If you want to stay well, make sure you’re getting enough sleep. That’s the conclusion of a new study that found that good sleep helps regulate a key component of the body’s immune system. Specifically, it influences the environment where white blood cells known as monocytes form, develop and get ready to support the immune… read on > read on >
All Health and Wellness:
Big Studies Test Effectiveness of Common Diabetes Meds
Two common diabetes medications seem to outperform two others when it comes to controlling blood sugar levels, a large U.S. trial has found. The trial of more than 5,000 people with type 2 diabetes found that two injection medications — a long-acting insulin and liraglutide (Victoza) — typically worked better than two oral drugs in… read on > read on >
Deep Brain Stimulation Offers Hope Against Severe OCD
When traditional treatments fail to help patients with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), an implant that zaps the brain with electrical pulses just might, a new research review shows. It found that the remedy — known as “deep brain stimulation,” or DBS — can offer significant relief to as many as two-thirds of such patients. On… read on > read on >
Lots of Nightmares in Middle Age Might Be Warning Sign of Dementia
No one likes nightmares, but having persistently bad dreams may also signal impending dementia, new British research suggests. In the study, people aged 35 to 64 who had bad dreams weekly were four times more likely to have cognitive decline over the following 10 years, and older people were twice as likely to develop dementia,… read on > read on >
AHA News: Waiting For Takeoff, Her Heart Stopped. Flight Attendants Came to the Rescue.
THURSDAY, Sept. 22, 2022 (American Heart Association News) — Vonnie Gaither hated leaving a reunion of extended family in Baltimore. Still, she had to tear herself away to start the trek back home to Anchorage, Alaska. Her flight from Baltimore to Salt Lake City was uneventful. After boarding the plane bound for Anchorage, she buckled… read on > read on >
A Honey of a Study: Well-Fed Bears Give Clues to Human Diabetes
Every year, hibernating bears are able to feast, pack on a huge amount of weight and then lie around for months — all without suffering the health consequence of diabetes. Now researchers are closer to understanding their secret. Scientists with the Washington State University Bear Center say they’ve zeroed in on eight proteins that appear… read on > read on >
Scientists Engineer Mosquitoes That Can’t Transmit Malaria
THURSDAY, Sept. 22, 2022 (HealthDay News) – The fight against malaria could hinge on genetically engineered mosquitoes that have something called “gene drive.” Researchers from the Transmission: Zero team at Imperial College London report that they have engineered mosquitoes that slow the growth in their gut of the parasites that cause malaria. This delay would… read on > read on >
Already Taking a Blood Thinner? Adding Aspirin May Do Harm
For many years, doctors have advised taking low-dose aspirin to help prevent first-time heart attacks and stroke. But increasingly, they’re doing an about-face. The latest warnings come from University of Michigan researchers who reported that patients simultaneously taking another blood thinner, warfarin, along with aspirin are more likely to have bleeding problems. The research team… read on > read on >
Late Bedtimes Could Raise Your Odds for Diabetes, Heart Trouble
If you’re constantly burning the midnight oil, you may be setting yourself up for type 2 diabetes and heart disease. When compared with folks who go to bed early and wake with the sun, night owls are more likely to be insulin-resistant, a new study finds. When the body doesn’t respond well to the hormone… read on > read on >
Too Few Kids With Sickle Cell Anemia Get Screened for Stroke Risk
Too few children with sickle cell anemia are getting the recommended screening tests for stroke, a common complication of this disease, a new government report finds. What’s more, many aren’t receiving hydroxyurea, a medication that can reduce the complications associated with the blood disorder, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted.… read on > read on >