High potency cannabis, especially when used daily, is “strongly linked” to the risk of developing psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and paranoia, scientists said Wednesday. In Amsterdam and London—where high-THC marijuana has long been the rule rather than the exception—50 and 30 percent of new psychosis cases, respectively, were associated with potent forms of the drug. The findings,...
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This Is The Amount Of Diet Soda That Can Increase Women’s Risk For Early Death
Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) can increase people’s risk for premature death, but this does not always mean that consuming artificially sweetened beverages (ASB) is the healthier option. Dangers Of Consuming Too Much Artificially Sweetened Drinks Findings of a large, long-term study have found that drinking one artificially sweetened drink a day instead of a sugary one...
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Sports involvement linked to fewer depressive symptoms in children
A study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging investigates the relationship between involvement in sports, brain development, and depression in children ELSEVIER Philadelphia, March 21, 2019 Participation in team sports is associated with fewer depressive symptoms in children, whereas non-sport activities have no association with symptoms, according to a study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, published by Elsevier. The association was found only for boys. The findings...
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TB doesn’t only attack the lungs—other organs are also vulnerable
The world marks World Tuberculosis (TB) Day on March 24 every year. Most people assume that TB only affects the lungs – but the disease can also attack other organs. The Conversation Africa’s Ina Skosana spoke to Professor Nazir Ismail to find out more. Professor Ismail works and conducts his research in South Africa, one of the world’s TB hot spots. What parts of the body does TB affect? TB most...
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New diagnostic clues found for life limiting lung condition
A new biomarker that could be used to provide earlier diagnosis for a life limiting lung condition has been identified by researchers at the University of Bradford. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) affects around 6,500 people in the UK and is caused by a narrowing of the arteries supplying blood to the lungs. This leads to high blood pressure and, eventually, to heart...
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When is best time to get flu shot? Analysis compares scenarios
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH, March 14, 2019 – When flu season peaks after mid-winter, tens of thousands of influenza cases and hundreds of deaths can likely be avoided if older adults wait until October to get their flu immunization, a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine analysis reveals in the April issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The protection offered by the flu vaccine...
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New cholesterol-lowering drug could help patients unable to take statins
A new class of oral cholesterol-lowering drug could help patients unable to take statins due to side effects. The findings come from the largest study to date to test the effectiveness and safety of bempedoic acid, an oral medication—yet to be approved in Europe—which inhibits the body’s ability to create the building blocks of cholesterol. The research, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, reports on findings from...
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Overlooked Ingredients In Medicines Can Sometimes Trigger Side Effects
If you have a bad reaction to a medicine, it might not be the drug itself, but what are called “inactive ingredients” in the pill or capsule. An article published Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine surveys this field and finds ingredients that are potentially troublesome for some people are ubiquitous. For example, a few years ago study co-author Giovanni Traverso, a gastroenterologist at...
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Cholesterol-lowering drugs guard against brain haemorrhages
The drugs statins, which are used to prevent cardiovascular diseases, also guard against brain haemorrhages; this is the conclusion from a new Danish study, the most extensive ever, which thus also rebuffs suspicions of the opposite being true AARHUS UNIVERSITY The drugs statins, which are used to prevent cardiovascular diseases, also guard against brain haemorrhages. This is the conclusion of most extensive study ever carried out, which...
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How much difference will Eli Lilly’s half-price insulin make?
When Erin Gilmer filled her insulin prescription at a Denver-area Walgreens in January, she paid $8.50. U.S. taxpayers paid another $280.51. “It eats at me to know that taxpayer money is being wasted,” said Gilmer, who has Medicare and was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes while a sophomore at the University of Colorado in 2002. The diagnosis...