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Weight-loss and diabetes drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro or Zepbound appear to help people battle alcoholism and opioid addiction, a new study finds. People taking this class of drugs, called glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1), have a 50% lower rate of drunkenness than people with addiction disorders not on the meds, researchers reported Oct. 17… read on > read on >
A new diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or other dementia often spurs a person to move from their home, new research shows. “One possible explanation is that individuals with dementia and their caregivers may choose to move closer to family or informal caregivers, either with independent housing arrangements or entering formal long-term care services,” wrote a team… read on > read on >
A new, reassuring study finds that men can take the diabetes drug metformin without worrying that their offspring will suffer from birth defects. Recent research raised concerns that metformin could promote birth defects in children by damaging the quality of a man’s sperm. But this study of more than 3 million pregnancies, published Oct. 16… read on > read on >
Doctors might be overprescribing sedatives to stroke survivors, a new study warns. About 5% of people are prescribed a benzodiazepine following a stroke, to help calm anxiety and improve sleep, researchers found. Benzodiazepine meds include Valium, Ativan and Xanax. But these prescriptions often are for pills that last longer than a week, which could hamper… read on > read on >
Alzheimer’s disease might damage the brain in two distinct phases, a new study suggests. An early phase that occurs slowly and silently appears to lay the groundwork for a second, more widely destructive phase of Alzheimer’s, according to sophisticated brain scans. “The results fundamentally alter scientists’ understanding of how Alzheimer’s harms the brain and will… read on > read on >
An off-label clot-busting drug appears to work slightly better in treating stroke patients than an approved medication, a new review finds. The clot-buster tenecteplase is associated with a slightly higher likelihood of excellent recovery and reduced disability three months following a stroke, compared to the drug alteplase, researchers report. However, the likelihood of good recovery… read on > read on >
A young Israeli researcher who lost a sibling in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israeli civilians said the tragedy has spurred her to study the unique aspects of grief at the sudden loss of a brother or sister. The research by Master of Arts student Masada Buchris, of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, hasn’t… read on > read on >
Folks who want solid protection during the cold and flu season should get the influenza vaccine now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says. The ideal time to get the flu vaccine is by the end of October, the FDA said in a news release. “Flu viruses typically spread in fall and winter, with activity… read on > read on >
People living with HIV who need a kidney can rest assured that outcomes are similar whether their kidney donor was also HIV-positive or not, a new study finds. One- and three-year survival was the same, regardless of the donor’s HIV status, as were the rate of serious side effects, such as infection, fever and organ… read on > read on >
Women and men experience similar rates of dangerous complications after a major heart surgery. So why are women dying at higher rates than men when these complications strike? That’s the main question raised by a new study that involved more than 850,000 cases of Medicare beneficiaries who underwent high-risk heart surgeries. These operations included heart… read on > read on >
