Kids with poor impulse control — a common characteristic of ADHD — may be at higher risk for health, social and criminal problems as adults, a new study indicates. Researchers found that having attention and behavior problems in childhood was linked to less money, lower educational achievement and poorer health in adulthood when compared to those who could regulate their behavior as kids. “The ability to control one’s attention and behavior is a fundamental life skill, which supports well-being and adjustment in a range of areas,” said lead researcher Andrew Koepp, from the human development and family sciences department at the University of Texas at Austin. “These findings reinforce the idea that characteristics and experiences of individuals in childhood affect them well into adulthood, and that skills learned in childhood are foundational for success in life,” Koepp added. The study is a “conceptual replication” of a New Zealand study published in 2011 that obtained similar results. For the new study, Koepp and his colleagues collected data on over 15,000 people who took part in the U.K. National Child Development Study. Participants lived in England, Scotland or Wales, and were born during one week in 1958 and followed through age 42. The researchers also collected data on nearly 1,200 participants in the U.S. Study of Early Childcare and Youth Development, who were born in 1991 at…  read on >  read on >

When people regained weight after obesity surgery, it wasn’t entirely clear what to do next. Now, it appears the weight-loss medications Wegovy and Saxenda can help. Both work by controlling appetite and satiety. Wegovy (semaglutide), however, may be superior to Saxenda (liraglutide), a new study finds. “Our research found that newer anti-obesity medications are effective for treating weight regain and optimizing body weight after bariatric [weight-loss] surgery,” said study co-author Dr. Jaime Almandoz, an associate professor in the division of endocrinology at UT Southwestern (UTSW) in Dallas. “Our study also found that weight management medication regimens containing semaglutide worked better than those containing liraglutide, even when the dose of semaglutide was lower than what is currently approved to treat obesity,” Almandoz said in a university news release. More than 40% of American adults are obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Weight gain after bariatric surgery is common and can make type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease worse. To see if medication might help this group of post-surgery patients, the new study compared glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists Wegovy, which is given as a weekly injection, and Saxenda, a daily injection. The researchers analyzed health records for 207 adults who previously had bariatric surgery and were then treated for obesity at UTSW’s Weight Wellness Program between 2015 and 2021. The…  read on >  read on >

It’s tempting to treat little skin bumps on your own, but that delays proper diagnosis and treatment that may work better, federal regulators cautioned. Among the many types of skin conditions a person can contract are a virus called molluscum, which look like white, pink or flesh-colored bumps. Products marketed as treatments for molluscum have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the agency warned. There are no approved treatments in either prescription or over-the-counter form for the condition, which will typically go away on its own in six to 12 months but could last up to five years. Molluscum are sometimes called water warts. They can grow alone or in groups almost anywhere on the skin, including the face, neck, arms, legs, abdomen and genital area. They are rarely on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet. Sometimes these bumps itch and get irritated. People with a weakened immune system may have larger or more bumps. They’re more common in children, but can happen in teens and adults. Without seeing a doctor, you won’t know if what you have is actually molluscum or something else. Molluscum is spread by skin-to-skin contact, including sexual contact, and by sharing clothes or infected objects such as sports equipment. Staying clean, including washing your hands, is the best way to prevent them.…  read on >  read on >

There is no cure for nearsightedness, but medicated eye drops can slow down its progression in children, a new trial finds. The study tested the effects of eye drops containing a very low dose of the drug atropine — the same medication used to dilate the pupils during an eye exam. Researchers found that when children with nearsightedness used the drops every day for three years, their vision worsened more slowly — and was more likely to stabilize — versus kids given placebo drops. That does not mean the drops will reverse vision problems or liberate kids from glasses, experts stressed. “The real point here is the longer term,” said lead researcher Karla Zadnik, dean of Ohio State University’s College of Optometry, in Columbus. Nearsightedness, she explained, arises when at some point during childhood, the eyeball “grows too long” and becomes more oval-shaped than round. That alters how light hits the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye — turning far vision into a “big, blurry mess,” Zadnik explained. Glasses or contact lenses can clear up that mess, but the underlying nearsightedness typically keeps progressing until at least the mid-teens. That matters, Zadnik said, because more severe nearsightedness can lead to problems for some people in adulthood. That elongated eyeball can raise the risk of conditions like retinal detachment, glaucoma and cataracts.…  read on >  read on >

Many men have likely never heard of Peyronie’s disease, but they might want to brush up on this condition because it causes the penis to curve abnormally during an erection. Peyronie’s disease typically affects men over 30, and it appears to be caused by the build-up of plaque in the tunica albuginea. The tunica albuginea is the inner lining of the penis, and it helps the penis remain stiff during an erection. Here, experts will explore what Peyronie’s disease is, its causes, symptoms and how it can be treated. What is Peyronie’s disease According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Peyronie’s disease can develop when there is a physical injury to the penis, scar tissue forms, and the hard plaque that can build on scar tissue pulls on the surrounding tissue of the penis and causes a curve, usually when the penis is erect. In a patient page provided by the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Christopher Gaffney and Dr. James Kashanian, both urologists at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, state that “Peyronie’s disease can cause pain (with or without erections), inability to engage in penetrative sexual intercourse, erectile dysfunction, emotional distress, depression and relationship difficulties. It develops in up to 5% to 10% of men.” Peyronie’s disease versus normal curvature The Cleveland Clinic uses the analogy of a clock…  read on >  read on >

