02Feb 2023 by Janice Holland
Why Do Some Black Women Have More Aggressive Breast Cancer Than White Women?

Why Do Some Black Women Have More Aggressive Breast Cancer Than White Women?

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Black women with breast cancer are more likely to die of the disease than white women, a fact that has often been linked to less access to care. But emerging research, including a paper presented this week at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, suggests that a difference in tumor biology may also play a factor.In the study, researchers compared the tumor biology of 96 Black women with breast cancer to that of 87 white women. Within these groups, 49 percent of the Black women had their cancer spread, versus 35 percent of white women. The tumors of Black women had higher tumor microenvironment of metastasis (TMEM) scores, a marker that can help predict the likelihood that a cancer will spread.Even after adjusting for other factors such as age, type, and size…
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02Feb 2023 by Janice Holland
ER Visits Due to Alcohol Use Raise the Risk of Death Within a Year

ER Visits Due to Alcohol Use Raise the Risk of Death Within a Year

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People who seek treatment for an injury in the emergency department and are intoxicated or have an alcohol use disorder are five times more likely to die in the next year than people in the general population, according to new research that analyzed more than 10 million California ER visits.“For every 100 injured patients who were intoxicated or had alcohol use disorder who came to the emergency department, 5 of them died within the next year, versus 1 out of 100 in the comparison population. That’s a big difference,” says the lead researcher, Sidra Goldman-Mellor, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor in the department of public health at the University of California in Merced. The findings were published on December 12 in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.“These findings…
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02Feb 2023 by Janice Holland
Black Newborns Are Twice as Likely to Die as White Infants, Even in Rich Countries

Black Newborns Are Twice as Likely to Die as White Infants, Even in Rich Countries

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In many of the world’s most affluent countries, Black women are twice as likely as white women to have their babies die within four weeks of delivery, according to a new study that highlights persistent racial disparities in neonatal outcomes.The new analysis, published December 10 in the Lancet, examined data on almost 2.2 million pregnancies across 20 high-income and middle-income countries including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several other European nations. Even after researchers accounted for a wide range of factors that can influence the risk of pregnancy and birth complications — such as age, previous pregnancies, obesity, and education levels — Black women and their infants still fared much worse.Compared with white women, the study showed, Black mothers were more than twice as likely to have stillborn…
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02Feb 2023 by Janice Holland
Probiotic Bacteria in Fermented Foods Might Help Fight Bad Breath

Probiotic Bacteria in Fermented Foods Might Help Fight Bad Breath

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Got bad breath? Mouthwash and chewing gum aren’t the only ways to mask the awful odor. A new study suggests that probiotics, or “good” bacteria, found in a wide variety of fermented foods may also help curb the offensive smell.Researchers at the National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases at Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, examined data pooled from seven clinical trials that examined the impact of probiotics on bad breath. Across all of the studies, a total of 278 people were randomly assigned placebo pills or supplements of the probiotics Lactobacillus salivarius, Lactobacillus reuteri, Streptococcus salivarius, or Weissella cibaria to see if the beneficial microorganisms reduced bad breath.When people took probiotics for 2 to 12 weeks, they had significantly lower levels of volatile sulfuric compounds, which are linked to…
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02Feb 2023 by Janice Holland
Losing Taste And Smell Due to COVID-19 Tied to Lower Reinfection Risk

Losing Taste And Smell Due to COVID-19 Tied to Lower Reinfection Risk

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Some people who lose their sense of taste or smell due to a COVID-19 infection may have an easier time fighting off the virus in the future, a new study suggests.For the study, conducted in 2020 at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical center in New York City, scientists tested 266 people for antibodies to COVID-19 at least two weeks after their symptoms were mostly gone and they no longer showed signs of active infection. None of the subjects had experienced severe cases, or had any signs of acute infection when they were tested for antibodies, and they had no lingering symptoms other than a potential loss of taste or smell.Overall, almost two-thirds of participants reported either an impaired sense of smell or taste, and 58 percent said both senses were altered by…
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01Feb 2023 by Janice Holland
New Study Finds Intermittent Fasting–Style Diet Can Cause Type 2 Diabetes Remission in Just 3 Months

New Study Finds Intermittent Fasting–Style Diet Can Cause Type 2 Diabetes Remission in Just 3 Months

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Nearly half of all participants who followed an intermittent calorie-restrictive diet for three months achieved diabetes remission and no longer had to take their diabetes medications, according to a small new study from researchers in China.Just as remarkable, those individuals were able to maintain that remission and remain medication-free at the one-year mark, per the findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.This study shows that type 2 diabetes is not necessarily a permanent, lifelong disease, says coauthor Dongbo Liu, PhD, a researcher at Hunan Agricultural University in Changsha, China. “Diabetes remission is possible if patients lose weight by changing their diet and exercise habits,” he says.Intermittent Fasting Can Mean Restricting Calories and Eating Only During Certain Hours of the DayIntermittent fasting (IF) refers to any eating schedule that…
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01Feb 2023 by Janice Holland
Breast Cancer Drug Enhertu May Help Women With Newly Identified Category of Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Drug Enhertu May Help Women With Newly Identified Category of Breast Cancer

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The cancer drug Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan, or T-DXd) given before breast cancer surgery showed activity in patients with a newly identified subtype of disease known as HER2-low breast cancer, according to a study presented at the recent San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, the largest annual conference on breast cancer.Human growth receptor, abbreviated as HER2, is found on the surface of breast cancer cells. It’s presence in high or low amounts suggests how responsive the tumor will be to certain treatments. In the past, HER2 status was based upon a score, with a number 3 or above indicating HER2-positive disease, which is known to be more aggressive and difficult to treat. A score below 3 was categorized as HER2-negative disease.More recently a new breast cancer subtype has been identified: HER2-low disease. This category includes…
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01Feb 2023 by Janice Holland
American Diabetes Association Recommends More Aggressive Weight Loss, Blood Pressure, and Cholesterol Goals

American Diabetes Association Recommends More Aggressive Weight Loss, Blood Pressure, and Cholesterol Goals

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The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has released the 2023 Standards of Care in Diabetes, a set of guidelines that are updated annually after a thorough review of new research.This year’s updates are focused on how to more aggressively treat diabetes and reduce diabetes complications, with changes to recommendations on weight loss, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and more.“The world of diabetes is moving quite quickly. There are lots of new studies, and we want to make sure clinicians have the most up-to-date information to guide them in how to care for people with diabetes,” says Robert A. Gabbay, MD, PhD, who serves as the chief scientific and medical officer of the ADA.This document, released on December 12, is considered the gold standard of care, and it’s one that providers consult daily or…
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01Feb 2023 by Janice Holland
Face Masks Are Back for the Holidays Thanks to ‘Tripledemic’

Face Masks Are Back for the Holidays Thanks to ‘Tripledemic’

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Masks are making a comeback this winter, and the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t the only reason. Blame a “tripledemic” of three highly contagious respiratory illnesses: COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and seasonal flu.“Beyond the high-risk persons, everyone is encouraged to wear a mask at present, because the three viruses are so prevalent at this time,” says William Schaffner, MD, a professor of infectious disease at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.Roughly 1 in 7 Americans now live in communities with high levels of COVID-19 transmission, according to a report released December 8 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And their ranks are rising fast.On top of this, we’re on track to have the worst flu season in more than a decade, with an estimated 8.7 million cases, 78,000…
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