Jobs that challenge your mind could help your brain age more gracefully, a new study suggests. The harder your brain works on the job, the less likely you are to have memory and thinking problems later in life, researchers reported April 17 in the journal Neurology. “We examined the demands of various jobs and found… read on > read on >
AI could help doctors cut back on the bewildering variety of medications that seniors frequently are prescribed, a new study suggests. More than 40% of seniors are prescribed five or more meds, and this increases a person’s risk of adverse drug interactions, researchers said. When asked to evaluate faux medication lists of seniors, the OpenAI… read on > read on >
Antipsychotics can substantially increase dementia patients’ risk of many serious health problems, a new study warns. Dementia patients prescribed antipsychotics have increased risk of stroke, blood clots, heart attack, heart failure, bone fractures, pneumonia and kidney damage, researchers reported April 17 in the BMJ. “A move away from the overprescription of antipsychotics is overdue,” concluded… read on > read on >
Two-thirds of homeless people are experiencing some form of mental health disorder, a large, new review of data on the subject. The analysis found that men who are homeless are more likely to be battling mental illness than women, although rates were high for both genders compared to the general population. There are signs that… read on > read on >
There’s no evidence that a COVID infection increases the risk of asthma in children, the first study to date on the subject finds. “We knew from a number of really nice studies over the last decade or more that respiratory viral infections are a risk factor for the development of asthma in children,” said senior… read on > read on >
Zepbound, one of the wildly popular weight-loss drugs that millions of Americans now take, eased sleep apnea in obese adults in two company trials, drug maker Eli Lilly announced Wednesday. First approved to treat obesity by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last November, Zepbound’s power was significant: It reduced sleep apnea severity by nearly… read on > read on >
Some people with tough-to-treat epilepsy might benefit if doctors target a brain region newly linked to the disorder, a new study suggests. Seizures declined by 83% after a patient underwent surgery that removed almost all of the fasciola cinereum, a previously overlooked region of the hippocampus, researchers report April 17 in the journal Nature Medicine.… read on > read on >
The placenta could be one reason why some women develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy, a new study finds. A deficit in the way the placenta expresses the gene for a hormone called insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) appears linked to insulin resistance during pregnancy, researchers reported April 16 in the journal Nature Medicine. “The placenta… read on > read on >
In a new study, people living with HIV who got standard meds to keep the virus at bay also had much lower rates of Alzheimer’s disease — suggesting the drugs might also lower risks for the brain illness. It’s early-stage research, but it’s possible that mechanisms used by these HIV drugs work at a genetic… read on > read on >
Keeping blood pressure under control could be crucial for women in preventing uterine fibroids, new research shows. Middle-aged women tracked for up to 17 years in a new study were 37% less likely to develop these painful growths if they treated their high blood pressure with medication. On the other hand, “patients with new-onset hypertension… read on > read on >
