journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health. The review “exemplifies the double burden of malnutrition in action,” where people trying to manage their diabetes through diet wind up with nutritional deficiencies, concluded the research team led by Dr. Daya Krishan Mangal, an adjunct professor at the International Institute of Health Management Research in Jaipur, India. For the evidence review, researchers pooled results from 132 prior studies involving more than 52,500 participants between 1998 and 2023. Very low levels of vitamin D were the most common deficiency, affecting more than 60% of people with type 2 diabetes. Other common deficiencies included magnesium (42%), iron (28%) and vitamin B12 (22%). People on the diabetes drug metformin were at higher risk for B12 deficiency, with 29% having low levels of that vitamin. Women with diabetes were more likely to have vitamin deficiencies than men, 49% versus 43%, results show. And diabetics in North and South America had the highest levels of vitamin deficiencies, with 54% suffering a lack of specific nutrients. “The treatment of type 2 diabetes often tends to focus… read on > read on >