Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

THURSDAY, Feb. 2, 2023 (HealthDay News) – The wildly popular weight-loss drug Wegovy has become hard to find, but that could soon change. Novo Nordisk, which makes the medication, said Wednesday that it has increased production to meet demand. “We know for a fact that patients have been lined up,” CEO Lars Jorgensen said on a call with investors, NBC News reported. Wegovy, also known as semaglutide, is a GLP-1 agonist, mimicking a hormone that cuts appetite and helps reduce food intake, NBC News reported. It costs about $1,300 a month and often isn’t covered by insurance. An off-label alternative is the type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic, which is the same medication but given in a smaller dose and approved to help regulate blood sugar levels. Novo Nordisk also makes Ozempic. Novo Nordisk expects “pent-up demand” for Wegovy to subside over the next few months, Jorgensen said. “We are obviously encouraged by the trend line we see, but we also do believe there will be a normalization of that,” he said. During the shortage, some Americans have gained some or all of their weight back as they’ve given up the medication, NBC News reported. The company “looks forward” to the medication’s wider availability, said Doug Langa, head of North American operations for the Danish company. More information The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has more… read on > read on >

A new study hints that treating low vitamin D levels with supplements might have a critical benefit for certain people: a decreased risk of attempting suicide. In a study of more than 1 million U.S. veterans, researchers found that those prescribed vitamin D were nearly 50% less likely to attempt suicide over eight years, versus those who were not prescribed the supplements. The benefit was seen specifically among veterans who had low vitamin D levels to begin with, as well as Black veterans — who may be at greater risk of insufficient vitamin D stores. Experts stressed that the study was not a clinical trial that directly tested vitamin D for reducing suicidal behavior. So it does not prove that supplements, per se, actually cause suicide risk to fall. At the same time, it’s known that vitamin D deficiency can cause depression-like symptoms, including mood changes and chronic fatigue, said Dr. Christine Crawford, a psychiatrist and associate medical director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Crawford, who was not involved in the study, said that in her practice, she often has patients with depression symptoms tested for blood levels of vitamin D, as well as vitamin B12, folic acid and thyroid hormones. (Deficiencies in those vitamins, or thyroid hormone disturbances, can also cause depressive symptoms.) “I think that medical evaluation is so important,” Crawford… read on > read on >

U.S. health officials are investigating whether a specific brand of over-the-counter eyedrops are behind one death and dozens of bacterial infections in several states. The infections have not been traced to preservative-free EzriCare Artificial Tears, but a majority of people who became ill reported using the drops, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. The agency found the bacteria in bottles of the eyedrops, and it’s now testing to see if the strain found in the eyedrop bottles matches that found in patients. CDC officials recommended that “patients immediately discontinue the use of EzriCare Artificial Tears until the epidemiological investigation and laboratory analyses are complete.” At least 50 people in 11 states have been infected with the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is resistant to most antibiotics. One of those infected died after the bacterium entered the patient’s bloodstream. “That’s what’s so concerning,” Dr. Jill Weatherhead, an assistant professor of tropical medicine and infectious diseases at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told NBC News. “Our standard treatments are no longer available” to treat this infection. In 11 cases, people developed eye infections. Three were blinded in one eye. Some of those infected had respiratory or urinary tract infections. P. aeruginosa infections typically happen in hospital settings in people with weakened immune systems, though the bacteria can be found in… read on > read on >

Mila Clarke started taking Ozempic in 2020 to help manage her diabetes, but was pleasantly surprised to find herself soon shedding pounds. “I was like, this is really weird because I’m not having to try very hard to do this,” said Clarke, who has been diagnosed with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes and chronicles her diabetes journey on her Hangry Woman blog. “And as I kept going on, I kept noticing that the weight was falling off.” Then the side effects started — most worryingly, a racing and palpitating heartbeat. “I could be laying down in bed and my heart rate, like resting heart rate, would be 120 beats per minute,” the sort of rate associated with exercise, Clarke said in an interview with HealthDay Now. “It was really having an effect on my heart rate, and that was really terrifying.” First approved to treat diabetes under the brand name Ozempic, the drug semaglutide received federal approval in June 2021 to also be prescribed as a weight-loss medication — with the brand name Wegovy. People interested in dropping pounds — either for their health or for vanity’s sake — flooded the market for semaglutide, making it difficult to impossible for people with diabetes to fill prescriptions needed to manage their condition. But semaglutide comes with some troubling side effects that people might not… read on > read on >

People who have sleep apnea may have another issue to worry about — weaker bones and teeth. Known as low bone-mineral density, the condition is an indicator of osteoporosis and can increase the risk of fractures and cause teeth to become loose and dental implants to fail, according to new research from the University at Buffalo (UB) in New York. To study this, researchers used cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) — a type of X-ray — to measure bone density in the heads and necks of 38 adults. Half of the study participants had sleep apnea. These scans found that participants with sleep apnea had significantly lower bone-mineral density than the participants without the condition. Sleep apnea can cause difficulty breathing while asleep, which can lead to low levels of oxygen in the body, inflammation, oxidative stress and shortened breathing patterns. These symptoms may each have a chronic negative effect on bone metabolism and eventually bone density, said senior author Dr. Thikriat Al-Jewair. She is an associate professor of orthodontics in the UB School of Dental Medicine and director of the school’s Advanced Education Program in Orthodontics. “While the link between obstructive sleep apnea and low bone-mineral density has yet to be fully explored, this study offers new evidence on their connection that could have several implications for orthodontic treatment,” Al-Jewair said in a university… read on > read on >

