Dark patches or freckle-like spots on the face are melasma, and it’s possible both to prevent them and make them less noticeable, according to a skin expert. Dr. Rebecca Kazin, a Rockville, Md., dermatologist, offers some tips for dealing with these patches, which are caused by sun exposure, pregnancy, stress, certain medications and sometimes a medical condition. “While melasma may go away on its own, it can persist for years,” Kazin said in a news release from the American Academy of Dermatology. “Although melasma is not harmful, people often want to treat it.” A dermatologist can create an individualized treatment plan using different therapies to address each patient’s concerns, she said. Melanocytes, the cells that give skin its color, are more active in darker complexions, so melasma can be more noticeable with darker skin tones. Kazin and the American Academy of Dermatology recommend protecting the skin from the sun. Seek shade when outdoors. Wear sun-protective clothing, including a lightweight and long-sleeved shirt, pants, a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses with UV protection. Choosing clothing with an ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) number on the label can offer even more protection. Use a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher on all skin not covered by clothing whenever you’re outdoors, even on cloudy days. Reapply sunscreen every two hours, more often if you have been…  read on >  read on >

Any head injury — even a mild one — raises a person’s risk of later having an ischemic stroke. Having multiple injuries increases that risk, even more so than the severity of a single traumatic brain injury (TBI), researchers report. “Our study found that those who experience two or more head injuries, including even mild head injuries, are at higher risk of subsequent ischemic stroke,” said study author Dr. Holly Elser, a neurology resident at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. “The findings underscore the importance of public health interventions to reduce the risk of head injury, as well as measures aimed at stroke prevention among individuals with a prior head injury.” An ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke, is caused by a blockage in the vessels that supply blood to the brain. TBIs can be mild, moderate or severe. To study the connection with stroke, the researchers analyzed data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study of more than 12,800 U.S. adults. The diverse group had not had a head injury or stroke when the study began in 1987. More than 2,100 of those people did experience a head injury during the following 30-year time period, about 73% of which were mild. More than 140 had an ischemic stroke. The investigators found that those who had a head…  read on >  read on >

Two new studies looked to explain an increased risk of respiratory infections like coughs and colds in babies and young children, finding city living to be among the culprits. Young children who grow up in towns and cities instead of the countryside suffer more respiratory infections, according to research presented Monday at a meeting of the European Respiratory Society, in Milan, Italy. Findings presented at medical meetings are considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. A second study that was also presented at the event and published Sept. 11 in the journal Pediatric Pulmonology, found that attending day care, living in a damp home or residing near dense traffic increased young children’s risk of chest infections. That study also noted that breastfeeding reduced the risk. In the first study, researchers included more than 660 children and their mothers. Participation began during pregnancy and continued until the children were 3 years old. By age 3, kids living in urban areas averaged 17 respiratory infections, such as coughs and colds, compared to 15 for kids in rural areas. That research also included detailed blood tests of the pregnant women and their newborns. Researchers analyzed the infants’ immune systems at 4 weeks of age and found differences between the urban and rural babies. There were also differences in blood samples from moms and babies related to living…  read on >  read on >

Eczema and psoriasis are skin conditions that can each affect a person’s quality of life. The best way to know which one you have if you have an itchy rash or burning feeling on your skin is to see an expert. “Both eczema and psoriasis can impact your sleep, mood and quality of life, so it’s important to seek help if you are struggling with these conditions,” said Dr. Catherine Emerson, a dermatologist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Understanding the differences between psoriasis and eczema can ensure that you’re getting the right treatment and making choices that can help you avoid flare-ups. Both conditions can appear as dry, flaky skin with itching or burning. Both can emerge at any age, through eczema usually begins in childhood. It often develops along with allergic rhinitis and asthma. Together these conditions are sometimes called the “atopic triad.” Eczema tends to be itchier than psoriasis. It can appear inside the elbows and behind the knees. “Itch is a defining feature of eczema,” Emerson said in a center news release. “In fact, it is often called ‘the itch that rashes.’ It can present as dry patches, bumps or even fluid-filled blisters.” While psoriasis can also cause itchiness, sometimes it doesn’t. It is marked by red, thick and scaly plaques with defined edges. “Psoriasis classically involves the scalp, elbows…  read on >  read on >

New Swedish research suggests that up to 5% of 70-year-olds have glaucoma, and half of those diagnosed didn’t even know they had the disease. “Of those who were diagnosed with glaucoma via the study, 15 people — or 2.7% of all participants — were unaware that they had the disease before being examined,” said study author Lena Havstam Johansson, a PhD student at the University of Gothenburg and a specialist nurse at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, both in Gothenburg, Sweden. “So half of those who turned out to have glaucoma were diagnosed because they took part in the study.” Those who received this diagnosis were able to start treatment with daily eye drops that lower the pressure in the eye and slow optic nerve damage. Researchers noted that those with glaucoma had similar levels of physical activity and did not smoke more or drink more alcohol than those without the disease. Their overall quality of life was as good as the others. They were not more tired or more depressed. “This was a positive surprise, and was a finding that I hope can bring comfort to many people who have been diagnosed with glaucoma. It’s hard to live with a disease that gradually impairs vision, but life can still be good in many ways,” Havstam Johansson said in a University of Gothenburg news release. Yet, those…  read on >  read on >

