Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

Reading is fundamental, but it’s also a complex skill. Now, a new study sheds more light on how the brain makes sense of the written word. Researchers found that two key brain “networks” work in tandem to help people read sentences — so folks not only grasp the meanings of individual words but also process the bigger picture of what’s being said. Because reading is such an essential daily activity, it’s easy to take it for granted, said study leader Oscar Woolnough, a research fellow with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. “That is, until you lose that ability,” he said. Woolnough pointed to the example of aphasia, which impairs people’s ability to use language — including their speech and ability to write or read. It stems from damage to the brain, often from a stroke or a head injury. If researchers can better understand how the healthy brain allows people to read, Woolnough said, that could improve understanding of aphasia and other types of reading impairment. For the latest study, the researchers recruited patients with epilepsy who’d had electrodes implanted in their brains to try to identify the source of their seizures. That allowed Woolnough’s team to record the participants’ brain activity as they read — precisely charting the timing of events in a way not possible with noninvasive imaging of the brain. Researchers… read on > read on >

Sciatica can send searing, unrelenting pain down your legs, and surgery is often recommended if other less invasive measures fail to bring relief. Unfortunately, a new study review suggests that such operations likely only provide temporary results, with pain typically returning within a year. Sciatica is “characterized by pain going down the back of the leg, most often due to pressure on a spinal nerve root caused by a ruptured spinal disc in the lower back,” said study author Christine Lin, a professor with Sydney Musculoskeletal Health at the University of Sydney in Australia. “The condition can also manifest as back pain, muscle weakness, and a pins-and-needles sensation in the lower leg. “We set out to investigate if surgery was effective in relieving pain and disability in people with sciatica caused by a ruptured [spinal] disc,” said Lin. But after reviewing 24 prior studies, she and her colleagues concluded that while partial removal of a ruptured disc (discectomy) did result in short-term pain and disability relief, “the benefits reduced with time, and at one year there were no treatment benefits compared to people who did not have surgery.” Lin noted that while surgery is not the only intervention for sciatica patients, “we don’t have a lot of treatment options that are backed by scientific evidence.” There is only “limited evidence” suggesting that an exercise program… read on > read on >

Have you heard the old wives’ tale that knuckle cracking will enlarge your knuckles? What about the one that cracking your knuckles causes arthritis? There are many beliefs about this common behavior, but it’s time to debunk the myths about knuckle cracking. Why do people crack their knuckles? Harvard Health cites several possible reasons. “Knuckle cracking is a common behavior enjoyed by many,” said Dr. Robert Shmerling, a rheumatologist and senior faculty editor at Harvard Health. “It can become a habit or a way to deal with nervous energy; some describe it as a way to ‘release tension.’ For some, it’s simply an annoying thing that other people do.” Sometimes people crack their knuckles out of habit. Like cigarette smoking, excessive knuckle cracking can become a hard habit to break. Stress relief is another reason why people crack their knuckles. What causes the popping noise when you crack your knuckles? Dr. Thanda Aung, an assistant clinical professor in UCLA’s Division of Rheumatology, explains there haven’t been enough studies to explain the mechanism behind the cracking noise. However, she says there are two hypotheses. The first is the popping noise “could be from the movement of all the structures” in the finger such as the bones, tendons and ligaments. The second hypothesis has to do with the synovial fluid (the fluid that lubricates the joints) and… read on > read on >

U.S. schools that have a lot of students with prescriptions for ADHD medication also tend to have a lot of students who misuse the drugs, a new study suggests. Researchers found that among nearly 3,300 U.S. middle schools and high schools, some had a serious problem with students misusing prescription stimulant medications. At certain schools, upwards of one-quarter of students said they’d misused the drugs in the past year. And the problem loomed larger at schools where a high percentage of students had legitimate stimulant prescriptions — a sign some of those kids are sharing the drugs with their peers. At issue are the medications most commonly used to treat ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, including well-known brand names like Ritalin (methylphenidate), Adderall (amphetamine/dextroamphetamine) and Concerta (methylphenidate). When kids actually have ADHD, the drugs can help them focus, have more self-control and do better in school. But the medications are also commonly abused, often by kids or college students who get pills from their friends with prescriptions. “Oftentimes, there are several motivations for misuse,” said Sean Esteban McCabe, director of the University of Michigan’s Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking and Health. Some kids, he said, buy into the mistaken belief that stimulants will make them sharper and boost their school performance. Other times, they use the drugs to “get high,” to… read on > read on >

While joint reconstruction surgeries are fairly common, they may be anything but routine for people with sickle cell disease. Patients with the blood disorder who undergo total knee replacement are at a higher risk for complications than other patients, according to a new large-scale study. “SCD patients undergoing total knee replacement need a multidisciplinary approach and may be better served in specialized centers capable of caring for these complex medical patients,” said study author Dr. Senthil Sambandam, an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “These patients have a higher risk of postoperative complications requiring the involvement of various specialists including nephrologists, pulmonologists and hematologists,” he explained in a UT Southwestern news release. Skeletal and arthritic issues are common among sickle cell patients. About 100,000 people in the United States have the disease. As the life expectancy for these patients has increased over the years, so has the proportion of those needing joint reconstruction. Researchers studied this using the National Inpatient Sample database to identify patients who underwent total knee replacement between 2016 and 2019. The team divided patients into two groups: those with sickle cell disease and those without. More than 558,000 patients had this surgery. Less than 1% — 493 — were known to have sickle cell disease. A greater proportion of them were younger, male… read on > read on >