People with celiac disease may be more likely to develop heart disease despite having fewer traditional heart risks than other folks. Celiac disease is an immune reaction that occurs when some people eat gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. The only treatment is following a strict gluten-free diet. People with celiac disease may be 27% more likely to develop heart disease compared with those without this autoimmune condition, and the longer a person has celiac disease, the higher the risk, a new study suggests. “People with celiac disease have an increased risk of heart disease that is independent of traditional risk factors, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol levels,” said study author Megan Conroy, an epidemiologist at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The new study wasn’t designed to say how, or even if, celiac disease raises the risk for heart attack and stroke, but researchers do have some theories. “The increased risk could be due to inflammation in those with celiac disease as is seen in people with other autoimmune diseases, or it is linked in some way to consuming a gluten-free diet; however, without further research, we cannot say,” Conroy said. Until more is known about this link, people with celiac disease should follow recommendations for a healthy heart and see their doctor if they have any… read on > read on >

Chromium picolinate is a supplement that many folks take, as it’s touted to unlock insulin, burn fat and build muscle. But do you really need to add it to your diet when the mineral chromium is already present in many foods, albeit in tiny amounts? “There is little evidence or support for chromium supplementation, though advertisements suggest it can enhance muscle mass and help with weight loss and insulin sensitivity,” said Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. The European Food Safety Authority Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies agrees, saying there is no convincing evidence that chromium is an essential nutrient. Tell that to athletes and bodybuilders, who claim chromium picolinate supplements are a safe and effective alternative to steroids and growth hormones. And some tout chromium’s benefits in helping people with diabetes lower their blood sugar levels. According to Mount Sinai in New York City, as many as 90% of American have diets that are low in chromium. People with low chromium levels can include: The elderly Those who do a lot of strenuous exercise Those who eat a lot of sugary foods Pregnant women. Chromium picolinate benefits Low chromium levels can increase blood sugar, triglycerides and cholesterol levels, and increase the risk for diabetes and heart disease, according to Mount Sinai. Chromium supplements… read on > read on >

It’s clear that staying active is key to being healthy, and fitness trackers and smartwatches have become popular tools for tracking activity. But just how many steps does someone need to take to lose weight? That’s not such a simple a question. While evidence is limited on exactly how many steps a day it takes to lose weight, experts say to get about 150 to 300 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise weekly, said Amanda Paluch, an assistant professor in the department of kinesiology and Institute for Applied Life Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. That’s about an average of 22 minutes per day on the low end and 45 minutes on the high end, Paluch said. “And we do know that for weight loss and weight maintenance, you really need to get to that higher end,” Paluch said. “We do need to exercise more often at this moderate to vigorous intensity to really see weight loss,” Paluch added, but “we really haven’t figured out how much that equates to in terms of steps per day.” Tracking steps That doesn’t mean a person shouldn’t track their steps. “These types of devices can really help us with tracking and goal-setting,” Paluch said. Harvard Health cited a review of recent studies that found people who were overweight or obese and who had chronic health conditions were… read on > read on >

Treatments for gum disease may have little benefit for heavy smokers, new research shows. The study findings suggest the need to rethink treatment of the common gum disease periodontitis, according to researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark. “To our surprise, we could see that the disease had actually grown worse in some parameters in the hardest-hit group, despite the fact that this particular group had received the most extensive, individually designed treatment,” study co-author Julie Pajaniaye, a dental hygienist, said in a university news release. Periodontitis, or gum disease, leads to breakdown of the teeth’s supportive tissue and, in serious cases, can result in loss of teeth. For the study, the researchers studied the effect of different levels of smoking on results of gum disease treatment. Heavy smokers with the most severe forms of gum inflammation got no benefit from the treatment, the study found. Heavy smokers with moderate periodontitis had a 50% effect from the treatment, compared to lighter smokers. About 40% of the population is affected by periodontitis and 18% of Danes smoke daily or occasionally, the study authors noted. Treatment of the disease is adapted to the individual patient, including deep cleansings of affected teeth, education about the harmful effects of smoking and, in some cases, surgery. Pajaniaye said the findings illustrate the need to include referrals to smoking cessation courses in… read on > read on >

Children’s amped-up immune systems allow them to beat back COVID-19 easily, producing a strong initial response that quickly slaps away the virus. But there might be a price to be paid for that sharp reaction, a new study from Australia says. Because the initial response provides such a swift takedown, kids’ immune systems don’t remember the virus and don’t adapt to be prepared for future infections, according to scientists with the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney. As a result, their body still treats COVID as a new threat, opening them to becoming sick from future COVID infections. “The price that children pay for being so good at getting rid of the virus in the first place is that they don’t have the opportunity to develop ‘adaptive’ memory to protect them the second time they are exposed to the virus,” lead author Tri Phan said in an institute news release. He’s head of the Intravital Microscopy and Gene Expression (IMAGE) Lab at Garvan. Everyone’s immune system has two modes — the innate and the adaptive systems. The innate immune system is mainly comprised of barriers like skin and mucosal surfaces that physically block viruses from entering the body. It also can generate general immune responses when it detects a foreign invader like a virus or a bacterium, although it can’t distinguish between specific pathogens.… read on > read on >