Obesity can worsen multiple sclerosis symptoms, researchers say. Their study involved 140 patients with the relapsing-remitting form of MS, which means patients have periods of attacks (relapses), followed by periods of remission with no or few symptoms. The researchers found that obesity at the time of diagnosis was associated with more severe disability. The reason: increased inflammation. The researchers looked at the connection between the autoimmune disease, which can produce pain, stiffness and loss of balance, and excess weight. They checked levels of inflammation in the central nervous system, and levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. They found that obese patients have higher levels of two proteins that promote inflammation — interleukin-6 and leptin, which is produced by fat cells. Excessively heavy patients also had lower levels of interleukin-13, an anti-inflammatory agent. Higher triglycerides and higher HDL cholesterol previously have been linked to higher IL-6 levels, the researchers pointed out. “This study confirms that obesity is associated with greater symptomatic severity of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis,” said study co-author Dr. Mario Stampanoni Bassi, a neurologist at Neuromed Mediterranean Neurological Institute in Pozzilli, Italy. “Our results therefore suggest that excessive body weight, or altered lipid profile, are associated to increased central inflammation,” he said in an institute news release. This causes symptoms to worsen. Body weight and high cholesterol or triglycerides are implicated in various chronic inflammatory conditions,…  read on >

Extremely tiny bits of plastic: They’re in your food and drink, and even in the air around you. Now, new research calculates that the average American consumes more than 70,000 particles of these “microplastics” every year — and even that’s likely an underestimation, the scientists noted. Your microplastic intake might be even higher if you choose products that have more plastics involved in their processing or packaging — including bottled water, the research team said. Just how harmful is all this plastic in your body? That’s still unclear, said one expert unconnected to the new study. “It’s certainly concerning,” said Dr. Kenneth Spaeth, chief of occupational and environmental medicine at Northwell Health in Great Neck, N.Y. “I think the best we can say is perhaps there’s minimal harm here, but I think there is a possibility the harm could be extensive.” Other recent studies have shed light on the ubiquity of microplastics in people’s bodies. For example, one report out of Austria found that the average human stool sample contained at least 20 bits of microplastic. In another study, microplastic was found in 90% of samples of common table salt. However, it’s tough to accurately calculate the amount of plastic people consume, noted the lead author of the new study, Kieran Cox. That’s because the 26 studies used in the evidence review involved food sources…  read on >

Much research has explored the mental and physical health benefits of maintaining social contacts well into later life. Studies also show that maintaining sexual health can have profound benefits that may include slowing down the aging process. Besides the exercise value of sex, research has found that sexual pleasure and intimacy may help ease everyday aches and pains, with effects that can last for a few days. Having frequent sex can boost your mood and even lead to a better outlook when you’re at work the next day — increasing both your job satisfaction and engagement. Add heart health to the list. A study of men in their 50s published in the American Journal of Cardiology found that having sex at least twice a week was associated with a 45% lower risk of heart disease compared to less frequent sex. It also showed that low sexual frequency may be linked to erectile dysfunction. A separate study found that quality rather than quantity seems to protect women from heart disease in later life. Other research has linked sex to some surprising benefits, such as boosting immune function. Though it might not seem like something you’d want to engage in during a migraine or cluster headache, a study published in Cephalalgia found that it can bring about partial or even total pain relief. And, last but not…  read on >

More American women under age 65 have been diagnosed sooner and treated earlier for ovarian cancer since the Affordable Care Act went into effect in 2010, new research shows. And, more women received treatment within 30 days of diagnosis, improving their survival odds, the researchers said. For the study, the investigators analyzed data from the U.S. National Cancer Database. They compared nearly 36,000 women who were diagnosed and treated between 2004 and 2009, with more than 37,000 women diagnosed and treated between 2011 and 2014. Women in both groups were between 21 and 64 years of age. A similar number of seniors with ovarian cancer was used as a control group, because those women had access to Medicare and were much less likely to be uninsured before or after introduction of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Compared with the control group, there was a 1.7% gain in early-stage diagnosis and a 1.6% improvement in treatment within 30 days of diagnosis among younger women since 2010, the findings showed. The greatest gains were among women who got public insurance after the Affordable Care Act was introduced. These women had a 2.5% gain in early-stage diagnosis and timely treatment compared with the control group. The improvements were seen regardless of race, income or level of education. While a 1.7% improvement in early diagnosis may…  read on >

