Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

A daily multivitamin could help people keep their brains healthy as they age, a new trial finds. Results suggest taking multivitamins could help prevent memory loss and slow cognitive aging among older adults, researchers report in the Jan. 18 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The effect was measurable: A daily multivitamin slowed brain aging by the equivalent of two years compared to placebo. Still, experts expressed some skepticism, and wondered if simply eating healthy might not bring about the same results. “Taking a multivitamin supplement is probably good for you, but we don’t know if it’s likely to have a big impact in people who have a healthy diet,” Dr. Richard Caselli, a professor emeritus of neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, told NBC News. “I still maintain a bit of skepticism as far as what magnitude of impact this makes,” he added. “I’m doubtful the difference would be really big.” The new study was led by Dr. Chirag Vyas, an instructor in investigation at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry. “Cognitive decline is among the top health concerns for most older adults, and a daily supplement of multivitamins has the potential as an appealing and accessible approach to slow cognitive aging,” he said. The Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS) is a large-scale, randomized trial performed in collaboration by… read on > read on >

Expecting moms who often turn to acetaminophen for their aches and pains are more likely to wind up with kids who have behavioral issues, a new study warns. Children between the ages of 2 and 4 were more likely to have attention and behavioral problems if their mothers frequently used acetaminophen during pregnancy, researchers found. “The kinds of behaviors the caregivers reported included things like the child talking out of turn, not paying attention, not being quiet when they were supposed to be quiet, not sitting down when they were supposed to be sitting down, and being a little aggressive with other children,” said researcher Susan Schantz, a professor of comparative biosciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Acetaminophen — widely known by the brand name Tylenol — is considered the safest painkiller and fever reducer for pregnancy, but previous studies have found evidence of negative outcomes for children exposed to the medication while in the womb, researchers said in background notes. For example, a recent study co-led by Schantz linked increased acetaminophen exposure in pregnancy to language delays in children. For this latest research, investigator asked pregnant women about their acetaminophen use six times during the course of their pregnancy, to capture a more precise picture of drug exposures. The team then followed the children born of these pregnancies, asking caregivers dozens of standard questions… read on > read on >

Fetal exposure to opioids may change a baby’s immune system, triggering a rise in risks for eczema and asthma through early childhood, new research shows. Children born to women who used opioids during pregnancy had much higher rates of eczema, as well as conditions such as “diaper rash,” during infancy, Australian researchers report. These children also went on to have significantly higher odds for asthma and eczema by the age of 5. The findings echo those seen in prior animal studies and suggest that “prenatal opioid exposure may have a long-term impact on the immune system and child health,” the researchers said. The study was led by Erin Kelty of the University of Western Australia, in Crawley, and was published Jan. 17 in the journal JAMA Network Open. As Kelty’s team relate, rodent studies have already shown that fetal exposure to opioids “may result in immune priming, such that the immune system overreacts to subsequent and later immune activation.” The new study focused on data on outcomes for more than 400,000 children born in Western Australia between 2003 and 2018. Of those births, 1,656 children were diagnosed as having been exposed to opioids in the womb. Crunching the numbers, Kelty’s team found that short-term (just after delivery) risks for eczema and dermatitis (issues such as diaper rash) soared for babies exposed to opioids. The risk… read on > read on >

Putting a little pressure on your bones during exercise or daily activities might pay off in stronger bones as you age, new research suggests. The study focused on a crucial part of the hip joint anatomy called the femoral neck. Finnish researchers found that largely sedentary folks ages 70 to 85 maintained or gained bone strength in the femoral neck after a year-long exercise program. The key was the intensity and “impact” of physical activity. For example, people who engaged in running or brisk walking benefited far more than those who walked at a normal pace. Even in your 70s and 80s, adding in this kind of activity to your daily routine is easily done, said study co-author Tuuli Suominen. “It is possible to incorporate more high-intensity activity into your everyday life in small bouts, such as brisk walks and stair climbing,” said Suominen, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland. “Jumping-like impacts can also be achieved without the actual jumping by first raising up on your tiptoes and then dropping down onto your heels.” As physical activity tends to decline with advancing age, so does bone density and integrity. Can that deterioration be halted or slowed? To find out, the researchers had 299 largely sedentary men and women ages 70 and older engage in a yearlong program focused on muscle strength,… read on > read on >

As levels of nighttime artificial outdoor light rise, so do the odds for a leading cause of vision loss, age-related macular degeneration (AMD). South Korean researchers found that people living in areas of that country with the highest levels of streetlights and other artificial light had more than double the odds for AMD, compared to those living in areas with the lowest levels. That risk remained even after they accounted for confounding factors such as sleep issues and depression, said a team led by Dr. Ahnul Ha, of the department of ophthalmology at Jeju National University College of Medicine. City dwellers may be at particular danger for macular degeneration, since the link between the illness and artificial outdoor light “was found solely in urban areas, where the mean outdoor-artificial-light-at-night level was 3 times higher than in rural areas,” Ha’s group reported. They published their findings Jan. 16 in JAMA Network Open. AMD occurs when a part of the eye’s retina called the macula deteriorates over time. People begin to lose their central vision, making common tasks such as driving or reading difficult. AMD “generally affects people over the age of 60,” said Dr. Matthew Gorski, an ophthalmologist at Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, NY. “Common symptoms of macular degeneration include blurry vision, distortion [where] straight lines appear wavy. The symptoms can be anywhere from… read on > read on >

