Sleep apnea is known to wreak havoc with the body, contributing to heart problems, diabetes and liver disease. The sleep disorder also appears to have direct effects on brain health, a new study shows. People with sleep apnea appear to experience accelerated aging of the brain’s white matter, which serves to connect the various regions of the brain, researchers reported Dec. 18 in the journal Neurology. Sleep apnea also is associated with an increase in the size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory and thinking, researchers said. “Both brain shrinkage and brain growth can harm memory and thinking by disrupting normal brain functions, increasing the risk of cognitive decline and dementia,” lead researcher Dr. Alberto Ramos, a neurologist and sleep medicine specialist with the University of Miami, said in a news release from the school. People with sleep apnea stop breathing while asleep. This causes their brain to jolt them to wakefulness, at least enough for them to resume breathing. Over time, untreated sleep apnea can increase a person’s risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and mood disorders, according to the Sleep Foundation. But researchers suspected that sleep apnea might do damage to the brain as well, Ramos said. “Some studies have found sleep problems and lower oxygen levels during sleep have been linked to…  read on >  read on >

Knee arthritis could become easier to detect and diagnose thanks to a new test involving the lubricating fluid inside the joint. A new study shows that arthritis of the knee often is diagnosed in its late stages, after cartilage has degraded and bones are rubbing against each other in the joint. At that point, it’s tough to tell whether knee arthritis has been caused by natural wear and tear, or if an inflammatory disease is behind a person’s joint problems, the researchers noted in a new study published Dec. 18 in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research. But a new test involving two markers found in the synovial fluid of patients’ joints might be able to help docs suss all this out more promptly. The test “addresses an unmet need for objective diagnosis of osteoarthritis to improve clinical decision-making and patient outcomes,” researcher Daniel Keter with CD Diagnostics, a division of Zimmer Biomet, said in a journal news release. The fluid test looks for a protein called cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), as well as an inflammatory biochemical called interleukin-8 (IL-8), researchers said. COMP levels tend to be high in the synovial fluid of people with “wear-and-tear” osteoarthritis, because it’s released as cartilage breaks down. On the other hand, IL-8 is low in osteoarthritis but elevated in people with inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. Using these…  read on >  read on >

TUESDAY, Dec. 17, 2024 (HealthDay News) — A woman’s sex drive often diminishes with age, particularly during perimenopause when issues like pain and vaginal discomfort arise. A new study, however, reveals that sexual identity may play a key role in sexual well-being during midlife. The study, published Dec. 18 in the journal Menopause, found that non-heterosexual women were significantly more likely to remain sexually active and less likely to report pain during sexual activity compared to heterosexual women. Up to 85% of postmenopausal women report challenges with sexual function, including pain, reduced libido and distress. These symptoms, often emerging during perimenopause, can have lasting effects on quality of life and relationships. Researchers led by Laura Muratore, a clinical research coordinator in psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, analyzed survey data from more than 230 female veterans enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration. The participants had an average age of 56, and 25% identified as non-heterosexual. Female veterans are a critical population for research, as their numbers have more than doubled in the past two decades and over half are now in midlife (40s to 60s). What was found? Non-heterosexual women were 2.2 times more likely to report being sexually active in the past month compared to heterosexual women. Only 12% of non-heterosexual women reported pain during sexual activity, compared to 48% of heterosexual women.…  read on >  read on >

The ancient Japanese practice of reiki “energy healing” might help some cancer patients deal with the pain that can come with infusion therapies, new research shows. “Outpatients receiving reiki during infusion reported clinically significant improvements in all symptoms, high levels of satisfaction and a qualitatively positive healing experience,” reported a team led by Natalie Dyer, of Connor Whole Health at the University Hospitals of Cleveland. Her team published its findings recently in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. The Cleveland Clinic notes that reiki “has roots in ancient Japanese healing practices and is considered a form of energy healing. It stems from the Japanese words ‘rei,’ meaning universal, and ‘ki,’ meaning vital life force energy.” The theory behind reiki is that people all have a life force and a reiki master (a practitioner trained in reiki) can channel the “universal life force energy” to you by either lightly touching you with their hands or hovering their hands above you, “channeling” energy in healthy ways. Does reiki work beyond a possible placebo effect? That still “up for debate,” the Cleveland Clinic said, and probably will be for some time to come. In the new study, Dyer and colleagues tracked outcomes for 268 cancer patients who were receiving infusion treatments such as chemotherapy on an outpatient basis. These treatments can come with painful side effects, such…  read on >  read on >