Taking vitamins may drain your wallet without helping your health, yet a new government survey shows most American adults take them, as do about one-third of children. Researchers who were led by Suruchi Mishra, from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, found vitamin use was common from 2017 to March 2020, prior to the pandemic when vitamin use may have even increased. “It’s promoted as a natural product. It’s promoted as something that is different than what you’re going to get from your doctor, and the notion is that there’s no side effects because it’s all natural, and therefore it can only do good and can never do harm,” Dr. Paul Offit, a doctor at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told CNN. “You can’t beat that,” added Offit, who is also the author of Do You Believe in Magic? Vitamins, Supplements, and All Things Natural: A Look Behind the Curtain. In reality, there is “insufficient evidence” to recommend for or against taking a multivitamin with folic acid, antioxidant combination vitamins or individual supplements for vitamins A, C or E to prevent cancer or heart disease in someone who is healthy but not pregnant, according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). An exception may be vitamin D: Offit said it is thought to improve bone health by helping the body absorb calcium and phosphorous.… read on > read on >

It sounds like the stuff of a vampire novel, but for people with a group of rare genetic disorders, exposure to sunlight can cause excruciating pain. Now, an experimental medication is showing promise for helping them better tolerate the light of day. In an early clinical trial, researchers tested the drug for patients with either of two related conditions: erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) and X-linked protoporphyria (XLP). Both belong to a group of eight rare genetic disorders called porphyrias. Studies estimate that EPP and XLP affect one in every 75,000 to 200,000 white people. Both conditions arise from certain genetic abnormalities that cause a chemical called protoporphyrin to build up in the blood and the lining of the blood vessels. The trouble comes when a person with EPP or XLP goes into the sun: That light activates protoporphyrin in the blood vessels, which triggers inflammation, cell damage and severe pain. Both disorders usually become apparent in childhood — which, clearly, takes a toll on kids’ quality of life, said Dr. Robert Desnick, one of the researchers on the new trial. “They call themselves shadow-jumpers, because they have to run from one shady spot to another to avoid the sun,” said Desnick, a professor of genetics and genomic sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City. Standard sunscreen offers no protection,… read on > read on >

Put out that cigarette for the health of your four-legged friend. When smokers search social media for anti-tobacco information, they tend to engage most with posts about the risk of secondhand smoke on their pets, a new study reveals. Posts with new information about harmful chemicals also receive high engagement, researchers found. “Our results show that people respond to messaging on how smoking negatively affects the lives of those they care about, including pets. Messages that are personally meaningful to smokers can help to generate positive behavioral changes among smokers,” said principal investigator Hong Xue, an associate professor of health administration at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. “Anti-tobacco campaigns can use these findings to improve their campaigns, better engage the public, and more effectively promote reasons to stop smoking,” he said in a university news release. The researchers used machine learning and social media data to analyze factors that influence effective anti-smoking campaigns and user engagement. The study was led by Xue and GMU associate professor Gilbert Gimm. They described their work as the first large-scale social media data mining study that examined key anti-tobacco campaigns in the United States. Their research also found that large campaigns from government and nonprofit organizations had greater user engagement than smaller and local campaigns. Facebook users were much more likely to engage in messages with videos. About… read on > read on >

Four out of 10 people who have lingering health issues after COVID-19 infection can count bothersome sleep problems among them. About 41% of those with so-called long COVID have moderate to severe sleep issues, according to new research from the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Black patients are three times more likely to develop these sleep disturbances. “Sleep difficulties and fatigue are widely reported by people with long COVID, but little is known about the severity and factors associated with these symptoms,” said lead author Dr. Cinthya Pena Orbea, assistant professor of medicine at Cleveland Clinic’s Sleep Disorders Center. “Our findings not only emphasize the importance of identification of sleep disturbance in long COVID considering its impact on patients’ quality of life, daytime functioning and medical health status, but they also draw the attention to the persistent inequities seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” Pena Orbea said in a clinic news release. Risk factors for these lingering sleep disturbances include race, hospitalization for COVID-19, and greater severity of anxiety and fatigue, she and her colleagues found. The researchers analyzed data collected from 962 long-COVID patients who were treated at Cleveland Clinic’s reCOVer Clinic between February 2021 and April 2022. The patients, all adults, completed sleep disturbance and fatigue questionnaires. Among the other findings: About 67% reported moderate to severe fatigue. About 22% reported severe fatigue. More than… read on > read on >

We know that stress can take a toll on the body, but many may not realize it can produce a rash. “Stress can increase the level of the hormone cortisol, increasing inflammation in your body, which can lead to hives, acne, eczema, and hair loss, among other symptoms,” dermatologist Dr. Elizabeth Farhat said in a recent article. Typically, hives are caused by an allergic reaction but can actually be triggered by stress. According to Scripps, you are more likely to develop a stress rash if you have experienced asthma, eczema, rosacea or allergies. Here is everything you need to know to manage a stress rash. What does stress rash look like? According to the Cleveland Clinic, hives can appear on your face, hands and neck. The hives will look like raised bumps that are reddish on lighter-colored skin. They can look like tiny pinpoints or welts and may develop into raised red clusters. Hives can change size and shape. When you press on the bumps, the skin will turn lighter in the center. When you have a stress rash on your face, you may also experience painful swelling of your lips, eyes and the inside of your throat. The rash can burn, itch and cause pain. Where does a stress rash appear? Hives can appear anywhere on the body. However, according to Scripps, when a… read on > read on >