TUESDAY, Jan. 16, 2024 (HeathDay News) — Folks often feel more alert and savvy after a great workout, and dopamine might be the reason why. A small, new study by British and Japanese researchers found higher levels of the “feel good” brain neurotransmitter were released by men during exercise. In turn, that seemed tied to better performance on thinking tests, the researchers said. “These latest findings support our previous theory that cognitive performance during exercise is affected by changes to brain-regulating hormones, including dopamine,” said study co-author Dr. Joe Costello. He’s at the University of Portsmouth’s School of Sport, Health & Exercise Science, in England. The findings were published recently in the The Journal of Physiology In the study, Costello and colleagues team had 52 men engage in three separate experiments. All were having their brain activity monitored with sophisticated PET imagery during the experiments. In one trial, men were asked to work on mentally challenging tasks while cycling lying down. The second experiment had the men complete the same tasks, but this time they got “electrical muscle stimulation,” rather than a workout. The third experiment had them completing mental tasks while working out and getting the electrical muscle stimulation. Based on data from the PET scans, Costello’s group found a surge in dopamine release in the brain while men were actively working out —… read on > read on >

Magnetic zaps to the brain can significantly help people with severe depression, if the procedure is guided using MRI brain scans, a new clinical trial has concluded. On average, patients showed substantial improvements in depression, anxiety, cognition and quality of life for at least six months after undergoing MRI-guided transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), results show. One-third experienced a 50% improvement in symptoms, while one-fifth managed to go into remission and remain there. “Given these patients are people who have not responded to two previous treatment attempts and have been ill for an average of 7 years, to get such a significant response rate and a fifth who have a sustained response is really encouraging,” said researcher Richard Morriss, lead for the Center for Mood Disorders at the University of Nottingham’s Institute of Mental Health in the U.K.. TMS is a noninvasive outpatient treatment in which powerful magnetic impulses are delivered to the left side of a person’s head while they are conscious. The method has been used since the 1980s to treat severe depression in people who don’t respond to antidepressants or therapy, researchers said. However, the benefits of TMS have so far proven fleeting, tending to last just one to three months, researchers explained in background notes. In this clinical trial, investigators examined whether better targeting of the magnetic pulses could provide longer-lasting benefits… read on > read on >

In the middle of winter when sunshine can be hard to come by, it’s tough to get enough vitamin D, but one expert has some advice. “Vitamin D is well known to support bone health, but it also plays a role in the health of your heart as well as your GI tract. It is tougher to get it [in the winter] because a lot of the absorption and how the vitamin gets transformed to a usable substance in our bodies is from the sun,” explained Dr. Mike Ren, an assistant professor in Baylor College of Medicine’s Department of Family and Community Medicine. “You need the sun high in the sky, not when it’s rising or about to set, for your body to effectively absorb sunlight to absorb the vitamin D.” Although vitamin D is found naturally in fatty fishes and seafood, it is not typically found in other foods, so people often don’t get enough vitamin D from their diet, Ren said. So, most folks need to get outside in the sun, even when the temperatures plummet. “The typical adult needs 800 international units of vitamin D per day, which roughly translates to 15 to 30 minutes of good, direct sunlight,” Ren said in a Baylor news release. “There is no need to put on a bathing suit just to get sun. You can… read on > read on >

Drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic, which have become a wildly popular way to lose weight or battle diabetes, show no link to suicidal thoughts or actions, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday. “Our preliminary evaluation has not found evidence that use of these medicines causes suicidal thoughts or actions,” an FDA review released Thursday stated. Still, the agency noted officials can’t rule out that “a small risk may exist,” and it will continue to look into similar reports involving this class of weight-loss drugs, known as GLP-1 medications. The FDA review comes on the heels of a study funded by the National Institutes of Health that showed people taking semaglutide, the active ingredient in both Ozempic and Wegovy, had a lower risk of suicidal thoughts than those taking other drugs to treat obesity and diabetes. In that study, researchers tracked over 240,000 obese people and more than 1.5 million people with type 2 diabetes. They looked at the risk of suicidal ideation within six months of starting the medicines, as well as at later times. At six months, it found that among people taking the drug for weight loss, semaglutide was linked to a 73% lower risk of first-time suicidal ideation and a 56% lower risk of recurrent suicidal ideation. The drugs that semaglutide was compared to included bupropion, naltrexone, orlistat, topiramate and phentermine.… read on > read on >

More than a few folks are considering a cosmetic skin procedure to enhance their looks heading into 2024. Botox, fillers and lasers are common means to sculpt a person’s appearance, but dermatologists recommend a comprehensive approach under the care of a qualified specialist. “There is no one-size-fits-all or ‘cookie cutter’ approach to combat the signs of aging because aging looks different on everyone,” said Dr. Laura Fine, a board-certified dermatologist in Chicago. “On the flipside, there is no one cosmetic treatment to address all of these changes.” Here is what the most common procedures can do: Botox (botulinum toxin) can diminish frown lines and crow’s feet around a person’s eyes, and is also a treatment for excessive sweating, Fine said. Most people see results within three to seven days, and results can last about three to four months. Fillers can restore lost fullness to the face, lips and hands, and can be used to lessen scars and erase fine lines. They provide immediate results but tend to be temporary, requiring repeated treatments. Lasers can treat a variety of unsightly stretch marks, scars, hair and age spots, Fine said. However, keep in mind lasers can’t fully remove stretch marks or scars, just make them less noticeable. “The best cosmetic outcomes are often achieved with a comprehensive approach, starting with skincare at home, combined with other in-office… read on > read on >