Lifestyle « Weekly Gravy

While the hot, dry summer may have offered a break to people with some environmental allergies, that reprieve could be over. Ragweed and mold are in the air this fall. “This summer was good news for people who are sensitive to mold and pollen as there were little of those allergens in the air, but now that we’re seeing more rain coming in after this drought, we’re experiencing a big ragweed and mold bloom in Houston,” said Dr. David Corry, a professor in the section of immunology, allergy and rheumatology at Baylor College of Medicine. It’s not always easy to distinguish fall allergies from seasonal viruses, Corry noted. Common allergy symptoms include sneezing, a runny nose, and itchy or watery eyes. A sore throat and malaise are more typical of a virus, like the flu or a cold. While the body may have an extreme reaction to sudden exposure to large amounts of pollen or mold, including aches and pains, this is temporary, Corry said. Tests for flu and cold can help identify what’s going on. Fall activities that may stir up allergies include hayrides at pumpkin patches, because the bales are made from grasses that many people are allergic to. Hayriders should also watch for signs of mold, such as black streaks or foul, damp odors. “Mold spores can take hold in your upper… read on > read on >

Men of all races and ethnic groups who have prostate cancer fare equally well when access to care is identical, a new study finds. The disparity in outcomes from prostate cancer between Black, Hispanic and white men disappears when treatment and care are the same, as it is in U.S. Veterans Health Administration (VA) hospitals. In fact, Black and Hispanic men, on average fared better than white men, researchers report. “Traditionally, the outcomes for Black and Hispanic patients, at least in non-equal access health care settings, have been poor,” said lead researcher Kelli Rasmussen, an epidemiologist at the University of Utah School of Medicine. “There’s a myriad of reasons, one of which we know is that prostate cancer often presents in Black patients at an earlier age,” she said. “They usually have poor survival outcomes.” But the VA is a unique situation where veterans receive the same care regardless of their income, Rasmussen said. “That means that these men don’t face some of the challenges that people who are not veterans often face with regard to health care, like inadequate insurance or poor access to care in the private sector,” she said. Rasmussen believes that if you look at other medical conditions, the disparity in outcomes between white and minority patients would also disappear. “These patient populations have a lot of disparities when it comes… read on > read on >

After a massive five-year effort, researchers have unveiled an “atlas” that gives an unprecedented look at the intricacies of the human brain. The atlas, which will be available to researchers everywhere, can be seen as similar to the atlases we all know: a book of maps. But this one catalogues human brain cells and their striking diversity and complexity. Going forward, the atlas will help other researchers “navigate” the brain, said Bing Ren, a professor at the University of California, San Diego, who was part of the research effort. The atlas encompasses more than 3,000 types of brain cells, and gives insight into how they vary from one person to another, how they differ from non-human primates’ brain cells, how particular brain cell types are related to specific diseases, and more. The ultimate goal, Ren and other experts said, is to better understand the workings of the human brain — and what goes wrong in the range of neurological and psychiatric conditions that plague humans, from Alzheimer’s to depression to schizophrenia. The publication of the brain cell atlas, Ren said, “is just the beginning.” The work is detailed in a collection of 21 papers being published Oct. 13 in the journals Science, Science Advances and Science Translational Medicine. In all, the project involved hundreds of scientists from different countries, brought together under the U.S. National… read on > read on >

Adult acne can significantly change how women are perceived in social settings, a new study finds. And where the acne is located on the face changes the onlooker’s perception. Researchers tracked eye movements of 245 study participants looking at pictures of women with clear skin or acne on different parts of their faces. Faces with acne were perceived as significantly less attractive, less trustworthy, less successful, less confident, less happy and less dominant. Acne that was primarily located in the U-zone, which is around the jawline, mouth and chin, received the lowest scores for attractiveness and was considered the most visually disturbing. “This study concerns simple questions: Who is more burdened by the disease? Which lesions need to go first? Whom should I treat more aggressively?” said lead author Dr. Marek Jankowski, an assistant professor of dermatology at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland. “What they’re really trying to get at is where on the face acne is going to have the most impact on how someone perceives the acne, either self-perception or another person looking at the face,” added Dr. Christopher Bunick, an associate professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine. “The implication they’re trying to make is that, if someone has more kind of mid-facial acne then maybe that’s a little bit closer to the healthy skin and a little less… read on > read on >

Most folks know that certain antidepressants have to be taken for a few weeks before people start seeing improvement, and now a new study sheds light on that delay. Scientists have discovered this is because of physical changes in the brain that unfold over those first few weeks of using selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and lead to greater brain plasticity. SSRIs include a range of common antidepressants such as Paxil, Prozac, Celexa, Lexapro and Zoloft. “The delay in therapeutic action of antidepressants has been a puzzle to psychiatrists ever since they were first discerned over 50 years ago. So, these new data in humans that use cutting-edge brain imaging to demonstrate an increase in brain connections developing over the period that the depression lifts are very exciting,” said David Nutt from Imperial College London, who was not involved in the research. “Also, they provide more evidence [that] enhancing serotonin function in the brain can have enduring health benefits.” The researchers studied this in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in a group of healthy volunteers. The researchers gave 17 volunteers a 20-milligram (mg) daily dose of the SSRI escitalopram (Lexapro). Another 15 volunteers received a placebo. About three to five weeks in, the volunteers’ brains were scanned using a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner. The scans made it possible to see the amount of synaptic… read on > read on >