It’s still early science — studies in mice and in human cells — but researchers are on the trail of an effective new treatment for inflammatory skin conditions such as rosacea. Skin cells called mast cells are key players in the inflammation and itchiness that can plague folks with these skin ailments. However, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh report they’ve spotted a compound called SYM2081 that can quiet down these overactive cells. “I’m really excited about the clinical possibilities of this research,” said senior study author Dr. Daniel Kaplan, a professor of dermatology and immunology at the university. “Currently, there aren’t a lot of good therapies that target mast cells, so we think that our approach could potentially have huge benefits in many skin conditions, including rosacea, eczema, urticaria [hives] and mastocytosis [a rare genetic disorder that causes the body to produce too many mast cells].” His team published its findings Dec. 11 in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Anyone with hay fever or other allergies has heard of histamines; cellular compounds that can trigger or signal the misery of inflammation. According to Kaplan’s team, mast cells contain “granules” loaded with histamines (and other pro-inflammatory agents). When these granules tear open, that can trigger a cascade of inflammatory immune responses such as those seen in rosacea or eczema. Granule rupture is beneficial when the…  read on >  read on >

People with diabetes who are taking GLP-1 meds such as Ozempic or Mounjaro may be getting an added bonus: Reductions in their odds for a dangerous blood clot, new research finds. The study found that folks with diabetes who were using the drugs lowered their odds for a form of clot called venous thromboembolism (VTE) by 20%, compared to people taking another type of diabetes drug. “From a public health perspective, given how prevalent these [GLP-1] drugs are, there is potential to see if the overall burden of VTE might be reduced at a national or population level,” said study lead author Dr. Rushad Patell. “VTE risk seems to continuously go up; maybe this will bring the curve down.”  His team presented its findings Sunday in San Diego at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). Because these findings were presented at a medical meeting, they should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. As the researchers explained, VTEs are common and dangerous clots that form in veins. The two best known forms of VTEs are pulmonary embolisms, where clots travel to the lungs, and deep vein thromboses (DVTs), where clots often form in the legs. Any VTE can lead to hospitalization and death if left untreated. Could the blockbuster class of new GLP-1 diabetes medications help ward off VTEs?…  read on >  read on >

Inebriated e-scooter and e-bike users, many of them teens, are increasingly showing up in the nation’s emergency rooms, new research shows. Overall, rates of injuries from these “micromobility” devices have tripled in recent years — from close to 23,000 in 2019 to nearly 66,000 by 2022, the new study found. Alcohol use was a factor in many of the injuries, and rates of use were highest among teens and college-age males, reported a team from North Dakota State University, in Fargo. Driving while intoxicated is a crime even when the vehicle is an e-scooter, so “there is a need to enforce the law against the use of alcohol and substance use among these adolescents,” especially, said researchers led by Akshaya Bhagavathula. He’s an associate professor of public health at the university. Bhagavathula’s team published its findings Dec. 9 in the journal Injury Prevention. Especially during and after the pandemic, the popularity of e-scooters and e-bikes soared as a means of transport. However, accidents can happen on these small two-wheeled vehicles. The Fargo team looked at federal data for 2019 through 2022 for these types of injuries treated at ERs in over 100 hospitals nationwide. During that time, a total of 4,020 injuries linked to micromobility devices were recorded at the hospitals — 3,700 linked to e-scooters and 320 tied to e-bike use. Extrapolated to the U.S.…  read on >  read on >