Quitting smoking after a cancer diagnosis can deliver a big payoff for another major health concern: the risk of heart attack or stroke. Cancer patients who kept smoking had a nearly doubled risk of either of those emergencies, as well as death from cardiovascular disease, new research showed. “A cancer diagnosis is an extremely stressful life event, which often leads to significant changes in a person’s lifestyle. Smoking, in particular, is a health-related behavior that can be heavily influenced by mental distress,” said study author Dr. Hyeok-Hee Lee, of Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea. For the study, published May 30 in the European Heart Journal, researchers analyzed data from a Korean national health claims database for more than 309,000 cancer survivors who had never had a heart attack or stroke. Participants had each answered questions about smoking and had health exams. The research team split participants into groups based on their change in smoking habits after receiving a cancer diagnosis. Groups were sustained nonsmokers, quitters, initiators/relapsers and continuing smokers. About 250,000 (80.9%) were sustained nonsmokers; just over 10% quit smoking; 1.5% initiated or relapsed to smoking, and 7.5% continued smoking after their cancer diagnosis. Then the researchers assessed the risk of cardiovascular events for each group during a median of 5.5 years, adjusting for other characteristics that could influence these risks.…  read on >  read on >

When the late Brown University researcher Catherine Kerr had cancer, she benefited from an ancient Chinese practice known as qigong and began looking into its impact on others. Now, her colleagues are building on Kerr’s work, studying how practicing qigong affects a person’s perception of fatigue in a small group of 24 female cancer patients just out of treatment. They found that qigong was as effective at reducing fatigue as an energy-intensive exercise and nutrition program. It might also be easier for someone tired after weeks or months of treatment to begin. Stephanie Jones, an associate professor of neuroscience who led the study for Brown University’s Cancer Institute for Brain Science, called the results remarkable. “Fatigue in cancer survivors is extremely debilitating, which Cathy knew well because she lived it and she had undergone a number of types of treatment. And exercise can be really challenging,” Jones explained. “Physical exercise we know is good for fatigue, but it can be really difficult when you’re tired,” Jones noted. “This is a very gentle, slow movement, meditation-based practice that is showing clinically relevant improvement.” Fatigue is a common experience for cancer survivors, 45% of whom experience it at a moderate to severe level, according to the study. It can be an even bigger burden than pain, nausea and depression, the authors said. Exercise can help. This is…  read on >  read on >

An anti-inflammatory drug that has been around for over 2,000 years might help delay a very modern problem: hip and knee replacements. That’s the suggestion of a new study finding that older adults who used the drug — called colchicine — were less likely to need hip or knee replacement surgery over the next two years, versus those given placebo pills. The study, published May 30 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, does come with a big caveat, researchers noted: The patients were part of a trial testing colchicine for warding off heart trouble — not joint replacements. So the findings do not prove the medication actually stalled the progression of knee or hip osteoarthritis. That’s the common, age-related form of arthritis where the cartilage cushioning the joints gradually breaks down. But the results do make a “strong argument” for studying colchicine as a treatment for osteoarthritis, said lead researcher Michelle Heijman, of Sint Maartens Clinic, in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Until then, she said, the drug cannot be recommended as a treatment for the joint disease. As it stands, medications for osteoarthritis offer pain relief, but there are none that can slow the underlying joint destruction. Colchicine is an oral drug that has long been prescribed for a different form of arthritis called gout. Doctors also sometimes use it to treat pericarditis, where the sac…  read on >  read on >

A nasal spray containing ketamine might help relieve migraine headaches when other treatments fail, a new study suggests. Ketamine is a synthetic anesthetic with hallucinogenic effects that is sometimes used intravenously for migraine headaches. It’s being tried for treatment-resistant depression, too. But it’s also a potentially addictive “party” drug so it is not for everyone. In this trial, researchers report that 49% of migraine sufferers who used the nasal spray found it very effective in relieving pain. Forty percent said it was somewhat effective and nearly 36% said it improved their quality of life. “It’s for patients who’ve tried several other treatments that haven’t been effective and for patients that are really disabled or significantly disabled by their pain,” said senior researcher Dr. Michael Marmura. He is a headache specialist at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. It’s not for patients with a history of substance abuse, he said. Ketamine is usually given intravenously, Marmura said, noting that a nasal spray is more convenient. However, this ease of use also ups the potential for misuse. The drug is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of migraines and is not commercially available as a nasal spray, Marmura noted. “This is not something that we suspect will be widely adopted, but I think that there may be a role for this for…  read on >  read on >

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness around the world, but surgery can restore vision. “Unlike many of the other major eye diseases, such as glaucoma or diabetes-related eye disease, cataracts can be easily and painlessly treated by surgery to remove and replace the eye’s lens, restoring sight for most patients,” said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of the nonprofit organization Prevent Blindness. “We urge patients to work with their eye doctor to understand their diagnosis and the best available treatment options,” Todd said in a news release from the organization. Here what else you should know about the common condition: More than half of all Americans will have a cataract, a clouding of the eye’s lens that blocks or changes the passage of light into the eye, by the time they reach age 80, according to the organization. Some patients have no early symptoms. The U.S. National Eye Institute says that people developing cataracts may notice cloudy or blurry vision, colors that look faded and difficulty seeing at night. They may also see a halo around lights, have frequent changes to their eyeglass prescription or find that lamps, sunlight or headlights appear too bright. Some may also see double, an issue that can go away as the cataract becomes larger. About 4 million cataract surgeries take place each year in the United States, according…  read on >  read on >