Adding a newer drug to standard hormone therapy lengthens the lives of younger women with advanced breast cancer, a new trial has found. The drug, called Kisqali (ribociclib), is already approved for treating such patients — based on earlier results showing it can delay the progression of their cancer. This is the first evidence it can also extend their lives, said senior researcher Dr. Debu Tripathy, chair of the breast medical oncology department at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. After 3.5 years, 70% of patients given hormone therapy plus Kisqali were still alive. That compared with 46% of those given hormone therapy alone. That proof of a survival advantage hits “a pretty big milestone,” Tripathy said. And, he added, it argues for giving the drug as a “first-line or second-line” treatment to these patients. The findings were to be presented Tuesday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, in Chicago, and they will also be published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Kisqali is one of three newer drugs on the market called CDK4/6 inhibitors; the others are Verzenio (abemaciclib) and Ibrance (palbociclib). They work by blocking two proteins that help cancer cells grow and divide. Kisqali, taken as a tablet, was originally approved as a first-line treatment for postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer that is hormone receptor-positive — which…  read on >

Cutting-edge prostate cancer drugs that help extend life in the toughest cases might also be useful in fighting less aggressive tumors, two new clinical trials suggest. Two drugs that interfere with cancer’s ability to use testosterone for fuel, apalutamide (Erleada) and enzalutamide (Xtandi), are already approved for use against more advanced prostate tumors that don’t respond to regular therapy. But these trials show that the drugs also can improve survival and slow progression in prostate cancers that do respond to regular therapy, which typically involves medication that halts production of testosterone. Both clinical trials involved patients with prostate cancer that had spread to other parts of their body but who still responded to androgen-deprivation therapy. “We’re slowly starting to see a migration of drugs traditionally saved for advanced stages of disease, where we’re incorporating them into earlier stages of disease,” said Dr. Bobby Liaw, medical director of the Blavatnik Family Chelsea Medical Center at Mount Sinai, in New York City. He was not involved in the trials. Apalutamide combined with androgen-deprivation therapy caused a 33% reduction in overall risk of death, compared against patients who received a placebo alongside their androgen-deprivation therapy, said the lead researcher of that clinical trial, Dr. Kim Chi. Apalutamide also delayed progression of the cancer by 52%, and the length of time before patients required chemotherapy by 61%, said Chi,…  read on >

More American women under age 65 have been diagnosed sooner and treated earlier for ovarian cancer since the Affordable Care Act went into effect in 2010, new research shows. And, more women received treatment within 30 days of diagnosis, improving their survival odds, the researchers said. For the study, the investigators analyzed data from the U.S. National Cancer Database. They compared nearly 36,000 women who were diagnosed and treated between 2004 and 2009, with more than 37,000 women diagnosed and treated between 2011 and 2014. Women in both groups were between 21 and 64 years of age. A similar number of seniors with ovarian cancer was used as a control group, because those women had access to Medicare and were much less likely to be uninsured before or after introduction of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Compared with the control group, there was a 1.7% gain in early-stage diagnosis and a 1.6% improvement in treatment within 30 days of diagnosis among younger women since 2010, the findings showed. The greatest gains were among women who got public insurance after the Affordable Care Act was introduced. These women had a 2.5% gain in early-stage diagnosis and timely treatment compared with the control group. The improvements were seen regardless of race, income or level of education. While a 1.7% improvement in early diagnosis may…  read on >