Some people mistrust the safety and effectiveness of human vaccines for COVID-19 and other diseases, a fact that became abundantly clear during the pandemic. Now, a new survey of 2,200 dog owners shows this mistrust may often extend to canine vaccinations. The finding suggests there is spillover between the issues, with those who have negative feelings about human vaccines more likely to hold these same views about vaccinating their pets, even when it comes to deadly conditions like rabies. “We knew that this phenomenon existed, but we didn’t know how prevalent it was. We didn’t know where it came from and what policy and public health implications might be, and that’s why we set out to do this research,” said Matt Motta, an assistant professor of health law, policy & management at Boston University School of Public Health, who conducted the research with his sister, Dr. Gabriella Motta, a veterinarian at Glenolden Veterinary Hospital in Pennsylvania. “A lot of our motivation for this project was born out of conversation that she and I had, her lived experience as a vet, encountering folks who didn’t want to vaccinate their pets and trying to understand why,” he explained. What they found is that nearly 40% of dog owners think dog vaccines aren’t safe. About 20% think they’re not effective. And 30% think they aren’t medically necessary. About…  read on >  read on >

The blockbuster drug Ozempic has become a household name for its ability to spur weight loss. Now an early study hints at an intriguing possibility: The drug might allow people newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes to drop their daily insulin shots. Experts emphasized that the findings are based on only 10 patients, and larger, longer-term studies are necessary. However, all 10 patients were able to stop their meal-time insulin injections after starting semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic. And most were also able to drop their long-acting insulin, which is used to keep overnight blood sugar levels in check. “It sounds like science fiction, that people with type 1 diabetes can stop taking insulin,” said lead researcher Dr. Paresh Dandona of the State University of New York at Buffalo. “This really opens up a new area of research,” he said. “Could we use this drug to change the natural course of type 1 diabetes?” Type 1 diabetes arises when the immune system mistakenly goes after cells in the pancreas that produce the hormone insulin. Insulin has the critical job of moving sugars from food into the body’s cells to be used as fuel. In order to survive, people with type 1 diabetes have to take synthetic insulin, via daily injections or a pump attached to the body. The disease is far less common than…  read on >  read on >

Your thinking and memory skills may take a hit decades after recovering from a concussion, a new study indicates. Scientists who studied male twins, from an average age of 67, found that earlier concussions were tied to lower scores on tests of thinking and memory. These men also had a more rapid decline in their cognitive skills — skills needed for reasoning and the acquisition of knowledge. “It is concerning and, honestly, since previous studies had not been able to capture the cognitive decline, it was not something I really was expecting to see,” said study author Marianne Chanti-Ketterl, a gerontologist at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. “But it is also promising because it’s something that we can intervene on.” Studying identical twins makes sense because they share the same genes and many of the same early life exposures. In this research, one person from each pair had sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) during their lifetime and the other hadn’t been injured. This study worked with data from nearly 7,200 white, male World War II veterans who were twins. The men took a thinking skills test when the study began, at age 67 on average. They took the tests three more times over 12 years. Those with a history of concussion had the brain injury 34 years earlier on average. Participants started…  read on >  read on >

The two “freezing” episodes that Sen. Mitch McConnell experienced recently weren’t strokes or seizures, the Capitol physician said in a new letter released Tuesday. “My examination of you following your August 30, 2023, brief episode included several medical evaluations: brain MRI imaging, EEG study and consultations with several neurologists for a comprehensive neurology assessment. There is no evidence that you have a seizure disorder or that you experienced a stroke, TIA [transient ischemic attack] or movement disorder such as Parkinson’s disease. There are no changes recommended in treatment protocols as you continue recovery from your March 2023 fall,” wrote Dr. Brian Monahan. Monahan had already cleared McConnell for work after the Senate Republican Leader froze for the second time in a month during a briefing last Wednesday in Kentucky. Monahan said in that earlier statement that he had talked with McConnell and his neurology team, and that McConnell can continue his work schedule. McConnell, 81, was injured in March when he fell at a dinner event at a Washington, D.C. hotel. The senator had a concussion and a broken rib. On two separate occasions since then, McConnell has frozen while speaking publicly, including for about 30 seconds on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. He was “momentarily lightheaded,” McConnell’s office told the AP. “Occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected…  read on >  read on >