23Mar 2023 by Janice Holland
FDA Approves Type 2 Diabetes Drug Mounjaro, Which Is Also Associated With Weight Loss

FDA Approves Type 2 Diabetes Drug Mounjaro, Which Is Also Associated With Weight Loss

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Mounjaro (tirzepatide) injection to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D), as an addition to diet and exercise. The drug, manufactured by Eli Lilly, improved blood sugar more effectively than the other diabetes therapies that were included in the clinical studies that were the basis for its approval, according to the FDA statement, released on May 13.It’s estimated that more than 37 million people in the United States have type 2 diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). People with T2D are twice as likely to have heart disease or stroke compared to someone without diabetes, and at a younger age, per the agency.“Given the challenges many patients experience in achieving their target…
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23Mar 2023 by Janice Holland
Gun Owners Are Less Likely to Tell Doctors About Suicidal Thoughts

Gun Owners Are Less Likely to Tell Doctors About Suicidal Thoughts

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Even when a gun owner has recently survived a suicide attempt, he or she is much less likely to report suicidal thoughts than a person who doesn't own guns, a new study has found.For the study, researchers examined survey data on more than 9,100 adults, including almost 3,000 gun owners. Compared with people who didn’t own guns, those who did were 50 percent more likely to have suicidal thoughts and roughly twice as likely to plan a method, time, and place to attempt suicide, according to study results published May 11 in JAMA Network Open.People who own guns were almost four times more likely to attempt suicide, the study found. But gun owners were half as apt to seek help or tell their doctor about these thoughts.“Part of the reason…
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23Mar 2023 by Janice Holland
FDA Clears New Underwear That Reduces the Risk of STDs Transmitted Through Oral Sex

FDA Clears New Underwear That Reduces the Risk of STDs Transmitted Through Oral Sex

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A new ultrathin and stretchy latex underwear designed to prevent sexually transmitted infections during oral sex was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It’s the first and only underwear ever given the nod by the FDA for use to prevent STDs, according to a report in The New York Times.The new underwear, Lorals for Protection, are dental dams “reinvented,” according to the company. The panties provide a protective layer that covers the vulva and anus so that when wearers engage in oral sex, the transmission of bodily fluids, harmful pathogens, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is curtailed.Before this clearance, the only other option for protection during oral sex was a dental dam, a latex or polyurethane sheet that had to be held in place. According to the…
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23Mar 2023 by Janice Holland
GI Nurse With IBD Wants People to Know They ‘Are Not Alone’

GI Nurse With IBD Wants People to Know They ‘Are Not Alone’

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Even as a gastroenterology nurse, Alison Headrick wondered if her symptoms were all in her head.In her nine years as a nurse, Headrick, now 34, had often fielded questions from patients who had inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). She’d get calls from people who were experiencing flare-ups at the worst times, like one woman who was on her honeymoon and wondering if she should go to the emergency room.“I remember hanging up the phone and thinking, ‘I can’t imagine what this is like. I couldn't go through this,’” Headrick says.Six months after that call, Headrick noticed that she was losing weight and experiencing rectal bleeding, but she dismissed it as an effect of overexercise, since she had recently gotten into cycling. When she experienced abdominal cramping, she figured it was just…
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22Mar 2023 by Janice Holland
Race-Specific Adjustments in COPD Testing May Lead to Underdiagnosis of Emphysema in Black Americans

Race-Specific Adjustments in COPD Testing May Lead to Underdiagnosis of Emphysema in Black Americans

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Many Black men with CT evidence of emphysema go undiagnosed because of the practice of race-based adjustments to spirometry testing, according to research presented at the American Thoracic Society’s ATS 2022 international conference.Black adults in the United States are more likely to have unrecognized emphysema than white adults in part because of this practice, says the presenting author, Gabrielle Liu, MD, a pulmonary and critical care fellow at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “Our study shows that many Black men with ‘normal’ lung function actually have evidence of abnormal lung health or emphysema,” she says.Over 3 Million Americans Have EmphysemaMore than three million people in the United States are living with diagnosed emphysema, according to the American Lung Association. The condition is a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease…
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22Mar 2023 by Janice Holland
After Suicide Attempt, Young Females at Higher Risk for Substance Use

After Suicide Attempt, Young Females at Higher Risk for Substance Use

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Young women and girls are more likely to develop serious substance use problems after a suicide attempt, a study suggests.Researchers followed more than 122,000 female youths for about three decades, starting when they were 8 to 19 years old. Overall, about 5,800 of them, or slightly less than 5 percent, had attempted suicide.During follow-up, women who had a history of attempted suicide were 5 times more likely to be hospitalized for a substance use disorder, researchers reported in JAMA Psychiatry. The odds rose with the number of suicide attempts, with three or more suicide attempts associated with 21 times the risk of substance use hospitalizations.While the risk of developing substance use disorders was highest over the first five years after a suicide attempt, these women remained at increased risk for…
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22Mar 2023 by Janice Holland
Homeless Teens at Increased Risk for Suicide, Substance Use

Homeless Teens at Increased Risk for Suicide, Substance Use

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More than 1 in 20 U.S. high school students have experienced homelessness, putting them at increased risk for a wide range of mental health and substance use problems, a new study suggests.As of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered schools and created an avalanche of emotional and financial challenges for American families, 5.6 percent of U.S. high school students were homeless, the study found. Youths without housing were significantly more likely to be male, Black, Hispanic, or identify as gay or lesbian, researchers report yesterday in JAMA.Compared with teens with secure housing, those who experienced homelessness were more than twice as likely to seriously consider, plan, or attempt suicide, the study found. Homeless teens were also more than twice as likely to binge drink or misuse prescription opioids, and roughly…
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22Mar 2023 by Janice Holland
Study Finds Jaw Pain May Worsen During Menopause

Study Finds Jaw Pain May Worsen During Menopause

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What are the first symptoms that pop into your head when you think of the menopause transition? Hot flashes, sleep disruptions, and irritability probably come to mind, and it may surprise you to learn that the loss of estrogen that occurs during menopause may affect how a woman feels pain — specifically, the experience of jaw pain.A study published May 10 in the journal Menopause found that jaw pain — a common type of musculoskeletal pain, second only to back pain — may worsen during the menopause transition."This study reinforces the known relationship between sex steroids, specifically estrogen, and the experience of pain,” said Stephanie Faubion, MD, an internal medicine doctor at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and the medical director of the North American Menopause Society, in a release. Dr.…
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22Mar 2023 by Janice Holland
Nearly Half of People With Abnormal Lung Cancer Screening Postpone Follow-Up Care

Nearly Half of People With Abnormal Lung Cancer Screening Postpone Follow-Up Care

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Nearly half of all people who were considered high risk for lung cancer after computerized tomography (CT) screening delayed follow-up care, according to a study presented at the ATS (American Thoracic Society) 2022 international conference.“The fact that nearly half of all patients with abnormal findings in our study experienced delays in following up is alarming,” said the study’s presenting author, Alwiya Ahmed, MD, MPH, internal medicine resident at the University of Washington School of Medicine and physician-scientist at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in a release.Although skin cancer, breast cancer (in women), and prostate cancer (in men) are more common than lung cancer, lung cancer causes more deaths than any other type of cancer. It’s estimated that 130,180 Americans will die from lung cancer in…
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