Raging wildfires, droughts, floods and record-breaking heat brought on by climate change are taking a toll on kids’ already fragile mental health. This is the main message from a new report by the American Psychological Association and the climate advocacy organization ecoAmerica. These effects may start before kids are born and worsen with age, and are on top of other known stressors such as COVID-19, war and gun violence. What’s more, certain groups of children are even more hard-hit by the mental health effects of climate change due to poverty, racism, disability and other factors. Climate change affects mental health directly and indirectly, said report co-author Christie Manning, of Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minn. She’s an associate professor of environmental studies. Wildfires release fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, into the air, driving pollution, and exposure to air pollutants and high temperatures during pregnancy may increase the chances of having kids with learning issues and some mental health conditions, Manning said. “Living through and surviving a flood or wildfire impacts children and can cause long-lasting anxiety, and when parents are dealing with stress and trauma, it has repercussions for children,” she noted. Many families have been forced to leave their homes and pets due to fires or floods. Kids may have been injured during the evacuation, lost a loved one or witnessed the destruction of… read on > read on >

Renting a home, rather than owning it outright, may speed up the body’s aging process, a new study suggests. Researchers found that when compared with people who owned their home outright (no mortgage), those who rented showed signs of faster “biological aging” — which meant their body cells and tissues were a bit “older.” On average, the impact was equivalent to just a small fraction of a year of aging. Even so, the study found, that was greater than the effects of being unemployed or being a former smoker. In addition, the link was specifically seen among people who rented privately — not those in public housing. While that might seem puzzling, the researchers said it makes sense: At least in the United Kingdom, where the study was conducted, “social” housing is often better maintained, more affordable and more stable than private rentals. “We believe that the typically poorer physical conditions in privately rented housing is likely one factor,” said lead researcher Amy Clair, of the University of Adelaide, in Australia, and the University of Essex in the United Kingdom. Beyond that, she said, private renters face more insecurities around their housing. And based on past research, Clair added, that kind of stress could speed biological aging. Biological aging is determined by certain physiological markers of the rate at which the body’s cells and tissues… read on > read on >

Americans are losing sleep over worries about money, a new survey reveals. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) polled about 2,000 U.S. adults, finding that 69% reported lost sleep due to concerns about job security and 75% were kept up with thoughts about whether the United States would enter a recession. “Persistent, anxious thoughts can make it difficult to fall asleep and impact sleep quality, so it’s understandable that a substantial number of Americans are losing sleep during this period of economic instability, inflation and job market insecurity,” said Dr. Susheel Patil, sleep medicine physician and spokesperson for the AASM. Still, suffering prolonged sleep disturbances can have some negative side effects in work and life, including decreased productivity, impaired decision-making and an increased risk of mental and physical health issues, according to the AASM. This anxiety can worsen at night, just when someone should be winding down. The AASM suggests measures to improve slumber, including keeping a regular sleep schedule by going to bed and waking at the same times each day, including weekends and holidays. Some other tips include: Try to get at least seven hours of sleep a night. Make your bedroom a peaceful sanctuary, with limited noise and distractions. It should be quiet, dark and cool. Only use your bed for sleeping, not watching TV or reading. Your nightly routine should… read on > read on >

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers about risks of using compounded versions of the drug ketamine, often taken for psychiatric disorders. Compounded products are not evaluated by the FDA for safety and effectiveness. They’re also not regulated like approved drugs, so they present a greater risk. “Although compounded drugs can serve an important medical need for certain patients when an FDA-approved drug is not medically appropriate, they also present a risk to patients and should only be used under the care of a health care provider,” the FDA said in a news release. It offered an example of a concerning case reported about a patient in April. That person had taken compounded oral ketamine outside of a health care setting for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The result was slowed breathing and a ketamine blood level that appeared to be twice what a person would typically receive as anesthesia, the FDA said. Patients are increasingly interested in taking compounded ketamine products, including oral formulations, for mental health disorders including depression, anxiety, PTSD and obsessive-compulsive disorder, according to the FDA. Known safety concerns associated with the drug are abuse and misuse, psychiatric events, increases in blood pressure, slowed breathing and lower urinary tract and bladder symptoms. In the FDA-approved version of ketamine, the expected benefit outweighs these risks when used at… read on > read on >

Cigarette makers are using synthetic menthol substitutes in what appears to be an effort to skirt a looming federal menthol ban, researchers say. The menthol flavor appeals to younger and newer smokers, according to investigators at Duke Health in Durham, N.C., and Yale University in New Haven, Conn. These new “non-menthol” cigarettes are being introduced in states that have already banned actual menthol in advance of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration ban later this year. In studying these “non-menthol” products, researchers identified new compounds that achieve cooling sensations similar to menthol. “We found that tobacco companies are adding a synthetic cooling agent called WS-3 to these new ‘non-menthol’ cigarettes,” said senior author Sven-Eric Jordt, an associate professor at Duke University School of Medicine. “The added amounts are sufficient to produce robust cooling sensations, with some brands having more cooling activity than their menthol equivalent cigarettes,” he said in a university news release California and Massachusetts have already banned menthol cigarettes. After California’s December 2022 ban, RJ Reynolds and ITG introduced non-menthol cigarettes with packaging and marketing strategies similar to those of menthol products. Lead author Sairam Jabba, a senior research scientist at Duke, measured whether cigarettes purchased in the two states with bans contained chemicals that activate the cold/menthol receptor. “We found that four of the non-menthol cigarette products, all manufactured by RJ Reynolds,… read on > read on >